Knowshon Moreno, Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan and David Garrard enter pivotal seasons where they will be scrutinized if they do not perform at a high level.
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At 9-0, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts could be on the verge of something quite special.
With tight wins on Sunday in which they won by a combined six points, they are now more than halfway to perfection, which we last witnessed two short years ago when the New England Patriots nearly matched the 1972 Miami Dolphins? level of excellence.
The Colts and Saints are both led by Pro Bowl quarterbacks and also entered the season with a defense filled with more question marks than a Riddler comic. Through Week 10, both New Orleans and Indianapolis have gotten what they expected from Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, respectably, while enjoying surprising production from their defenses.
Brees and Manning rank second and third in quarterback rating, behind the seemingly ageless Brett Favre, while Manning leads all QBs in yards (2,872), completion percentage (69.7), touchdowns (20), passing attempts (357) and commercials.
The story has been well documented, but he?s doing it all with an unproven cast of receivers (aside from Reggie Wayne) and a running game that is less reliable than ever before. If he doesn?t win his fourth, and second consecutive, MVP award, I just might start watching the UFL.
He?s on pace for more than 5,000 yards and 36 touchdowns. And yes, for the second straight year, Dan Marino?s regular-season yardage mark is in danger.
Brees is likely to fall short of the 5,069 yards he posted in 2008, by several hundred, which is right in line with how the Saints have been so dominant this season. He has far more help than Manning, including a group of receivers that he is fully comfortable with and a running game that is incrementally more potent than that of Indianapolis.
The combination of Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell, along with a few wide receiver reverses mixed in here-and-there, has given New Orleans the fifth best rushing attack in the league. They ranked 28th last season. The Saints have a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns and the fourth most rushing attempts. Only six teams ran the ball fewer times than New Orleans in 2008.
Conversely, the Colts have one of the NFL?s worst running games. They have amassed just 774 rushing yards through nine games, just a hair more than half of what the Saints have recorded. Only the Cardinals have run the ball fewer than the Colts this season, by a slim margin of two attempts.
What Indianapolis lacks in terms of rushing, they have made up for on the other side of the ball. They have allowed fewer points per game (15.8) than any other team in the league, thanks to an opportunistic unit that ranks in the middle of the pack in yards allowed. Depending on how you see the glass, the Colts are either average and lucky or excellent and very good.
They have a +7 takeaway ratio, second to only New England in the AFC. The Colts rank in the top-ten in interceptions (10), sacks (24) and opposing passer rating (75.2).
The Saints haven?t been as dominant defensively, but they do have a +8 takeaway ratio, which ties them with the Patriots for third in all of football behind the Packers (+10) and Eagles (+11).
With seven games remaining, the most-asked question will be which team has the best chance to run the table and finish off what New England couldn?t two seasons ago?
Both teams have four road games remaining, but the Saints have a more difficult schedule. Their opponents have a combined record of 26-27 this season (against the 30-32 mark of Colts? foes), but the numbers lie. New Orleans will face the Buccaneers twice, who are 1-8, but have dates with the Patriots, Falcons, Cowboys and the resurgent Panthers on the docket.
Like the Colts before them, the Saints? biggest test will be their game against the Patriots. Tom Brady and Co. will travel to Big Easy for a Monday Night showdown on Nov. 30.
I don?t think either will ultimately run the table, there are too many teams on their schedules that will be fighting for a playoff berth in the final quarter of the season, but there is a chance football fans could be treated to the same luxury baseball fans were earlier this month.
Like the World Series matchup between the Yankees and Phillies, a Super Bowl battle between the Colts and Saints would pit the sport?s two best teams against one another.
While I already predicted that neither club will enter January undefeated, I do think the Saints will fall first, perhaps as early as the aforementioned game with the Patriots.
The Colts have six straight tough games with familiar foes (Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville (twice), Denver and New York) before a potential trap game against Buffalo in Week 17 when many of their regulars could be sitting. Each of their next six opponents are capable of knocking Indianapolis off their pedestal, but Peyton Manning is too dialed in to fall so soon after their historic win over New England on Sunday night.
After a trip to Tampa Bay to play the feisty but overmatched Buccaneers, the Saints will have trouble getting win No. 11 against the Pats.
New England picked off Manning twice on Sunday and will likely pester Brees in a similar manner. The Patriots have more difficulty defending the run than the pass, which will certainly play into Sean Payton?s plans, but it doesn?t appear possible that Bill Belichick will pass up the chance to knock off an undefeated team twice within three games.
Regardless of who loses first, we are seeing two of the best quarterbacks of this generation lead their teams into rarefied air.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. You can also follow Andrew on Twitter: APerna7.
