Mickles: This game could mean more later

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 18, 2009

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Week after week after week, we’re reminded that you can never look ahead in the NFL.

The most important game of the season is the one that’s being played that Sunday or Monday, right?

As such, it’s way too early — as the New Orleans Saints go into their fifth game today against the New York Giants — to begin thinking about the playoffs and jockeying for postseason positioning.

Or is it?

The mantra of every head coach is that every game is big. Just like the Saints’ Oct. 4 matchup with the then-undefeated New York Jets was big, so is today’s showdown with the unbeaten Giants in the Superdome.

But actually, today’s contest is bigger — and much more important in the long run. While it’s only one game of 16 on their schedules, the winner today will have the upper hand in the NFC playoff race.

It may seem like only one game now, but the outcome could be magnified many times over come early January if, let’s say, both teams wound up atop the NFC with 12-4 records at the end of the regular season.

That’s looking way ahead, of course, but facts are facts. If the Saints and Giants were to advance to the NFC Championship Game today’s encounter would serve as the tie-breaker and the difference in the NFC title game being in the Superdome or Giants Stadium on Jan. 24.

That’s not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s something to think about — unless you’re a player or coach.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees is among those who are just thinking of it as one game.

“I think we all expect to be in the playoffs, and I guess certainly there would be those implications,” he said. “But let’s just take it one game at a time and not take it too far ahead. It’s already a big game, the fact that it’s two undefeated teams and they’re a very good opponent.

“It’s only the fifth game of the season for us, the sixth for them,” Brees said. “It’s not like this is Week 12, 13 or 14 where you could very much see that on the horizon.”

But he has thought about it, he admitted.