Most Improved Team.... (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Pasquino]

Both teams won their divisions after improving dramatically over the prior year.

They also improved by 7 wins each, Saints from 3-13 to 10-6 (and they didn't try in their last game), and Baltimore went from 6-10 to 13-3.

Both acquired key rookies and vet QBs.

I'm interested in hearing from both sides as to who deserves this award more.

(Apologies to other teams such as the Jets (who went from 4-12 to 10-6 and made the postseason, but only a 6 game improvement and didn't win the division) and Philly (who went from last to first, but only improved 4 games from 6-10 to 10-6 in a weaker NFC).

 

[Bri]

Saints, simply never expected it.

I never cared for Boller so I thought McNair would improve the Ravens.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

The Saints weren't ever as bad as 3-13. They had the bad record due to the nomad existence they were forced into last season. Just having a place to call home was worth a few of those incremental wins.

So I'm choosing Baltimore.

 

[The Man Who Met Andy Griffith]

Ravens last year seemed like a good team in a down year; the Saints looked hopeless.

Also, the difference between 3-13 and 6-10 seems much bigger than the difference between 13-3 and 10-6.

 

[x260bm]

I thought the Ravens could go to the Super Bowl last year. They were 9-7 the year before and I really liked what they did in the off-season that year. They were defiantly my most disappointing team last year. I expected them to be a lot better this year.

The Saints on the other hand, were in my opinion, a mediocre team headed south. I don’t think they would have been any better without the hurricane. They were just flat out bad. I thought they would be just as bad this year too.

The Saints get my vote.

 

[Statorama]

Saints look like a different team from the top down. They've laid the foundation for some great times ahead.

 

[BGP]

Well the data suggests the Saints are not nearly as good as given credit for.

Efficiency is yards divided points (scored and allowed). Here is the 2007 playoff field:

AFC

sdg 12.17 O, 15.92 D

bal 14.65 O, 21.02 D

ind 14.42 O, 14.76 D

nwe 14.44 O, 19.87 D

nyj 16.11 O, 17.99 D

kan 16.27 O, 16.70 D

NFC

chi 12.56 O, 18.45 D

nor 15.46 O, 15.27 D

phi 15.81 O, 16.00 D

sea 15.80 O, 15.50 D

dal 14.12 O, 14.76 D

nyg 15.21 O, 15.14 D

The Saints have sort of inverted efficiencies. That is, any good club is going to have a higher defensive efficiency number than offensive efficiency number. Its pretty rare to see them invert like that for ANY playoff team, much less one that got a BYE. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Perhaps the NFC is so weak is a reason, but realistically the Saints should be more like 8-8, not 10-6 and the #2 seed.

The Ravens, however, have numbers indicitive of super bowl champions. In other words, their improvement in their win/loss record is more legit to me.

I vote Ravens.

 

[KiddLattimer]

I think the Ravens were a good team last year, they just got hit hard with the injury bug. If they stayed healthy they could have gone something slightly above average, 9-7 or so. Take what they did this year compared to a 9-7 record and its not that big of a jump.

The Saints got a LOT better, regardless of what they do in the playoffs, so they get my vote.

 

[omally]

The Saints got better on offense, defense, and with coaching. The Ravens got better offensively, although they started out very slow on offense. Their defense had injuries last year, and their offense kept them on the field a lot, but they weren't bad last year. I think the Saints are most improved.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

The Saints have sort of inverted efficiencies. That is, any good club is going to have a higher defensive efficiency number than offensive efficiency number. Its pretty rare to see them invert like that for ANY playoff team, much less one that got a BYE. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Perhaps the NFC is so weak is a reason, but realistically the Saints should be more like 8-8, not 10-6 and the #2 seed.

The Ravens, however, have numbers indicitive of super bowl champions. In other words, their improvement in their win/loss record is more legit to me.

I vote Ravens.

Also you have to figure that the Ravens, with the Bengals (defending division champs) and the Steelers (defending NFL champs) in their division, weren't playoff favorites. Thirteen wins later and they've earned a bye in the good conference. Has any team ever had a bye with only ten wins?