Roddy White has thrown down the gauntlet. The Atlanta Falcons wide receiver believes his undefeated team can turn 8-0 into 16-0.
"I think we got the pedigree to do it," White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "You know how we are on offense and defense and how we are as a team. This locker room's very, very united right now. Every week, we expect to win. There's not a time that I felt like we went into a ballgame (so) far this year that I felt like we (weren't) going to win."
The defense isn't dominant but allows just 17.9 points per game, fourth in the NFL. The Falcons aren't covering up a major weakness.
Can they do it? Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins have registered a perfect season. The 2007 New England Patriots were the most recent team to go undefeated through the regular season, but that team was bounced by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
The Falcons have won a handful of tight games in recent weeks, but nobody's really tested them. They knocked off the Denver Broncos in Week 2, but three additional wins have come against a weak AFC West. The meat of the Falcons' schedule is ahead, with two games each against the improving New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New York Giants come to town in Week 15.
The undefeated chatter is window dressing. Under coach Mike Smith, the Falcons have learned how to succeed in the regular season. January has been their poison. Unless that changes two months from now, none of this will matter.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
