"They're good at every skill position," said Brady, a connoisseur of delectable offenses. "They have a great quarterback, some great receivers, and a running game that really complements their passing game."

With Brady putting up unworldly numbers - 50 touchdown passes vs. just eight interceptions among them - the '07 Pats powerhouse set the NFL single-season record by scoring 589 points while going 16-0 in the regular season. They rolled up 6,580 total yards (the league record is 7,075 yards, by the Rams in 2000).

As the Saints - 8-0 for the first time ever - prepare to kick off the second half of the season against the Rams (1-7) on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome, they've amassed 303 points and 3,415 yards. Double those totals, and you have projections of 606 and 6,830, respectively.

Yet coach Sean Payton is not satisfied.

"I know that we can play better - we're going to have to play better," he said. "We've been fortunate the last few weeks to come out of those games with wins."

Never mind that:

- The Saints have topped 30 points in four consecutive games to match a franchise record.

- Or that they're averaging a league-best 426.9 yards a game - some 17? more than the runner-up Pats.

- Or that their 37.9-point average is more than a touchdown better than second-place Minnesota.

- Or that they're prevailing by an average of more than 16 points a game in a league in which most contests are decided by a touchdown or less.

"That's scary for the rest of the league, that they can play better," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "They're explosive, and they've got a lot of weapons."

A full arsenal

The '07 Patriots had quite an arsenal, too, starting with Brady. He'd already been fitted for three Super Bowl rings, following the 2001, '03 and '04 seasons. Still, he had his best year in '07.

In addition to his record-breaking number of TD passes, Brady, 30 years old at the time, posted league highs in completion percentage (68.9), total passing yards (4,806), passing yards per game (300.4) and passer rating (117.2). He was named the league's most valuable player.

Except for touchdown passes, Saints quarterback Drew Brees, 30, is compiling comparable stats. He's completing 68.3 percent of his passes and his rating is 106.1, plus he's on pace to throw for 4,672 yards, or 292 a game.

Asked to assess his quarterback, Payton said, "Exceptional athlete ... very, very thorough in his preparation ... decides and delivers very quickly ... extremely accurate."

St. Louisan Laurence Maroney was New England's leading rusher in 2007, with 835 yards. The Saints get the edge in this category, as Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell already have combined for 864 yards on the ground.

Brady had four primary targets in '07: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney. They combined for 292 receptions and 3,184 yards.

Brees also relies heavily on a quartet of receivers: Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem. They're on pace for 220 catches and 3,496 yards.

"They don't give you any margin for error," Rams defensive coordinator Ken Flajole said. "And that's why they are undefeated."

16-0 possible?

Since the NFL merged with the American Football League in 1970, only two teams have finished the regular season with a perfect mark: the 14-0 Miami Dolphins in 1972 and the 16-0 Patriots in 2007.

While Don Shula's Dolphins rolled on to win Super Bowl VII, the Pats 25 years later were derailed, after two playoff wins, by the New York Giants, for whom Spagnuolo was serving as defensive coordinator.

The Giants stifled the high-octane Pats, pulling out a 17-14 victory after entering the game as two-touchdown underdogs.

The Saints and Indianapolis Colts are the lone remaining unbeatens this year. And though it flies in the face of the NFL's one-game-at-a-time mantra, Brees acknowledges that he can't resist wondering at times whether the Saints also can accomplish 16-0.

But only briefly.

"The thought has crossed my mind," Brees said. "But it's not something that I ever think for more than about two seconds. We're 8-0 and that feels great, but it certainly doesn't promise us anything moving forward. (Nobody is) going to walk in the stadium and throw up the white flag when they play us.

"In fact, it's the opposite. We're going to get everybody's best performance, everybody's best game. We've got to understand that we've got a bull's-eye on our chest."

Just as the '07 Patriots did when Spagnuolo's improbable shot found the center of the target.