Right now, the Saints are the most explosive team in the NFL at 10-0, and while the Colts share the same record, it's become obvious New Orleans has taken the title as the most dangerous offense in the league -- a tagline once used by those very same Colts and, at least in 2007, the Patriots.

"They are good at everything," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "They don't make many mistakes. They cause a lot of problems. They're very explosive. They can put up a lot of points in a hurry and they have. It's hard to give them any more compliments than that.

"They kind of look, in some ways, a little bit like the Rams did back in 2001 with a player like (Reggie) Bush similar to (Marshall) Faulk -- a guy who could come out of the backfield, and split out and be a receiver, but line up in the backfield and be a running back. Players like that are just rare -- very hard to match up with -- and give an offense a dimension that you just don't see during the course of the year."

Oddly enough, the comparisons to the '01 Rams might be somewhat outdated given how prolific the Saints have been through 10 weeks. This is a team that could break the scoring record set by the '07 Patriots and realistically challenge them in a bid to become just the second team in league history to finish 16-0.

"I've talked about the Rams and I've talked about the Chargers in the early '80s, but these guys can run with anybody," Belichick said.

"What's more important to us right now is this game, and our season, and how we do in 2009 and how we do this week against the Saints. It's a big game and we know it's against as good a team as there is in the National Football League this year. They're certainly going to be in it all the way through and they should be; they are outstanding, so it will be a great test for us to kind of see where we're at against as good a team as there is in football."

The way Belichick sees it, this game is a measuring stick and perhaps a chance for the Patriots to pick up the signature road win that's evaded them all season. This would be a way to silence some of the doubters and firmly establish them as one of the top five teams in the NFL.

There's no doubt the Patriots can compete, but they've yet to get over the hump in a hostile environment. In fact, they let late leads slip away in Denver and Indianapolis, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle it Monday if they're on top late in the game.

The bottom line is for all the talk about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, there's no question the Saints admire what the Patriots have done through the years and they've managed to duplicate some of that success this season. Whether they can surpass the standard set by the '07 Patriots will be determined Monday night.

"You've just got to be sound, be solid across the board, and hope you can hold up and they make it tough on you," Belichick said. "To me, it's easy to see why they haven't lost; they are very good at everything."

SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular-season meeting. Patriots lead series 8-3. The Patriots have won each of the last three games against the Saints dating back to 1998. Prior to that, the Saints won three in a row between 1989 and 1995. Interestingly enough, the Patriots have won all three regular-season games between the two teams played at the Superdome.