Falcons' wide receiver Roddy White: We have "the pedigree" to go 16-0

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. The Atlanta Falcons are starting to get questions about perfection and wide receiver Roddy White says the team "has the pedigree" to run the table.

The Falcons (8-0) have gotten off to the best start in franchise history, but lineman Tyson Clabo points out that they're still only halfway through the regular season, with a number of tough games still to come. That includes a trip to New Orleans on Sunday, plus a December game against the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

As Clabo says, "Statistically, the chances of that are really slim."

But other players sound more confident about becoming only the second team in NFL history to go 16-0 before the playoffs. Center Todd McClure says "there's no reason" the Falcons can't do it.

As for White, he says he thinks the Falcons "have the pedigree" to go 16-0.

"How we are on offense and defense and how we are as a team," White added. "This locker room is very united right now. Every week, we expect to win. There is not a team that I felt like when we went into a ball game this year that we didn't feel like we were going to win. I think we can (go undefeated.) We just still have to be consistent, don't turn over the ball and get turnovers. That's been the key to winning games all over the league this year. If we can continue to do that, we'll be just fine."

The only team the Falcons play down the stretch with a winning record is the Giants. But the team must still play the Lions, Buccaneers (twice) and the Saints (twice).

CBSSports.com's Will Brinson says White's comments are not an actual "guarantee" of an undefeated season, just a reflection of the team's sustained success under head coach Mike Smith.

"Considering Atlanta doesn't have a single playoff win under Mike Smith, 'pedigree' sounds strange there," Brinson writes. "But White is correct: this team hasn't won less than nine games under Smith and has made the playoffs three of four years (and it will be four of five almost for certain this season)."