New Orleans Saints Review

D. Orlando Ledbetter is the Falcons beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions about the Dirty Birds, their struggles this season and the NFC playoff picture.  You can check out his Atlanta Falcons blog right here.

1. The 2009 Falcons remind me a little bit of the 2007 Saints.  Both teams were coming off of surprising playoff runs and have had letdowns afterwards. In your opinion, what has caused the Falcons to struggle this season?
They got off to a 4-1 start, but teams seem to catch up to what they were doing. Also, they’ve played a brutal schedule, facing four teams that were coming off of bye weeks. The tough schedule coupled with a maturing young quarterback has hurt their efforts up to this points. Also, a rash of injuries lately has not been helpful to their efforts.

2. What areas do the Falcons need to improve upon?
The defensive secondary has struggled for most of the year in allowing big players. They have not played well in man to man coverage and John Abraham has not been the same player who registered 16.5 sacks last season.

3. I imagine that people in Atlanta are probably tired of hearing about him, but did the crowd reaction to Michael Vick on Sunday surprise you?
No, I was not surprised. He was very popular here and a lot of people believe he paid his debt to society.

4. There is talk of Matt Ryan coming back to play this week against New Orleans.  Just how bad is his toe injury, and how effective can he be?
I know that he going to try to play, but the turf toe isn’t an injury to mess around with. If he comes back too soon he could further damage his foot and possibly lead to surgery. We suspect that it’s a second degree sprain based on the analysis of the symptom and that they are treating it aggressively.

5. What do you think the keys to Sunday’s game are from a Falcons  perspective?
Getting healthy. Without Ryan and Turner they don’t’ have a chance. Both had strong games in the previous meeting on Nov. 2. Turner ran for 151 yards and Ryan passed for 289, including a 68-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White. If they are not healthy, the game will take on the tone of a scrimmage.

6. Looking at the big picture in the NFC, do you think the Falcons have a realistic chance of getting a Wild Card berth?
They are still in the race and the NFC East teams will knock each other off. It would help them if Green Bay collapses down the stretch. If they can get healthy and stun the Saints they will likely be on their way back to the playoffs. They finish with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

7. What are your impressions of the Saints this year?
Very enjoyable to watch. The emergence of the running game has been the key to their success along with the improvements on defense, a healthy Will Smith and the play of Darren Sharper.

8. Besides the Saints and Vikings, are there any other teams who have a shot to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl?
The defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals should not be overlooked. They trounced the Vikings last Sunday night have a potent offense that could keep up with the Saints.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.