New Orleans Saints Review

After beating the Atlanta Falcons 35-27 back on November 2, the unbeaten Saints will look to sweep the season series against the dirty birds this Sunday in the Georgia Dome.  The Saints have already clinched the NFC South, but a win would ensure at least a two game lead in the race for home field advantage in the conference.  It would also give them a franchise-record 13th win this season.

For the Falcons, this game is all about survival.  A loss here puts their already slim playoff hopes just about out of reach.  Atlanta’s two star offensive players, quarterback Matt Ryan (turf toe) and running back Michael Turner (ankle) may not play in this game.  The idea of Ryan coming back into the lineup this week has been tossed around, but there’s not been an official word as of this preview.  If Ryan is unable to go, veteran backup Chris Redman will start for the second straight week.

The Saints come into this game off of a difficult, yet victorious, battle in Washington.  It looks as though they’ll be without their top 2 cornerbacks as Tracy Porter still nurses a knee and Jabari Greer had sports hernia surgery earlier this week. Linebacker Scott Fujita is also not expected to play.

The banged-up Saints defense must find a way to create pressure, no matter who plays quarterback for the Falcons.  Matt Ryan’s mobility should be limited due to his injury, and Chris Redman is a step down from Ryan in every sense.  Last week in Washington, Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was given too much time in the pocket and was able to find receivers down the field.  This is an area where the Saints have excelled for most of the season.  They’ll need to turn it back up a notch against Atlanta.

On offense, the Saints should be able to move the ball (how about that for the understatement of the year?).  Atlanta’s defense hasn’t been very good in 2009.  They rank 23rd in points (23.2), 28th in yards (374.4), 29th against the pass (254.7) and 23rd against the run (119.8).  It’s a safe bet that Sean Payton will mix up his play calls and keep this struggling defense on their heels.

Keys to the Game:
1. Pressure - The Saints defense has been so successful this year in pressuring the quarterback and forcing turnovers.  That didn’t happen last week in Washington.  Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will want to bring the heat on whomever plays QB for the Falcons.

2. Soften them up – If the Saints offense can establish the running game early, it will make that already-weak secondary of Atlanta bite on play action.  And nobody does play action better than Drew Brees.  There could be a lot of big plays down the field.

3. Don’t let them breathe – Turnovers and lazy penalties by New Orleans are the Falcons’ best chance at winning this game.  The Saints can’t allow any freebies.

4. Keep the passion – How have they won 12 in a row?  They’ve been up for every game and every situation.  Nothing has kept this team down.  If they continue to play with that fire, Atlanta’s not going to stop them.

5. Keep kicking, Garrett - Maybe this game won’t come down to a field goal, but kicker Garrett Hartley must show that he deserves the chance to play for this team.  He had a great performance in his first game, now he must prove that he can do it on a weekly basis.

Prediction: Saints 34 – Falcons 17

Rating:

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.