Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints Battle in the NFC South Belongs To The Birds

This weekend, when the Atlanta Falcons travel to take on the New Orleans Saints, the two best teams in the NFC South will face off. The NFL latest sports betting line posted by BetMania has the Saints listed as 3.5 point favorites over the Falcons.

The Saints are defending NFC as well as Superbowl champions and have started the year off on the right foot going 2-0. Their latest victory was against the San Francisco 49ers last Monday night, as the Saints won the game in the last minutes, but it came with a price.

Running back and special team’s specialist Reggie Bush was injured and broke a bone in his leg. He will not be available in this game, putting a dent in the Saints special teams that can not be buffed out.

Bush is also useful as a pass receiver out of the backfield with the potential to break off a big play. The Saints will certainly miss his punt return ability and the 8.3 average return that comes with it.

While he is important to this team, the Saints offense will still be able to score. But is it enough to beat Atlanta?

The Falcons cannot fall flat in this game if they want to compete for the NFC crown. They are 1-1 on the season; they lost an overtime game in Pittsburgh and hammered the Cardinals at home in week 2 . They have the skill set and the personnel to win this game and hand the Saints their first loss of the season.

It all starts with quarterback Matt Ryan. Last week against the Cardinals he looked flawless, and he will be able to move the ball against a suspect Saints secondary.

The Saints pass defense ranks just 20th in the National Football League and they looked vulnerable against Alex Smith, who is not known as one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

Ryan and the Falcons offense will put up points but the defense will be the unit that will have to have a great game considering they are facing Drew Brees and the explosive offense of the Saints.

The Falcons defense was the main reason for concern in the offseason, but they have responded up to this point in the 2010 season. The pass defense is ranked 10th overall in the league and in total defense they rank 16th, with the Saints sitting in at 23rd.

The Saints have had some field goal issues as well. Garrett Hartley has already missed three field goals on the season and in a game that could come down to the wire, it could play a major role in this contest. This game will be fun to watch and one of the best match ups on the Sunday schedule.

The home team struggles in this series at 15-23 ATS in the last 38 meetings. New Orleans has floundered in 15 of its last 18 as division home favorites and is 21-30-1 ATS at the Superdome in the last 52 games. The Falcons are 18-9 ATS in the series when the total is 40 or greater and are 5-1 ATS when facing a team with a winning record.

The Falcons get the Saints in a short week and will pull off the upset in the Big Easy!

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Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews, and predictions. Feel Free to contact Matt at [e-mail]