Week Ten Preview: Saints Look to Fly Over the Falcons

Kyle T. MosleyNov 6, 2008

Who would have ever thought nine weeks into the NFL season that the Atlanta Falcons would be one game better than the New Orleans Saints? That’s the case as we stand heading into the Saints-Falcons week 10 battle, as the 5-3 Falcons get ready for a Georgia Dome showdown with the Saints in what should be a solid NFC South battle.
The 4-4 Saints have had their issues with injuries as well as inconsistent play throughout the first half of the season. They have all the firepower in the world on offense, but for whatever reason they can’t seem to get over the top in this division. They will still be without Reggie Bush, meaning that Deuce McAllister will likely have to carry the load again in the running game.
Won’t matter. Drew Brees is a top 2-3 choice right now for MVP, and their offense goes where he goes. If Brees has a big game, the Saints are in a much better position to win, like two weeks ago in London against the Chargers. That day he was 30-for-41 for 339 yards and three TDs. It won’t be that easy against the Falcons, who are playing solid on defense.

As far as Atlanta goes, they will look to use Michael Turner early and often to keep the high powered Saints offense off the field. Turner was stuggling a few weeks back, but they then had a road trip to Oakland, which cured them in a hurry after a 24-0 win. Turner and QB Matt Ryan both had solid days, and against a beat up Saints D, they should be able to exploit them.
The Saints defense is 24th in the league, giving up 346.6 yards per game. The 7th ranked Falcons offense should be able to move the ball on them. On the other hand, same goes for the Saints, who have the #1 ranked offense in the NFL. With the Falcons and their 16th ranked D, this has all the makings of a shootout.
At home, the Falcons are playing well, and with Matty Ice and company playing good on offense, look for the Falcons to move to three games over .500 at 6-3.