Atlanta-New Orleans: Five Things Atlanta Needs to Do in Week 14

Sunday New Orleans welcomes Atlanta to town and hopes to serve up a little revenge for the convincing Week 10 loss to the Falcons in Atlanta.

Atlanta (8-4) is in the driver's seat for the sixth and final NFC playoff spot, but still must continue to win to maintain their positioning.

New Orleans (6-6) with a win will hold onto their slim, yet improbable, playoff hopes.

The Saints are 5-1 at home this season and on the heels of a disappointing road loss last week to Tampa they look to continue their home-dome dominance.

Reggie Bush, injured in Week 10, has returned to the lineup and hopes to continue the Saints' recent home-offensive output, averaging 40 points or more in their last three games in New Orleans.

They got some more good news on Friday when they learned that running back Deuce McAllister and defensive end Will Smith will be available following a preliminary injunction issued that will allow these players to be active for Sunday's game.

Atlanta, winners of six of their last eight games, look to keep up their winning ways, remain in the guaranteed playoff picture, and close the door on New Orleans' playoff aspirations on Sunday. If they accomplish these five things, there will be cause for a Falcons' celebration on Bourbon Street Sunday afternoon.

Start hot and control the tempo

At this point everyone knows Atlanta's one of the best first-quarter teams in the NFL. They are 6-0 when they score on the opening drive. The Falcons need to continue this trend and control the time of  possession for the entire game. Keeping the ball in Matt Ryan's hands means keeping it out of Drew Brees', thus limiting the Saints' offensive impact.

New Orleans' defense isn't very fierce and the Falcons expect to move the ball against them. The Saints' rank 24th against the pass, 19th against the run, and give up 25 points a game.

Atlanta converts third downs 44% of the time (9th in the league) and they should look to continue that trend, keeping drives alive, running the clock and keeping the New Orleans defense on its heels.

Controlling the tempo also includes holding the lead and coming out strong in the third quarter. Atlanta has allowed teams to get back into games in the third quarter and they need to limit that Sunday against one of the leagues top offenses. They must come out strong and maintain their first-half intensity.

Sack Drew Brees

The Saints will get their yards and they may get their points. Few defenses can shut this team out. Certainly no one expects the Falcons to, but they can have a repeat of their Week 10 performance. While Brees and the Saints gained 527 yards of offense, 422 of it through the air, they only scored 20 points.

Atlanta batted down 15 passes, had three interceptions, four quarterback hits and one sack against Brees. That kind of pressure confused him, interrupted his timing, and frustrated him.

The Falcons were able to control the running game and New Orleans had no choice but to go to the air. Atlanta was prepared and the Saints' offense looked largely inept for the majority of the game.

Surely defensive end John Abraham will be double-teamed, but the emergence last week of defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (1.5 sacks) is hopefully a harbinger of good things to come. If Jamaal Anderson can continue his improvement and find a way to record a sack, it could make for a long day on the New Orleans offensive side of the ball.

Limit turnovers

Last week Atlanta was able to escape with a win while turning over the ball three times. That was against another dangerous offensive team in San Diego, eighth in the league with 24.9 points a game. If they give New Orleans three turnovers to work with, Atlanta may not be so lucky two weeks in a row.

New Orleans is fourth in the league in total points (28.1) and with the extra time and possessions they could make Atlanta pay for not taking care of the football.

As mentioned before, if Atlanta takes care of the football, they're likely to score points. Scoring points and keeping the clock running limits New Orleans' possessions and opportunities. The Saints will score points. Atlanta needs to make sure the points being scored are not handed to New Orleans courtesy of turnovers.

Don't let Reggie Bush beat you

New Orleans running back Reggie Bush returned to action last week after sitting out since October 19 with knee surgery. He had little impact on the game, zero yards rushing on three carries and five receptions for 32 yards.

However, on the season, in the eight games he's played, he has eight touchdowns (three punt returns, three receiving, and two rushing). Bush is a dangerous player and his production will be weak side line backer Keith Brooking's responsibility.

Bush's explosive speed will be a tough assignment for the veteran Brooking. Even though he's missed four games, Bush is the Saints' second leading receiver with 47 receptions for 398 yards.

While Bush isn't expected to make an impact rushing the ball, his ability to play a role in the receiving game will need to be closely monitored.

Running back Pierre Thomas will likely get the bulk of the carries and look for New Orleans to find ways to get both players on the field at the same time. In Week 10, the Saints' running game was ineffective, partially due to the Falcons' play and partially due to New Orleans' abandoning it. Thomas averaged 4.3 yards a carry in that game and has came on strong as of late, averaging 4.9 yards a carry and three touchdowns in the last three games (he also added one receiving touchdown last week against Tampa).

If Bush is allowed to break off a few long runs in the return game, New Orleans will have a short-field with which to work and will likely prove to be difficult for Atlanta's bend-but-don't-break-style defense.

Remain physical

Atlanta imposed it's will on San Diego, limiting running back LaDainian Tomlinson to 24 yards on 14 carries, the second-lowest of his career. Falcons' running back Michael Turner carried the ball 31 times for 120 yards.

The defense sacked Chargers' quarterback Phillip Rivers three times and forced one fumble. In Week 10's match-up, the Atlanta defenders did a nice job jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage and interrupting the Saints' timing on passing routes.

Chris Houston, after struggling against Carolina's Steve Smith, bounced back last week. Houston had one interception against the Saints in Week 10 and another performance like that would go a long way toward ensuring a win. Houston will likely be covering receiver Marques Colston who had 140 yards from seven catches in the previous match-up.

Houston, undersized at 5'11" against the 6'4" Colston, must remain physical with the receiver off the line of scrimmage, but will also need help from the Falcons' secondary. Safety Erik Coleman, battling a quad injury, is expected to play but rookie Thomas DeCoud is also likely to see extensive time. Atlanta's secondary needs to keep a close eye on Colston and tackle him quickly.