MVN - Most Valuable Network

Saints Face Must-Win Tonight vs. Falcons

The last time New Orleans and Atlanta met on a Monday night, the rebirth of a city hung in the balance.  Tonight, the playoff hopes of a consistently inconsistent Saints squad are at stake. 

At 5-7, the Saints still have some life in the seemingly always mediocre NFC wildcard race.  More likely than not, a 9-7 or 8-8 team will manage to secure the final playoff spot when it’s all said and done.  A win tonight would give them the motivation they need heading into the final three games of the season. 

But as the saying goes, New Orleans should be looking at their season “one game at a time,” and it starts tonight with a matchup against the struggling Falcons.

The Saints have won their past three games against Atlanta, sweeping them last season and disposing of them in the Super Dome earlier this season 22-16. 

If tradition holds true, Saints fans should expect at least one big play from Devery Henderson against the Dirty Birds.  Earlier this season, it was a 37-yard strike to open the scoring for the black-and-gold.  In the home opener last season, Henderson took double reverse 11-yards for a score and in Week 12 of last season, the former LSU standout burned CB Dante Hall for a 73-yard score in the first three minutes of the game.

For some reason, Henderson plays well against the Falcons.  The Saints will need him to continue that trend tonight.

With the loss of RB Reggie Bush, the Saints are going to rely even more on the pass. That means Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Henderson will see a lot of balls flying in their direction.

Also figured to see a spike in touches tonight is rookie running back Pierre Thomas.  A fan favorite since the preseason, Thomas will likely split carries with veteran Aaron Stecker against a generally tough Falcons run defense.

It seems rather unusual to say, but where New Orleans will have an advantage tonight against Atlanta is on defense. 

Falcons coach Bobby Petrino inserted NFL journey-man Chris Redman into the starting lineup at quarterback earlier this week after the 30-year old tossed two late touchdown passes against the Rams a week ago. 

Look for the Saints to pressure Redman as much as possible to try and force turnovers.  Perhaps as a representation of his dreadlocks, Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie has had predator-like instinct this season and will undoubtedly be looking for his third pick-6 of the year.

The Saints run defense has been strong this season and will face an established runner in Warrick Dunn tonight.  Shutting him down should be priority No. 1 for New Orleans. 

If the Falcons can’t establish the run, they will be forced to rely on Redman to air it out—a strategy that should have the Saints licking their chops as much as the inmates of the prison newly sentenced Michael Vick will walk into. 

Ultimately, the Saints have too much talent and too much motivation to lose this game.  The hapless Falcons might pose some early resistance, but will eventually fold under the shiny lights of Monday Night Football. 

Saints win 38-14.      

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 2:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.