Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints Week 9 Preview

The Big 'Un. Saints Hate week. As Falcons legendary wide receiver Roddy White once said “I don’t like nothing about the Saints. The colors. The city. Nothing. But they’ve got some good food, though. Other than the food, nothing.” Simply put we can't stand each other.

No two games mean more to the Atlanta Falcons fan base then our two games every year against our greatest rival the New Orleans Saints. Although we have an all time record of 53-51 vs. the Saints, recent times haven't been kind to us with the Saints winning 6 of the last 7 encounters. The big news coming out of New Orleans is that the Saints quarterback Jameis Winston will miss the remainder of the 2021 season after suffering a torn ACL early on in their very impressive 36-27 win over divisional foes and reigning Superbowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Taking over at Quarterback for the Saints should be Trevor Siemian. The former Broncos Quarterback got his opportunity to replace Winston last week due to a concussion that ruled out Taysom Hill. Hill is back in limited practice this week but it is hard to envisage Siemian being benched. Siemian done a decent job as a game manager completing 16 of his 29 passes for 159 yards (1 passing touchdown and 0 interceptions). Hill could be useful as a read option threat in the rush game for New Orleans.

The Falcons are coming off a disappointing 19-13 home loss against a mediocre Carolina Panthers team. Calvin Ridley has announced he is taking time off to get himself better. I wish him the best and hope he is getting the support he deserves from the franchise and fans alike. We do seem to have played better on the road this year going 3-1 if you include London as opposed to 0-3 at home. We also score an average of 8.5 more points per game on the road. This in addition to the Saints conceding an average of 12 points more per game at home (27.0 per game at home vs. 14.8 on the road) should give the Falcons optimism they can cause an upset at Caesars Superdome.

Falcons Key Offensive Starter







Running Back: Cordarelle Patterson: Patterson has been the Falcons offensive MVP through 7 games. He played only 60% of the snaps on offense last week vs. the Carolina Panthers which isn't enough given Calvin Ridleys absence. He has delivered this season when lined up out wide or as a running back. PFF have him ranked as their #2 running back this season with a 87.7 overall rating.

Saints Key Defensive Starter


Defensive End: Cameron Jordan: Jordan always brings his A game vs. the Falcons as shown by him accumulating 7 sacks in his last 3 encounters with Atlanta. Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary has struggled a lot with him and he hasn't faired much better against other competion earning a poor 53.9 pass blocking grade from PFF making him their #64 ranked tackle. Jordan ranks as PFF's #16 ranked Edge Defender this season with a 79.0 overall rating.

Falcons Key Defensive Starter


Defensive Tackle: Grady Jarrett: Whilst many Falcons defenders would be better suited to playing in the Irish gridiron league; Jarrett on his day is a top 10 defensive tackle who impresses no matter who is beside him on the line. He has a PFF pass rush grade of 71.9. The injury to Dante Fowler Jr has proven to be a big one for the Falcons. Between underperforming rushing the passer, being thin at edge rusher and going up against  arguably the best tackle tandem in the NFL in Ryan Ramczyk and Terron Armstead; Jarrett will need a big game inside if they are to pressure Siemian.

Saints Key Offensive Starter


Running Back: Alvin Kamara: The Saints don't have an elite pass catcher in Michael Thomas absence so expect them to ride the one two punch of Kamara and Ingram early and often. The Mark Ingram trade lightened the load for Kamara last week. Kamara has only 2 total touchdowns vs Atlanta in 8 outings but has averaged 5.46 yards per carry in his last 5 meetings with the Falcons defence. He has been a thorn in the Falcons side on the ground.

Head to Head

The Falcons offense as a whole has shown signs of improvement under Arthur Smith but they only average a disappointing 21.1 points per game which ranks 21st in the NFL. It is hard to see Atlanta scoring regularly on the NFLs 4th best scoring defence; a Saints unit that has only conceded 18.3 points per game. The Falcons need to protect Matt Ryan. In their last 3 games vs. New Orleans he has been sacked a staggering 20 times. 

The offensive gameplan from the Saints will be clear; they rushed 32 times last week for 151 yards and this week face a Falcons defence reeling after giving up 203 rushing yards on 47 attempts vs. Carolina last Sunday. 

Key Match Up

Falcons Defensive line vs Saints Offensive Line

If the Falcons are to win or atleast keep the game competitive they must stop the run and make Trevor Siemian beat them with his arm. If they can force the Saints into obvious passing downs it will allow them to try and run different blitzes which is the only way a Falcons pass rush averaging a league worst 1.4 sacks a game may get home.

Prediction

I think the Falcons will keep it close for 2-3 quarters but the Saints will have too much for them in the trenches and will ultimately pull away to win by 10+. Winning upfront will be the formula for New Orleans. 

Falcons 13-26 Saints.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

4 Wide Receiver Free Agents the Atlanta Falcons should consider signing

Atlanta Falcons 15-29 Buffalo Bills: Bills eliminate Falcons from playoff contention

New Orleans Saints 30-20 Atlanta Falcons: Dreadful Falcons fold like a cheap suit