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
Falcons Key Defensive Starter
Saints Key Offensive Starter
Head to Head
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.
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