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Ultimate Preview: Saints at Falcons
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 07, 2008
DETONATE THE EXPLOSIONS
Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t believe in the old “four yards and a cloud of dust” theory to offensive football.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Devery Henderson and the Saints lead the NFL is passing plays over 20 yards.
GAME DAY BREAKDOWN
- SAINTS AT FALCONS • 1 p.m., Sunday • FOX • 92.9 FM
- Favorite: Even
- Series record: Falcons lead 43-34
- Last meeting: Saints 34, Falcons 14, Dec. 10, 2007
- Last week: Saints had bye week, beat Chargers 37-32 in Week 8; Falcons beat Raiders 24-0
RELATED STORIES • More Falcons
He wants to gash defenses for 20, 30 and 40 yards at a time. The Saints look for the big play first, not just on third-and-long when teams are expecting it.
“Our offense is pretty aggressive,” New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said. “We call a lot of those plays and if they are there we take advantage of them.”
The Saints pay lip service to the run game. In reality, they’d rather have Brees bombing away for four quarters. They run barely enough to keep a defense honest.
“We always talk about opportunities in the run game, but a lot of it just depends on how a defense plans to defend us,” Brees said. “We always go into a game saying that we want to be balanced.”
Yeah, right.
The Saints have run 206 times and thrown it 304 times. They lead the league with 34 passing plays of 20 yards or more, including 11 plays of 40 yards or more.
“We’ll do whatever is working,” said Brees, who leads the league in passing yards with 2,563.
HAUL IN HENDERSON
New Orleans receiver Devery Henderson has blinding speed. He ran track and played football at LSU.
If the Falcons secondary blinks, he’ll speed past.
Henderson has catches of 84, 81, 54, 52 and 51 yards this season.
Henderson had a 37-yard touchdown against the Falcons last season and a 76-yard touchdown against them in 2006.
“Defensively, we’re starting to be dangerous because we can play seven-man spacing and not use the safeties down (in the box) and play real good coverage in the back,” Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy said. “When you can do that against NFL teams it only makes you better.”
CAN ABRAHAM GET TO BREES?
The Falcons will move defensive end John Abraham around. He has recorded seven of his sacks from right end and three from left end.
If Brees doesn’t know where he’s coming from, maybe Abraham can get a rare sack of Brees.
Because of his quick release and short pass drops, Brees has only been sacked seven times this season.
“He knows every area of the field,” Abraham said. “Even if he’s pressured, he always has an escape route or somewhere else where he can throw to and get the ball away.”
The Saints plan on keeping track of Abraham.
“He’s got a tremendous (take) off,” Payton said. “He plays the edge well. His strength and speed serve him well.
“Right now when you watch him play, he’s having a Pro Bowl season. He’s someone that you really have to account for on every play and be mindful of how you are going to block him.”
BURNER VS. VILMA
Falcons running back Michael Turner got back on track last week, rushing for 139 yards on 31 carries against Oakland.
The Saints held some the league’s top rushers — Washington’s Clinton Portis, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson and San Francisco’s Frank Gore — to under 100 yards. San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson (105 yards) is the lone back to rush for more than 100 yards against the Saints.
Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, acquired in a offseason trade with the New York Jets, anchors the Saints run defense.
“Vilma is a playmaker,” Turner said. “He’s been known for making plays every since he was in college. He’s playing well.”
Vilma leads the Saints with 85 tackles and has an interception.
“He’s been a big addition for us,” Payton said. “He’s someone that’s very intelligent. He’s healthy now and understands what we are doing from a scheme standpoint. It’s been a good fit for us and for Jonathan.”
IS RYAN READY FOR A SHOOTOUT?
New Orleans’ pass defense is lacking. They give up 237.3 yards per game, which ranks 25th (of 32) in the league.
If Brees gets hot, rookie quarterback Matt Ryan could find himself in a shootout.
“The game is going to dictate what we have to do,” Ryan said.
Wide receiver Roddy White knows that teams have been able to throw on the Saints. They have given up 29 pass plays of 20 yards or more.
“They give up some explosive plays so we are going to go out there and try to get some explosive plays,” White said.
But, surprisingly, White doesn’t want an all-out shootout with the Saints.
“I don’t want it to be a shootout,” White said. “When you get in shootouts anybody can win those. I want to get out there and run the ball with Mike Turner and keep it away from Drew Brees.”
NOTES: The Saints have a four-game winning streak in the series, sweeping the Falcons in 2006 and ‘07. The Falcons won both games in 2005. … The Saints will be looking for their first two-game winning streak of the season. … The game matches Atlanta’s top-rated rushing attack against New Orleans’ top-rated passing attack. … Even though the Falcons have a run-first offense and the Saints have the league’s most prolific passing attack, the leading receiver entering the game is Atlanta’s Roddy White, who has 48 catches for 733 yards and five TDs. RB Reggie Bush leads the Saints with 42 catches. … RB Michael Turner has four games with more than 100 yards rushing this season.
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