1. The no spin zone. While Atlanta rap mogul T.I. is the King of the South, Saints’ coach Sean Payton is the King of the NFC South.
The Saints, all with Payton in charge, have won seven division titles since the NFC South was formed in 2002. They are going for an unprecedented fourth divisional title in row this season.
While T.I. owes Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, the winningest quarterback in franchise history, an apology. The Falcons have plenty of issues, but quarterback play is not one of them.
The Panthers, who have five NFC South titles, won three in a row from 2013 to 2015.
The Falcons have four NFC South titles and Tampa Bay has three.
Only Tampa Bay (Super Bowl XXXVIII) and the New Orleans (Super Bowl XLIV) have gone on to win the Super Bowl out of the NFC South.
Carolina lost Super Bowl XXXVII and Super Bowl 50, while the Falcons dropped Super Bowl 51.
Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris is no stranger to the NFC South. He was with Tampa Bay as an assistant coach (2007-2008) and as their head coach (2009-2011).
He went to the NFC East with the Washington Football Team (2012-2014) before returning to the NFC South with the Falcons in 2015.
While head coach at Tampa Bay, Morris went 3-3 against Payton and the Saints.
In 2009, his 3-13 team loss to the Saints 38-7 on Nov. 22 and beat them 20-17 in overtime on Dec. 27.
In the 2010 season, the Bucs went 10-6 and loss to the Saints 31-6 on Oct. 17 and beat them 23-13 on Jan. 2, 2011.
Finally, in the 2011 season, the Bucs beat the Saints 26-20 on Oct. 16 and then lost 27-16 on Nov. 6, 2011.
It’s been quarterback Drew Brees and Payton since 2006 together in New Orleans, except for the Bounty Gate suspension year of 2012. While Brees is injured, the Falcons are still very concerned about the Saints.
“You’re going against a very well-coached Sean Payton offense, with (offensive coordinator) Pete Carmichael,” Morris said. “Those two guys have done a great job of putting together gameplans for whoever they’re going to play. We saw them do it last year with Teddy Bridgewater, and now they will be challenged with the same thing again this year.”
Credit: AJC
The Falcons are preparing for Jameis Winston and perhaps a heavier doses of Taysom Hill, the Saints running quarterback, who also lines up at tight end, wide receiver and running back.
“We know they’re going to come ready to play,” Morris said.
Morris has experience trying to defend the Saints. He moved over to defense last season after the bye week and the defense came up big in a 26-9 victory over the Saints.
The Falcons, who’ve had trouble sacking Brees, sacked him six times last season. It was the most times the Falcons had sacked Brees over 29 games.
“The one thing with Sean, he does a phenomenal job of giving people roles on their offense,” Morris said. “We’ve seen all the way back from Reggie Bush now to (Alvin) Kamara, from Drew Brees to Drew Brees to Teddy Bridgewater, and from Marques Colston to Michael Thomas, so we’ve seen those guys give people roles that they can succeed in.”
The Falcons won NFC South titles in 2004, 2010, 2012 and 2016 under three different coaches. Payton has all seven of the Saints’ titles.
“He’s done a great job over the last whatever amount of years he’s been the head coach down in New Orleans, it feels like forever,” Morris said. “They just do a great job of putting those people in those roles and giving those guys things they can do.”
Morris hopes the Falcons made good use of the bye week to get prepared for Payton and the Saints.
2. Series history. This will be the 102nd regular-season meeting. The Falcons lead the series, 52-49.
3. Ridley watch. Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who suffered a mid-foot sprain against the Panthers on Oct. 29, is trying to make it back to face the Saints.
He ran off to the side with the trainers on Monday, Morris noted.
“We should have a better feel for him on Wednesday, getting him in here, getting him into individual drills, getting him into a little bit of team work and see how he goes, talking him through it and just seeing where he’s at little by little, step by step in order to get him to Sunday and see if we can get him going,” Morris said.
Ridley, who is tied for the team lead with 43 receptions with Julio Jones, didn’t play in the 34-27 win over Denver a Sunday ago. He leads the Falcons with 657 yards receiving and six touchdown catches.
The Falcons, who face the Saints at 1 p.m. Sunday at New Orleans' Mercedes-Benz Superdome, hope to be at full strength offensively.
With Ridley out against the Broncos, backup receivers Olamide Zaccheaus, Brandon Powell and Christian Blake all caught passes. Zaccheaus caught a 51-yard touchdown pass and Powell had his first career touchdown catch.
4. Blitz City. With Morris at interim head coach, the Falcons are blitzing more on defense. They had one sack and nine quarterback hits against the Broncos.
With Dante Fowler on the reserve/COVID-19 list and Takk McKinley in Cincinnati, the Falcons’ original 2020 rush-plan had to be scuttled.
“I think we’ve been doing a good job of getting after the quarterback, making him make untimely throws and getting in his way,” linebacker Deion Jones said. “I feel like we still have been making it happen.”
Jones, linebacker Foye Oluokun, nickel back Isaiah Oliver and strong safety Keanu Neal are the main blitzers. The Falcons should also give Charles Harris (two sacks) some shots to rush from defensive end.
“It’s awesome,” Jones said of the attacking style. “Did a good bit of learning on the run. Learning technique and the mechanics that come with being a blitzer, having active hands. Other than that, it’s been awesome, something new to learn, something that you can add to the stat sheet.”
Jones will have some coverage responsibilities that include running back Alvin Kamara, but he’s looking forward to his blitzes.
“I got a couple of blitzes last season and they liked what they saw so I’m doing a little bit more now,” Jones said.
Credit: AJC
5. Treadwell on COVID-19 list. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell on Tuesday became the 12th Falcons player placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
Treadwell, a former first-round pick by the Vikings, was signed by the Falcons in March. He spent training camp and the exhibition season with the Falcons before getting cut. He was re-signed to the practice squad where he’s been for the past 10 weeks.
The others are Fowler, defensive linemen John Cominsky, Marlon Davidson and Tyeler Davison, defense backs A.J. Terrell, Jamal Carter, Chris Cooper and Jaylinn Hawkins, quarterback Danny Etling, fullback Keith Smith and linebacker Foye Oluokun. Etling later was released.
The Falcons have shut down their facility in Flowery Branch twice — on Oct. 15 and Nov. 6 — because of COVID-19 concerns. The team has had at least one player and one coach test positive for the coronavirus. The Falcons are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status other than to refer to roster status. Clubs may not disclose whether a player is in quarantine or tested positive for COVID-19.
6. Carlock signed to practice squad. The Falcons on Tuesday signed linebacker Jake Carlock to the practice squad.
Carlock, 24, is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, played at Long Island-Post. He’s spent time in the NFL with the Giants and Dolphins, but has not played in an NFL game.
7. Long journey for Robinson. Falcons linebacker Edmond Robinson has made it to the 53-man roster after a long journey.
Robinson, who played at Newberry, was originally selected by Minnesota in the seventh round (232nd overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He also has played with the Jets and Cardinals, as well as the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.
In six games, Robinson has seven tackles and one quarterback hit. He has played four games as a COVID-19 replacement and two as a standard practice squad elevation.
“I can’t say enough about how much of a privilege it is to be on a team and what he’s done to earn the right to be on the team particularly with his work on special teams and having a chance to move him to defense a little bit and have him rush the passer a little bit for us,” Morris said.
8. Dance-off. If this was a Soul Train dance off, I think I’d put my money on Morris. Payton was seen grooving with his players after the 38-3 throttling of Tom Brady and Tampa Bay. Folks on Twitter contend that Payton was “off the beat.”
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the official depth chart:
OFFENSE
QB -- Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub
WR -- Julio Jones, Christian Blake
WR -- Calvin Ridley, Olamide Zaccheaus
WR -- Russell Gage, Brandon Powell
TE -- Hayden Hurst, Luke Stocker, Jaeden Graham (Team actually list Graham ahead of Stocker. Stocker has played more snaps)
RB -- Todd Gurley, Brian Hill, Qadree Ollison, Ito Smith
FB -- Keith Smith
LT -- Jake Matthews, Matt Gono
LG -- James Carpenter, Matt Hennessy
C -- Alex Mack, Matt Hennessy (Team lists Justin McCray as the backup, but when Mack was injured against Detroit, Hennessy played so we moved McCray to backup right guard).
RG -- Chris Lindstrom, Justin McCray
RT --Kaleb McGary, Matt Gono, John Wetzel
DEFENSE
DE -- Allen Bailey, Charles Harris
DT -- Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson, Deadrin Senat
DT -- Tyeler Davison, John Cominsky
DE -- Dante Fowler, Steven Means, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
LB -- Deion Jones, LaRoy Reynolds
LB -- Foye Oluokun, Mykal Walker, Edmond Robinson
LCB – A.J. Terrell, Tyler Hall
RCB – Darqueze Dennard, Kendall Sheffield
NCB -- Isaiah Oliver, Blidi Wreh-Wilson
FS --- Ricardo Allen, Sharrod Neasman
SS – Keanu Neal, Jaylinn Hawkins
SPECIAL TEAMS
K -- Younghoe Koo
P -- Sterling Hofrichter
LS -- Josh Harris
KR – Brandon Powell
PR -- Brandon Powell
Falcons’ next four games
Falcons at Saints at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22
Raiders at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29
Saints at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6
Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers at 4:25 p.m., Dec. 13
The Bow Tie Chronicles Podcasts:
For more content about the Atlanta Falcons
Follow me on Twitter @DorlandoAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
Atlanta Falcons coverage on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
About the Author
