FLOWERY BRANCH -- New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brews is perhaps the hottest player in the National Football League.
The Falcons (9-5) will need to slow him down when they face the Saints (11-3) in an important NFC South showdown Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Falcons remain undaunted.
“I’m not going to be looking over there in awe; looking at No. 9” Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “I’m just going out there with the game plan that we have and try to make some plays.”
Brees has the Saints on a six-game winning streak and is closing in on Dan Marino’s record for most passing yards in a single season. He needs 305 yards to break the mark of 5,084 set in 1984.
Since an embarrassing 31-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 30, Brees and the Saints have been nearly unstoppable.
They have beaten Tampa Bay, Atlanta, New York Giants, Detroit, Tennessee and Minnesota. Brees, who has not thrown an interception in the past five games, has completed 175 of 240 passes for 2,034 yards and 18 touchdowns since the Rams delivered that shocking upset.
Even with opposing teams determined to put pressure on Brees, he’s been sacked just four times and his passer rating is 121.3 over this six-game span.
The Falcons were the only team to come close to downing the Saints, who prevailed 26-23 in overtime after a controversial decision by coach Mike Smith to go for it on a fourth-and-inches from his own 29-yard line with 10:52 left in overtime. In the other five games, the Saints have won by an average margin of 15.4 points.
Brees is so hot that he’s considered a league MVP candidate along with Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In addition to chasing Marino record, Brees has thrown a touchdown in 41 consecutive games. That is second only to Johnny Unitas, who holds the record at 47 games.
“He’s playing very well,” New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. “He’s someone who works extremely hard and is very dedicated to getting better each week. He challenges himself each week. Most importantly, he’s winning football games.”
The Saints have embraced Brees’ assault on the league and team record books.
“The records that come and they come over a long period of time and they are generally a reflection of consistency and a high-level of play, not just for one season, those kind of really take care of themselves,” Payton said. “Drew has done a great job of really putting the focal point squarely on us winning football games and putting ourselves in the best position possible as we get close to the end of the season.”
The NFC South title will be on the line Monday. The Saints can clinch with a victory. The Falcons need to win-out and hope the Saints lose to the Carolina Panthers in their regular-season finale. Under that scenario, the two teams would finish tied at 11-5. They would be 1-1 in head-to-head battles and the Falcons would win the title because of a better division mark; 4-2 to Saints’ 3-3 mark.
The Falcons beat Brees and the Saints in New Orleans last season. They know that slowing Brees down will be a chore.
“It’s a quarterback driven league and you’ve got a quarterback that knows how to spread the ball around and move it,” Falcons defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said. “It’s very, very difficult and that’s why they are one of the top offenses in our league.”
In 2008, Smith’s first meeting against the Saints, the Falcons dropped back in coverage and batted down 14 of Brees’ passes and won 34-20. In subsequent games the Falcons tried to blitz Brees’ relentlessly.
“With Brees, you can’t just do one thing,” middle linebacker Curtis Lofton said. “You just can’t blitz him. You can’t just drop in coverage. We have to mix up our coverages and our blitzes. We have to get him uncomfortable back there. Once he gets into a rhythm he’s pretty hard to stop. We want to keep him out of his rhythm.”
When drafting defensive players, the Falcons have picked players that help improve their pass defense and stop the Saints.
Weatherspoon was selected with the 19th pick of the 2010 draft because he’s a fierce hitter, who can cover receivers in space. Defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Corey Peters were drafted in 2009 and 2010 to help battle the Saints talented guard tandem of Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks.
Since 2008, the Falcons have drafted eight defensive backs and signed one in a major free agency move. Three of the draftees -- free safety Thomas DeCoud, strong safety William Moore and nickel back Dominique Franks – will be on the field along with major free-agent signee Dunta Robinson.
Also cornerback Brent Grimes, who was here before the new regime came in 2008, is expected to return to action after knee surgery.
Weatherspoon said the Falcons have to be aware of the routes the Saints are running, stick close and let the pass rush get to Brees.
“That’s going to help us make him hold the ball longer,” Weatherspoon said. “Our defensive line is going to get after him. I already know that. This past week, we had a big week. Guys have some confidence. They are rolling.”
The unit will welcome the return of Grimes, who usually plays well against Brees.
“Getting him back is a big deal,” Weatherspoon said. “I really don’t think anybody can beat him one on one.”
Smith is 42-20 (.677), but one-fourth of his regular-season losses have been to Drew Brees and the Saints. He is 2-5 against the Saints.
The Falcons want to get the record in better balance, but know facing Brees will require some exceptional play.
“The first time we played Drew [this year] he had 20 touchdowns passes and 11 some odd interceptions,” DeCoud said. “Now, he has almost 40 touchdowns [37 actually] and the same amount of interceptions. They are clicking on all cylinders and not turning the ball over. They are playing some great football.”
