FLOWERY BRANCH – Brent Grimes’ timing couldn’t be better.
The Pro Bowl cornerback declared himself healthy just as the Falcons began preparation for Monday night’s critical matchup against the Saints.
“Right now, I feel like I’m going to play,” said Grimes, who missed the past three games after undergoing surgery on his right knee.
Grimes will be welcomed back to the secondary just in time to face a Saints team that leads the NFL in total offense (456.7 yards per game) and passing (331.4 yards per game).
Grimes practiced Tuesday for the first time since he left the Nov. 27 game against the Vikings. He had what the team labeled “a minor procedure” four days after the game. However, Grimes had been dealing with discomfort for several weeks prior.
“I was playing with it for a while and it just got irritated and I had to get it taken care of,” Grimes said. “It was a simple procedure. Once they did it, it felt better almost immediately once a little bit of swelling went down.”
Coach Mike Smith was not quite ready to declare Grimes’ return to the left cornerback position.
“We have not gotten final confirmation if he is going to be ready for the game but he sure looked good out here,” Smith said following Tuesday’s practice. “We need to see how he feels [Wednesday].
“Brent has done everything in his power to get back out here. He’s ahead of schedule.”
The Falcons went 2-1 with Grimes out, including consecutive wins against the Panthers and Jaguars leading into Monday’s game. Grimes said it was “frustrating” to watch during the longest stretch of missed games in his career. He credited the play of Dominique Franks and Christopher Owens, who played in his absence.
Grimes has one interception this season. He led the Falcons with five interceptions last season after starting all 16 games. He also had an NFL-best and franchise-record 23 passes defensed and a career-best 82 tackles.
In the Saints, the Falcons are up against quarterback Drew Brees who has thrown for 4,780 yards this season. He is just 305 yards shy of breaking Dan Marino’s NFL record of 5,084 yards set in 1984.
Grimes said the Falcons are all too familiar with the Saints’ offense and its capabilities.
“I’ve played against this team several times now,” Grimes said. “I know what they can do, how great of an offense they are. I just have to go out there and just get my feet back into it in practice a little bit and once I get out there, I will be cool. They are the Saints. They are the same team that they’ve been. I’m used to it.”
The Saints have won four of the last five games against the Falcons, including a 26-23 overtime win at the Georgia Dome in November. Their last three games have each been decided by three points, two of those in overtime. The last five games have been decided by a total of 24 points.
This meeting is more than just a matchup of division rivals. The Falcons (9-5) can still win the NFC South by winning their final two games and the Saints (11-3) lose their final two. The Falcons hold the tie-breaker advantage should the teams finish tied.
If the Falcons, currently the fifth seed in the NFC playoff race, don’t catch the Saints they are still in a strong position for the wild card.
But a win over the Saints would have added significance, according to Grimes.
“You just want to win,” Grimes said. “It’s a big game. We could end up seeing them again [in the playoffs]. We want to make a statement that says we can play with them and beat them on their home field.”
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