FLOWERY BRANCH – Pardon Mike Smith if he doesn’t repeat the chant made famous by Saints fans.

The Falcons coach had heard the ‘Who Dat’ chorus before, but he first really heard it as a rookie head coach in 2008 when Saints fans let him know just how “heated” is the rivalry.

“There is some kind of chant they do down there,” Smith said Monday of the moment he realized the intensity between the teams.

The Falcons (5-3) host the Saints (6-3) on Sunday with first place in the division on the line. It goes deeper than that.

This is not a rivalry of ineptitude any longer. After decades of only brief moments of success, the Falcons and Saints have turned around their collective fortunes over the past three-plus seasons. Each has become a consistent playoff contender, the Saints with a Super Bowl title.

There is no love loss in this rivalry.

“We don’t like them. They don’t like us,” Falcons defensive lineman Jonathan Babineaux said. “It is what it is. We go out there and just try to take each others heads off.”

The Saints have been a thorn in Smith’s side.

The coach is 2-4 against the Saints in his three and a half seasons leading Atlanta. The Saints are one of only two opponents that with more than one meeting have a winning record against Smith. The Eagles are 3-1 against the Falcons during Smith’s tenure. Smith has a winning record against 21 of the 28 teams he has faced, including only individual losses to the Cowboys, Broncos, Patriots, Giants and Steelers.

Under Smith, the Falcons are 5-2 against their other NFC South rivals, the Panthers and Buccaneers.

“Since we’ve been here we’ve had some very competitive games against [the Saints],” Smith said. “We’ve ended up on the top of the standings a time and they’ve done it a time or two as well. It’s very competitive. I know this, I found out very quickly by traveling down to New Orleans our first trip that it is a heated rivalry. Very heated. That makes it fun for the fans. It makes it fun for the cities. But for us, we’ve got to stay focused on what we need to accomplish and what we need to do. We are going to approach it no different than any other week.”

The Falcons and Saints split the season series in 2008 and 2010. The Saints swept both games in 2009, en route to winning the Super Bowl.

The margin of victory in the last six meetings has been an average of less than six points, which includes a 14-point Falcons win in Smith’s first meeting against the Saints. Both of last season’s games were decided by three points.

Since Smith took over, the Falcons are 38-18 overall. The Saints are just a half-game worse in the same span at 38-19. The teams meet again on Monday Night Football on Dec. 26th, the second to last regular-season game of the season.

“It’s a competitive game and I think we match evenly,” said Babineaux, who added he looks forward to the game as much as a child anticipates Christmas. “We are almost like siblings. We are brothers. They know us, we know them. It’s always going to be a hard-fought game no matter when we play, where we play. It’s always going to be a good game.”

Babineaux warned not to underestimate the rivalry between the teams. It’s so intense, he said, that he is ready for Wednesday to resume practice in preparation for the game. Do NFL players really look forward to practice?

“People always talk about the AFC and their rivals. They really don’t give us too much credit on the NFC side,” Babineaux said. “They talk about Dallas and the Eagles. I feel like our rivalry is right up there along with those types of rivalries. It’s always a close game. … It’s going to be a great game Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready to get back on the practice field and get ready to get after those guys on Sunday.”

The Saints enter the game ranked No.1 in the NFL in total points (287) and second in points per game (31.9), total offense (445.1 yards per game) and passing offense (319.1). Smith reeled off the strengths of the Saints offense Monday, including quarterback, running back, tight ends and especially their receivers.

“It’s going to be some sleepless nights for [defensive coordinator Brian] Van Gorder and his staff this week in terms of putting together a game plan.”

SMITH VS. NFL

In his three and a half seasons as Falcons head coach, Mike Smith has a 38-18 record against 28 different opponents. Only seven teams have a winning record against him, with five in just one meeting.

Opponent/Record/Percentage

Dallas/0-1/.000

Denver/0-1/.000

New England/0-1/.000

N.Y. Giants/0-1/.000

Pittsburgh/0-1/.000

Philadelphia/1-3/.250

New Orleans/2-4/.333