Game Preview; Falcons vs. Saints

So week 13 is in the books, and after a satisfactory win at San Diego, it's on to Cajun Country for the Falcons. In their last meeting with the Saints(6-6), the Falcons literally dominated from the first snap, picking off Drew Brees's first pass from scrimmage. They scored first, and never looked back.

November 9, last meeting: Falcons 38 Saints 24

In the passing game, Matt Ryan simply outplayed Brees in these teams' first meeting. The stats say that Brees had 2 touchdown passes, but one of those passes came on an irrelevant last-second hail mary pass. It's going to be close, but because the Saints are at home, I feel that Brees will have a slightly better day. Advantage: Saints

In the rushing game, Michael Turner has been arguably the best running back in the NFL. The Saints have an overrated running back(Bush), and an underrated running back(Thomas) that could factor into the game. However, the Falcons' defense held LT to under 60 yards last week(of course, who hasn't?). Throw in Jerious Norwood, and I believe this one's a no-brainer. Advantage: Falcons

Defensively, the Falcons held San Diego's high-powered offense to 16 points in San Diego last week, while the Saints gave up 23 points to a mediocre Tampa Bay offense. Keep in mind that the weather was bad in Tampa, as there were winds gusting over 30 MPH, and there were tornado watches in the Tampa area. If the Saints defense can't stop a mediocre offense in poor conditions, how do they plan to stop a Falcon's offense that has scored no less than 20 points in 9 of its 12 games this season, indoors? Advantage: Falcons

Special teams: If Reggie Bush is healthy, this may be the Falcons' achilles heel. However, they have not given up a return touchdown all year. Assuming Harry Douglas can hold on to the ball, the Falcons might not be to bad off after all. Advantage: Draw

Coaching: Why are the Falcons 8-4? Because they have a man on the sidelines that knows how to coach a football "team" in Mike Smith. The Falcons won their game against the Panthers because of good coaching. Anybody remember Michael Turner's fourth-and-goal touchdown run? Yeah, that's what I mean. Don't get me wrong. Sean Payton is an excellent football coach. But I believe that the Falcons know they have to win this game to keep pace in the South, and even the Wild Card race. For the Saints, any other year they'd be right in the midst of playoff contention. But I believe that the competition is too strong for the Saints to make up two games in the Wild Card race. In the end, the Falcons want it more. Advantage: Falcons

Overall advantage: Falcons by 10