Though its early and anything can happen, it isn't a
stretch to say that this Monday's game versus the New Orleans Saints is a must
win for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Saints haven't given the Falcons much breathing room in the NFC South
race, having gone 6-0 to open up a two-game edge on 4-2 Atlanta, which dropped
a tough game to Dallas this past weekend.
After winning their first two games after the bye, the Falcons were handed a
37-21 setback by the Cowboys and fell to 1-2 on the road. That isn't good news
for a club that travels to the Superdome this Monday night.
"It is going to be electric down there," said Falcons running back Michael
Turner. "We've been down there before. The place is deafening when their fans
get riled up. I thought we handled the noise [in Dallas] really well [Sunday].
We're going to have to do that again. It will probably be even louder than it
was [Sunday]."
Noise likely won't be the biggest factor the Falcons will need to worry about.
Getting ready to face the top-ranked offense in the NFL, Atlanta allowed
Dallas to post 414 yards, 299 of that through the air.
Paging Drew Brees.
"We did some uncharacteristic stuff that's not very common for our guys," said
defensive end Jamaal Anderson. "We were put in situations to make plays and we
just didn't come up with the plays at the times they were needed. And [the
Cowboys] were able to. And we just didn't capitalize. I think that is what
made the difference."
Atlanta's offense, meanwhile, will need to get ready for a Saints' defense
that has been converting turnovers to points at a rapid pace. Again, the
Falcons can't be too confident after their performance in Dallas.
Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 19 of his 35 pass attempts for 198 yards, but
the Cowboys' constant pressure resulted in four sacks and saw Ryan throw two
interceptions.
Ryan had been sacked just twice coming into the game, and not at all since
Week 1 versus the Miami Dolphins.
"I think [Dallas] just out-executed us," said Ryan. "They played better than
us. We were close, but we made some mistakes. When you come on the road to
play a very good football team and you make those kind of mistakes, its tough
to walk away with a win."
Atlanta is fortunate to get the extra day of preparation, as the club
obviously needs to correct a few things before Monday night. The Falcons'
season could very well depend on it.
SAINTS: Even in a poor performance, Drew Brees looks pretty good.
The stats weren't there for the Pro Bowl signal-caller: three interceptions,
one lost fumble and five sacks. However, Brees showed in Sunday's 46-34 come-
from-behind win over the Miami Dolphins that he is a leader and that the New
Orleans Saints are in good hands.
New Orleans' undefeated mark looked to be in serious jeopardy versus the
Dolphins. The Saints trailed 24-3 with just five seconds left in the first
half, but were at the Dolphins' goal line. With no timeouts left, it appeared
as if the team would have to settle for a field goal.
Miami, though, called its last timeout, and Brees took the opportunity to
convince head coach Sean Payton that he could punch it in.
"When they called the timeout, Drew spent a little while in my ear and he felt
confident he could get the ball over," said Payton. "We were right there on
the six-inch line, so we went ahead with that call, and he made a real good
play. We were prepared to kick it initially, obviously we had enough time
after the timeout was called to give some thought to that and change our
minds."
The touchdown seemed minor at the time -- New Orleans still trailed by 14
points -- but it showed that Brees wasn't going to let his team quit. He ended
up with his first career two-touchdown rushing game to highlight a second half
that saw New Orleans outscore Miami 36-10 to get to 6-0 on the season.
"It was a huge boost for us going in at halftime," said Brees of the second-
quarter TD. "If you could have been in [the locker room] at halftime it was,
'hey, we have them right where we want them'."
While the Saints' offense is drawing comparisons to that of the St. Louis
Rams' unit from earlier this decade that was once labeled "The Greatest Show
on Turf," what makes New Orleans even scarier is its outstanding defense.
New Orleans returned two interceptions for touchdowns versus the Dolphins and
also forced a fumble, giving the unit an NFL-leading 18 takeaways on 13
interceptions and five fumbles.
The Saints' biggest offseason pickup may have been safety Darren Sharper, who
returned an interception 42 yards on Sunday for his third touchdown return of
the season, and league-leading sixth pick of the year.
"Our mentality on this defense is 'why can't we make a big play and score',
and we did that," linebacker Scott Shanle said.
New Orleans, off to its best start beginning 1991 at 7-0, are the lone
undefeated team left in the NFC and lead the South Division by two games over
the Atlanta Falcons, whom the Saints host this Monday night.
PANTHERS: If the Carolina Panthers' front office hurries, it might be able to
put a stop payment on Jake Delhomme's offseason contract extension that came
with $20 million guaranteed.
Delhomme hasn't brought back much on the new five-year deal. With three more
interceptions in Sunday's 20-9 loss to Buffalo, the 34-year-old has now been
picked off 13 times to just four touchdown passes through six games that have
produced a 2-4 record for the Panthers.
While Delhomme has tried to remain confident all season long, Sunday's
performance may have finally gotten to him. Though he threw for a season-high
325 yards, two of his interceptions resulted in touchdowns for the Bills.
"Usually I'm not too much at a loss for words," he told Carolina's Web site.
I'm almost numb. We moved the ball up and down the field [and then had] two
crucial turnovers. Two overthrows. Other than that, I'm not giving you an
excuse or anything. That's it."
Carolina's success this season depended on how Delhomme would bounce back from
his six-turnover performance in last year's playoff loss to Arizona.
Hey, guess who the Panthers play on the road this weekend?
Head coach John Fox has stuck by Delhomme all season, but it might be time to
pull the plug and go with either Matt Moore or A.J. Feeley. Fox said on Monday
he hasn't decided who will start this weekend's game and isn't sure when he
will know.
"I think we need to do what's going to help us win," said Fox. "If that's
Jake, I think he'll understand that. If it's not Jake, I think he'll
understand that, too. Right now, we're not executing well in the passing game.
I can't say that it's all the quarterback, but we have to get that better."
Fox isn't burying his quarterback just yet, though, as he later added that
Delhomme isn't the only reason Carolina is struggling.
"There's a lot of moving parts in the passing game," said Fox. "Receivers,
protection, sometimes the defense -- they have a little bit to do there."
By the way, Delhomme's deal is slated to run though 2014.
BUCCANEERS: Even a trip across the pond wasn't enough to get the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers on track. Playing against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots
probably didn't help either.
Opponent aside, the Buccaneers got a chance to get away from the pressure of
being a winless team. Perhaps a game at Wembley Stadium in London would be
enough for Tampa Bay to get its collective head on straight.
However, the Bucs decided to pack all of their deficiencies with them
overseas. Again, they couldn't score, as the seven points they posted in a
35-7 drilling was their second-lowest output of the season. Couple that with
their inability to stop other teams from scoring, and the Buccaneers' 0-7
start isn't really a mystery to anyone.
While the offense turned the ball over three times in the form of three Josh
Johnson interceptions, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 308 yards with
three touchdown passes. He also showed Tampa Bay what it is like to be a
winner.
"It's tough playing against a quarterback like that," said Bucs head coach
Raheem Morris. "You have to make some decisions you might not necessarily want
to. Some of those situations, some of those situations you have to make
playing against Tom Brady, but when you have those opportunities he made,
that's what great quarterbacks do."
Johnson, meanwhile, struggled again. Although he can make plays with his feet,
the 2008 fifth-round pick has now thrown eight interceptions to just four
touchdown passes. He was benched in the fourth quarter on Sunday in favor of
2009 first-round pick Josh Freeman.
"Just the same situation as [former starting QB Byron Leftwich]," said
Johnson. "If we don't win games, maybe Josh [Freeman] is going to play. I
understood what was going on when I first was the starting quarterback. I knew
that once these games are out of hand that I might come out of the game."
With an upcoming bye week, Morris can take his time evaluating the quarterback
position. However, with the Bucs playing for the future, it wouldn't be a
shock to see Morris begin the Freeman era a little earlier than he had wanted.
No matter who is under center, the 2009 season has become a lost one
for Tampa Bay as it enters its bye week. The club is 0-7 for the fifth time in
club history and has lost 11 games in a row dating back to last year. That is
the Bucs' longest skid since it lost its first 26 games upon entering the
league in 1976.
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