Scouting Report: Falcons at Saints

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Few teams play a bigger role in Falcons history than the New Orleans Saints. The teams have met 75 times since 1967 and have played dozens of memorable games, including one last year on Monday Night Football that saw the Saints reopen the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina with a 23-3 victory.

Plenty of players on the Falcons roster in 2007 aren't looking for a repeat of that score when the teams meet in New Orleans Sunday afternoon, however.

Both are looking for much-needed victories. The Saints went zero for the first quarter of the 2007 season (0-4) and weren't having any luck recreating the offensive firepower that carried them all the way to the NFC Championship game last year.

Now the team shows signs of getting back on track.

The Saints were outscored 103-38 in its first three games, but lost 16-13 in Week 5 and got their first win of the season in Seattle last week, 28-17.

Atlanta (1-5) looks to pick up a second win Sunday afternoon and would like to get off to a quick start to put the Saints at an early disadvantage. Big plays are possible, as seven of 14 offensive touchdowns scored on the Saints have been from 20 or more yards.

New Orleans has also been outscored 51-7 in the fourth quarter this year.

"We lost that game not because of the crowd but because of our execution," linebacker Keith Brooking said of last year's game at the Superdome. "We put ourselves in a hole. We needed to start fast and we kind of dug ourselves into a hole early... The crowd really got going. When you allow them to do that I think it really puts you at a disadvantage.

"What we talk about all week is starting fast, getting on top of them and not letting their crowd get into the game."

ON THE GROUND: With a season-ending injury to Deuce McAllister, second-year running back and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, must carry more of the load on the ground. In one game without McAllister, Bush seems to be up to the task.

He rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries last week against the Seahawks. He still plays a vital role on special teams and a receiver, though, according to Saints head coach Sean Payton and remains one of those players whose stats get measured as "offense" and not simply rushing or receiving.

"It changes with Deuce being out," Payton said. "That can't help but happen. There are certain things that now, maybe, you wouldn't ask Reggie to do you might ask him to do more of. He has handled the adjustment well. I thought he ran the ball well last week and played hard."

Bush leads the team in both rushing and receiving, carrying the ball 69 times for 244 yards and two scores this year. He also has 31 catches for 166 yards.

Bush has also proven he can get the tough yards, converting on all four third-and-1 attempts he has faced this season.

"They're giving him the ball more," Falcons Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "They're trying to get him the ball any way they can whether they're handing him the ball to him or throwing it. We just need to be alert to where he's lined up because he's certainly going to be the guy that gets the football."

An easy way to contain Bush would be to not let the Saints have the ball. That's where the Falcons running game comes in.

Atlanta rushed for 103 yards last week against the Giants -- its best performance of the season and is enjoying the services of a veteran in Warrick Dunn and a game-breaking youngster in Jerious Norwood.

In fact, the Saints and Falcons are similar in the running game with Dunn, Bush and Norwood ranking 13, 14 and 15 in the NFC in rushing yards.

New Orleans counters with the league's 14th-ranked run defense and safeties (Roman Harper and Josh Bullocks) that like to play around the line of scrimmage. Harper leads the team with four sacks and Bullocks has a team-high 40 tackles.

Defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith are a threat in the pass rush, but have been asked to contain the run more in recent weeks.

"One of the things that was important (last week) was trying to stop the run early on," Payton said. "The challenge this week is handling not only the passing game but two real good running backs."

THROUGH THE AIR: The Saints won the NFC South Championship last season with a balanced offense that could also strike quickly through the air. Drew Brees had a career year and Marques Colston became a household name.

The offense didn't take off as quickly this season, however.

Last week Brees threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, including a strike to David Patten, who had his best receiving game (113 yards) since 2004. The Saints also got a touchdown out of second-year wide receiver Lance Moore, who is listed as the starter opposite Colston.

Brees isn't shy about spreading the ball around however, having completed at least one pass to 12 different receivers and finding three receivers with 20 or more passes on the season. But he has still thrown nine interceptions this year and has struggled late in games. Five of his picks have come in the fourth quarter, where he carries a 45.9 passer rating.

The Falcons will start Byron Leftwich at quarterback this week, who has been known to throw the ball deep. Conversely, the Saints defense has allowed 241 passing yards per game.

"He's got a very strong arm and throws the ball down the field," Petrino said. "He needs to be able to see it and have the confidence that he can put it in there. I think he'll do well."

Before the strong-armed quarterback can launch passes down field, however, the Falcons know they have to contain an aggressive set of defensive linemen and linebackers led by veteran Scott Fujita.

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who leads Falcons receivers with two touchdown grabs, said his position group will do their part to get open quickly.

"They're an aggressive group," he said. "Their front seven are like Energizer Bunnies. They go extremely hard. We're going to have to protect up front, catch the ball down the field and make plays that put points on the board. It will be a good challenge for us."

SPECIALTIES: Norwood's 67-yard touchdown run last week against the Giants added another dimension to his already impressive resume. Just the week before Norwood had a 76-yard kickoff return and has made more appearances in various facets of the game.

His play has helped the Falcons form a formidable kickoff return unit that faces the NFC's sixth-best coverage group this week. The Saints are allowing teams to the 26.6 yard line (on average) on kickoff returns.

New Orleans has also benefited from some key special teams plays, including a botched snap on a punt that went for a touchdown and a blocked field goal last week at Seattle.

In the kicking game, Saints kicker Olindo Mare has misfired on a few kicks this season, connecting on 3-of-5 attempts inside 40 yards.

SHUFFLING THE CARDS: The return of Rod Coleman and Jonathan Babineaux last week added some depth along the Falcons defensive line, but some other injuries have the team shuffling some players around.

Special teams captain Corey McIntyre suffered a hamstring injury against the Giants and didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday.

"It is better," Petrino said. " He did get some physical therapy work done and it has improved. It's still wait and see. Artose (Pinner) was inactive last week so there's an ability to bring him back up. Daren Stone is a guy we've been trying to get active for special teams all year long so there's the possibility of bringing him up, too."

Petrino also said safety Jimmy Williams got some work in the team's nickel package this week due to his ability in the passing game.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Some stats to consider as the Falcons prepare for the Saints.

NUMBERS, NOTES AND COLORS: Some numerals, info and colors to ponder for the Saints game...

• The Falcons will wear road, white jerseys Sunday in New Orleans.
• With a 67-yard touchdown run last week Norwood now has three career rushes of more than 67 yards.
• Linebacker Michael Boley is on pace to destroy his season-high in tackles (90) as he's on pace for 160 stops.
• Comparing the first 38 games of Boley and Brooking's career, Boley has more solo tackles (151), interceptions (four), passes defensed (12) and fumble recovers (three).
• With 6.5 more sacks this season, defensive end John Abraham will have the fifth-most sacks in the league since 2000. He is on track for more than 14 sacks.
• Cornerback DeAngelo Hall set a career high when he led the team with 11 tackles against the Giants.
• Atlanta has 11 takeaways this season
• Rookie cornerback Chris Houston has recorded 10 solo tackles this season
• More Super Bowls have been played at the Superdome than anywhere else.
• The Saints have had two players wear 0 and 00 in their history -- Logan Obert (0 in 1967) and Ken Burrough (00 in 1970).
• The Falcons have outscored the Saints 1,626 to 1,460 in the series.