Blue print for beating the 2010 Failcons

Sean said
I agree with both of yall, the way I see it is they put all their cards on the table for that week 3 game like their season was already on the line and we didnt play with that same kind of intensity. They pulled out all the stops because they knew they'd be screwed if we would've already been three games ahead of them going into week 4.

So I think in some ways that gives us an advantage going into this game, we know the kind of things they'll do if they get in pressure situations like they did the first game while on the other hand we kind of kept it simple that game and still almost beat them. I wish we would've ruined any kind of hope they had for their season like we should've in week 3 but we didnt so here we are, they have all the confidence in the world and have a shot to clinch a 1 seed in the playoffs, its like the old saying goes "You have to knock them out when they're down" I have confidence we wont let them off the hook this time around though. Were not in the ideal situation like we were last year at this time but as it stands now we still have a shot to turn the tables completely and ruin their little fairytale story they're having so far, whether we take advantage of the opportunity to crush their dreams remains to be seen, I have a feeling its going to happen :mwink:

Hi. Falcons fan here. I don't think the Falcons really pulled out all the stops or anything in week three. That was a pretty standard gameplan for us. I do remember the Saints running a flee flicker, that's not really keeping it simple, though that pass was intercepted by Grimes anyway.

I do think you've got a good point about the Falcons using the underdog mentality to raise their intensity in that game. It was a very important game for the Falcons. Both teams have a lot riding on this game despite the fact that both teams will likely finish with the same seeding regardless of the outcome. There's a lot to be gained by winning this one.

As for your original post, I don't know what you're talking about with the national media being all over our jocks. The Falcons are pretty much ignored by the national media. And if you jump out to an early 21 point lead, you've got a pretty decent chance at beating anyone. I don't think that Eagles game really gives teams a blueprint to beating the Falcons. We have won eight straight games since then after all.

The Saints can beat the Falcons by shutting down Turner and forcing mistakes from Ryan. That's not easy to do though. The Falcons aren't a hard team to figure out, which is what frustrates so many fans and analysts when they keep expecting them to lose, only to see them add yet another win to their record. The Saints can beat the Falcons. Absolutely, no doubt about it. I will not be surprised to see us lose this game. That said, the Saints are going to have to reverse their trend in terms of turning the ball over if they want that to happen. In my opinion, that's the key to this game. The Falcons are +13 in that category and the Saints are -5. They've forced a turnover the same amount of times they've coughed the ball up in their past five games, so it's not exactly a problem that has been rectified. If the Saints lose the turnover battle, I'd bet that the Falcons win the game.