Saints Nation: Bye week pleasantries

Being 4-0 going into a bye week is the ideal scenario, and while having no Saints game on Sunday is a mild bummer, we'll have the next 12 weekends to enjoy crucial football games with our beloved team.

With the Saints off this weekend I'm turning my attention to three things. It will be nice to watch these three games without the major anxiety I get for the Saints (LSU being the possible exception).


1. #4 LSU Tigers hosting #1 Florida Gators tonight. I don't think there's any way Tim Tebow won't play in this game. While it's not the Saints, I'm admittedly a big LSU fan and I can wait for this matchup at 7pm central, 8 eastern tonight. Both teams are undefeated and the game is in Baton Rouge. Big time college football.


2. Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons have made it very clear with their 2-1 start (that included a mighty fight in a loss to the Patriots) that they are for real this year. The 49ers are 3-1, though, and they're hosting the Falcons. The 49ers defense looks especially tough which is no surprise considering Mike Singeltary is at the helm. How the Falcons' high powered offense that features Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Matt Ryan fares against this 49ers defense in San Francisco will be a VERY interesting matchup. We should all be big 49ers fans this weekend. This will decide whether the Saints are 1 game ahead or 2 games ahead going into next week's Giants game. The Falcons thus far are proving to be unquestioned competitors to the Saints for the NFC South crown and every game counts.


3. Washington Redskins @ Carolina Panthers. While I've written off the Tampa Bay Bucs at 0-3 for this season as being a viable competitor in the NFC South, I'm not ready to write off the 0-3 Panthers yet. I'm curious to see how they respond tomorrow against the 2-2 Redskins. This is a tailor made opponent for the Panthers to turn around their season against. The Redskins' have looked nothing short of positively WOEFUL in their two wins (9-7 over the sorry Rams, 16-13 over the rebuilding Bucs), and let's not forget they were on the losing end of the Lions' first victory since 2007. If the Panthers lose this game, you can write them off, because the Redskins look pathetic this season. If they win they can still be dangerous to the Saints. I don't think I can bring myself to root for the Redskins, but I sure as heck can't pull for the Panthers either. I guess I'll just watch the game and see what happens.



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