blacksaint

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX), Louisiana Superdome


War Room scouts break down every NFL game. Here is a excerpt of their Falcons-Saints matchup:

Falcons Keys For Success


1. Get the defense off the field. The Falcons' defense has the ability to stop opponents, but inconsistent play and poorly timed mental mistakes have prevented them from being dominant. The unit plays its best when rested and ready to attack. The Falcons must win on third down and force the punt, and they must do a better job of stuffing the run on first and second down to create more third-and-long situations. These situations are more difficult for offenses to convert and permit the defense to be more aggressive, forcing sacks and fumbles in the pocket and causing interceptions downfield.

2. Catch the ball. After a promising start to the season, all of Atlanta's pass catchers reverted to their old ways and started dropping passes. Every player -- from wide receivers Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, Joe Horn and Laurent Robinson to running backs Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood and Ovie Mughelli to tight ends Alge Crumpler and Dwayne Blakley -- must learn to focus better on the task at hand (catching passes) and help his struggling team. Dropped passes have stalled dozens of drives this season and forced too many punts and long field-goal attempts.

3. Run the ball. The Falcons' offense is most effective when it establishes the run. Using Dunn and Norwood, Atlanta must run early and allow its young offensive line to attack defenders on run blocks. Dunn and Norwood are most effective on off-tackle plays and other outside runs, but the Falcons should run inside this Sunday. To establish a solid running game against the Saints, look for Dunn and Norwood to follow Mughelli, the fullback, through inside holes created by center Todd McClure and right guard Kynan Forney.


Saints Keys For Success


1. Run Reggie Bush inside. Bush is known for his speed and acceleration, and most of the time he uses those physical gifts to bounce runs to the outside. Last week against Seattle, Bush ran effectively with a 5.1-yard average. Deuce McAllister is out for the season, so Bush must carry the load every week. That requires him to run between the tackles. Bush must secure the ball, see the hole and use his amazing acceleration to hit the seam.

2. Throw to the wide receivers. Last week, quarterback Drew Brees connected on 25 passes to eight receivers. Wide receivers David Patten, Lance Moore and Marques Colston, however, accounted for only 12 of the completions. The more the Saints spread the ball around to the wide receivers, the more stress Bush can put on the Falcons' defense. Big plays to the wide receivers will demand extra safety attention, thus freeing up Bush.

3. Pressure Byron Leftwich. For the first four games, the defense failed to put much pressure on quarterbacks. But the Saints' defensive linemen finally got rolling in the sack department last week, getting three of the team's five sacks against Matt Hasselbeck last Sunday night. Against Atlanta, look for defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs to mix four-, five- and six-man rush schemes and attack Leftwich to create negative plays and force mistakes.

SportingNews.com - NFL - Week 7 Matchup: Falcons vs. Saints

saint4life
(504)