Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success

blacksaint · 10-18-2007, 01:02 AM

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

saintsrule · 10-18-2007, 03:35 AM

I hope Reggie gets over 100 yards in this game.

darstep · 10-18-2007, 08:21 AM

Its true, we have to run Reggie between the tackles, and Karney needs to lead the way. If Bush can break into the secondary untouched 2-3 times during the game, he will have another good day, and so will the rest of the offense. Good, time hogging, clock eating offense always helps our defense play better. When they are fresh, they do pretty good. Leftwich isn't going anywhere so if we bring the pressure like we did last week, we should dominate. I hope that we play with a fresh fire; with heart, and get our first win at home - in the DOME!

SapperSaint · 10-18-2007, 08:45 AM

^^^^

Nothing more to say. That is exactly what needs to happen.

Papa Voodoo · 10-18-2007, 02:09 PM

Sack The Statue!!!!

WillMacKenzie · 10-18-2007, 03:52 PM

Can we get Harper to put a helmet into the side of Leftwich's knee? We all know it's weak already.

lumm0x · 10-18-2007, 04:30 PM

I think Atlanta is just the opponent we need to follow up on our first win. Leftwich, being limited in exposure to their playbook and personnel is in for a long day. He has less mobility than Harrington and they have some questions on their o-line. Dunn and Norwood scare me as we are notorious for giving up the odd huge play. Offensively I think we match up well in the short game. Hall is a good corner, even if I detest him, and Chris Houston showed some agressiveness in jamming against New York. All in all this is a very winnable game for us.

But what scares me....Reggie Bush. Why? The game against Seattle really showed that his runs are only effective for the most part when it is on a delay or misdirection blocking scheme. Near the end of the game when we needed to grind out the hard yards in definite run downs we couldn't even get a couple yards. We need to set the tempo by nailing a few passes and keep the defense from attacking the line in order for Reggie to break long runs. He goes down very easily when he can be touched but give him a little space and he makes people miss or simply runs away from them. I fear seeing us come out and fail to run the ball and go away with nothing in a series or two, get behind and then be unable to get stride offensively because we can't rush the ball and start forcing the pass.

JOESAM2002 · 10-18-2007, 06:43 PM

Having had 4 knee operations myself, i'm not for anyone getting hurt.

We have a very good fullback...............USE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MatthewT · 10-18-2007, 08:52 PM

lumm0x - I share your same fears about Reggie Bush. It looked like he wore down again as the game progressed. The Saints do need to find a way to pound it in the 4th quarter. It will bite them in the butt eventually...

WillMacKenzie - I would hate to see Leftwich get injured. A little ankle sprain, or something like that to throw him off is OK. It is totally not cool running a player into another guys knee. I would never want to win like that. I would rather see clean play and the Saints go 0-16.

JOESAM2002 · 10-18-2007, 09:42 PM

"lumm0x - I share your same fears about Reggie Bush. It looked like he wore down again as the game progressed. The Saints do need to find a way to pound it in the 4th quarter. It will bite them in the butt eventually..."

Hey! I got a great idea. Let's use Pierre Thomas a little more. Get him involved in the offense.

10-18-2007, 01:02 AM	#1
blacksaint DARE TO ENTER Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Home Sweet Home, NEW ORLEANS, La. Posts: 1,154	Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success 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)

10-18-2007, 03:35 AM	#2
saintsrule 500th Post Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 657	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success I hope Reggie gets over 100 yards in this game.
saintsrule 500th Post Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 657

10-18-2007, 08:21 AM	#3
darstep SaintSince67 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PortCity Posts: 2,044	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success Its true, we have to run Reggie between the tackles, and Karney needs to lead the way. If Bush can break into the secondary untouched 2-3 times during the game, he will have another good day, and so will the rest of the offense. Good, time hogging, clock eating offense always helps our defense play better. When they are fresh, they do pretty good. Leftwich isn't going anywhere so if we bring the pressure like we did last week, we should dominate. I hope that we play with a fresh fire; with heart, and get our first win at home - in the DOME!
	SaintSince67

10-18-2007, 08:45 AM	#4
SapperSaint Pink Nightmare Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Mississippi Posts: 3,028 Blog Entries: 7	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success ^^^^ Nothing more to say. That is exactly what needs to happen.

10-18-2007, 02:09 PM	#5
Papa Voodoo 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,633	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success Sack The Statue!!!!

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10-18-2007, 03:52 PM	#6
WillMacKenzie 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,627	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success Can we get Harper to put a helmet into the side of Leftwich's knee? We all know it's weak already.

10-18-2007, 04:30 PM	#7
lumm0x Resident antediluvian Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,026	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success I think Atlanta is just the opponent we need to follow up on our first win. Leftwich, being limited in exposure to their playbook and personnel is in for a long day. He has less mobility than Harrington and they have some questions on their o-line. Dunn and Norwood scare me as we are notorious for giving up the odd huge play. Offensively I think we match up well in the short game. Hall is a good corner, even if I detest him, and Chris Houston showed some agressiveness in jamming against New York. All in all this is a very winnable game for us. But what scares me....Reggie Bush. Why? The game against Seattle really showed that his runs are only effective for the most part when it is on a delay or misdirection blocking scheme. Near the end of the game when we needed to grind out the hard yards in definite run downs we couldn't even get a couple yards. We need to set the tempo by nailing a few passes and keep the defense from attacking the line in order for Reggie to break long runs. He goes down very easily when he can be touched but give him a little space and he makes people miss or simply runs away from them. I fear seeing us come out and fail to run the ball and go away with nothing in a series or two, get behind and then be unable to get stride offensively because we can't rush the ball and start forcing the pass.

10-18-2007, 06:43 PM	#8
JOESAM2002 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: CRYSTAL BEACH TEXAS Posts: 4,100	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success Having had 4 knee operations myself, i'm not for anyone getting hurt. We have a very good fullback...............USE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10-18-2007, 08:52 PM	#9
MatthewT 1000 Posts + Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mississippi Posts: 2,729	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success lumm0x - I share your same fears about Reggie Bush. It looked like he wore down again as the game progressed. The Saints do need to find a way to pound it in the 4th quarter. It will bite them in the butt eventually... WillMacKenzie - I would hate to see Leftwich get injured. A little ankle sprain, or something like that to throw him off is OK. It is totally not cool running a player into another guys knee. I would never want to win like that. I would rather see clean play and the Saints go 0-16.

10-18-2007, 09:42 PM	#10
JOESAM2002 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: CRYSTAL BEACH TEXAS Posts: 4,100	Re: Falcons at Saints > Keys To Success "lumm0x - I share your same fears about Reggie Bush. It looked like he wore down again as the game progressed. The Saints do need to find a way to pound it in the 4th quarter. It will bite them in the butt eventually..." Hey! I got a great idea. Let's use Pierre Thomas a little more. Get him involved in the offense.