Halo

Members of the New Orleans Saints’ defense wish they could have been happy about what they accomplished in their most recent game against the Atlanta Falcons last Thursday night.

Actually, the Saints had a right to be downright ecstatic.


After giving up at least 400 yards in each of their first 10 games and allowing 375 in their next outing, numbers that have them mired at the bottom of the NFL’s defensive rankings, they held the Falcons’ powerful offense to 283 total yards.

There was no time for celebrating the big breakthrough, however, after a 23-13 loss to the Falcons further dampened their playoff hopes with four games remaining in the season.

Instead of looking at what they did, the Saints’ defense looked at what they could have done even better when they got time off before beginning their preparations for Sunday’s meeting with the New York Giants.

The Saints were gashed on a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on the Falcons’ first possession of the game and eventually gave up too many points to offset a rare off-night for Drew Brees and his offense.

Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo looked back on that first drive, when the Falcons ran for 71 yards on the final five plays of the possession, as the toughest thing to swallow.

“If I go back, this is just my nature, I get stuck on that first drive,” Spagnuolo said. “I really wish we could have found a way to play better on the first drive, because, quite honestly, after that, we played a pretty good game defensively.”

Falcons running back Michael Turner had runs of 35 and 5 yards before backup Jacquizz Rodgers had back-to-back 14-yard gains. That set up Turner for a 3-yard touchdown run and a quick 7-0 lead.

After that first drive, however, the Saints held the Falcons without a first down on five possessions and limited them to 203 yards on 51 plays over the final 56 minutes of the game.

Still, it wasn’t enough to keep the Falcons from winning after they intercepted Brees five times.

“We found a way to have five three-and-outs,” Spagnuolo said. “But we’re a team, and if our offense is only able to generate 13 points, we have to hold them to 12. It’s just how we feel defensively.

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