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Prior to their rematch against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13 of the 2012 season, the swelling sentiment coming out of New Orleans was that it would be the second season in a row that the Saints would sweep the Falcons. Despite an acrimoniously slow start, pundits and fans alike were under the notion that a 5-6 Saints team would leave Atlanta as the victors on a march towards another playoff push. The thrilling win at home over the previously undefeated Falcons in Week 10 was thought to be the spark that would propel this whole theory.

THEY'RE LIKE OUR LITTLE BROTHERS. DEEP DOWN THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T MESS WITH US EVEN WHEN WE ARE HAVING A DOWN YEAR.
-SCOTT SHANLE

By all accounts, and justifiably so, the Saints under coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees have proven to be the Achilles Heel to a plethora of Falcons attempts to get a check in the win column. As most fans of combat sports know, styles make fights and often time fights have key turning points. I'll explain to you why even in Drew Brees' worst performance as a Saint, the Falcons were still lucky to survive on that fateful Sunday.

In the interest of full disclosure, though I'm a contributor to a Saints blog (among others), I'm a born and raised Atlanta native. In fact, I'm a season ticket holder who's been to every Falcon game since the 2006 season. I've been through the dramatic fall, and been witness to the genesis of one of the best run franchises in all of football. It's as though I know what it's like to be an Indianapolis Colts fan through the Peyton Manning era. 9 out of 10 times, I feel when I step foot inside the Georgia Dome on Sunday's, more than likely I'm seeing a Falcons victory. So that's why I feel as though I might be the most credible person in saying; when the Saints are on the schedule I feel as though that one time will almost certainly rear its ugly head!

I agree with that aforementioned Scott Shanle quote above, the Falcons are the Saints little brother, and their style of play -and mantra - are directly related to the success of the New Orleans Saints. After going 13-3 in the 2010 season (and subsequently losing in the first round of the playoffs), the Falcons' mantra preceding the 2011 season was "Explosiveness!", and you couldn't go more than a day without hearing it on radio and TV. The Falcons weren't happy being one of the best ground & pound teams in the league, they wanted to change their identity to be like the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and most importantly, the New Orleans Saints. They wanted a scheme centered around a high-grade pass attack. And by all accounts, little brother has achieved that.

But as we know, no matter how big or successful a little brother gets, big brother is always watching and waiting on the chance to put them back in their respective place. Their first meeting of the 2012 season was big brothers way of re-establishing the pecking order in the family.

Off the strength of a nearly 300-yard, three touchdown day from Drew Brees, the Saints fought off an even more impressive aerial display from Matt Ryan (24-53 for 411 yards, 3 TD's and 1 int) and his equally impressive set of pass receivers. The Falcons were finally able to show big brother they too could put on a masterful show through the air ... and they still lost!

Read more: Back to the Future: Reviewing Film of Saints vs. Falcons 2012 to Preview Their 2013 Matchups - Canal Street Chronicles

halloween 65

With Payton back Smith and his clowns don't sleep well at night.

Seer1

Smith was the Tums poster boy even with Sean watching the game on his couch. If ever there were a couple of payback games to watch for this season, it's gonna be these two.

homerj07

A very thorough & interesting read.

He neglects our new defensive scheme which will NOT be fully formed come week one!!

SaintsBro

What on earth makes you say this? How could any professional NFL coach go into a season or any game,m without a defensive scheme fully formed? Forget last year, has there been anything specific under the SEAN PAYTON era Saints that leads you to believe the team will be unprepared?