NFL Week 13 open thread

[wxwax]

Since we have a game tonight, might as well fire up a new thread.

I hadn't realized that New Orleans is 11-2 versus Atlanta in the last 13 games. Yikes. One reason is Drew Brees. Atlanta's defense has always been a bit shaky in the secondary and the pass rush hasn't always been there, problems which account for most of the team's struggles against NOLA. Also, it doesn't help when you can't get a yard when you need it.

Still, this Falcons defense has been better so far. This Falcons offense can keep up with anybody. They're at home. The Saints may not think it's a rivalry, but the Falcons sure do. So do their fans. The New Orleans team bus was egged by ramp workers at Hartsfield as the Saints boarded.

I expect a solid Atlanta win in the Dome. But not a romp.

[brauneyz]

Watching pregame and Mayock just said something of pure gold. If ALT can't beat Saints tonight and put their arch rivals away, they won't go far in the playoffs. Sounds pretty profound to me (but then, I just love me some Mayock!)

[wxwax]

Looks like the Falcons are taking that whole "can't run the ball" thing seriously. Holy cow. They just pushed NOLA all over the field.

[msclemons]

Lance Moore is still alive? I thought Goldson killed him...

[msclemons]

And the 15 yards on the kickoff just got turned into 1/2 the distance to the goal from the 1. 1st down though.

[brauneyz]

For as much as the Saints self-destructed, I can't believe the score was actually that close. NOLA looked like garbage, and ATL wouldn't stand a chance against my Pats right now. (Hmmmmmm, my SB wish?)

[mikesteelnation1]

For as much as the Saints self-destructed, I can't believe the score was actually that close. NOLA looked like garbage, and ATL wouldn't stand a chance against my Pats right now. (Hmmmmmm, my SB wish?)

Don't go counting your superbowl chickens yet, mamabear! Those falcons will never make it through the NFC tournament to get to a superbowl. They won't beat any of the other division winners. They seem destined for one and done AGAIN!

I'll also point out Brees looked like hot garbage. He's a very streaky qb, one who is terrible under duress. Pressure him, and he's going to throw some picks. Usually Payton would have steadied him after the first 2, and he would have come out in the second half a different guy. He would have tweaked the play call and protections to build confidence. No such help here..I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Brees needs Payton more than Payton needs him.

If you look at his stats it screams he's missing Payton(I'm only looking at his stats in nola).. he's on pace to have his highest int total, by far his lowest comp % (nearly 10% lower than last year). His accuracy was a Payton mirage. Pure scheme. He's also on pace to take the most sacks of his saints tenure. He isn't good under pressure. {Great decision} to let the best guard in football leave and spend all those millions on linebackers. {That's really shown up in their defensive performance}.

Brees is good, but he's not on the same level as pm, Brady, Ben, and Rodgers.

[wxwax]

Brees was both sublime and ridiculous. The drives he put together in Q2 and Q3 were unstoppable. He beat the pressure and made great plays. Then he made some pretty bad plays, too. NOLA's defense sure put a game together. But again, they couldn't do it for 60 minutes.

Good game.

B, I wouldn't underestimate two things: one, divisional games can be deceiving; and two, complementing that, this particular rivalry is always hard on the Falcons. Some kind of ju-ju going on there.

[Amy]

What's interesting about this week, to me, is that all 4 AFC Divisions can be locked up this week: Ravens with the North with a win over the Steelers, Texans win the south if they beat the Titans, we get the East if we beat Miami, and Denver gets the West if they beat the Bucs (which I think they won't) or if the Chargers lose. Pretty early to possibly have 4 divsions get locked into place!

[Trumpetbdw]

Perhaps I'm alone, but I'm ready to give Atlanta some credit. 1 loss at this point in the season is nothing to sneeze at. After surviving a tough divisional road game many of us (including me) thought they'd lose, they then go out last night and hold the Saints, who have been their biggest nemesis, and the only team to beat them this year, to 13 points. Raise your hand if you expected a 0 TD, 5 INT performance from Brees last night. Say what you want about the lack of performance by the Saints, but at what point can we give the Falcons credit for playing a fantastic defensive game? And while certainly not dominant, their defense has been pretty good most of this year, and it's certainly good enough when also considering their offensive potential.

We receive weekly reminders in the NFL that last week means nothing, so why do we continue to hold last year against Atlanta? Maybe they do lose once the playoffs roll around. I'm not sure there would be a whole lot of shame in losing to the likes of GB, NYG, or Chi. But there's something to be said for always winning close games, and that's what they're doing.

Atlanta hasn't been blown out by Minnesota, nor did they tie St. Louis, nor is there any potential QB controversy. Atlanta hasn't been embarrassed on national TV multiple times. Atlanta hasn't shown massive protection issues, and they haven't shown massive inconsistency on a weekly basis. Matt Ryan hasn't been forced to battle a "dead arm". Plus, they are 4th in the league in points allowed per game despite missing Brent Grimes for the season, and recently losing Sean Weatherspoon for a 3 game stretch.

We've got to deal with reality here, and the reality is that Atlanta is the top seed in the NFC at this point for a very good reason.