Week 12 of the NFL season kicks off tonight as the Atlanta Falcons host the New Orleans Saints. Ian Eagle, Trent Green and sideline reporter Laura Okmin will have all the action from Nashville beginning at 8 PM Eastern. For a preview of the game, Trent Green filed this report:
What a difference a year makes:
It’s amazing the way these two teams have changed since we saw them on a Thursday night in Atlanta a year ago. It’s a simple as this: the Saints and the Falcons have basically switched spots. At this time last year, Atlanta was trying to secure the top overall seed in the NFC and now they’re just trying to hang on at 2-8 and do whatever they can to salvage the season. On the hand, New Orleans has Sean Payton back and that’s made a huge difference and then defensively, the arrival of Rob Ryan has also changed things significantly. The defense is playing at an incredibly high level, creating turnovers and getting the ball back for the offense. Drew Brees is also playing a lot better than he did a year ago. It’s obvious having the head coach back has helped him tremendously. These are two teams headed in opposite directions and this looks to be a tough game for Atlanta.
Getting the Falcons back on track:
So what does Atlanta need to become a playoff team again in 2014? The numbers that jump out at me are in the ground game. The Falcons are only rushing the ball for 73 yards a game, which is 31st in the NFL. They’re defending the run just as poorly, with a defense ranked 30th against the rush and giving up 133 yards a game. I know that’s old-school football, but they need to learn how to stop the run and how to run it better. Matt Ryan is still playing well. He’s turning the ball over too much, but there are a lot of factors that play into that. The protection hasn’t been good enough and not having Julio Jones doesn’t help either. Their turnover ratio is minus-11, which is 29th in the NFL. Not running the ball, not stopping the run and losing the turnover battle isn’t a formula for winning football. The Falcons will have to decide if Steven Jackson is the answer going forward into next season. When he’s been healthy, he’s done some good things. But that’s been few and far between and they’ll need to decide if they can rely on him in 2014.
Don’t get trapped:
While the records and the trajectory of these teams suggest a New Orleans win, this is most definitely a trap game for the Saints. They’re going against a team in Atlanta that’s playing on their home field with nothing to lose. It’s not unlike the way Tampa Bay approached their game with the Falcons on Sunday. The Bucs ran a fake punt, a fake field goal, onside kicks, they blitzed and forced turnovers – all sorts of crazy things and they came away with a victory. On a short week, it will be hard for Atlanta to do all that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out some tricks. On the other side of the field, the Saints could definitely relax and be caught looking ahead to that game next week at Seattle. That’s a game that could ultimately decide home-field advantage in the NFC if it comes down to tiebreakers. New Orleans has a lot on its plate coming up and it would be easy for them looking past Atlanta. With it being a division rivalry game, however, I doubt it’ll happen, but it could…
– Trent Green
Former NFL quarterback Trent Green is the analyst for Thursday Night Football on WestwoodOne. Tonight, he’ll be alongside Ian Eagle for the call as the New Orleans Saints visit the Atlanta Falcons. Coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern on WestwoodOne.
