Fierce Rivalry Battle: The Falcons didn't have the season they envisioned last year, but they always bring their A game for the Saints matchups. This will be fun to watch: an emotional rivalry that's usually hotly contested to the bitter end, but that historically ends in the Saints' favor. During the Brees/Payton era, the Saints have won 13 out of 16 clashes with Atlanta. This contest has been decided by less than a touchdown in the majority of recent matchups, so Sunday should be a riveting affair.
2008:
Game 1: Atlanta wins 34-20
Game 2: Saints win 29-25
2009:
Game 1: Saints win 35-27
Game 2: Saints win 26-23
2010:
Game 1: Atlanta wins 27-24
Game 2: Saints win 17-14
2011:
Game 1: Saints win 26-23
Game 2: Saints win 45-16
2012:
Game 1: Saints win 31-27
Game 2: Atlanta Wins 23-13
2013:
Game 1: Saints win 23-17
Game 2: Saints win 17-13
"Some of these games have come down to the last possession," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "We charted it today for them. That is what they have to pay attention to. It is the details. You don't know when that short yardage play is going to come up, when the red zone stop is going to come up or when that special teams snap that is critical comes up. Detailing the assignments and understanding, especially this early in the season week one, eliminating the mistakes that can keep you from winning. The turnover battle has been significant in this game. That is the biggest emphasis we make - just with how close these games have been."
"What happened in the previous six or seven years is going to have no bearing on the game taking place on Sunday," Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. "There's going to be two teams that have gone through an offseason, calibrated their roster as an organization, and are going out to compete. I understand, and we understand, the importance of division games. To me, this is the most important game for us because it's the first game of the season, and it's the one we're playing, and it's a division game. To play in the second season, you have to win your division. I talk to our team all the time about we weight the division games, and they have to be weighted heavier. Any time we play in a division game, it's important to us to have success within the division."
2. Gunslingers on Display: Quarterbacks Drew Brees (New Orleans) and Matt Ryan (Atlanta) should put on a fantastic air show, providing the Falcons offensive line can buy Ryan enough time to get comfortable. Brees is clearly the dominant quarterback though in this duel. As Brees quickly closes in on John Elway's career total for passing yards, he seems poised for another 5,000 yard season. After all, just look at his track record. Even when Brees didn't reach the 5,000-yard mark, he came close:
2013 5,162 Yards
2012 5, 177 yards
2011 5,476 yards
2010 4,620 yards
2009 4,388 yards
2008 5,069 yards
"It's preparation," Brees said. "It's the way that you practice. It's the way that you approach each day, whether it's the work in the weight room, the film room, here on the field. All of that is just kind of stacking the chips as you work towards game day, so that the minute game day rolls around you know that you've played this game over in your mind 1000 times, thought about this play and that play, this defense and that defense. You feel like you're prepared for anything, and that's when you're able to go out there with ultimate confidence and you're able to cut it loose and play ball."
3. Drew Brees' Aerial Weapons:
Veterans Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham are always consistent targets for Brees, and both have big play history against the Falcons. In the last 6 games, Colston has come up with 33 passes for 399 yards and 3 scores against Atlanta, while in the same time frame, Graham has caught 31 passes for 474 yards and 6 touchdowns. You can bet Sean Payton and Pete Carmichael will continue to use both players' size as a matchup bonus against the Falcons' smaller defensive backs. It will be fun to watch how the Saints deploy newcomers Brandin Cooks and Joe Morgan. Expect Cooks to be a dual threat that makes the defense think twice: the Saints plan to use him to at least partially fill the shoes left empty by Darren Sproles' exit.
"He was drafted in the first round. He has great speed," Smith said referring to Cooks. "Teams don't have a whole lot of tape in the preseason. We've been watching his college tape. He's a dynamic player and it is another weapon. It'll be interesting to see for us, and how we have to adjust during the game and how they are going to use him. I think Sean Payton and his staff have held some things back just like every team in the league. It'll be important for us to adjust because he is a very talented football player."
4. Matt Ryan's Aerial Weapons:
Atlanta's receiving corps should provide Rob Ryan's secondary with a strong initial litmus test. When healthy, the Falcons boast 2 of the best receivers in the business: Roddy White and Julio Jones. Health is a big question mark however for both players. Jones was clutch last year before a season-ending right foot fracture: now Jones says he's still not quite at full speed, but can hold up for an entire game. We're about to find out. Meanwhile Roddy White nursed a high ankle sprain for much of last season â as well as hamstring and knee ailments - and posted his lowest numbers in years. White appeared on the road to recovery as last season ended. Going into this season, White and Jones have set the lofty goal of amassing 1,500 receiving yards each. The Saints defense will be the first men up to try and derail that plan. Sunday's clash between these two and the Saints secondary is a battle to watch.
"That's huge. Anytime Julio is on the field for our team, we're better," Ryan said of Jones. "He's an incredibly explosive player. I think he's really come into his own, had a great training camp coming off the injury. He looks great and I think he's feeling really good. When he's on the field for us we're a more dynamic offense. It's going to be huge for us having him back."
5. Historic Moments: These two opponents know each other inside and out. That knowledge, coupled with the heated rivalry, often leads to a defining historic moment. Look at last season: In Game 1, Saints fans knew they had something special in then rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro when he had that marquee breakup near the goal line. In Game #2, Jimmy Graham's signature dunk over the goalposts left its mark on the uprights and the rulebook. That incident led to the NFL rule change banning dunking this season.
