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| ARI at SEA | CAR at JAX | CHI at WAS | CLE at NYJ | DAL at DET | IND at BAL | KC at DEN | MIA at BUF |
| MIN at SF | NO at ATL | NYG at PHI | OAK at GB | PIT at NE | SD at TEN | STL at CIN | TB at HOU |
Week 14 Game Recap: New Orleans Saints 34, Atlanta Falcons 14
What you need to know
| New Orleans Saints |
QB Drew Brees played extremely well all night. He moved the ball effectively, leading two touchdown drives in the first half that were over 90 yards each. He targeted Marques Colston and David Patten a combined 23 times on the night, and all three of his touchdown passes went to the aforementioned wide receivers.
RB Aaron Stecker got the start at running back for the Saints as Reggie Bush sat due to a knee injury, and showed some promise. He was not too effective in the first half, but he eventually got going once the Saints were up and accumulated 100 yards on 20 carries.
WR Marques Colston caught two touchdown passes, including a jumping grab on a streak from the slot. David Patten had a career day catching nine of the ten balls thrown his way for 122 yards and a nice touchdown down the sideline.
| Atlanta Falcons |
QB Chris Redman showed flashes of being a good quarterback, but he often checked down on third downs and threw well in front of the first down marker. He made a lot of impressive throws, and seemed to favor throwing to Michael Jenkins as seen by the 14 times he threw his way.
RB Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood split time along with Jason Snelling in the backfield. No one was successful against the Saints, as the three running backs combined for 33 yards on 15 carries.
WR Michael Jenkins was the main man for the Falcons, catching nine balls for 83 yards and a hard fought touchdown. Roddy White also had a decent night with a 39 yard touchdown reception down the sideline that was well covered.
What you ought to know
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 28 - 41 - 328 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 |
Brees had a great game Monday night against the Falcons. Brees picked apart the defense with many very difficult throws into good coverage. He managed to find Marques Colston for two touchdowns and David Patten for one. He also was able to improvise a couple of times against the Falcons pass rush to buy more time.
| RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 20 - 100 - 0, Rec: 3 - 7 - 0 (3 targets) |
Stecker filled in as the primary running back with the Saints depleted at that position. He managed to get 100 yards on the night, most of which came in the second half when the Saints were killing the clock.
| RB Pierre Thomas, Rush: 6 - 31 - 0 |
Thomas did not see much action on the night. He only ran the ball six times. It does like Stecker will be the replacement for Reggie Bush if Bush were to miss more time.
| RB Mike Karney, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Karney did not see much action, and caught one of the two balls thrown his way for eight yards.
| WR David Patten, Rec: 9 - 122 - 1 (10 targets) |
Patten was targeted early and often. He caught the first touchdown of the game on a well defended pass down the sidelines. He also was targeted in the end zone on another drive, but Brees was pressure and slightly overthrew the ball. Patten caught an impressive nine balls when only ten were thrown his way.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 9 - 92 - 2 (13 targets) |
Colston had a great night Monday. He was all over the field being utilized as he moved around in the formations. He scored twice on the night. One of the touchdowns was a jumping grab over a cornerback who provided tight coverage. The other touchdown came on a short pass where he turned and stretched the ball over the goalline quickly. It looked like Brees had a lot of confidence in Colston all night.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rush: 1 - 15 - 0, Rec: 1 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) |
Henderson had a tough night, as he dropped a couple of easy passes. He did make one catch for 32 yards.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (4 targets) |
Moore was only targeted four times and caught two short passes for 14 yards. He also fumbled a punt that led to a Falcons touchdown in the second half.
| TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (3 targets) |
Johnson dropped an easy touchdown reception in the second quarter. He caught the other two balls thrown his way later in the game.
| TE Billy Miller, Rec: 1 - 36 - 0 (2 targets) |
Miller was the second tight end for the Saints and caught one of the two balls thrown his way.
| PK Olindo Mare 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points |
Mare was kicking the ball extremely well on the night. The only worry is that he took a hit on coverage late in the game, but it is unlikely he will be affected by that.
| NO Rush Defense |
The Saints completely stopped the run and forced Redman to throw. Their front four looked dominant all night.
| NO Pass Defense |
The Saints played solid pass defense, forcing Redman to stay underneath for the most part. The secondary got burnt twice on the night, but they also returned an interception for a touchdown.
| QB Chris Redman, Pass: 23 - 40 - 298 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0 |
Redman started for the first time this year. He showed ability to throw the ball accurately, but could not consistently move the chains. It seemed like he threw into coverage often on the night, but he did manage to throw for 298 yards and two touchdowns. His interception came on a well thrown ball to Michael Jenkins that went through his hands and right to Roman Harper who returned it for a touchdown.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 6 - 21 - 0, Rec: 2 - 57 - 0 (3 targets) |
Norwood was one of the three running backs for the Falcons who could not get much going on the ground. He had a run of seven yards, which was the longest of any back for the Falcons, but he only gained 14 yards on five other carries. He did have a huge gain on a pass play over the middle; he broke two tackles en route to a 46 yard gain.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 6 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Dunn could not get much going on the night. He had a nice run when he caught the ball on a screen, cutting back across the field to gain 11 yards.
| RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 3 - 9 - 0 |
Snelling saw limited action as the third running back.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 9 - 83 - 1 (14 targets) |
Jenkins was targeted a game high 14 times. He was the favorite target of Redman, but he did not catch a pass for more than 14 yards. He worked underneath all night and was rewarded with nine catches, a touchdown, and 83 yards. He was responsible for Redman's interception, though, which passed through his hands into Roman Harper's hands.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 3 - 75 - 1 (7 targets) |
White had a solid night. He caught a touchdown and three passes for 75 yards. One of the passes he caught went to the one yard line as time expired in the first half. He was hit hard on slants when Redman led him right into defenders.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 3 - 48 - 0 (4 targets) |
Robinson saw minimal targets on the night. He caught three of the four balls thrown his way, including a 41 yard reception when he burned the corner on the outside with a double move.
| WR Joe Horn, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Horn did not get much action on the night, but he did catch both balls thrown his way. Those two catches only netted eight yards though.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (7 targets) |
Crumpler was targeted quite a bit but only yielded three receptions for 16 yards. He seemed a bit sluggish running across the field.
| PK Morten Andersen 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Andersen made both of his extra points, but early in the game the Falcons could not kick the 51 yard field goal opportunity they had and they elected to punt the ball.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Atlanta rush defense was okay on the night, even though they gave up 146 yards rushing. The Saints had the ball for 35:27, and really did not have success running the ball until the second half.
| ATL Pass Defense |
Drew Brees tore apart the Atlanta pass defense, leading two drives of over 90 yards in the first half. It seemed like they had great coverage most of the time, but Brees just had better throws and reads.
