Who What?: Sean Payton expects to see lots of blitzing
The Vince Lombardi Trophy on display at the Super Bowl. It's troubling for Falcons fans that their hated rivals actually own one of these. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)
FLOWERY BRANCH – Got to check out the guys on Inside the NFL last night on Showtime and Cris Collinsworth, Warren Sapp and Phil Simms were making their picks.
Sapp and Simms picked the Falcons to beat the Saints. Collinsworth picked the Saints to win.
Earlier, a few members of the media chatted with Saints coach Sean Payton on the conference call. We didn’t ask him to pick a winner.
NFC South foe New Orleans coach Sean Payton.
But here’s what he had to say on a few subjects leading up to the 82nd regular-season meeting between the Saints and the Falcons.
ON THE SAINTS JAGGED SCHEDULE TO START TO SEASON: “I think part of that comes with winning. When we came here in ‘06 I think every game was at 12 noon and we had one Monday night game. That was the result of losing. When you do start having success I think you find yourself playing on some of those time slots. Sunday evening, Monday nights, Thursday to open the season, Thanksgiving; there are about five of them this year. It can be challenging, but I think it’s really what your goal was in the beginning; is to put yourself in that position.”
ON HIS PLANS TO REPLACE REGGIE BUSH: “I don’t know if you replace him. Your packages change. Probably, similarly in Atlanta with them (losing) Norwood. There are certain things you do and maybe certain things you stay away from with the player out.”
ON DREW BREES INSTINCTS AND DISTRIBUTION OF HIS PASSES: “I do think he has good instincts. He spends a lot of time studying film and defenses. It’s not often that he’s surprised with something he sees. I think half of the battle with protections at that position is at least knowing when you are protected or when you might be short (of protection). He is certainly one of those players that understands that. I think he has a quick release and he’s able to key and diagnose, make decisions fast. All of those things serve him well.”
Safety Thomas DeCoud "congratulating" Saints quarterback Drew Brees on Monday Night Football on Nov. 2. The hit led to a Falcons touchdown.
ON THE FALCONS REVAMPED DEFENSE: “Certainly, when you watch them, they’ve got exceptional team speed. They run to the ball. They are very aggressive. They give you a lot of looks. . . We saw a lot of pressure last year in both of our games. Certainly when you watch the early part of this season, you see the same thing again.”
ON THE FALCONS RUNNING GAME: “Atlanta has always had an outstanding running game. When you go back to since Coach Mike has been there. It’s certainly been big part of what they want to do. They have great balance. They do a great job with their play action and can pass off of that. The numbers the other day were certainly staggering when you consider the amount of yards they rushed for.”
ON MALCOLM JENKINS AT SAFETY: “He’s playing well. He is someone that is very intelligent. He’s a quick study. I think he’s got good football instincts. We are pleased from the first two weeks with the way he’s play.”
ON PENCHANT FOR SAINTS CREATING TURNOVERS: “The one thing we’ve seen in our league the last 8 to 10 years is the emphasis placed on tackling the ball and ball disruptions. I had this conversion recently with a coach. Teams do such a good job now of emphasising that now that ball carriers, the receivers, the tight end and the running back, all of those players that have the ball in their hands, are certainly mindful of it. We were able to come away with four turnovers Monday night and that was big in our win. One thing that hasn’t changed is that statistic still wins and loses game.”
ON RODDY WHITE’S START TO THE SEASON: “He’s got great speed off the line of scrimmage. He’s an extremely talented receiver. He can hurt you down the field. Certainly you see Matt’s confidence with him. He’s a special player.”
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124 comments Add your comment
K Bird
September 23rd, 2010
4:16 pm
Lets see how many short passes Brees completes from the prone position.
K Bird
September 23rd, 2010
4:17 pm
I’ve fallen andI can’t get up!!!
K Bird
September 23rd, 2010
4:19 pm
See how whiney coach calls plays from the fetal position!
hiramsaint
September 23rd, 2010
4:21 pm
k-bird– is that like kfc which is what the falclowns are gonna feel like sunday afternoon
hiramsaint
September 23rd, 2010
4:22 pm
you shouldn’t talk about smitty like that , it’s only happened to him once
FrontRow
September 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
Correct Breesus. Keep the passes in front of the chains and make the receivers get the YACs.
Oh by the way we have a new LB and SS just for that purpose. Both are quick, fast, and carry a large piece of wood they bring out on every play. The kinda guys that make J Shockey lose his cool.
The 49ers did a pretty good job of it. It was their bumbling that did them in.
hiramsaint
September 23rd, 2010
4:27 pm
a rookie???? wow—eaux neaux it’s 3 & eaux feaux the superbeauxl feauxty feaux champs
Breesus
September 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
We shall see, I will be back Monday. You do the same. Dirty Bird gumbo will be served this Sunday in New Orleans
FrontRow
September 23rd, 2010
4:30 pm
10 y.o. gumbo. Dirty Bird is so 90s.
It’s gonna be NASTY gumbo.
Frustrated, Inc.
September 23rd, 2010
4:33 pm
Why did you not ask coach payton about his vicodin addiction? What ever happened to that story? Did the ole drunk benson make this disappear like a State witness does from time to time into the thin air down on bourbon street?
D. Orlando Ledbetter
September 23rd, 2010
4:40 pm
Jeff Schultz is picking the Falcons to win. http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2010/09/23/weekend-predictions-even-vegas-is-down-on-dogs/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
Sirius Radio’s Rich Gannon is also picking the Falcons to win.
hiramsaint
September 23rd, 2010
4:48 pm
really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jeff schultz is picking the falcons???????????????? what a revelation!!!!!!!!!!!!–@ frustrated- it was settled in arbitration and as advertised , payton wasn’t involved . it was all an extorsion scheme
ln29576
September 23rd, 2010
4:53 pm
Saints are going to win this game. and that is all I have to say, Oh wait, Who Dat, Go Saints
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
September 23rd, 2010
5:39 pm
Real simple to win on Sunday…..Reggie Bush got knocked out of the game by the 49ers so all the Falcons need to do is knock Brees out on Sunday….easy win!!!!
tjhook
September 23rd, 2010
6:18 pm
I got enough love for our Saints visitors to say we can’t continue to complain about the refs calls. That admitted, if Mularkey shows any stones to moving the ball aggressively, we will officially end the “Party with the Lombardi” in New Orleans.
truefalconsfan23
September 23rd, 2010
6:29 pm
ok did everyone forget that we won the superbowl first back in the 90s, and the one yall one last year was a gift we earned ours, i loved all the non calls through the playoffs last year the refs helped the saints win, bret favre should have just ran it and kicked the field goal because hearing the air headed saints fans worship their team like they are the chosen ones is crazy do you know the percentage of teams that repeat in the superbowl? not a high percentage falcons will be a better team this year. last week your unbeatable team should have been beaten by the 49ers but a certain call let them march down the field and kick the game winning feild goal and you dont have reggie bush so i say the falcons win 31 to 10 and take first place away from a team not deserving of it. we have better rbs than you better recievers and a better defense we have only allowed 2 tds how many have your good defense allowed? just think bout it and when you see it happen on sunday dont blame the refs because they wont be able to help you this time
SeenThisB4
September 23rd, 2010
6:48 pm
truefalconsfa23: You’re an embarrassment even to your own fellow fans!
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
hiramsaint
September 23rd, 2010
7:50 pm
hate to tell you this truefalconsfan23 but the ‘cons lost and the trophy resides in it’s rightful place in denver. maybe you missed the game. are you really front row ? you cry almost just like she does!
What happened?
September 23rd, 2010
9:21 pm
Falcon’s coaching staff and players sunday afternoon
bcinbuford
September 23rd, 2010
11:18 pm
I love how the Saints fan like to talk about the teams Atlanta has played this year, and don’t mention the teams they have barely scraped a win over. The 49′rs? Granted I will give you that they are a better team this year than last, but when any team hands you the football “FOUR” times and you have to pull off a field goal as time expires to win, that does not impress me at all. The Vikings have proven to be a high caliber team so far this year also (for those of you from New Orleans, that is an example of sarcasm). When are the Saints fans going to admit that they have a real problem this year? They have not played a decent team but seem to think that they can barely beat bad teams and win the Super Bowl. The only thing they will win this year with the way they are playing is the Toilet Bowl. But it will probably take them to overtime to do it. Here are the cold hard facts. Atlanta vs New Orleans all-time record…Atlanta 44-37. Even with the Saints being 7-1 over the last 8 games, we own their sorry asses!
welikebaseball2
September 23rd, 2010
11:20 pm
LOL @ all these ‘Aints fans acting like they’ve got a dynasty in the brewing or something. You guys got a lot of breaks last year (as does any team that makes it to the Super Bowl), but the NFL has about the most parity of any other professional sports league & I guarantee you guys won’t even see the NFC championship game this year. If you’ve got any knowledge of the league’s history, you’d know not to put your foot too far in your mouth after ONE good season.
Klean
September 24th, 2010
2:10 am
This is the year the world reorients itself back right and we come out of the twilight zone!!
Falcons beat the Saints this weekend 28-17
Geaux Saints
September 24th, 2010
10:54 am
Down here in Nawlins we call the Falcons “Yum-yum”….
See you on Sunday!
Saints LSU
September 24th, 2010
2:43 pm
this is not the same team that played the 49ers there @ home means a lot