Saints March On to a 7-0 Start

Last night the New Orleans Saints easily got by their top division rival, the Atlanta Falcons, 35-24. The Saints improve to 7-0, and with the Falcons falling to 4-3, have a commanding lead in the NFC South division race. The Saints right now seem unstoppable, Drew Brees is playing his best football right now, and is just making it look easy out there on the field. Their defense is great in only one area, but they are in a big way: turnovers. The Saints lead the league in interceptions, led by safety Darren Sharper who now has seven (including three returned for touchdowns). The Saints used both their high powered passing attack and their ball hawking defense to take down the Falcons last night.

Brees threw for another 300 yards and two touchdowns last night, which helped allow the running attack to rush for over 160 yards, and two touchdowns of their own. What was really impressive with Brees was his efficiency 25 of 33, which was great compared to Matt Ryan who was under 50% at 19 of 42. Brees does a great job of getting the most out of his weapons on offense. Brees doesn’t have any Reggie Wayne‘s or Larry Fitzgerald‘s to throw the ball too, as the Saints lack that elite number 1 wideout. As a group though, the Saints skill players can match up with anyone’s in the league. New Orleans has a good mix of receivers that balance each other out, they have big receivers, quick receivers, and flat out burners. They, combined with a solid group of running backs and tight ends give Brees all the weapons he needs to execute the Saints offense to perfection.

Last night the Saints got another interception return for a touchdown (not Sharper this time), their fifth of the season. They also have one fumble return for a score as well, giving their defense more points than some offense’s had in the month of October. Even when they aren’t returning a turnover for a score, they are always in position to take the ball away. Their defensive backs gave Ryan fits last night, which led to a QB rating in the 40’s. The Saints make any quarterback they face look completely confused and very mediocre. And given the Saints high powered offense, you are going to have to put the ball in the air if you want to compete with them.

Right now the Saints are playing the best football in the NFC and have a very easy schedule coming up. Between this defense, and Brees on offense they are looking to be the top seed in the NFC come January, and very well could be making a trip to Miami in February.