Three keys for a Saints victory over Falcons
The New Orleans Saints are preparing for their Week 3 showdown against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night. In case you didn’t know, being 0-3 is a bad scenario and the Saints will definitely want to win on Monday.
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The Saints season-swept the Falcons last year, keeping the 8-8 squad out of the playoffs, if there was a positive takeaway in 2015. So what do they need to do if they want a win Monday? Here are three keys to a big win.
Slow down Julio Jones
Jones hasn’t had his strongest start, with nine catches and 172 yards with two touchdowns in his first pair of games against mediocre teams. The Saints held Odell Beckham Jr. to eight catches for 86 yards. Hey, that’s impressive when you consider the opponent’s third receiver always seems to score two touchdowns on them.
The Saints struggled against Jones last season. In the first meeting, he had six catches for 83 yards. In the next, he had nine catches for 149. Implementing double coverage will be the only way to slow him down.
2. Find Coby Fleener
Fleener’s first two games have been disappointing. He has just three catches for 35 yards. The New York Giants and Oakland Raiders don’t have great defenses. It’s time for him to break through now.
The Falcons don’t have a linebacker that can line up with Fleener in the end zone. This is the time to exploit that weakness. Drew Brees needs to get his new man involved this Monday.
3. Play a balanced game
Drew Brees’ 423 yards and four touchdowns weren’t enough in a 35-34 loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 1. In Week 2, the defense’s ability to hold Eli Manning to 16 points was all-for-nothing. The Saints scored 13 points after dropping 52 on the Giants in last year’s meeting.
So what’s the main key here? If Brees scores 30 points, it’d be nice if the defense could surrender 24 or less. If the defense holds Atlanta to 14 points or less, it’d be nice if the Saints could score 15 or more.
It’s not rocket science. It’s time for both sides to work together in a win.
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