When the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints met to open their respective 2013-2014 NFL campaigns, many thought the match-up would serve as a prerequisite to a late-season affair with division implications or perhaps even a postseason contest that would propel one closer to the ultimate goal of a championship. While the Saints (8-2) have certainly held up their end of the bargain - with tremendous ability on both sides of the ball - the Falcons (2-8) have struggled mightily since the Week 1 loss to New Orleans, continuing to battle through injuries and poor play.
Suffering through the losses of major impact players including wide receiver Julio Jones, offensive tackle Sam Baker while also enduring the bumps and bruises inflicted upon wide out Roddy White and tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons have not been able to get any consistency this season as they've plummeted to the bottom of the NFC South. With blowout losses to the Arizona Cardinals (27-13), Carolina Panthers (34-10), Seattle Seahawks (33-10) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (41-28) all coming consecutively over the past four weeks, the Falcons certainly haven't lived up to their high preseason expectations. Despite the struggles however, owner Arthur Blank says he has complete faith in head coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff since they've been the model of consistency in recent years, including last season's trip to the NFC Championship Game.
"We love our head coach and we love our general manager," Blank said. "It's up to them to candidly look at everybody -- candidly, honestly, critically -- and see what we have to do. There should be nobody that escapes that critique. That's their job, and I have confidence they'll do it. And they are doing it. And they will do it. The old days, the Atlanta Falcons were going up and down every year, 36 years, so we've had five great years -- second-most wins in the league. Obviously what's disheartening is this year, when you're sitting at 2-8 with the expectations that were reasonable coming into this year. It's very disappointing for our fans [and] for everybody connected to the franchise."
While Atlanta continues to struggle, the New Orleans Saints are looking for their third-straight win. Set to take on the Falcons at the Georgia Dome to open up Week 12 of the NFL Season, New Orleans hopes to build off a tough 23-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers but despite Atlanta's record, don't expect the Saints to overlook a team that still possesses quarterback Matt Ryan.
"This is a test that we're going to have to try and overcome," defensive end Cameron Jordan said. "Honestly, why not have it? It's a division opponent, it's our rival. It's going to talk a lot about the fortitude and what we have on this team."
With tough games coming up the next two weeks against the Seattle Seahawks and the division rival Carolina Panthers, the Saints certainly can't afford to fall asleep during the upcoming showdown in Atlanta.
New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons: DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Thursday, November 21
TIME: 8:25pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: NFL Network
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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