Island Casino Monday Night football

When the schedule was first announced shortly after last year’s season, I’m sure this Monday Night game looked like a great one on paper.  You had the New Orleans Saints, who came within a play or two from playing in the Super Bowl and you had the Atlanta Falcons who had one of the most dominate players in the NFL at quarterback for them.  My, how things change.  The Saints are still in the running for an NFC wildcard birth despite sitting at two games under .500.  At certain times during the year it looked like the high powered offense we saw last year was beginning to show up, only to have a dismal performance just a week or two later.  The Atlanta Falcons of course started the season with the bad news that Michael Vick won’t be playing for them this year, and may have a hard time ever getting reinstated back into the NFL.  He is currently serving time in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring.  On the field his former teammates have been struggling to win, but have shown a few bright spots this year, despite the 3-9 record.

One of those bright spots has been third year wide receiver Roddy White.  White is averaging nearly 15 yards per his 62 receptions this season.  He has found the end zone fight times, but has also had a bit of a problem securing the ball, losing four fumbles.  One of the major problems for the team, and has called friction among some players, is who is doing the quarterbacking.  Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich have both seen some action this year, with Harrington getting most of the looks.  Yet some people think the team would do better with Leftwich at the helm.  Harrington has thrown for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions for a rating of just 77.2.  Not exactly the production you need to win in the NFL.

One team that seems to have all the production ability, but can’t get the ball rolling, is the Saints.  They have former NFL MVP Drew Brees at quarterback, a great talent at running back named Reggie Bush, and a few wide receivers that are beginning to make names for themselves.  But, Brees has had more bad games then good this year.  He’s passed for a respectable 20 touchdowns, but has also seen his interception rate rise dramatically.  He’s up to 15 already on the year.  They have also waited for Bush to turn into the runner they thought he would be, but he continues to be more of a catcher than a runner, averaging only 3.7 yards per carry.

The Saints have been up and down all season, and they have lost to some teams about the same caliber as the Falcons.  But, the pressure is on now with the wildcard still being wide open, and I believe the Saints will find a way to win this one fairly comfortably, partly because the Falcons season is officially over for all intents and purposes.  I predict 38-17 Saints.