***TNF IN THE SWAMP - NO @ ATL***

***NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ ATLANTA FALCONS***

Alright alright my friends we successfully got back on track Monday Night despite the Bungles blowing a comfortable lead against the Steelers and losing, they still managed to cover our number! Looking to go back to back and get a fire sparking here as we head into week 14 and I'm pumped for tonight's game as it is probably the best Thursday night matchup we've seen thus far. An NFC South battle that has a tremendous amount of meaning takes center stage tonight as the Division's best 9-3 New Orleans Saints head into Atlanta to take on the 7-5 Falcons who will essentially be putting their season on the line tonight. Although I do have to state that I don't necessarily agree with the do or die aspect for the Falcons here since this is the first matchup against the Saints and they will face-off against them again at New Orleans in two weeks. They also will end their season with a rematch against Carolina who won the first game amongst the two earlier this season. That being said, I obviously do agree that things will look much brighter for ATL if they can get a win here at home tonight. A win here would put them only one game back behind the Saints with a chance to overthrow them down the stretch. So yes, tonight is extremely important for the Falcons, I just don't think they are completely dead if they lose here, although it would indeed be a pretty devastating blow to their morale and psychologically.

The Saints have been one of the pleasant surprises this year and have been dominating since dropping their first two games of the season. They managed to rattle off eight wins straight after that before losing a tough game on the road against another surprise this year, a very good Rams team. Last week they were able to bounce back at home by completing the season sweep of a divisional foe in a tough Carolina Panthers team. Impressed is an understatement for my take on the Saints this season. I've always liked QB Drew Brees and felt somewhat bad for him these last few seasons being on the latter part of his career and on a team that had one of the worst defenses in the league in my opinion. The addition of Rookie CB Marshon Lattimore has proven to be a great draft pick by the Saints as he will most likely get Defensive Rookie of the year accolades with the way he's been locking opponents down. The kid has been out the past two games with an injury but will be back tonight and matched up against the great WR Julio Jones, awesome TV right there baby! I like how this Saints defense as come together as a whole behind their Coordinator Dennis Allen. They play extremely well and I feel that they could've beaten the Rams had they been at full strength that day. Regardless the Falcons have not been as explosive on offense as they were on their Super Bowl run last season. The easy answer for this is the loss of their Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan after his departure for a Head Coaching job. They really struggled to start this season and seemed to of found themselves again a bit lately wining three straight before losing to the first place Minnesota Vikings last weekend. The pressure has now increased for Atlanta for this game tonight as they have not been their best at home this season and are desperate for a win to remain a favorite among the Wild Card bunch. I think that the Falcons will be able to get theirs tonight, but I believe that the Saints offense will outlast the Dirty Birds here. The Saints may also have the Offensive rookie of the year in RB Alvin Kamara. The 1-2 punch that he and RB Mark Ingram have formed since letting the veteran Adrian Peterson walk has been phenomenal. They have created the perfect duo of thunder and lightning type styles that allows the older Drew Brees to savor his arm and for the passing game that New Orleans has always relied on to almost become a second option in offense. While the Falcons should be getting some players back on defense and seem to be getting back to the form they were last year, I believe that the Saints are out to make a statement tonight and seize control of the division here. I like Kamara and Ingram to have a HUGE game tonight and Brees to utilize this to his favor and pick his spots downfield once the defense inevitably gets sucked into stopping the running game. As I mentioned before, the Falcons will get theirs on offense tonight, they are too talented on that side of the ball and they are home in a big game in the Prime Time spotlight. Julio Jones, Sanu, and let's not forget the RB duo that Atlanta has as well in Devonta Freeman and Telvin Coleman. I foresee a back and forth, highly entertaining game for us to feast on tonight, and when it comes down to it- I just believe that the Saints are the better team and will show that tonight. The way I see it, after tonight we will be seriously looking at New Orleans as a real deal contender to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl if we aren't already. I apologize for any errors and the briefness of this write-up, was in a rush tonight! SAINTS+2.5