New Orleans Saints (- 4.5) Vs. Atlanta Falcons (+ 4.5)

On the day that a judge came down hard on Michael Vick (the "dog-murderer" is getting 23 months), the New Orleans Saints get to travel to Atlanta and attempt to beat up on their hated rival, the Atlanta Falcons. Without a doubt, this game means more to the Saints than the Falcons, but last weeks' game for the Saints, where Coach Sean Payton made one of the worst second-half play-calls in the history of Saints' football (a double-reverse with 3 minutes left in the game on third down? Are you kidding me, Becky!), was also very important.

So, the Saints may come into this thing with their heads low as Reggie Bush, their supposed "Savior", is out for the rest of the year. The loss of Reggie really doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me is the following trend:

The New Orleans Saints are 2 and 6 against the spread versus a team with a winning record.

That makes things very difficult for the Saints. They are the classic play down to the competition type team. Boo! But, the Falcons are so bad. I mean, the Falcons are really, really, bad. They will have a hard time in this one stopping the Saints offense. Aaron Stecker, who is taking Reggie's place in the Saints' starting line-up, has enough experience to run effectively against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

The Saints-D can come up big at times if defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs places his fellas in the right places during the right plays. It sounds simple, but it''s not. Luckily, the Falcons don't have a player at the wide receiver position capable of exploiting that terrible Saints' secondary. If the Saints fail to make the playoffs, and I'd say the likelihood is awfully great, expect the Saints to drop cornerback Jason David like a bad habit. I know, I know, I just used one of the oldest cliches in t he book, but, hey, what else can I say?

David is the worst player on a defense full of bad players. Ouch.

Still, I like the Saints to cover the spread. They have too many weapons and with Tampa Bay losing yesterday, the Saints should be rejuvenated and ready to at least try to make amends for their terrible loss last week.

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