The Falcons lost the first meeting between these teams 35-27 but that was with a healthy Michael Turner and Matt Ryan.  That won’t be the case this weekend as Chris Redman and Jerious Norwood will likely be starting at QB and RB.  The Saints’ D is starting to show some cracks so the Falcons must be aggressive on offense this Sunday.  Redman should come out throwing the ball to Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez against a Saints’ D that is allowing 230.0 yards passing per game this year.  Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling will have to step up in this game as the Saints are allowing 112.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  If the Falcons can get a ground game going then they can keep the ball away from Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense.

The Saints are almost impossible to defend as they rush for 142.6 yards per game and they pass for 286.4 yards per game.  So it’s pick your poison on defense.  If you cheat up to deal with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush then Drew Brees goes up top.  If you play extra DBs to slow the passing game then they just run the ball.  The best way to give the Falcons a chance to win this game is to keep the ball away from the Saints’ offense and that is not easy.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 33, FALCONS 17

The Falcons will likely need to win out to make the playoffs and while that seems like a hard task it is far from impossible.  This week is the toughest one for the Falcons as the Saints are 12-0 after all.  But, in the first meeting between these teams the Falcons only lost by 8 points.  The Falcons then play the Jets in New Jersey, Buffalo at home and then they finish the season at Tampa Bay.  So if the Falcons can somehow win this week then the playoffs won’t be a pipe dream.

The Falcons have placed 30-year old linebacker Tony Gilbert on the Injured Reserve List with a hamstring injury.  Gilbert played in 12 games this season for the Falcons and he had 4 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  The Falcons won’t miss Gilbert too much as he was basically just a special teams player.

In Michael Vick’s return to Atlanta, the depleted Atlanta Falcons (6-6) just could not get their offense going Sunday and they were crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles (8-4).  Vick was a major contributor to the Eagles’ win, running and passing for a touchdown.  Vick, who initially heard boos when he first came on to the field, was emotional in his return to Atlanta and fans were cheering and chanting his name by the end of it.  It was an ugly game for the Falcons, and perhaps Falcons fans still wished to see Vick in red and black in this game as Chris Redman was horrible in the place of the injured Matt Ryan.  Redman went 23/44 for 235 yards and 1 touchdown, but he threw two interceptions where one turned into an 83-yard touchdown return for the Eagles.

The Falcons’ defense kept the game as close as they could, but with no offensive support there was not much they could do.  It was 13-0 game at halftime, but the Eagles tacked on two touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.  With Michael Turner out, the Falcons only managed 61 yards on the ground.  They at least avoided the shutout when they managed to score as time expired in the 4th quarter.  The Falcons are now two games back of the Eagles in the NFC Wildcard and they sorely missed Matt Ryan and Michael Turner in this game.  It would have been a much different game had the Falcons had their two star players.

The Atlanta Falcons (6-5) are hosting the Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) Sunday in what will be Michael Vick’s first time back in Atlanta since his dog fighting scandal forced him out of the NFL.  Vick doesn’t play much for the Eagles, but there will still be a lot of buzz in the ATL surrounding Vick’s return and it will be interesting to see the reactions.  As far as the game goes, the Falcons have been hit by the injury bug hard, so this will be a difficult one for them to win.  Matt Ryan is out with turf toe and it looks like Michael Turner may not be able to go as well, as he re-injured an ankle sprain last week.  That means Chris Redman will be the starting quarterback and the veteran had a pretty solid game last week going 23/41 for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.  It was against the 1-10 Bucs though, so I woudn’t expect a similar performance from Redman.

The Falcons are going to need a great game out of their defense if they want to pull out a win.  They have been giving up 375 total yards per game on average, and they will not win if they give up that many yards to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles’ offense.  McNabb will not have his go-to receiver in this game though, as DeSean Jackson is out with a concussion.  They will probably hand the ball off a little more because of this, so the Falcons need to be ready for LeSean McCoy who averages 4.3 yards per carry.  With the Falcons two key offensive positions not at full strength, I just don’t see them winning this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 17, Philadelphia Eagles 28

The Falcons have signed 33-year old long snapper Joe Zelenka to a 1-year deal.  Zelenka played in all 16 games for the Jaguars in 2008.  He has now played in 157 games in his 10-year NFL career making a pretty solid living out of snapping the football on kicks and punts.  This is likely a nice little upgrade for the Falcons.

The Falcons have released long snapper Bryan Pittman.  Pittman played in 4 games for the Falcons this season.  The Falcons wanted to make wholesale changes to the kicking game so that meant that Pittman had to go along with Elam.

The Falcons have signed 34-year old kicker Matt Bryant to a 1-year deal.  Bryant played in all 16 games for the Bucs last season and he made 32 of 38 field goals (84.2%) and 35 of 36 extra points which was good for 131 points.  Bryant has now played in 94 games in his NFL career and he has made 138 of 168 field goals (82.1%) and 181 of 185 extra points for 595 points.  This was a good signing for the Falcons as Bryant would have been on a team a while ago if he weren’t kicking for the Orlando Tuskers of the UFL this season.

The Falcons have released 39-year old kicker Jason Elam.  Elam played in all 11 games for the Falcons this season and he connected on only 12 of 19 field goals (63.2%) and 32 of 33 extra point for 68 total points.  In two years with the Falcons, Elam played in 27 games in which he made 41 of 50 field goals (82%) and he also made 74 of 75 extra points good for 197 points.  This could be the end of the line for Elam in the NFL as he is starting to look his age.

Starting QB Matt Ryan won’t be playing at home against the Eagles this weekend.  Ryan has started all 11 games for the Falcons this season and he has completed 206 of 347 passes (59.4%) for 2,291 yards with 16 TD passes and 12 INTs (80.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 27 times for 48 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  32-year old veteran Chris Redman will replace Ryan in the starting lineup.  He has played in 2 games this season for the Falcons and he has completed 23 of 41 passes (56.1%) for 243 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (89.8 QB Rating).  The Falcons will miss Ryan some but they are lucky to have a solid back-up like Redman and he should do a good job.