NFL Monday Night Football Preview - Atlanta vs. New Orleans

One thing that is going to make it very tough for the Atlanta Falcons (11.5-point underdogs in the BetUS NFL betting odds) on Monday night is the fact that they have underperformed on defense. Simply put, the unit just cannot manage to get itself off the field.

Atlanta is allowing the opposition to convert on 45.2% of third down opportunities, and there is only one team in the NFL that is worse. One of the reasons for this, of course, is that the Falcon stop unit doesn't give its opponents a very difficult third down puzzle to solve. When you're surrendering 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, you are constantly giving teams a lot of maneuverability; a lot of options on both second and third down, because they won’t have far to go to move the chains.

When Drew Brees is at the controls on the other side of the line of scrimmage, this becomes particularly problematic, and it's not just because Brees is one of the smartest, most experienced quarterbacks they're going to encounter. It's also because Brees now has a running game for other teams to worry about, with 4.6 yards a carry and 12 TD's.

He has the ability to freeze the linebackers with play action, and then, the whole menu is his. The Saints have not only beaten every team by 12 points or more thus far; they rank second in the NFL in first downs, so it's going to be hard for Atlanta to keep the chains from moving.

The Falcons were weak up the gut last season, surrendering 4.6 yards a rush attempt, and for that reason they allowed defensive tackle Grady Jackson to leave as a free agent (he signed with Detroit) and made Peria Jerry, a teammate of new movie celebrity Michael Oher at Ole Miss, the #24 pick in the draft, right behind Oher. Jerry had time to make one NFL tackle before suffering a knee injury that has put him out for the rest of the season, and now Atlanta is back to square one, allowing 4.6 yards a carry and virtually clueless as to how to solve their problem. Last week the Dallas Cowboys didn't really need a lot from the rushing game, as Tony Romo burned the Falcon secondary for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

What's strong about New Orleans' ground attack is that it's not a case where if you shut one guy down, you shut the whole thing down. Mike Bell had 80 yards against the Dolphins last week, as his team was in the process of scoring 42 points over a 37-minute period after going down 24-3. he had a tougher game the week before against the Giants, with 34 yards ion 15 carries, but Pierre Thomas was the guy who stepped in and had the hot hand, with 72 yards.

Bell averages 4.8 yards a carry while Thomas is at 5.6 yards a clip. Reggie Bush, otherwise known as Kim Kardashian's bed buddy, has been a disappointment (on the field, not necessarily for Kim), as he's rushed for just 175 yards. Usually Bush could be counted on to make this up through short pass receptions, but he's got just 18 of those. Remember, in his first two seasons, Bush had 88 and 73 catches, so these numbers are way down.