Series history and predictions Yankees vs. Red Sox [url=http://www.officialsaintsfootballstore.com/customized-cheap]Cheap Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys[/url] , Duke vs. Carolina, 'Bama vs. Auburn, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Ali vs. Frazier, Luke vs. Darth, America vs. U.S.S.R. Those rivalries may only be a minor disagreement compared to the outright hate that has existed between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Saints/Falcons is a feud that transcends sports. A Hatfield-McCoy type of rivalry that divides households, ends friendships, and creates sworn enemies among the two fanbases. New Orleans and Atlanta will meet for the 99th time this afternoon, including one playoff showdown. The Falcons own a 52-46 edge in the series, including a 27-22 advantage in games played in Atlanta, site of today's contest. Normally closely played games with unpredictable results, the Falcons have averaged 22.1 points per game, while the Saints 21.8 in games against each other. New Orleans first year as an NFL franchise was of course 1967, which was only the second year of professional football existence for the Falcons. The first meeting between these two took place on November 26, 1967 in New Orleans, a 27-24 Saints victory. It was the second of just three wins on the year for the new team. The first game in Atlanta between them was December 7, 1969, a 45-17 Saints loss. The Falcons would go on to win the first five contests played in Atlanta between the two, and 12 of the first 14. The first Saints victory on their enemy's home field would not be until October 20, 1974. The New Orleans offense netted 232 yards rushing that day, and a superb defensive effort caused six turnovers and sacked Falcon quarterbacks seven times on their way to a 13-3 victory. Atlanta and New Orleans would become division rivals with the formation of the NFC West division at the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They would continue to be linked after the league realigned in 2002, forming the NFC South. Neither franchise would have much success early on. The Falcons did not have their first playoff berth until 1978, and have appeared in the postseason 14 times in their history. New Orleans would have to wait until 1987 for their first appearance in the postseason, and have qualified for the playoffs 11 times during their existence. Both teams have six division championships to their credit, including four NFC South titles a piece, when this rivalry took on greater national prominence. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesThe Saints-Falcons rivalry greatly intensified in 1978. New Orleans entered week eleven with a 5-5 record and in good position for a playoff push when they hosted the Falcons. With just seconds to play, Atlanta pulled off a miraculous 20-17 victory on ahail mary pass that be called Big Ben Right. Just 14 days later, during the rematch in Atlanta [url=http://www.officialsaintsfootballstore.com]www.officialsaintsfootballstore.com[/url] , Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski again ripped the heart out of all of New Orleans with another comeback in the waning moments to give his team a win by an identical 20-17 score. The Saints would dominate their rivals between the mid-1980's through mid-1990's, even winning 8 of the 9 games in the Falcons home stadium between 1986-94. Bartkowski was just one of many reviled players or coaches on both sides throughout the series. Names like Alfred Jackson, Jerry Glanville, William Andrews, Tony Gonzalez, Deion Sanders, Brian Jordan, and Roddy White cause Saints fans to taste bile, while Dalton Hilliard, Quinn Early, Jimmy Graham, Steve Gleason, Deuce McAllister, and the entire Dome Patrol could make a Falcons fan curl into a fetal position. Saints Hall of Famers Bobby Hebert, Morten Anderson, and Joe Horn had the audacity to wear the enemy's uniform at one time, while Michael Haynes would return home to New Orleans after spending the first part of his career with the Falcons. Another era of Saints/Falcons hate has brought much of the same. New names such as Sean Payton, Cam Jordan, Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones, and Deion Jones have drawn the ire of fans on both sides.Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has been the central figure in these wars since his arrival to the Saints in 2006. Brees is 16-8 against the Falcons since becoming a Saint, including a 7-5 record on the road. While Brees would often make the Falcons secondary his own personal playground, they had some moments when they did get the best of their nemesis. One such moment came during last year's showdown in Atlanta on December 7, 2017. Despite 271 yards passing and two scores, Atlanta's Deion Jones intercepted a Brees end zone pass in the last seconds to preserve a 20-17 win. Another cringe worthy moment for Saints fans came on November 29 [url=http://www.officialsaintsfootballstore.com/t-shirts-cheap]Cheap New Orleans Saints T-Shirt[/url] , 2012. On a Thursday night showdown in Atlanta, the Falcons not only carved out a 23-13 victory, but intercepted Brees five times and held him without a touchdown throw, ending his NFL-record streak of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesBrees has often had huge statistical games against his rival, and the Saints will likely need another one to win this key match up. New Orleans is still without their Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram, currently suspended, and has had to rely on the success of the passing game with superstar wideout Michael Thomas and all-purpose stud Alvin Kamara. They will be attacking an injury depleted Atlanta defense missing Jones, pass rusher Takkarist McKinley, and safety Keanu Neal. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has also had some big statistics against the Saints, and will try to match Brees with his own star weapons in wideout in Julio Jones and running back Tevin Coleman. Ryan will also be without a pro bowl back however, as Devonta Freeman has been ruled out with injury. The improved New Orleans defense has been up and down early this season, but defensive end Cameron Jordan has historically performed well against Atlanta, and they are built to pressure a questionable Falcons front line. Both squads come into this game with 1-1 records, but New Orleans has already dropped a division game with a loss to Tampa Bay in week one. The contest does have the makings of another shootout, but this rivalry has been anything but predictable. The Saints appear to have a defensive advantage over the banged up rival, and Brees is coming off a subpar performance (for him) last week against Cleveland, something he rarely does two weeks in a row. Saints 31Falcons 27 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers insisted all along that they weren't overly concerned about having to open the season without suspended quarterback Jameis Winston.That's because Ryan Fitzpatrick not only is an experienced backup who's one of just four players in NFL history to throw touchdown passes for seven different teams, but he has proven he can win games, too.No one, however, could have anticipated him launching his 14th season quite the way he did, throwing for a career-best 417 yards and four TDs without an interception on the road to key a 48-40 victory over the New Orleans Saints.Fitzpatrick also ran for a touchdown, improving to 3-1 as a starter since joining the Bucs before last season.With Winston suspended for three games for violating the league's personal conduct policy, the 35-year-old with 120 starts will also lead Tampa Bay (1-0) the next two weeks against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."He's a down-to-earth guy. He's got a great sense of humor. He's witty, he's intelligent, he's well-spoken. He backs up what he says with how he plays. The players respect him. He doesn't try to come on too strong, but at the same time he's a good leader," coach Dirk Koetter said Monday."When we talked [url=http://www.officialsaintsfootballstore.com/hats-cheap]Cheap New Orleans Saints Hats[/url] , I think earlier in the year, about the difference between Jameis' leadership style and Fitz's leadership style, there's different ways to do it, and there's two good examples of it," Koetter added. "Both (are) good leaders, and we've had other good leaders step up so far."Fitzpatrick entered the NFL in 2005 as a seventh-round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams. He's also played — and thrown TD passes — for the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans and New York Jets.He signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in May 2017, willingly accepting a role as backup to Winston, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He started three games a year ago, winning two, while Winston was sidelined with a shoulder injury."Fitz is comfortable being in there, he's not going to get rattled," Koetter said."After a guy (has) played a certain amount — I don't know what the cutoff is, but Fitz has played a lot. I think that experience of, 'OK, I know how fast the game is going to be. I know when I'm going to have to throw the ball away. I know when I'm going to have to eat it and take a hit. I know when it's time to scramble.'" Koetter added."I just think that best thing overall that Fitz is doing right now is when the play does break down, he's making good decisions with the football whether it be throwing it to a safe spot or becoming a runner."Against the Saints, Fitzpatrick joined Mark Rypien as the only quarterbacks to throw for at least 400 yards with zero interceptions while also rushing for a touchdown in the same game. In addition to being 21 of 28 passing, including a pair of TDs of 50-plus yards, he targeted Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson 12 times, completing all of those throws."To hit them all 12 of those times is pretty unusual," Koetter said.Evans finished with seven receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown. Jackson had five catches for 146 yards and two TDs.
