GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: NEW ORLEANS (5-7) at ATLANTA (3-9)

NFL: NEW ORLEANS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
NEW ORLEANS 34
ATLANTA 14 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: NEW ORLEANS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 7 10 14 3 34
ATLANTA 7 0 0 7 14 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

11:42 NOR - TD, DAVID PATTEN 25 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 99 yards in 2:26.
Key plays: Brees 12-yard pass to Colston to New Orleans 13; Bress
21-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-5 to New Orleans 39; Brees 36-yard pass
to Miller to Atlanta 25. NEW ORLEANS 7-0.
13:38 ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 33 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards in 1:36.
Key plays: Redman 41-yard pass to Robinson on 3rd-and-6 to New
Orleans 35. NEW ORLEANS 7-7.

2ND QUARTER:

4:19 NOR - FG, OLINDO MARE 23 YD.
Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards in 5:41.
Key plays: Brees 25-yard pass to Colston on 3rd-and-6 to New Orleans
49; Brees 20-yard pass to Patten to Atlanta 31; Brees 7-yard pass to
Patten on 3rd-and-3 to Atlanta 17; Stecker 3-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to
Atlanta 5. NEW ORLEANS 10-7.
13:54 NOR - TD, MARQUES COLSTON 15 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards in 6:22.
Key plays: Stecker 6-yard run on 3rd-and-4 to New Orleans 18; Brees
7-yard pass to Moore on 3rd-and-2 to New Orleans 33; Brees 13-yard pass to
Johnson to Atlanta 39; Brees 17-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-3 to
Atlanta 15. NEW ORLEANS 17-7.

3RD QUARTER:

5:47 NOR - TD, MARQUES COLSTON 2 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards in 5:47.
Key plays: Stecker 17-yard run to Atlanta 43; Brees 17-yard pass to
Patten on 3rd-and-6 to Atlanta 22. NEW ORLEANS 24-7.
6:30 NOR - TD, ROMAN HARPER 31 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (OLINDO MARE KICK).
NEW ORLEANS 31-7.

4TH QUARTER:

6:08 ATL - TD, MICHAEL JENKINS 13 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards in :46.
Key plays: Irons 4-yard fumble return to New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS
31-14.
12:12 NOR - FG, OLINDO MARE 36 YD.
Drive: 11 plays, 54 yards in 6:04.
Key plays: Brees 32-yard pass to Henderson on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta
35; Stecker 16-yard run to Atlanta 29; Brees 5-yard pass to Patten on
4th-and-4 to Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 34-14.

NEW ORLEANS - ATLANTA Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS NEW ORLEANS ATLANTA

FIRST DOWNS 23 13
Rushing 7 1
Passing 16 12
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 10-17-59% 2-12-17%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 2-4-50%
TOTAL NET YARDS 473 323
Total offensive plays 71 59
Average gain per play 6.7 5.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 145 37
Rushing attempts 30 16
Average gain per rush 4.8 2.3
Tackles for loss-yards 0-0 4-8
NET YARDS PASSING 328 286
Times sacked: Number-Yards 0-0 3-12
Gross passing yards 328 298
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 41-28-0 40-23-1
Avg gain per pass play 8.0 6.7
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 7-6-4 3-2-2
PUNTS: Number and Average 3-38.7 6-47.0
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 38.7 46.0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 31 6
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 1-0 2-6
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 1-19 3-73
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-31 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 3-20 4-40
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 0-1 2-0
TOUCHDOWNS 4 2
Rushing 0 0
Passing 3 2
Interceptions 1 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 4-4 2-2
Kicking: Made-Attempts 4-4 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 2-4-50% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 0-0-0%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 35:27 24:33


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NEW ORLEANS ATLANTA

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A STECKER 20 100 5.0 17 0 J NORWOOD 6 21 3.5 7 0
P THOMAS 6 31 5.2 10 0 J SNELLING 3 9 3.0 4 0
D HENDERSO 1 15 15.0 15 0 C REDMAN 1 4 4.0 4 0
M KARNEY 1 0 0.0 0 0 W DUNN 6 3 0.5 4 0
D BREES 2 -1 -0.5 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D BREES 28-41-328 0 3 36 C REDMAN 23-40-298 1 2 46

Sacked-Yards Lost: None Sacked-Yards Lost: C REDMAN 3-12.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D PATTEN 9 122 13.6 25 1 M JENKINS 9 83 9.2 14 1
M COLSTON 9 92 10.2 25 2 R WHITE 3 75 25.0 39 1
A STECKER 3 7 2.3 8 0 L ROBINSON 3 48 16.0 41 0
E JOHNSON 2 17 8.5 13 0 A CRUMPLER 3 16 5.3 7 0
L MOORE 2 14 7.0 7 0 J NORWOOD 2 57 28.5 46 0
B MILLER 1 36 36.0 36 0 J HORN 2 8 4.0 5 0
D HENDERSO 1 32 32.0 32 0 W DUNN 1 11 11.0 11 0
M KARNEY 1 8 8.0 8 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R HARPER 1 31 31.0 31 1

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S WEATHERF 3 116 38.7 0 0 41 M KOENEN 6 282 47.0 0 4 60

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L MOORE 1 0 0.0 0 0 A JENNINGS 2 6 3.0 3 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
P THOMAS 1 19 19.0 19 0 J NORWOOD 3 73 24.3 31 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
O MARE 4/4 2/2 M ANDERSEN 2/2 0/0
Dist.: 23 36

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
W SMITH 0 0 1 0-0 C REDMAN 1 0 0 0-0
D IRONS 0 0 0 0-1
D BATISTE 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
W SMITH 8 7 1 1-0 D WILLIAMS 8 7 1 0-0
K KAESVIHARN 5 5 0 0-0 C HOUSTON 7 7 0 0-0
J CRAFT 4 4 0 0-0 K BROOKING 7 6 1 0-0
R HARPER 4 4 0 0-0 L MILLOY 7 5 2 0-0
C REIS 4 4 0 0-0 M STANLEY 5 5 0 0-0
J DAVID 3 3 0 0-0 C CROCKER 4 4 0 0-0
S SHANLE 3 3 0 0-0 S NICHOLAS 4 4 0 0-0
K CLANCY 3 2 1 0-0 J BABINEAUX 4 3 1 0-0
H THOMAS 2 2 0 1-3 M BOLEY 4 3 1 0-0
M MCKENZIE 2 2 0 0-0 D HALL 4 3 1 0-0
S FUJITA 2 2 0 0-0 J ABRAHAM 2 2 0 0-0
M SIMONEAU 2 1 1 1-9 K HUNTLEY 2 2 0 0-0
C GRANT 1 0 1 0-0 T ANDERSON 1 1 0 0-0
M MITCHELL 1 0 1 0-0 C DAVIS 1 1 0 0-0
D STONE 1 1 0 0-0

Att: 69,553</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - In a game that lost most of its luster, DrewBrees shined.


Brees threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns to lead the NewOrleans Saints to a 34-14 win over the struggling AtlantaFalcons on Monday night.


Marques Colston caught nine passes for 92 yards and twotouchdowns and David Patten caught nine passes for 122 yards anda touchdown to help keep the Saints' (6-7) remote playoff hopesalive.


Brees picked apart a weak Atlanta secondary all night,completing 28-of-41 passes as New Orleans completed a seasonsweep of the Falcons.


Aaron Stecker rushed for 100 yards in place of the injuredReggie Bush as the Saints prevented Tampa Bay from clinching theNFC South title.


When the game was selected by ESPN as a Monday night contestwhen the television schedules were set earlier this year, thiswas supposed to be a matchup between an upstart Saints teamwhich won the NFC South last season against the Michael Vick-ledFalcons (3-10).


But with Vick behind bars on federal dog fighting-relatedcharges and New Orleans struggling with and without Bush, whomissed this one and perhaps the rest of the season with a kneeinjury, the game lost a lot of its appeal.


Brees put on a show and helped keep hope alive in New Orleans.The former Purdue standout drove the Saints almost the entirelength of the field to get New Orleans on the board.

Picking apart the Falcons on a six-play, 99 yard drive, Breesconnected on passes of 12, 21 and 36 yards before finding DavidPatten down the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown pass with3:18 remaining in the first quarter.


Chris Redman and the Falcons answered right back, driving 80yards on their next possession to tie the contest.

The 30-year old Redman, who was out of football the past threeseasons, connected with Roddy White on a 33-yard pass down theleft sideline for his first touchdown since the 2002 campaign toknot the game at 7-7 with 1:12 remaining in the first.

In his first start of the season, Redman, who played atLouisville under Falcons coach Bobby Petrino, finished 23-for-40for 298 yards, two TDs and one interception.


Even when the Saints screwed up on the field, it came out roses.

Return specialist Lance Moore made a fair-catch signal on a puntat about the 14-yard line with 7:28 remaining in the second.But New Orleans cornerback Usama Young ran into Moore, andAtlanta downed the ball at the Saints 6.


But Brees bailed out Young, engineering a 13-play, 94-yard driveand connecting with Marques Colston for a 15-yard touchdownstrike to give New Orleans a 17-7 lead with 1:06 remaining inthe half.


The Saints rolled in the second half.


Brees connected with Colston for a 2-yard touchdown pass with9:13 remaining in the third before safety Roman Harper found theend zone on a 31-yard interception return to give the Saints a31-7 advantage just 43 seconds later.


The touchdowns broke the spirits of the downtrodden Falcons andtheir fans, who woke up Monday to learn that their disgracedsignal-caller Vick would be trading in his football cleats forprison garb for the next 23 months.


Atlanta could have used Vick.


The offense charged deep into Saints territory on threeoccasions, but the drives sputtered on the Saints 34-, 35- and25-yard lines.


Olindo Mare connected on field goals of 27 and 36 yards for theSaints, who won for just the second time in five games.

Michael Jenkins notched a career-high nine catches for 83 yardsand a touchdown for the Falcons, who have lost four straight.

 

NFL: NEW ORLEANS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 7 10 14 3 34
ATLANTA 7 0 0 7 14 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

11:42 NOR - TD, DAVID PATTEN 25 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 99 yards in 2:56.
Key plays: Brees 12-yard pass to Colston to New Orleans 13; Bress
21-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-5 to New Orleans 39; Brees 36-yard pass
to Miller to Atlanta 25. NEW ORLEANS 7-0.
13:38 ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 33 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards in 1:56.
Key plays: Redman 41-yard pass to Robinson on 3rd-and-6 to New
Orleans 35. NEW ORLEANS 7-7.

2ND QUARTER:

4:19 NOR - FG, OLINDO MARE 23 YD.
Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards in 5:41.
Key plays: Brees 25-yard pass to Colston on 3rd-and-6 to New Orleans
49; Brees 20-yard pass to Patten to Atlanta 31; Brees 7-yard pass to
Patten on 3rd-and-3 to Atlanta 17; Stecker 3-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to
Atlanta 5. NEW ORLEANS 10-7.
13:54 NOR - TD, MARQUES COLSTON 15 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards in 6:22.
Key plays: Stecker 6-yard run on 3rd-and-4 to New Orleans 18; Brees
7-yard pass to Moore on 3rd-and-2 to New Orleans 33; Brees 13-yard pass to
Johnson to Atlanta 39; Brees 17-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-3 to
Atlanta 15. NEW ORLEANS 17-7.

3RD QUARTER:

5:47 NOR - TD, MARQUES COLSTON 2 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards in 5:47.
Key plays: Stecker 17-yard run to Atlanta 43; Brees 17-yard pass to
Patten on 3rd-and-6 to Atlanta 22. NEW ORLEANS 24-7.
6:30 NOR - TD, ROMAN HARPER 31 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (OLINDO MARE KICK).
NEW ORLEANS 31-7.

4TH QUARTER:

6:08 ATL - TD, MICHAEL JENKINS 13 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards in :46.
Key plays: Irons 4-yard fumble return to New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS
31-14.
12:12 NOR - FG, OLINDO MARE 36 YD.
Drive: 11 plays, 54 yards in 6:04.
Key plays: Brees 32-yard pass to Henderson on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta
35; Stecker 16-yard run to Atlanta 29; Brees 5-yard pass to Patten on
4th-and-4 to Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 34-14.

NEW ORLEANS - ATLANTA Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS NEW ORLEANS ATLANTA

FIRST DOWNS 23 13
Rushing 7 1
Passing 16 12
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 10-17-59% 2-12-17%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 2-4-50%
TOTAL NET YARDS 473 323
Total offensive plays 71 59
Average gain per play 6.7 5.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 145 37
Rushing attempts 30 16
Average gain per rush 4.8 2.3
Tackles for loss-yards 0-0 4-8
NET YARDS PASSING 328 286
Times sacked: Number-Yards 0-0 3-12
Gross passing yards 328 298
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 41-28-0 40-23-1
Avg gain per pass play 8.0 6.7
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 7-6-4 3-2-2
PUNTS: Number and Average 3-38.7 6-47.0
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 38.7 46.0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 31 6
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 1-0 2-6
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 1-19 3-73
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-31 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 3-20 4-40
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 0-1 2-0
TOUCHDOWNS 4 2
Rushing 0 0
Passing 3 2
Interceptions 1 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 4-4 2-2
Kicking: Made-Attempts 4-4 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 2-4-50% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 0-0-0%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 35:27 24:33


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NEW ORLEANS ATLANTA

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A STECKER 20 100 5.0 17 0 J NORWOOD 6 21 3.5 7 0
P THOMAS 6 31 5.2 10 0 J SNELLING 3 9 3.0 4 0
D HENDERSO 1 15 15.0 15 0 C REDMAN 1 4 4.0 4 0
M KARNEY 1 0 0.0 0 0 W DUNN 6 3 0.5 4 0
D BREES 2 -1 -0.5 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D BREES 28-41-328 0 3 36 C REDMAN 23-40-298 1 2 46

Sacked-Yards Lost: None Sacked-Yards Lost: C REDMAN 3-12.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D PATTEN 9 122 13.6 25 1 M JENKINS 9 83 9.2 14 1
M COLSTON 9 92 10.2 25 2 R WHITE 3 75 25.0 39 1
A STECKER 3 7 2.3 8 0 L ROBINSON 3 48 16.0 41 0
E JOHNSON 2 17 8.5 13 0 A CRUMPLER 3 16 5.3 7 0
L MOORE 2 14 7.0 7 0 J NORWOOD 2 57 28.5 46 0
B MILLER 1 36 36.0 36 0 J HORN 2 8 4.0 5 0
D HENDERSO 1 32 32.0 32 0 W DUNN 1 11 11.0 11 0
M KARNEY 1 8 8.0 8 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R HARPER 1 31 31.0 31 1

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S WEATHERF 3 116 38.7 0 0 41 M KOENEN 6 282 47.0 0 4 60

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L MOORE 1 0 0.0 0 0 A JENNINGS 2 6 3.0 3 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
P THOMAS 1 19 19.0 19 0 J NORWOOD 3 73 24.3 31 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
O MARE 4/4 2/2 M ANDERSEN 2/2 0/0
Dist.: 23 36

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
W SMITH 0 0 1 0-0 C REDMAN 1 0 0 0-0
D IRONS 0 0 0 0-1
D BATISTE 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
W SMITH 8 7 1 1-0 D WILLIAMS 8 7 1 0-0
K KAESVIHARN 5 5 0 0-0 C HOUSTON 7 7 0 0-0
J CRAFT 4 4 0 0-0 K BROOKING 7 6 1 0-0
R HARPER 4 4 0 0-0 L MILLOY 7 5 2 0-0
C REIS 4 4 0 0-0 M STANLEY 5 5 0 0-0
J DAVID 3 3 0 0-0 C CROCKER 4 4 0 0-0
S SHANLE 3 3 0 0-0 S NICHOLAS 4 4 0 0-0
K CLANCY 3 2 1 0-0 J BABINEAUX 4 3 1 0-0
H THOMAS 2 2 0 1-3 M BOLEY 4 3 1 0-0
M MCKENZIE 2 2 0 0-0 D HALL 4 3 1 0-0
S FUJITA 2 2 0 0-0 J ABRAHAM 2 2 0 0-0
M SIMONEAU 2 1 1 1-9 K HUNTLEY 2 2 0 0-0
C GRANT 1 0 1 0-0 T ANDERSON 1 1 0 0-0
M MITCHELL 1 0 1 0-0 C DAVIS 1 1 0 0-0
D STONE 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Gene Steratore, Umpire-Carl Madsen, Head
Linesman-Paul Weidner, Line Judge-Tom Barnes, Field Judge-Doug
Rosenbaum, Side Judge-Barry Anderson, Back Judge-Tony Steratore.

Att: 69,553 Time of Game: 3:03</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - In a game that lost most of its luster, DrewBrees shined.


Brees threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns to lead the NewOrleans Saints to a 34-14 win over the struggling AtlantaFalcons on Monday night.


Marques Colston caught nine passes for 92 yards and twotouchdowns and David Patten caught nine passes for 122 yards anda touchdown to help keep the Saints' (6-7) remote playoff hopesalive.


Brees picked apart a weak Atlanta secondary all night,completing 28-of-41 passes as New Orleans completed a seasonsweep of the Falcons.


Aaron Stecker rushed for 100 yards in place of the injuredReggie Bush as the Saints prevented Tampa Bay from clinching theNFC South title.


When the game was selected by ESPN as a Monday night contestwhen the television schedules were set earlier this year, thiswas supposed to be a matchup between an upstart Saints teamwhich won the NFC South last season against the Michael Vick-ledFalcons (3-10).


But with Vick behind bars on federal dog fighting-relatedcharges and New Orleans struggling with and without Bush, whomissed this one and perhaps the rest of the season with a kneeinjury, the game lost a lot of its appeal.


Brees put on a show and helped keep hope alive in New Orleans.The former Purdue standout drove the Saints almost the entirelength of the field to get New Orleans on the board.

Picking apart the Falcons on a six-play, 99 yard drive, Breesconnected on passes of 12, 21 and 36 yards before finding Pattendown the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:18remaining in the first quarter.


Chris Redman and the Falcons answered right back, driving 80yards on their next possession to tie the contest.

The 30-year old Redman, who was out of football the past threeseasons, connected with Roddy White on a 33-yard pass down theleft sideline for his first touchdown since the 2002 campaign toknot the game at 7-7 with 1:12 remaining in the first.

In his first start of the season, Redman, who played atLouisville under Falcons coach Bobby Petrino, finished 23-for-40for 298 yards, two TDs and one interception.


Even when the Saints screwed up on the field, it came out roses.

Return specialist Lance Moore made a fair-catch signal on a puntat about the 14-yard line with 7:28 remaining in the second.But New Orleans cornerback Usama Young ran into Moore, andAtlanta downed the ball at the Saints 6.


But Brees bailed out Young, engineering a 13-play, 94-yard driveand connecting with Colston for a 15-yard touchdown strike togive New Orleans a 17-7 lead with 1:06 remaining in the half.

The Saints rolled in the second half.


Brees connected with Colston for a 2-yard touchdown pass with9:13 remaining in the third before safety Roman Harper found theend zone on a 31-yard interception return to give the Saints a31-7 advantage just 43 seconds later.


The touchdowns broke the spirits of the downtrodden Falcons andtheir fans, who woke up Monday to learn that their disgracedsignal-caller Vick would be trading in his football cleats forprison garb for the next 23 months.


Atlanta could have used Vick.


The offense charged deep into Saints territory on threeoccasions, but the drives sputtered on the Saints 34-, 35- and25-yard lines.


Olindo Mare connected on field goals of 27 and 36 yards for theSaints, who won for just the second time in five games.

Michael Jenkins notched a career-high nine catches for 83 yardsand a touchdown for the Falcons, who have lost four straight.

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - In a game that lost most of its luster, DrewBrees shined.


Brees threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns to lead the NewOrleans Saints to a 34-14 win over the struggling AtlantaFalcons on Monday night.


Marques Colston caught nine passes for 92 yards and twotouchdowns and David Patten caught nine passes for 122 yards anda touchdown to help keep the Saints' (6-7) remote playoff hopesalive.


"It was a good team effort and a good win," Saints coach SeanPayton said. "I thought we were good and balanced offensively."

Brees picked apart a weak Atlanta secondary all night,completing 28-of-41 passes as New Orleans completed a seasonsweep of the Falcons.


"When you're 5-7, you look around and see you need to win fourto control your own destiny (in the playoff race)," Brees said."But you can't win four until you win one. It's a matter of usplaying with consistency and putting together a second gamelike this and a third and a fourth."


Aaron Stecker rushed for 100 yards in place of the injuredReggie Bush as the Saints prevented Tampa Bay from clinching theNFC South title.


When the game was selected by ESPN as a Monday night contestwhen the television schedules were set earlier this year, thiswas supposed to be a matchup between an upstart Saints teamwhich won the NFC South last season against the Michael Vick-ledFalcons (3-10).


But with Vick behind bars on federal dog fighting-relatedcharges and New Orleans struggling with and without Bush, whomissed this one and perhaps the rest of the season with a kneeinjury, the game lost a lot of its appeal.


Brees put on a show and helped keep hope alive in New Orleans.The former Purdue standout drove the Saints almost the entirelength of the field to get New Orleans on the board.

Picking apart the Falcons on a six-play, 99 yard drive, Breesconnected on passes of 12, 21 and 36 yards before finding Pattendown the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:18remaining in the first quarter.


"We did a great job today," Brees said. "We're an aggressiveoffense. That's our mind-set. That's why we're successful."

Chris Redman and the Falcons answered right back, driving 80yards on their next possession to tie the contest.

The 30-year old Redman, who was out of football the past threeseasons, connected with Roddy White on a 33-yard pass down theleft sideline for his first touchdown since the 2002 campaign toknot the game at 7-7 with 1:12 remaining in the first.

In his first start of the season, Redman, who played atLouisville under Falcons coach Bobby Petrino, finished 23-for-40for 298 yards, two TDs and one interception.


Even when the Saints screwed up on the field, it came out roses.

Return specialist Lance Moore made a fair-catch signal on a puntat about the 14-yard line with 7:28 remaining in the second.But New Orleans cornerback Usama Young ran into Moore, andAtlanta downed the ball at the Saints 6.


But Brees bailed out Young, engineering a 13-play, 94-yard driveand connecting with Colston for a 15-yard touchdown strike togive New Orleans a 17-7 lead with 1:06 remaining in the half.

"It was a bad day for us and a hard day to take," Petrino said."We couldn't stop them on defense. Any time you give up drivesof 99 and (94) yards, it's hard to win the game."


The Saints rolled in the second half.


Brees connected with Colston for a 2-yard touchdown pass with9:13 remaining in the third before safety Roman Harper found theend zone on a 31-yard interception return to give the Saints a31-7 advantage just 43 seconds later.


"We didn't (have good field position)," Brees admitted. "But weput together a 99-yard drive, another 94-yard drive and an80-yard drive. We did a great job spreading the ball around."

The touchdowns broke the spirits of the downtrodden Falcons andtheir fans, who woke up Monday to learn that their disgracedsignal-caller Vick would be trading in his football cleats forprison garb for the next 23 months.


Atlanta's players paid tribute to Vick. Cornerback DeAngeloHall came out onto the field with a poster of the feloniousquarterback and stenciled "MV7" in black underneath his eyes,while White flashed a homemade "Free Mike Vick" T-shirt afterfinding the end zone in the first quarter.


"It's life," said Hall, who played with Vick for both theFalcons and at Virginia Tech. "Mike has been given some badbreaks. He has to take it in stride and keep going. We wantedto let him know that we're still thinking about him."

The Falcons could have used Vick.


The offense charged deep into Saints territory on threeoccasions, but the drives sputtered on the Saints 34-, 35- and25-yard lines.


"It's been a snowball effect," linebacker Keith Brooking said ofthe Falcons' woes this season. "Every nationally televisedgame we've been on, some news broke out about Mike and we haveto play a football game. To say it's easy (to play), it's noteasy."


Olindo Mare connected on field goals of 27 and 36 yards for theSaints, who won for just the second time in five games.

Michael Jenkins notched a career-high nine catches for 83 yardsand a touchdown for the Falcons, who have lost four straight.