Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. New Orleans 17 at Atlanta 24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW New Orleans Saints: RB Deuce McAllister left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle. He had it re-taped at halftime and tried to return in the second half only to leave for good in the 4th quarter. He finished with 13 carries for 43 yards and 4 catches for 30 yards. James Fenderson replaced McAllister but New Orleans was committed to the pass by then. QB Aaron Brooks put up good numbers due in part to the McAllister injury which forced the Saints to pass more than they might have. Also, Atlanta had built a 20-7 lead and the Saints were forced to play catch up. Brooks finished with 279 passing yards and 26 rushing yards to put him over 300 combined for the game. WR Joe Horn rung 134 yards up on just 3 catches with a 57-yard score thrown in for good measure. He wasn't the major player in the game he usually is, though, with the Atlanta secondary doing a terrific job on him for most of the day. Atlanta Falcons: QB Mike Vick had another terrific fantasy game and another ordinary NFL passing game. While his yardage total (161 yards) wasn't that impressive he did throw 2 TD's and run for third. He threw his second interception of the season but that's because his targeted receiver fell down on his route. It wasn't due to a bad decision. He did struggle with accuracy all game and finished with a completion percentage below 50% (11-23). RB Warrick Dunn took advantage of T.J. Duckett's absence to post another solid rushing game as the featured back. He carried 26 times for 90 yards and he added 4 catches for 29 more yards and finished above the magic 100-yard mark for fantasy owners in performance leagues. T.J. Duckett was activated for the game but not see the field. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW New Orleans Saints QB: Aaron Brooks' numbers got a large boost when the Saints fell behind 17-3 in the second half. New Orleans went to an almost exclusive passing set while they played catch up. Also, Deuce McAllister had left the game with a sprained ankle so the team's number one run option was out of the game. The Atlanta line kept strong pressure on Brooks all day so he was forced to scramble when he couldn't find a receiver open. He was sacked three times. Atlanta did a good job of taking away Brooks' preferred target, Joe Horn, which made Brooks look to his other WR's more than he would normally. He completed almost 65% of his passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. RB: Deuce McAllister left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle. He had it re-taped at halftime and tried to return in the second half only to leave for good in the 4th quarter. He finished with 13 carries for 43 yards and 4 catches for 30 yards. The Saints didn't really go to a Plan B running back because they were so far behind by the time McAllister went out that they had gone to an all-passing offense. James Fenderson did see a few carries with McAllister out but it wasn't enough to make a good evaluation of him. Fenderson's a 5' 9" 200 pound 2nd year man. He was undrafted out of Hawaii. WR: Joe Horn took advantage of three miscues by the Atlanta secondary and finished with 134 yards and a score. He faced double-coverage all afternoon, which limited his catches to 3 for the game. One was a 57-yard TD catch and another was a 63-yard play. The double coverage and pressure on Brooks limited Horn's opportunities in this game. Jerome Pathon benefited most from the coverage rolled to Horn and he finished with 7 catches but for a meager total of 48 yards. Donte' Stallworth did what Donte' Stallworth has done in all but one game of his professional career. He caught a TD pass. He wasn't much of a factor otherwise but this young rookie has a knack for scoring and he proved it again as the Saints were trying to mount an unlikely comeback in the 4th quarter. He finished with 2 catches for 18 yards and a 12-yard TD. TE: Boo Williams had 2 catches for 38 yards but wasn't much of a factor in the passing game. New Orleans Pass Defense: The Saints held Vick to minimal gains in the passing game except for a 74-yard TD pass to Trevor Gaylor on a play where Vick scrambled to avoid pressure and the defender fell as Gaylor turned upfield. The Saints sacked Vick 3 times in the game and picked him off once. New Orleans Rush Defense: Of course, keeping Mike Vick in check in the passing game is only half the battle. He's the best runner on his team, too. Both Vick and Dunn had success running the ball against a reeling New Orleans defensive front. Because Vick is such a tremendous runner the defensive lineman can't really bull-rush the passer like they can a less-mobile QB so they are forced to play a containment game which leaves running lanes open. Dunn and Vick exploited those lanes to the tune of 145 yards on 33 combined carries. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Atlanta Falcons QB: Mike Vick had poor yardage numbers but he more than made up for them with 2 TD passes with a rushing TD to boot. He was not at all accurate early in the game and didn't improve much as the game went on. He finished with a completion percentage below 50% and with half of his passing yards on an incredible long pass he threw to Trevor Gaylor. Hardly Hall-of-Fame numbers. He showed amazing body control on his scoring run by reaching back with the ball to get inside the pylon for the score. On the TD to Gaylor, he was rolling to his left and just flicked the ball left-handed 60 yards to Gaylor. Freaky. RB: T.J. Duckett was activated for the game but did not see the field. Warrick Dunn was the workhorse back again this week with an absent T.J. Duckett. Dunn carried the ball 26 times for 90 yards and led the team with 4 catches for 29 yards. He ran well up the middle and of course was effective as a receiver out of the backfield. WR: Vick's poor passing performance didn't really lend itself to big numbers by the Atlanta receivers. Trevor Gaylor was the big winner in the Atlanta receiving corps with his 74-yard TD catch on a broken play and over a fallen defenseman. That one catch represents almost half of the total receiving yards by the Atlanta receivers in the game. Gaylor finished with 3 catches and 100 yards. Brian Finneran left today's game after suffering an unspecified head injury. He did return to the game but didn't have a catch. TE: Alge Crumpler caught a 4-yard TD pass in the 4th quarter to put the game just out of reach for the Saints. He finished with 3 catches for 21 yards. He is a preferred target of Vick's in the passing offense but because the Atlanta passing game is so sketchy it's difficult to recommend him as a viable fantasy starter. Atlanta Pass Defense: The defensive front of the Falcons worked well with the secondary to put pressure on Aaron Brooks without giving him any targets downfield. They sacked Brooks 3 times, intercepted him once, and also forced a fumble. Atlanta Rush Defense: Once Deuce McAllister left with his injury the Saints didn't really mount much of a rushing attack. When McAllister was in the game the Falcons held him to just over 3 ypc.