The Falcons and Saints rivalry is not a new one, the battle for the south has been raging on for years now. There are, however, some new faces on both sides, as well as, some missing familiar names. Facing a rival is tough enough, facing them on the opening week...feels like a hurdle many wouldn't be able to overcome.
The Falcons are no power house in the NFL, not for now at least. They will enter their first game as the underdogs. So what can they do to pull off the upset? Chris Goforth gave his answer during the Chris Goforth Show on Sunday.
A Falcons' victory starts and ends with generating pressure on Jameis Winston. Chris Goforth brought up Winston's known proclivity to turn the ball over. Reminder, the last full season of football the former Florida State Seminole played in he threw 30 interceptions. Has his time under Sean Payton and Drew Brees fixed his turnover problem?
Goforth also mentioned how the Saints like to limit Winston's passing attempts. While playing in seven games last year, Winston only had two games where he threw the ball more than 25 times. The majority of those passes came within ten yards of the line of scrimmage. Getting after the Saints' QB takes away those short routes and force him to move around in the pocket, something Winston is not entirely comfortable doing, especially after recovering from a torn ACL.
Now generating pressure was not something this Falcons' defensive line did well, or at all, last year. They registered just 18 sacks in 2021. Enter some of those new faces mentioned earlier. Draft picks like Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone, and Troy Anderson will all need to produce if this team wants to shock some doubters early.