The Saints continue to steamroll opponents. They cooked the Falcons for Thankgiving dinner in a 31-10 win for their 10th consecutive win. Here’s my take on how it went down:

The Good

-Drew Brees is known for spreading the love. He threw touchdown passes to four different guys who have a combined five years of experience including this year. Receiver depth isn’t an issue when Brees throws touchdown passes around like Mardi Gras beads. Did I mention all four guys were undrafted?

-The defense stepped up big time. They forced three fumbles and got a pick. Every fumble was forced with the Falcons in the red zone and the pick set up a touchdown to put them up by 21. Those are turnovers I call winning plays because they take points off the board.

-Sheldon Rankins is coming into his own. He’s “Great Value” Aaron Donald when he’s on (and a 1st round bust when he’s not). His inside spin move in the second quarter to pressure Matt Ryan into a sack by Cam Jordan was nasty! The move is something you see defensive ends execute when their first step is outside, but they plant and turn inside before the guard can blink. My fellow nerds who study the game will feel me on this one.

The Bad

-Brees threw only his second pick of the season in the first quarter. What’s worse is the refs missed defensive holding and pass interference on the receiver he was throwing to.

-Backup tight end Dan Arnold dropped a sure touchdown catch on 3rd & 2 from the four yard line in the second quarter. Saints had to settle for a field goal. The 6’6 Arnold is the closest thing Brees has had to Jimmy Graham at the position since Graham was traded to the Seahawks. He has to be a reliable target in the red zone.

-Falcon receivers continue to give Saints defensive backs fits. The pass rush rattled Matt Ryan and got six sacks, but the DBs need to step it up. 377 receiving yards (314 by Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Mohamed Sanu) given up was a blemish on what was an otherwise good defensive performance.  

The Ugly

-Sean Payton used a timeout early in the third quarter in what most thought was an attempt to get the right play called. Instead, Brees tried to draw the Falcons offsides, failed, and they took the delay of game penalty then punted. If you’re going to call the timeout, run a play dammit!

-Couple times this game the play clock went to zeroes and no flag was thrown. Delay of game could’ve been called on both teams. I bitch about the refs a lot and I acknowledge they have a tough job, but delay of game penalties can be called by any idiot with half-decent eyesight.

-In the Gow Media Pick Em challenge, my NFL pick was the over 60.5 in this game because the Saints have been on a roll. When the Saints played the Bengals, I took the under 53.5 because the weather was supposed to play a factor. I’ll start going oppo of whatever my head says when picking a Saints game.

The Saints are the best team in football. There, I said it. I’ve been hesitant to say so until I saw a more complete performance from the defense on a consistent basis. Their last three games holding opponents under 20 points, causing turnovers, getting sacks, and maintaining their top five rush defense has been just as impressive as their offensive counterparts. This team has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.