‘Sugar and Salt’ – Week X

November 11, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez (88) celebrates his touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31-27. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

Each week for my post game analysis, I will give one offensive and defensive Falcon player a little “sugar” for his “sweet” playing on the field. I will also give one player on the Falcons a little ”salt” for his salty, lackluster play for the week. Please feel free to leave comments and provide your own “Sugar and Salt” for the week. You can also tweet me at @ianborders7 or all of us at @bloggingdirty to provide input for your picks each week.

Sugar (offense)- Tony Gonzalez- I think this week’s offensive sugar is fairly obvious. Tony Gonzalez, since he arrived in Atlanta, has been the anti-Saint. Even though the Saints have owned the Falcons as of late (2-11 vs. Saints since 2006), there has been one thing that is consistent; the play of Tony G. The Saints are trying to cover Gonzalez with Curtis Lofton (which we as Falcons fans know is a mismatch), and saftey Michael Jenkins. He can outrun Lofton all day and out body/box-out Jenkins, making him look like Mugsy Bouges rebounding against Shaq. Even in the loss, Gonzalez finished with 11 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Jimmy Graham, tight-end for the Saints, wants to be Tony Gonzalez so bad. He steals Tony G.’s signature football dunk every time he scores, but the Saints have found  ways to copy-cat the Falcons use of him also .Graham posted very similar numbers-7 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Hopefully next game in the Georgia Dome we will do away with the two tight end sets and let Tony G. work the middle by himself, which then would allow for HD to make an appearance in the new passing offense.

Sugar (defense)- Asante Samuel- Drew Brees tested him once in the first half, failed, then didn’t look his way too much the rest of the game. When Brent Grimes went down with the torn achilles the first game of the year, we all knew that Asante Samuel would have to fill the void (mainly because we all knew the human torpedo Dunta Robinson wouldn’t do it). He has answered the call and has played very well as a cover corner, tacking on another interception to add to his season total. He does catch a bit of a break when playing the Saints, because they usually line their best receiver (Marques Colston) in the slot to work the middle. Regardless, he has cut the field in half and that is huge for our passing game, which is drastically better than previous years without him.

Salt- Michael Turner- Turner had 13 carries for 15 yards. Jacquizz Rodgers had three carries for 29 yards. Enough said… I reverted to rocking my Turner jersey again this week, so again, I blame it on that….I’m not sure if Rodgers can handle a full time load…but I know Jason Snelling can. Dude is a beast.. We may need to start exploring him as a double digit carry per game option.

If you asked me at the beginning of the season if I’d be pumped if we were 8-1 after week 10, I’d probably look at you with crazy eyes and explain what a dumb questions that was….But in all reality, if there is one team I’d love to beat the snot out of every time we see them, it’s the Saints. I hate the Saints!!! The best thing about it is the sweet fact that we can get glorious revenge on them in a couple weeks, and possibly make it damn near impossible for them to make the play-offs…

Nov 4, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel (22) takes the field before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Cowboys 19-13. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE