Breaking down the Atlanta Falcons, NFC South after Week 6

Nov 21, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) calls a block in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Saints won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans Saints

If you watched the Saints the first four weeks of the year, they appeared as if they were taking a backrow seat. But then, Drew Brees “no excuses” post-game speech echoed in their bones, bringing a rejuvenated team to face the Atlanta Falcons. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the beat down was nothing short of ugly.

Now, I don’t know what team will show the rest of the way for New Orleans, but there’s a good reason to believe this may have been the rebirthing that New Orleans needed as it teed off against their rivals.

Granted, when it comes to rivalry games, every player has a little more “oomph” behind every play, but the Saints team that took to the Superdome turf on Thursday was one on a mission to set the world on fire, blazing a path towards the top of the division and looking to make a little chaos along the way.

TE Ben Watson will probably never have a game as he did against the Falcons again in his career, but Brees reminded everyone that he is still in the elite grouping of quarterbacks around the league. And that should scare the NFC South.

If Brees can continue to play at the level that he played on Thursday, the Saints may have shifted from irrelevant to feared, ready to take on Atlanta and Carolina, who were early season favorites as the tore through their early games.

The Saints gave us all a reminder that they still know how to play football, and they could be in the perfect position to climb back up the hierarchy of the NFC South.

Next: Carolina Panthers