The Atlanta Falcons came up just short in their attempt to climb into first place in the NFC South, but Matt Ryan had a solid day of passing against the New Orleans Saints secondary. Ryan finished the day with 351 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. They didn't get the win, but for fantasy football purposes, that is a great day, netting out to approximately 20 points in many leagues.
Ryan has been a bit up and down at times but is still capable of big games like this. More importantly, we are getting more and more confirmation of the questionable nature of the Saints defense, particularly on the road. The Saints will win games, but week in and week out, QBs facing off against the Saints have some solid fantasy value. The Saints are on a bye next week, but after that bye, quarterbacks like Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford and even Matt Hasselbeck and Christian Ponder could be in for big games in the coming weeks.
Snelling put the Falcons up on New Orleans by a score of 13-10 in the third quarter with this catch. Snelling caught a pass around the line of scrimmage and then spun, shrugged and bullied his way into the end zone over and around almost the entire Saints defense.
Do yourself a favor and check it out the highlight video:
In other Falcons news, wide receiver Julio Jones suffered a hamstring injury and his return is questionable, according to the team. Jones caught two touchdown passes next week, and the Falcons will need someone to step up in his absence. Snelling looks like a good candidate so far.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday vs. the Saints. His return is questionable, according to a report from the team (via CBSSports.com's Knox Bardeen).
This could be bad news for both the Atlanta Falcons and fantasy football owners. Last week, the Falcons' 2011 first-round draft pick exploded against the Colts with three catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Jones had two catches for just nine yards in a big game for Atlanta against division rival New Orleans with first place in the NFC South on the line.
Jason Snelling was also questionable for the Falcons. Snelling returned and caught a big touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 13-10 lead in the second half against the Saints.
The Atlanta Falcons host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in a battle for NFC South supremacy. The Falcons are riding a three-game winning streak behind some strong running from Michael Turner.
Moore's hamstring injury cropped up during the week, keeping the slot receiver out of the final two practices of the week.
After missing the season-opener against the Green Bay Packers with a groin injury, Moore has 33 receptions for 358 yards and is one five Saints pass-catchers with three or more touchdown receptions this season. Over the last two weeks, Moore has 10 receptions for 94 yards and two of his three touchdowns.
If Moore is unable to play against the Falcons, wide receivers Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson as well as tight end David Thomas are expected to be more involved in the passing game.
Moore bounced back from an injury-plagued 2009 season to be the Saints' second-leading receiver in 2010, catching 66 passes for 736 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. Moore's production resulted in a five-year, $20 million contract extension when the lockout ended in July.
The Saints come into Atlanta looking to put some distance between these teams in the NFC South standings. Can they end the Falcons three-game win streak?
