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	AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
	Drew Brees and the Saints will look to exploit Atlanta’s struggling secondary.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas



On paper, it might be the biggest mismatch of the NFL season.



New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and his army of receivers, which just might be the deepest stable in the league, vs. Atlanta’s much-maligned secondary.



You could say this one is Goliath going against David again. But that one doesn’t quite fit because David also had a bit of a pass rush to compensate for his lack of size.

Related Coverage • Jaws: Falcons must slow Saints’ run game • Saints: Will they go undefeated? • Film Room notes: Pressure on this Falcon • Monday Night HQ

The Falcons simply don’t have a lot going for them in the secondary right now, and that could end up costing them any shot at the NFC South title. At 4-2, they’re already on the verge of playing only for a wild-card spot as they head into the Superdome to play the undefeated Saints on “Monday Night Football.”



The Saints have Brees, Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey and a whole bunch of other guys who can catch the ball all over the field. They’ve also got the tape of last week’s Atlanta loss to Dallas — a game in which the shortcomings of the Falcons’ secondary were exposed repeatedly.



“They got hit in a couple of pressures when they weren’t able to get to the quarterback so they had receivers with a lot of time to work downfield and the Cowboys did a good job of taking advantage of some of those,’’ Brees said.



That’s just Brees being politically correct, as he always is. But, you have to figure that Brees and coach Sean Payton have spent the week watching the Atlanta-Dallas film and getting more than a little excited about the possibilities. If Tony Romo and Miles Austin can batter the Atlanta secondary, Brees, Colston and company could absolutely shred it.



The Falcons don’t have anything close to a shutdown corner, and two of their top three cornerbacks wouldn’t be among top three cornerbacks on any other team. Although Atlanta coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have done a great job since taking over a franchise in total disarray, cornerback might be the one spot they’re not better off than they were when they took charge in 2008.

	Tim Heitman/US Presswire
	Dallas’ Miles Austin torched the Falcons for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

Part of it is bad luck. The Falcons lost veteran cornerback Brian Williams to a season-ending injury. But part of it is that the Falcons largely have ignored this position. That’s been showing up recently and it could be completely exploited by the Saints. If that happens, Dimitroff and Smith have no one to blame but themselves.



They didn’t have a strong stable of cornerbacks last year, but they were able to hide that. They had an entire offseason to get better and they didn’t. They let Domonique Foxworth go in free agency and decided to stick with Chris Houston, Chevis Jackson and Brent Grimes — and that’s a little scary.



Houston’s the best of the bunch, but he’s a decent No. 2 cornerback being asked to be a shutdown guy. Grimes is athletic, but woefully undersized. Jackson showed some big promise as a rookie, but hasn’t been able to cover anyone this year.



The problems became apparent in the preseason and training camp and that’s why the Falcons went out and signed Williams and traded for Tye Hill at the last minute. Williams was decent before his injury, but Hill hasn’t shown anything to convince the coaching staff to let him on the field.



The Falcons also have rookie Christopher Owens and there are hopes that he could be an impact player down the road. Don’t be surprised if Owens gets some playing time against the Saints because his size might allow him to match up better than Grimes against the New Orleans receivers, but Owens isn’t going to fix all of the problems in one game.



If there is any hope for the Atlanta cornerbacks to at least slow down Brees and the passing game, they’ll have to have help — lots of it — and there haven’t been many signs that anyone is ready to come to the rescue.



The Falcons were able to hide their deficiencies in coverage last year mainly by putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That came almost entirely from veteran pass-rush specialist John Abraham, but he’s been relatively quiet this season.



At times in the Dallas game, Abraham was seen dropping into pass coverage, which makes about as much sense as putting Brees in the Wildcat formation. You have to let your best players do what they do best and the Falcons need to let Abraham focus solely on getting to Brees. They also need some help from their other starting defensive end, Kroy Biermann, who started the season fast, but has cooled off recently.



Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder tried to give the pass rush some help against Dallas by blitzing frequently, but that didn’t really work out. The blitzers seldom got close to Romo and he was able to find the weak spots in the secondary.



“You live by the pressure and you die by the pressure,’’ Brees said. “You might make a few plays when you pressure, but you’re leaving yourself open to giving up some big plays. That’s the pros and cons on a pressure defense.’’



Those are the pros and cons facing Smith and VanGorder. They have to generate a pass rush to keep their cornerbacks from being stuck in coverage too long. But Brees and the Saints are pretty good at handling pressure. Brees gets rid of the ball quickly and doesn’t take many sacks.



“I figure, with these guys, they’ve shown to pressure a lot at times and do some things that they haven’t done in the past,’’ Brees said.



Maybe that’s the key for the Falcons. Maybe they need to do something they haven’t done in the past — like have their cornerbacks actually cover some receivers.

	AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
	Drew Brees and the Saints will look to exploit Atlanta’s struggling secondary.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas



On paper, it might be the biggest mismatch of the NFL season.



New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and his army of receivers, which just might be the deepest stable in the league, vs. Atlanta’s much-maligned secondary.



You could say this one is Goliath going against David again. But that one doesn’t quite fit because David also had a bit of a pass rush to compensate for his lack of size.

Related Coverage • Jaws: Falcons must slow Saints’ run game • Saints: Will they go undefeated? • Film Room notes: Pressure on this Falcon • Monday Night HQ

The Falcons simply don’t have a lot going for them in the secondary right now, and that could end up costing them any shot at the NFC South title. At 4-2, they’re already on the verge of playing only for a wild-card spot as they head into the Superdome to play the undefeated Saints on “Monday Night Football.”



The Saints have Brees, Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey and a whole bunch of other guys who can catch the ball all over the field. They’ve also got the tape of last week’s Atlanta loss to Dallas — a game in which the shortcomings of the Falcons’ secondary were exposed repeatedly.



“They got hit in a couple of pressures when they weren’t able to get to the quarterback so they had receivers with a lot of time to work downfield and the Cowboys did a good job of taking advantage of some of those,’’ Brees said.



That’s just Brees being politically correct, as he always is. But, you have to figure that Brees and coach Sean Payton have spent the week watching the Atlanta-Dallas film and getting more than a little excited about the possibilities. If Tony Romo and Miles Austin can batter the Atlanta secondary, Brees, Colston and company could absolutely shred it.



The Falcons don’t have anything close to a shutdown corner, and two of their top three cornerbacks wouldn’t be among top three cornerbacks on any other team. Although Atlanta coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have done a great job since taking over a franchise in total disarray, cornerback might be the one spot they’re not better off than they were when they took charge in 2008.

	Tim Heitman/US Presswire
	Dallas’ Miles Austin torched the Falcons for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

Part of it is bad luck. The Falcons lost veteran cornerback Brian Williams to a season-ending injury. But part of it is that the Falcons largely have ignored this position. That’s been showing up recently and it could be completely exploited by the Saints. If that happens, Dimitroff and Smith have no one to blame but themselves.



They didn’t have a strong stable of cornerbacks last year, but they were able to hide that. They had an entire offseason to get better and they didn’t. They let Domonique Foxworth go in free agency and decided to stick with Chris Houston, Chevis Jackson and Brent Grimes — and that’s a little scary.



Houston’s the best of the bunch, but he’s a decent No. 2 cornerback being asked to be a shutdown guy. Grimes is athletic, but woefully undersized. Jackson showed some big promise as a rookie, but hasn’t been able to cover anyone this year.



The problems became apparent in the preseason and training camp and that’s why the Falcons went out and signed Williams and traded for Tye Hill at the last minute. Williams was decent before his injury, but Hill hasn’t shown anything to convince the coaching staff to let him on the field.



The Falcons also have rookie Christopher Owens and there are hopes that he could be an impact player down the road. Don’t be surprised if Owens gets some playing time against the Saints because his size might allow him to match up better than Grimes against the New Orleans receivers, but Owens isn’t going to fix all of the problems in one game.



If there is any hope for the Atlanta cornerbacks to at least slow down Brees and the passing game, they’ll have to have help — lots of it — and there haven’t been many signs that anyone is ready to come to the rescue.



The Falcons were able to hide their deficiencies in coverage last year mainly by putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That came almost entirely from veteran pass-rush specialist John Abraham, but he’s been relatively quiet this season.



At times in the Dallas game, Abraham was seen dropping into pass coverage, which makes about as much sense as putting Brees in the Wildcat formation. You have to let your best players do what they do best and the Falcons need to let Abraham focus solely on getting to Brees. They also need some help from their other starting defensive end, Kroy Biermann, who started the season fast, but has cooled off recently.



Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder tried to give the pass rush some help against Dallas by blitzing frequently, but that didn’t really work out. The blitzers seldom got close to Romo and he was able to find the weak spots in the secondary.



“You live by the pressure and you die by the pressure,’’ Brees said. “You might make a few plays when you pressure, but you’re leaving yourself open to giving up some big plays. That’s the pros and cons on a pressure defense.’’



Those are the pros and cons facing Smith and VanGorder. They have to generate a pass rush to keep their cornerbacks from being stuck in coverage too long. But Brees and the Saints are pretty good at handling pressure. Brees gets rid of the ball quickly and doesn’t take many sacks.



“I figure, with these guys, they’ve shown to pressure a lot at times and do some things that they haven’t done in the past,’’ Brees said.



Maybe that’s the key for the Falcons. Maybe they need to do something they haven’t done in the past — like have their cornerbacks actually cover some receivers.

Oct. 31: Packers’ fans brace for the return of Brett Favre. But before Sunday’s game, they buried their love for the Green Bay legend. KARE’s Boyd Huppert reports. (Other)

Posted by ESPN.com’s Tim Graham



Indianapolis Star reporter Phil Richards wrote a piece this week about the spike in roughing the passer calls thanks to the so-called Tom Brady rule.



There has been a lot of whining from defensive players and pundits. They’ve mocked the rule as one step closer to two-hand touch.



After Brady theatrically gestured to an official, who threw the flag on Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs for roughing, Brady’s old teammate, Rodney Harrison, jokingly told Brady to take his skirt off and play like a man.



Richards noted there have been 38 roughing the passer calls so far this year, a pace that projects a 36.2 percent increase over last year’s total.



The NFL doesn’t differentiate a “Brady rule” penalty from any other roughing the passer call. So it’s difficult to tell which flags were thrown specifically for the new rule, which protects quarterbacks from defender’s lunging helmet — or shoulder-first at a quarterback’s legs (defenders are allowed to use their arms and wrap in that area).



AFC East players have been responsible for six of the 38 calls.



The Patriots lead the way, and are third in the NFL, with three roughing the passer penalties. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork and linebacker Adalius Thomas were called for it on opening night on Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards. Ty Warren was charged in Week 5 on Denver Broncos thrower Kyle Orton.

Buffalo has been whistled twice: linebacker Kawika Mitchell in Week 2 and defensive lineman Spencer Johnson last Sunday.



Miami Dolphins defensive end Kendall Langford has his team’s only roughing call. His came in Week 4.



The New York Jets have not been called for roughing the passer, which is noteworthy given how often they blitz.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Matt Mosley



Defensive ends Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora get a lot of attention, but the mainstay of the Giants’ defensive line since ’06 has been defensive tackle Barry Cofield. He was taken in the fourth round out of Northwestern in ’06 and he immediately became a starter. In his four years with the club, he’s started all but one game. On Friday, the Beast had an opportunity to spend about 15 minutes on the phone with Cofield.



Barry, you guys aren’t used to two-game losing streaks. What’s this feel like?



Cofield: There are certain expectations around here and we don’t handle losing too well. It’s not a normal thing to be dealing with, and on top of that, we’re going to Philly. I know you’ve written about last season’s phone incident [with Donovan McNabb] and it’s not like that’s the most respectable thing a guy can do. But it’s not like we need that for motivation. We’re always going to want to kill Donovan McNabb — even if he’s the nicest guy in the world.

	Larry French/Getty Images
	Barry Cofield is looking forward to Sunday’s matchup with the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Because of your close proximity to the Eagles, does this rivalry mean even more to you?



Cofield: I think [the defensive line] puts the Cowboys and the Eagles in the same category. I’ve played against the Eagles eight times in three years, so I’m pretty familiar with them. We know each other’s schemes really well so you can just go out and play.



The Eagles have added some weapons to their offense. Do you see Andy Reid doing anything different than in the past?



Cofield: Andy Reid’s still the braintrust. We’ll see a lot of different formations and it’s a team that has a lot of gadgets. But you’re right, they have some new faces. They’re exceptionally fast and they’ve also made a lot of changes up front. Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas were nasty guys. They were the cornerstones of that offense. Runyan was a mauler and some people thought he was dirty. Now they have a smaller guy in [Winston] Justice and converted tight end in Jason Peters on the left side.



How important will it be to get Chris Canty and Michael Boley back on the field?



Cofield: We look really forward to getting those guys back, but I really don’t know when it will happen. [Tom] Coughlin doesn’t tell us because he probably doesn’t want me to leak it to guys like you.



Have you spent a lot of time preparing for the Eagles’ Wildcat formation?



Cofield: They ran it with [Brian] Westbrook last year, so we’ve seen some of it before. We’ve gone back and studies some of the plays they ran in the preseason. If they don’t use [the Wildcat] this week, they’re not saving it for anyone else. This is the game you’d want to do it all.



What’s the most important thing in mind when facing a quarterback like Donovan McNabb?



Cofield: With McNabb, you have to get him to the ground. You pretty much have to treat him like a running back and it’s important to wrap up his legs and drag him to the ground. If you don’t, he’s strong enough to shake tackles.



Have you guys gone back and looked at that ’07 game where Winston Justice had so much trouble against Umenyiora?



Cofield: Definitely. Our position coach Mike Waufle had breakdowns that go all the way back to ’04. They have a new wrinkle here and there, but they still have their bread and butter. We don’t focus so much on entire games. We look back at a lot of plays. But to get back to Justice, he’s definitely come into his own since that ’07 game.



What do you make of the Eagles’ fans?



Cofield: They are some of the rudest fans that you’ll meet. But they’re almost some of the most passionate. We’ve had our team bus egged, we’ve been flipped off and we’ve seen some bare [rears]. It’s a different kind of atmosphere, that’s for sure.



Mosley: I know you think the Beast spends too much time praising Tuck, so I’m glad you were able to join us for a few minutes.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Tim Graham



Even with all of the information and quotes I tried to cram into Wednesday’s magnum opus on Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd, some material didn’t make the cut. I had to stop writing at some point.



And as much as I’d love to run this post on Thanksgiving, I will settle for Halloween to deliver some leftover Byrd.



For example, you might be surprised to read that Byrd, who is known as a prolific interceptor, never has returned one for a touchdown.

Byrd

“I know Jairus wants to get into the end zone,” said Byrd’s father, Gill, a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback for the San Diego Chargers.



Jairus Byrd almost certainly would have broken Oregon’s record for career interceptions had he not entered the draft a year early. He finished with 17, one behind George Shaw, who set the Ducks standard in the 1950s.



But Jairus Byrd didn’t return any for a score, and hasn’t been able to bring back and of his five so far with the Bills.



“I know that’s what all defensive players should focus on, scoring,” Gill Byrd said. “That’s why you see when he gets the ball he’s headed upfield. You have to have it in your mind, ‘When I get the ball, I’m going to score, or put the offense in position to where they’ll have a short field to work with.’”



Jairus Byrd came close to scoring in the first quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Carolina Panthers. He intercepted a Jake Delhomme pass and brought it back 37 yards to the 7-yard line.



“I definitely would love that when the day comes that I get my first touchdown,” Jairus Byrd said. “Every time you get it you want to score. I’m just focused on getting the ball in the offense’s hands, but that’s what I want to do.



“I know that eventually will come one day. Hopefully, I’m blessed with more and can keep trying.”



For the record, Gill Byrd took two interceptions all the way back in his career. They came in the same season, and one went 99 yards.



“It wasn’t like I was a touchdown artist,” Gill Byrd said. “Hopefully, some of the Aeneas Williams will rub off on him.”



Williams was a close friend of Gill Byrd who has mentored Jairus since high school. Williams, an eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams, scored 13 touchdowns.



I asked Williams what it takes to be a successful ball hawk, and he was adamant it comes down to following through on the practice field.



“Defensive backs aren’t always cognizant of making plays,” Williams explained. “Yes, there’s an element of the ball bouncing, but it also has to do with guys being around the ball because they’re comfortable when the ball’s in the air.



“It’s a mentality they develop on a daily basis. You would think pros do this all the time, but I’m a living witness. I saw very few guys actually practice like that, catch balls and hawk the ball in practice. It was an uncommon occurrence.



“Guys would say, ‘I don’t want to get hurt,’ or ‘I’ll get that in a game.’ They think all of a sudden in a game they can turn it on. The great ones practice that on a daily basis.”

Sunday’s game at Lambeau significant test of Vikings QB’s newfound discipline.