Interview with the Enemy: 5 Questions with Canal Street Chronicles

The Atlanta Falcons are at the crux point of their season in Week 12. It’s win or go home against the rival New Orleans Saints , as a win puts Atlanta back in first place and gives the team a realistic shot at a (probably doomed) postseason appearance for the first time since 2017. A loss drops the team to 4-7 and eliminates all but a miraculous playoff run from the picture.

Here at The Falcoholic, we like to think we keep you incredibly well-informed on all things Falcons. We’re not nearly as diligent in covering the Saints, so I’ve enlisted the help of New Orleans expert Luke Hubbard. Luke is a writer over at Canal Street Chronicles, SB Nation’s site covering all things New Orleans Saints.

I brought five questions to Luke on a variety of topics, including his opinion on the Derek Carr signing, the Saints’ offensive line struggles, and a surprisingly porous run defense.

Luke Hubbard: Saints fans are definitely not happy with what he’s brought to the table so far. He’s been playing mediocre football to this point, but has surprisingly only thrown four interceptions. He’s averaging 223 yards and one touchdown per game, which definitely isn’t worth a 150 million dollar contract. I will say this, I’m not really defending Carr because he has been playing subpar football, but I would like to see him have a chance with a new play caller. Pete Carmichael is arguably the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL and made a career out of Sean Payton’s success. I think it’s time to let him go and give someone else a chance. I get that they’re in the mix for a playoff spot with the weak division, but they have next to no chance of winning a playoff game anyways, so I don’t see any harm in getting rid of Carmichael now. They won’t do it, but I would like to see if he can find some sort of success with a competent OC.

LH: Everywhere. They can exploit anyone on the offensive line with the way they’ve been playing this season. They have been improving pretty much every week, but for an offensive line that is made up of all first and second round picks, it’s astonishing how bad they are. It seems like every week 1-2 guys have a really strong game, but the other 3-4 guys completely let the rest of the line down. I’ve yet to see a game where they’ve all played well, so I think the Falcons would be best starting with their normal pass rush package, see who ends up struggling, then attacking that area for the rest of the game. If I had to guess, I’d say it’ll probably be the interior of the line that struggles because Andrus Peat and Ryan Ramcyzk have been playing solid the past few games, but they’re due for a bad week.

LH: I want to say it’ll be A.T. Perry who takes over their spot after his performance two weeks ago, but I have a feeling it’ll end up being Marquez Callaway who we just signed. Perry was a guy who was projected to go in the third round, but fell to the sixth after some rumors of off the field issues. In his first true game action, he caught two balls for 38 yards and that crazy touchdown where Jameis Winston threw the ball all the way across the field. Fans have been waiting to get a true glimpse of his talent, but the Saints love to run with guys who know the system, and that’s why I think it could be Callaway. He was here for a few years to begin his career, and he showed some flashes, but all around, he’s not that great of a receiver.

LH: It’s honestly very confusing to me how the Saints are so bad against the run. They were tops in the league for a long time, but last season, they really fell off a cliff. This year has been slightly better, but still not great. I think Cam Jordan is still one of the premier run defending edges in the league, but the defensive line just doesn’t get penetration when defending the run. I don’t think the linebackers, outside of Demario Davis, have been that great either this year, so that could be another reason.

I’m very worried about facing Bijan Robinson because he’s so dynamic. Averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 125 touches is no small feat, so with the Saints weak run defense, I think he could break the game open. I am surprised to see him and Allgiere having the same amount of carries to this point in the season, but no matter who runs the ball, I think they could find some success against the New Orleans defense.

LH: I do think the Saints can pull this one out, but the secondary has the step up. They’ve gotten exposed a bit the last few games, but I think they can bounce back and play a big part in this game. To be quite honest, Desmond Ridder doesn’t worry me too much with his arm, but if he can get some momentum running the ball, that will worry me and every Saints fan out there. We’ve seen the Saints get torched by mobile QB’s, and I know Ridder can move when he wants to, so I think that could be a sneaky X-factor in this game.

My final prediction is that the Saints win by somewhere between 1-3 points. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons pull this one out, but I just think the secondary will be able to lock up the Falcons receivers for the most part and the offense can do just enough to squeak out a win.

Many thanks to Luke for taking the time to answer my questions. If you’re in the mood for a Saints perspective on things, you can follow Canal Street Chronicles at Looking for more Falcons-Saints coverage? Check out our Dirty Birds & Brews game preview show.