NEW ORLEANS (vs Atlanta):
This looks like a slightly above-average situation for the New Orleans offense. The Falcons are 5-0, but there is nothing special about their defense. It’s allowed at least 2 TDs in every game. The Saints are playing at home, which could help spark them some. They’ve been a disappointment this year, but their two games with 3 TDs have been the two they’ve played at home. ... Drew Brees is having an off year. He’s getting up there in years, doesn’t have great weapons around him, and is trying to play with an injured throwing shoulder. He’s thrown only 6 TDs in four games. But they’re still passing a ton, and he can still spray it around, working the ball short to a variety of receivers underneath. Brees threw for only 255 yards against the Bucs; that was the game that he injured his throwing shoulder in the second quarter and probably shouldn’t even have been out there. But otherwise New Orleans has passed ...
This report is taken from today's Week 5 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 18 pages of camp reports, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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... for at least 310 yards in every game. This time around, he’s facing an Atlanta defense without much of a pass rush. Think of how Sam Bradford stood in the pocket with lots of time and picked apart the Falcons in the second half of that first Monday night game of the year. Brees should put up his usual 300-plus, and with the game being at home, he’ll probably make it up to 2 TDs. ... With the kind of numbers Brees should put up, it’s a healthy enough situation for the wide receivers. But there’s not a big difference between Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead. Cooks is on pace for 80 catches, but Snead has caught only 3 fewer balls and is averaging 13 more yards -- he’s caught more downfield balls. They’ve each caught only one touchdown. We’re slotting both of these guys a little higher than usual because Atlanta’s defense has given up lots of production to the only three big-time wide receivers it has faced.
| Falcons against good receivers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD |
| Jordan Matthews | 10 | 102 | 0 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 7 | 146 | 1 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 11 | 169 | 0 |
Neither Cooks nor Snead, of course, has played as well as any of those guys this year. But they’re receivers with some ability, and they’re playing against a defense that’s been on the ropes pretty good in four games. They also might benefit some from the shoulder separation suffered by Marques Colston. With this game occurring on a short week, Colston looks very unlikely to play. Not that Colston was playing a big role, but that might help send an extra ball or two into the hands of Cooks or Snead. Brandon Coleman hasn’t made much of an impact so far (9 catches for 113 yards) but he should absorb most of Colston’s duties. Colston has caught 18 passes for 200 yards (averaging 40 yards per game). The Saints signed Joe Morgan on Tuesday, and he’ll presumably be their No. 4 in this game, running a few deep routes. ... If you’re in desperate need of a tight end you can do worse than Benjamin Watson. He’s averaged 3 catches per game so far. Atlanta’s defense has allowed touchdowns to tight ends in three of its last four games, and they’ve all been lesser guys -- Larry Donnell, C.J. Fiedorowicz and Derek Carrier. ... The matchup looks average at best for the running backs. Other than a first-half meltdown in Dallas, Atlanta has been very sound against the run. Washington has a great one-two punch of tailbacks, and the Falcons held that offense to 51 rushing yards. The previous week they allowed only 54 against Houston. The Saints, meanwhile, have run for under 105 yards in every game (they’re averaging only 85 rushing yards overall). Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson should be the main ball carriers. They’ve averaging only 52 and 25 rushing yards so far (each with 2 TD runs). The value with these running backs is in their pass-catching ability. C.J. Spiller (who hasn’t had more than 10 rushing yards in any game) is averaging 33 receiving yards per game. Since Spiller came back, Ingram averages 31 receiving yards and Robinson averages 6. ... Zach Hocker is a lesser kicker. The offense has been too uneven, and he’s not reliable enough. With a key miss in the next few weeks, he could hit the waiver wire. ... The Saints Defense has no real fantasy value. The pass rush isn’t good enough, and there’s not enough talent in the secondary. New Orleans has only 7 sacks and 2 interceptions after five games, and it’s facing a quarterback who’s above-average in avoiding those kind of mistakes.