Inside The Nfc West

Sporting News, The, Nov 27, 2000

GAME OF THE WEEK

New Orleans at St, Louis, Without Ricky Williams and Jeff Blake, the Saints are in big trouble. The Rams' pass defense has been weak all season, but the Saints don't have the personnel to take advantage now. New Orleans will have to win the game on defense, hut it's hard to imagine the Rams breaking down enough to allow that.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Panthers DE Reggie White w; Packers RT Mark Tauscher. White should be able to get the ol' engine started against his former team. And he'll teach Tauscher, a rookie, all about power pass rushing. But Tauscher is a battler and has held up surprisingly well, The Packers also will be sure to keep a tight end in at times to chip White.

ON THE SPOT

The Rams' secondary, The Rams won't return to the Super Bowl unless this group picks it up. The unit lacks size, but that doesn't excuse poor tackling fundamentals, The secondary is making so-so receivers look like Jerry Rice in his prime after they catch the ball.

KEEP AN EYE ON

49ers rookie RB Paul Smith, who has been impressive since recovering from an Achilles' injury Smith is well-chiseled at 5-11,234 and seems to have the necessary speed, hands and cutting ability. He could play a lot in 2001 if Charlie Garner leaves as a free agent.

ROOKIE REPORT

The trend in the NFL is to smaller, quicker linebackers, and Atlanta's Mark Simoneau (6-0, 233) fits that mold. A fearless, full-speed player, he is getting action in the nickel and holding up well With his speed, Simoneau can recover from a mistake and still make a play.

FEARLESS FORECAST

The Saints have been a great story all season, but they can't survive the twin losses of Williams and Blake. No playoffs--again, But don't despair, Saints fans. With an excellent staff and two quality lines, the foundation is in place for a lengthy playoff streak starting next year.

FANTASY SOURCE

The Rams face an interesting test when the Saints bring their tough, aggressive defense to the TWA Dome. Marshall Faulk is expected to make his full-fledged return from a knee injury, but the Saints are allowing just 85.5 yards rushing per game. If Faulk is healthy, most of his production will come as a receiver.

For more fantasy football go to fantasy.sportingnews.com

Atlanta

3-9: 5TH

No quarterback can win when the line plays like this

If the offensive line keeps this up, it may not matter whether it's Chris Chandler, Danny Kanell or Doug Johnson at quarterback in the remaining games this season. Chandler played the full game at San Francisco and was constantly harassed because the offensive line could not provide adequate run or pass blocking. That was real bad news lot Chandler, who returned after missing one game because of a concussion and again took too many hits. Chandler was sacked four times and threw an interception that was returned 70 yards for a touchdown by Jason Webster for the 49ers' only touchdown. After taking a big hit when he was sacked in the first hall Chandler appeared stunned and wasn't the same the rest of the game.... LT Bob Whitfield didn't have the strength needed in his right arm to extend his dub-record streak of 123 consecutive starts. Knocked out of the previous weekend's game by a neck stinger, Whitfield was held out for the first time since 1993. Instead, Bob Hallen started. He had played guard and center but had never before started at tackle and was predictably overmatched.... It's not unusual to see DE Brady Smith involved in an emotional conflict on the field, and his temper finally cost him when he was ejected at the end of the third quarter last Sunday.

SCOUTING REPORT: WR Shawn Jefferson is seven catches away from matching his career high. He led the team with six catches for 61 yards Sunday against the 49ers. For whatever reason, he has not been able to form the deep-play cohesion with Chandler that was enjoyed by Tony Martin two years ago. Jefferson still has good speed, but he has only one scoring catch: a 48-yarder he and Chandler hooked up on in the season opener. For the most part, he has been reliable and has had the solid veteran presence in the locker room that the coaches expected.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: The team scored a win in its loss to the 49ers. It now leads the West in the race for the top draft choice in the division. Even better, Chicago won, improving the Falcons' chances to have the top draft choice in the conference. The Chargers might have the lock on the worst record in the league, but the Falcons figure to land somewhere in the toper, bottom five. For coach Dan Reeves, the ongoing effort is to win games, and the homestretch will not resemble the opening weeks of the preseason. Starters will remain starters. --Charles Odum

GRADING OUT vs. San Francisco

OFFENSE F

More of the same weak week-after-week showing, and that's simply awful.

DEFENSE B

Effort was certainly worthy of a victory. This unit allowed only field goals.

SPECIAL TEAMS A

Morten Andersen nailed his second field goal of the season from 50 yards or longer.

COACHING C

The only second-guessing comes in the decision to keep Doug Johnson on the sideline.