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The Falcons will need to be healthy to topple the Saints. While the defense looks like a joke in New Orleans, the team most assuredly is not. You take the Saints lightly at your own peril.
Thankfully for the Falcons, they do have that leg up in the health department. According to the AJC, injured Falcons Roddy White, Stephen Nicholas, Asante Samuel and Matt Bryant should all be back in action for Sunday's game.
These are critically important players. White is one half of arguably the best receiver tandem in the NFL today. Nicholas is a starting linebacker. Samuel is the team's top cornerback. Bryant is one of the league's best kickers. Having all of them on the field makes things much, much easier than it would be without them.
This game is far from a cakewalk, and setbacks could still happen. Still, this is highly encouraging, and it means that Mike Smith was being straight with us a couple of weeks back when he said he expected everyone to return for Week 1. Love ya, Smitty.
Keep an eye out for further updates, but it looks like the Falcons are going into New Orleans in good shape.