Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Tuesday, Nov. 17

Happy Tuesday, Falcoholics! In 4 short days, the Falcons will face off against the bottom dwellers of the NFL. Sure, the Saints are 7-2. And sure, the Falcons aren’t. But we have the moral high ground and that has to count for something.

You should let our links rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

On the podcast front, David Walker’s series taking a season by season look at the Thomas Dimitroff era is a can’t-miss. This week, he was joined by The Falcoholic himself to break down the 2011 season.

The Drew Brees era may finally be coming to an end in New Orleans. It turns out he’s in a truly bad place on the health front, having suffered multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung in last weekend’s game. It also sounds like the Saints knew his ribs were dicey headed into that game and trotted him out there anyway, which is right on brand for that cotton-headed ninnymuggins known to his friends as Patrick Sean Payton.

In my latest column, I urge the fan base to take a deep breathe and step back from the ledge, because the next Falcons GM isn’t inheriting a complete train wreck. Looking ahead, there are 7 games left in the season. If the Falcons manage to win 6 of those 7 games, they’d finish with a 9-7 record and potentially squeak into the playoffs. That seems ... farfetched. But that doesn’t mean the last 7 games don’t matter. Under Raheem Morris’ leadership, the Falcons are focused on building for the future. In that vein, The Falcoholic highlighted some players on offense that have to use the next 7 weeks as a tryout of sorts for the next regime.

Last but certainly not least, the Falcons may be getting Calvin Ridley back just in time for their matchup with the Saints this weekend. Huzzah!

Go forth, Falcoholics. Be merry and stuff.