FALCONS UNHAPPY WITH BREES, SAINTS GOING FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

When any one of the other 31 NFL teams complains about the sportsmanship of the New Orleans Saints, I usually agree with that team.

But in last night's 45-16 drubbing at the hands of the Saints, I'm going to disagree with the Atlanta Falcons and their displeasure with the New Orleans offense and their 4th quarter game plan.

Falcons head coach Mike Smith was unhappy that quarterback Drew Brees twisted the fork that had already been "stuck" in his team—so to speak. Smith said:

"That's just who they are. We’ll see them down the road. We won’t forget any of it.”

Some of the Falcons players felt the same way. According to a CBSSports.com report, one player said:

"No need for that. It came on our watch, but it didn't have to come that way. We won't forget it."

It was well known that Brees was in hot pursuit of Dan Marino's 27-year-old record for most passing yards in a season. Prior to last night's Monday Night Football game, Brees needed just over 300 yards to break Marino's record. He had two games to make it happen.

So, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Brees, with his high powered offense, would break the record. It was just a matter of when—against the Falcons last night or next week against the Carolina Panthers.

With the victory, for all intents and purposes, already secure at 38-16, Brees went for the record by throwing a touchdown pass to running back Darren Sproles.

Big deal.

My take on "running up the score" in the NFL is this: if you can't stop the other team at this level, that's your problem. This isn't Pop Warner football, it's the National Football League. If your feelings are hurt because you aren't good enough to stop the other team, too bad.

If the Atlanta Falcons think whining and complaining—or even subtly threatening revenge—is going to do any good—well, that's just amusing.

These two teams could meet again in a couple weeks. If it happens, I will expect a similar result.

The Saints are a vastly better football team right now. If the Falcons want to get better and come back next season and run up a big number on the Saints, good for them.