Our heroes (and Reggie Bush, assuming Sean Payton lets him on the plane) are all set to head to Atlanta this weekend to post lucky #13 by kicking the shit out of about half of the Fightin' Mike Smiths.

Most of the intrigue so far seems to center on whether or not Matty Ice will be checking out the hook while his own personal Dee Shay, Michael Turner, revolves it. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure it's gonna matter. After escaping D.C. with an improbable win despite quite possibly their crappiest performance of the year, I don't know if you've noticed, but Drew's got that look in his eye. Yeah, that look. That loud splat you just heard was… well… you don't wanna know. Just steer clear of Mike's office until the custodians have had a few hours to do their thing, alright?

Oh sure, you don't have to remind me that back in week 8, the Falcons became the first team to stay within two scores of the Saints. And that was at the Dome, back when the Saints had the services of their starting corners. You don't have to remind me that Turner ran for 151 that night, Roddy White put up 108 and Matty threw for 289, only 19 yards fewer than Drew did.

I'm well aware of the fact that the 289 remains Matty's second highest total of the season, despite the Saints intercepting him three times that night. Two of which were courtesy of Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer, neither of whom will be playing this time. And one of them was a pick six, in an eight point win. At home.

Yep, I've considered the fact that the Falcons are desperate. They're 6-6 and are fighting to stay in the playoff race, while the Saints have a lead for the last remaining regular season goal. (I'm calling it a one game lead because the Vikings have the tiebreaker.) I know it's a division game, and there's nothing the Falcons would rather do than to fuck everything up for the Saints like they've done so many times before.

I realize that Malcolm Jenkins and Mike McKenzie stunk the joint up last weekend to a pretty stunning degree, and the Saints will be starting either Troy Evans or Anthony Waters at strongside linebacker. And the Saints are coming off by far their lowest rushing output of the season.

So why am I not the least bit worried?

Because Drew's got that look in his eye.

Because last week's game finally got them talking. Drew's talking about karma, and destiny, and it being "our time" and about "wanting them all." Sean Payton is finally talking about going for it and not letting the foot off the gas until they get there. "Who knows when or if we'll ever get this close again." Indeed.

I think the close call against Washington changed something. Something profound. I think that Drew's and Payton's newfound willingness to talk about the elephant in the room indicates a fundamental change in the way the Saints are approaching the season, starting now, and until(/unless?) that first loss comes.

16-0 is no longer just a silly homeriffic pipe dream. All of a sudden, this thing has gotten real. Really, really real.

And I think that being so close to achieving it, and at the same time being so very close to having it slip away last weekend… well, what used to be talk radio and message board silliness doesn't seem so silly anymore. It's no longer a ridiculously premature baseless projection. It's no longer Mission: Impossible. Not anymore. Now, it's The Goal. For the next four weeks, anyway.

Which is why Drew's got that look in his eye.

(Payton is still too worried about keeping his poker face, but there are cracks in the surface.)

Washington was the last "trap game." Trap games don't exist anymore.

Not that a Falcons game ever really qualifies as a trap game to begin with. They're the Falcons, I think "fuck them!" gets burned on your brain as soon as you first put on the black & gold.

But if it weren't for that, you might be tempted to consider the emotionally draining win last week, and a primetime game vs. Dallas the following week, and wonder whether a road game against a desperate division opponent in between might be The One That Finally Gets Us.

It won't. Drew's got that look. And the Falcons are in for a world of hurt. A world of hurt. In their house.

Last time the Saints had what could have been considered a "close call" (Rams, week 10) the Saints won their next two games by a combined score of 78-24.

I'm tempted to make that score my prediction for this game.

What I think I've been sensing this week is the embracing of the suddenly-not-so-ridiculous prospect of running the table bringing back that edge.

All of a sudden, there's once again a compelling tangible goal that isn't a month or two away. Oh sure, staying ahead of the Vikings for home field advantage is nice and all. But admit it, that particular angle has been boring even your very own Die Hard Saints Fan balls off for the last couple weeks. Important? Sure. Sexy? Not really.

Which is why this week was/is the absolute perfect time for Sean Payton and Drew Brees to finally give in and embrace The Dream. It's precisely the button that needed to be pushed. Not too early, when it smacks of arrogance and is met with eye rolls, and not too late when it's… well, too late.

No, there won't be any "coming out flat" this week. It's on now. Oh, it is so on.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Dee Shay and The Iceman may not cometh. And even if they do, Ryan's injury will affect his ability to plant and get juice on his throws, and tailbacks with high ankle sprains very rarely kick large amounts of ass.

The Falcons haven't rushed for over 90 yards in a month. Turner is on pace for less than half of his rushing yards for last year, he's already set a career high for fumbles, and he's got a bum leg at the moment.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Matty Ice isn't nearly the hall of famer ESPN made him out to be last year. He already has one more INT than last year (12) and he's been sacked 15 times. His completion percentage and passer rating are down, as is his pace for passing yards.

And if he can't go, Chris Redman is… well… Chris Redman. 54% completions, 3 TDs to 2 INTs and he's been sacked 7 times in 2 games. Ouch.

Oh, and speaking of sacks, have I mentioned that Will Smith had two of 'em last time against Sam Baker… who's currently banged up? And that the Falcons may be without starting center Todd McClure? And if McClure does play, he won't be quite as fortunate as he was last time… no, this time, he's gonna have to deal with Sedrick Ellis.

It's quite possible that the Falcons will be without Baker, McClure and right guard Harvey Dahl. And yesterday, Mike Smith all but flat out stated that if that turns out to be the case come Sunday, it'll be Redman who will be sacrificed.

Red man walkin'….

Say, anybody know whatever happened to John Parker Wilson?

Oh, this one is gonna be big fun. I can't think of too many better venues for the long-awaited 2009 debut of the Fiftyburger. I mean, there's Miami of course, but that's gonna have to wait until February 2010. Meantime, yeah, I'm thinking now's the time and Atlanta's the place. And I've got a feeling that Drew agrees. You can see it in his eyes.