<span style="">                 <span style="">DOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE</span>                 

In 2008 the Saints' 6-2 home record was tied for the fifth best in the NFL and fourth best in the NFC. The Saints finished with six home wins for the fourth time in club history and for the first time since 1992. 2008 was their first winning home mark since 2003 and the 11th time overall. Head Coach Sean Payton's 16-11 (.593) home record is ranked second in team history. The Saints have continued their Superdome success with a 3-0 mark in 2009, one of just eight NFL teams that are able to make the claim.

LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE
Since 2006 and the appointment of Saints Head Coach Sean Payton to his current post, the Saints have been the NFL's top-ranked offense in yardage, averaging 399.3 yards per game. Over the course of the past three seasons, the Saints were ranked first twice, and once again hold the top spot in 2009, averaging 427.3 yards per game. Their third-ranked rushing attack, which averages 154.5 yards per contest, joins forces with a passing attack that ranks sixth in passing yards per game.

NFL TOTAL OFFENSE LEADERS SINCE 2006

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE
Monday Night's nationally televised contest will pit two of the most efficient offenses inside the opposing teams' 20 yard-lines. After finishing ranked third in the NFC and fifth in the NFL in 2008 in red zone touchdown percentage with a 61.3% effectiveness rate, the Saints' offense has found the end zone on 21-of-their-32 opportunities (65.6%) inside the 20 yard-line in 2009 to rank second among teams in the NFL and fourth overall in the NFL.

STOPPING THE RUN
The 2009 New Orleans Saints defense has produced one of their most impressive run-stopping efforts over the course of the last decade through the course of the first six games of the season. Since taking the field in the season opener, the Saints have not yet surrendered a 100-yard outing to an individual opponent. The Saints are currently ranked eight in the NFL against opponents in yards per game (92.3) and 14th in yards per carry (4.0).

RUSHING DEFENSE BY NFL TEAMS IN 2009

PICK CITY
One of the immediate results of the offseason addition of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and free agent addition FS Darren Sharper has been the dramatic increase in interceptions by the defense. After recording totals of 11, 13 and 15 over the course of the last three seasons (2006-2008), the Saints are tied for first in the NFL through the first six games with 13 interceptions.

Sharper, the NFL's active interception leader with 60 career thefts, leads the NFL with six interceptions, including a 42-yard return for a touchdown last week in Miami that helped trigger a club-tying effort that saw the team erase a 21-point deficit. Sharper has a career-high and club-record three interception returns for touchdowns thus far this season. CB Tracy Porter and LB Scott Shanle have also recorded two interceptions apiece, which ties them for second on the team, ninth place in the NFC and 13th in the NFL.

Other Saints to record interceptions this season include: CB Randall Gay, CB Jabari Greer and DE Will Smith.

INTERCEPTION BY NFL TEAMS IN 2009

PINPOINT PASSER
Saints QB Drew Brees owns a 64.1% career completion percentage, which places him fifth all-time in NFL passing accuracy. He has completed 65.8% of his passes since joining the Saints as an unrestricted free agent in 2006.

NFL ALL-TIME LEADERS IN COMPLETION PERCENTAGE (Min. 1,500 atts.)

BURNING BUSH
Since RB Reggie Bush entered the NFL as the Saints' top draft pick in 2006, only one running back in the NFL has recorded more receptions. The league's top five pass-catching running backs over that span:

NAME TEAM REC. YARDS AVG. TD

MARVELOUS MARQUES EYE 30
Fourth-year wide receiver Marques Colston, a seventh-round draft choice of the Saints in 2006 out of Hofstra, ranks fifth among NFL players in touchdown grabs since the beginning of the 2006 season.

MOST TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS SINCE 2006 AMONG NFL PLAYERS

DEEP THREAT DEVERY
WR Devery Henderson, who enjoyed his finest season as a professional in 2008 with 32 receptions for 793 yards (24.8 average) owns the Saints' all-time mark for career receiving average among players with a minimum of 100 receptions.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ALL-TIME RECEIVING AVERAGE LEADERS (Min. 100 receptions)

ELITE STREAKS AMONG NFL TIGHT ENDS ON THE LINE MONDAY NIGHT
Two of the NFL's premier tight ends will be on opposing sideline come Monday Night in the form of Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey and Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez. Both players take streaks into the game with receptions in consecutive games played (not counting games missed due to injury).

MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION AMONG ACTIVE NFL TIGHT ENDS

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN THE SAINTS HOST THE FALCONS

*If the Saints defeat the Falcons, it will be the second time that they would begin a season with a 7-0 record. The 1991 Saints won their first seven contests. It would also mark the first time they would have won seven consecutive games since a nine-game winning streak that occurred from December 23, 1990-October 20, 1991.

*If the Saints beat the Falcons, their deficit in the all-time series will improve to 44-36. A win would also give them a 17-16 record all-time against the Falcons in the Superdome and a 10-17 record all-time on Monday Night Football games. It would also match the only other time they would have posted four consecutive home wins against the Falcons since the period ranking from 1974-77.

*QB Drew Brees has 27,956 passing yards for his career, which places him in 44th place all-time in NFL history. With 34 yards passing he will move past Terry Bradshaw into 43rd place. With 235 yards he would move past Ron Jaworski, one of the ESPN color analysts that will be working the game.

*With 182 touchdown passes Brees is tied for 41st with teammate Mark Brunell and former Patriots signal-caller Steve Grogan. With one more touchdown pass Brees will move into a tie for 40th place with Craig Morton.

*WR Marques Colston has 29 career touchdown receptions, which places him in a tie all-time for the eight-most touchdowns in team annals. With one touchdown he would move into a tie with Wayne Wilson (30) for seventh place, while two scores would put him in sole possession of seventh place.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ALL-TIME TOUCHDOWN LEADERS
1. Deuce McAllister 55
2. Dalton Hilliard 53
3. Joe Horn 50
4. Eric Martin 48
5. Danny Abramowicz 37
6. Tony Galbreath 33
7. Wayne Wilson 30
8t. Marques Colston 29
8t. Chuck Muncie 29
10. Henry Childs 28
11. Reggie Bush 27

*With 45.5 career sacks, DE Charles Grant is tied for seventh all-time in team history with Jim Wilks. With his takedown of a passer behind the line of scrimmage Grant will move into sole possession of seventh place.

*With 11 interceptions returned for touchdowns, FS Darren Sharper is ranked second all-time in NFL annals. With one more "pick six" Sharper will tie Rod Woodson for the most in NFL history. If he scores one more touchdown via interception return, he will also tie the NFL mark (4) for single-season interception returns for touchdowns.

*TE Jeremy Shockey currently has 5,015 receiving yards, the 26th highest total by an NFL tight end. With 70 receiving yards Shockey would surpass Jimmie Giles and move into the top 25. Shockey has 447 receptions, the 13th highest total in NFL history by a tight end. He also needs four more receptions to move past former Saints tight end Wesley Walls (450) for sole possession of 12th place.