| Reportedly, Smith won't address the accusations. (Getty Images) |
After the Saints defeated the previously unbeaten Falcons on Sunday, New Orleans linebackers Scott Shanle and Jonathan Vilma accused several players of walking through team drills while talking trash.
Given their line of work, this seems innocuous. It would be one thing if Bob from accounting had all he could take with his Commodore 64. But this is football, where grown men wear funny outfits and run into each other at full speed for three hours at a time.
Whatever may or may not have happened, Falcons coach Mike Smith won't address the accusations from Saints players that, according to an ESPN report. linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and defensive lineman Jonathan Babineaux deliberately interfered with pregame warm-ups.
After the game, Shanle told Yahoo.com that "They were talking [expletive] to our guy Curtis Lofton [formerly of the Falcons]. I couldn't even understand them. They were just walking all over our drills trying to mess with him. Vilma went and told their coach it was classless, and they didn't even say anything. It set the tone for the day. It was classless, and they got what they deserved. …
"Everybody was ready to let Atlanta know we still own them despite how our year has gone. It was awesome, man. They thought we were supposed to be scared of them. We're now 11-2 since we got here in '06 against them. They're like our little brothers. Deep down they know they can't mess with us even when we are having a down year."
Vilma told ESPN that "the Falcons acted like the baddest, toughest team in the league," and when he approached an Atlanta assistant coach he just "stood there smiling."
After the game, Falcons wideout Roddy White said the loss "doesn't say much about us. I think we had opportunities today. It's not like they came out here and just ... I feel like we kind of gave it away. We just gave it to them. It wasn't nothing they did. It was what we did in not cashing in on opportunities."
White can make all the excuses he wants but the Saints have now beaten the Falcons in four consecutive games. The two teams will play again in Week 13.
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