by D. Orlando Ledbetter; Staff , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ryan completed 19 of 42 passes for 289 yards and one touchdown against the Saints. He had a lowly passer rating of 46.6, his third consecutive sub-70 rating.

Ryan's first interception was returned 38 yards by Jabari Greer for a touchdown.

"It was just a poor decision," Ryan said. "I have to get rid of the Football in that situation."

The second one killed a potential go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter, when a pass intended for Tony Gonzalez was tipped by Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and intercepted by Tracy Porter.

"It's frustrating because we felt like we had that opportunity," Ryan said.

His last interception came on a desperation heave with three seconds left in the game.

Falcons coach Mike Smith stands behind his quarterback.

"I'm not concerned at all," Smith said. "Statistically it hasn't been the best games over the last three games. But again, you can't make that judgment until after 16 games."

However, Smith did see some issues with the passing attack.

"It looked like we had opportunities to get the ball down the field, but we weren't able to do it," Smith said.

Cornerback focus

Tye Hill made his first start with the Falcons , but left the game after suffering cramps. He was injured on Saints wide receiver Marques Colston's 18-yard touchdown reception.

Brent Grimes, whom Hill was replacing in the starting lineup, came in and was solid.

Hill appeared to tackle much better than Grimes when he was in the game.

"I think it went well," Hill said. "I wish I could get a couple of those plays back, but I got in and finally got my feet wet."

Smith wouldn't name the starter for the Redskins game.

Grimes had an interception on which he made a spectacular jump to catch the pass.

"I just saw the ball and went up and got it," Grimes said.

Etc.

Defensive end John Abraham clearly is slowed by his left foot injury. He had one quarterback hurry against New Orleans. "Abe has been fighting nicks and things through the entire season," Smith said.

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