THIS WEEK: Coming off a 31-13 win vs. the St. Louis Rams for their sixth straight victory, the Saints (10-3) will play their first of a two-game road swing when they face the Baltimore Ravens (9-4) on Sunday, Dec. 19 at noon CT.
TELEVISION: The game will be televised regionally on FOX. Thom Brennaman will handle play-by-play and Brian Billick will serve as color analyst. The game will air in the New Orleans area on FOX 8and*in Baton Rouge onWGMB Channel 44. The game also airs onKADNin Lafayette,WDBDin Jackson, MS andWXXV *in the Mississippi Coast.
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RADIO: Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajan will call the game on the Saints Radio Network with Kristian Garic on the Saints sidelines. The game will air live on Saints Radio Network originating on WWL 105.3 FM and 870 AM, with pre and post-game analysis. The radio pregame and postgame shows will feature former Saints Steve Korte and Bobby Hebert as well as host Deke Bellavia.
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SPANISH RADIO: Saints 2010 games air in Spanish on radio station La Fabulosa, WFNO 830 AM. Emilio Peralta and Marco Garcia handle announcing duties.
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SERIES: The Saints and Ravens have played four times with Baltimore holding a 3-1 edge. The club's first met on September 29, 1996 at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium i the club's first season in their new home after previously playing in Cleveland, a 17-10 Ravens win. New Orleans' only win in the series was a 37-25 victory at Ravens Stadium on December 8, 2002.
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LAST MEETING: Oct. 29, 2006: Ravens 35, Saints 22 @ Louisiana Superdome – Following a bye week, the Saints fell to 5-2 after being unable to overcome a 21-point deficit in the first half - a Baltimore lead created by a trio of New Orleans turnovers in the first two quarters.
The teams traded fumbles on their opening drives. On its second possession, Baltimore marched 43 yards on eight plays, with QB Steve McNair scoring on a five-yard run up the middle.
The Saints would drive to the Baltimore 18 on their following possession, but RB Reggie Bush was intercepted in the end zone on a halfback pass. The turnover set up a lengthy drive for the Ravens, capped by a touchdown pass by McNair to give Baltimore a 10-0 lead.
Midway through the second quarter, QB Drew Brees was intercepted by CB Ronnie Prude at the New Orleans 12. The result was a touchdown and a 21-0 advantage for the Ravens.
The Saints would get on the board four plays later when Brees found WR Joe Horn on a 32-yard scoring strike, but Baltimore responded with a 10-play, 71-yard match. The drive was capped by a six-yard TD grab by TE Todd Heap, giving the Ravens a 28-7 lead at halftime. A second Brees pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown in the third quarter, although the quarterback connected with WR Marques Colston on touchdown passes of 47 and 25 yards in the final quarter.
Colston finished with 163 yards on six receptions. Horn had five grabs for 126 yards, marking the sixth time in club history the Saints had a pair of players with 100 receiving yards. Horn's TD grab was his 49th with New Orleans.
CONNECTIONS:Head coach Sean Payton and Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh served on the same staff in Philadelphia in 1998...Assistant. head coach/linebackers Joe Vitt played LB at Towson State from 1974-77 and served on the staff of the Baltimore Colts from 1979-81...T Jermon Bushrod played at Towson from 2003-06...Assistant special teams coach Mike Mallory coached inside linebackers and special teams at the University of Maryland in 2000...Baltimore S Ed Reed prepped at Destrehan High School and was a teammate of TE Jeremy Shockey and LB Jonathan Vilma at the University of Miami (Fl.)...Ravens WR Donte' Stallworth was a first-round draft pick of the Saints in 2002 and had 195 catches for 2,791 yards and 23 touchdowns during his Saints career...QB Drew Brees was tutored by Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron in San Diego from 2002-05...DT Remi Ayodele spent 2006 training camp with the Ravens...Baltimore S Dawan Landry prepped at Hahnville HS.
NEXT WEEK: The Saints will go back on the road on December 27 when they face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football on a primetime contest nationally televised on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. CT.
