Scott Shanle: Atlanta Falcons 'like our little brothers'

The New Orleans Saints may be struggling through one of the more depressing seasons in franchise history, but they will always have Week 10. They took down their hated division rival Falcons, giving Atlanta its first loss of the season in the process. (Even if the Falcons didn't give them much credit.)

Darlington: Falcons at a crossroads

So Matt Ryan and Co. finally lost. Now what? Jeff Darlington says only the Falcons can decide how they move forward. **More ...**

After winning four of five games, the Saints are puffing their chests out again.

"Everybody was ready to let Atlanta know we still own them despite how our year has gone," linebacker Scott Shanle told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports. "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."

This is how rivalries are supposed to be. The Jets and Patriots get it. The Ravens and Steelers get it. The Falcons and Saints are right there with any of them. Shanle said the Falcons were messing with former Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton before the game.

On NFL Network
NFL Replay
will re-air the New Orleans Saints' 31-27 victory over the Atlanta  Falcons from Week 10 on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.

» NFL Network schedule

"(Vilma) went and told their coach it was classless and they didn't even say anything," Shanle said. "It set the tone for the day. It was classless and they got what they deserved."

Lofton now thinks he's on the right side of Falcons-Saints. Just don't use the "R" word.

"A rivalry? I wouldn't say so because the Saints always (are) out on top of that," Lofton told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The Falcons have a chance to change that in three weeks when the Saints head to the Georgia Dome.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.