With his Atlanta Falcons unable to affect their standing as the NFC's No. 2 seed last week, Mora decided Vick, tight end Alge Crumpler, nose tackle Ed Jasper and cornerback Jason Webster wouldn't play at New Orleans.
Running back T.J. Duckett, a 254-pounder who's hard to stop in short-yardage situations, missed his second straight game, but Mora expects the injured players to be on the field when the team returns to practice Wednesday.
Atlanta visits Seattle on Sunday, after which point the Falcons won't play again until the divisional round of the playoffs Jan. 15-16.
``Absolutely, as I stand here today, it's my firm belief that he'll play,'' Mora said Monday of Vick. ``Something would have to transpire with his shoulder that I don't foresee right now for him to stay off the field. Same with Alge, same with T.J., same with Ed, same with Jason. I expect all those guys to be on the field Wednesday and rolling.''
Losing 26-13 to the Saints hardly came as a surprise. Rookie quarterback Matt Schaub, making his first career start, threw a pair of interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked for a safety in the first quarter.
Christian Morton, a rookie cornerback signed to the practice squad Dec. 7 and to the 53-man roster on Saturday, was out of place when the Saints took a 19-6 lead on Donte' Stallworth's 39-yard touchdown catch.
Running back Jason Wright and defensive end Khaleed Vaughn, a pair of undrafted rookies, saw limited action in just their second NFL games.
``A guy gets hurt, but somebody steps up, and we roll,'' Mora said. ``Maybe that's what disappointed me about yesterday. We all knew there were guys out, but what we've done all year is we've continued to roll and we didn't get it done yesterday. We'll fix it.''
Though he considered Schaub's performance above-average, Mora needs Vick back in the lineup when the Falcons (11-4) plays Seattle (8-7). Facing the playoff-bound Seahawks should give Mora and his staff a good read on the state of their team entering next week's bye.
Offensive coaches will focus on re-establishing the run. Without Vick, who leads the NFL with 7.6 yards per carry, and Duckett, who has rushed for eight touchdowns and a 4.8 average, Atlanta ran for just 93 yards and failed to reach 100 for the first time this season.
What's worse, the Falcons allowed New Orleans, which has the league's worst rushing defense, to stop the league's best rushing attack. Without Vick's speed, Duckett's power and Crumpler's blocking presence, the Saints only had to focus on stopping Warrick Dunn, who ran 18 times for just 52 yards.
``If you want to be a great team, a championship team, you go out there and win regardless of the circumstances,'' Dunn said. ``We have to expect to win no matter the situation.''
Atlanta's rushing defense fared no better. Deuce McAllister gained 128 yards as the Saints finished with 160, the second-best effort by an opponent this year. The Falcons began the day ranked No. 10 against the run, allowing an average of just 102.7.
Linebacker Keith Brooking was angry at himself and his teammates for allowing Aaron Brooks to sneak across the goal for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal. That score gave New Orleans a 12-6 halftime lead, but it also followed three consecutive plays in which defensive tackle Chad Lavalais and Brooking stopped McAllister short.
Allowing the Saints to gain at least 10 yards on a combined 15 run and pass plays hurt even more.
``You remember the last couple years, and I hate to even talk about that, but explosive plays killed us,'' Brooking said. ``That's something we really need to focus on eliminating because that'll put a dagger right in your heart every time.'
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/12/144420