Atlanta Falcons: What to Expect From ‘Grittier’ Falcons
With the NFL Draft finished for another year and the Atlanta Falcons’ picks all selected, it’s time we look ahead to the offseason, training camp, and what we can expect from the new ‘grittier’ Falcons in 2015.
The first major change that’s occurred with the arrival of Dan Quinn is the team and the franchise seem to now have a clear direction and mindset that was very much missing in the latter years of the Mike Smith regime.
Since his introductory press conference, Quinn has been preaching ‘speed’, ‘toughness’ and ‘grit’ as foundations that the team will be built around. Unlike the end of the Mike Smith regime, it’s nice to see the team actually take this approach and implement it in the draft.
The Falcons made a clear effort to get quicker as players such as Vic Beasley, Jalen Collins, Tevin Coleman and Grady Jarrett all fit the intangibles Quinn has been looking to add.
Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Vic Beasley (Clemson) poses for a photo after being selected as the number eighth overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest downfalls of the Mike Smith era was the repeated efforts of the team to try and re-invent itself. Under Smith, the Falcons were a run-first ground and pound team with Michael Turner, the focal point of the offense.
After the drubbing at home in the playoffs by the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons then tried to adjust and become more explosive, so they ‘sold the farm’ and traded up for Julio Jones in a move many argue mortgaged the Falcons future.
The Jones move was expected to be the final piece in the Super Bowl plan, and it nearly was as the Falcons fell agonisingly short (10 yards) of a spot in the big game.
Having just missed out on the Super Bowl, the Falcons decided to rid themselves of some key veteran players (Abraham, Turner) and chose to add other veteran players (Jackson, Umeniyora) in the hopes that the team could have another run at the elusive Super Bowl title. As we all know ,the 2013 season was a disaster.
Last summer, the Falcons once again tried to change their approach, this time by making a move to a 3-4 defense that would feature newly signed free agents Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai. The move to a 3-4 didn’t only not work, it never really came to fruition as Mike Smith and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan ran for the most part a 4-2-5 defense which would end up being the 32nd ranked unit in the NFL.
What became clear throughout the 2013 and 2014 seasons was that the Falcons had lost their way. Mike Smith, Thoms Dimitroff and the whole franchise had become disillusioned with the initial success they achieved and as a result had failed to notice the multitude of mistakes they were making, until it was too late.
The hire of Dan Quinn has seen the Falcons re-create their identity. The defense will be a simple 4-3 system that features fast, physical players. The offense will be a wide-zone run team which will look to take some of the pressure off Matt Ryan, allowing him to pick and choose his spots far more than the Dirk Koetter offense ever did. For the first time in several years, it’s clear these new look Falcons have a direction and a philosophy and it’s a refreshing change.
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Having looked at the changes at the top of the Falcons organisation, it’s time to analyse the new look roster and how we can expect them to perform in 2015 and beyond.
Instead of doing a position-by-position break down of the roster, which can be, dull, I’m just going to do a bullet point list of some of the key thoughts I have on the roster:
Improved pass rush
The addition of players such as Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett and O’Brien Schofield should see the Falcons pass rush improve greatly from the abysmal efforts we witnessed the last two seasons.
While I still think this team needs to add another EDGE player in the long term, we really couldn’t have expected anything better this year. The Falcons added the best pass rusher in the draft, one of the most disruptive interior pass rushers as well as a couple of depth guys to go along with players such as Jonathan Babineaux, Adrian Clayborn, Kroy Biermann (I know) and Brooks Reed.
Improved run game
I have gone on record as not being a fan of the Telvin Coleman pick in the draft, but even so, I do think the Falcons run game will take a noticeable step forward this year. The reason I am so confident the rushing attack will be improved is because of one player, Devonta Freeman.
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I loved Freeman coming out of FSU and the move to a wide-zone blocking scheme is perfect for him. Freeman’s got the vision, agility and mindset that will fit perfectly in Kyle Shanahan’s team as he’s a one cut and go back who gets upfield in a hurry once he’s found his lane.
While Freeman needs to show better patience, I do think he will thrive in this backfield and I fully expect him to lead the team in carries and yards this season. The Coleman pick to me was a strange one as I thought the team would be looking to add more of a bruising type of running back, instead of the explosive, home run hitter that Coleman is.
To put it simply, Coleman isn’t a great fit in Shanahan’s scheme. Coleman’s an impatient runner who shows limited vision. He also really struggles to change directions as he runs very upright. Colemans hips are also very stiff, meaning he really struggles to make decisive cuts, leading to wasted steps.
Coleman is also what can be described as a ‘narrow runner’, he really struggles to shrug off, or ‘ride’ contact, particularly at low speeds meaning he often goes down on first contact.
There is no doubting Coleman is talented, once he sees a clear lane he’s off to the races and so he should be fun, but in the long run I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons regret this pick with players such as David Cobb and Mike Davis still on the board. The Falcons are hoping Coleman turns into Jamal Charles 2.0 but don’t be surprised if they end up with something closer to Darren McFadden.
Holes at FS and ILB
Heading into the draft, it was clear certain positions would have to be neglected. As it turned out, two of the positions which went neglected were free safety and inside linebacker. With the Falcons adding nobody in particular to compete for the FS spot it looks likely that Dezmen Southward and Charles Godfrey will be the top two candidates for the job.
Southward’s a long, rangy athlete who really struggles with the mental side of the game, his instincts are pretty shocking. Godfrey is a veteran who would have been well suited to the role five years ago but it remains to be seen just how much life he has left in his legs.
The fact that the team didn’t add a FS could tell us that Quinn was pleased with what he saw out of Southward and or Godfrey in the minicamp before the draft, but before we see it on the field I’m going to be sceptical.
The other position I was really hoping the Falcons would address in the draft of FA was inside linebacker. The team currently has Paul Worrilow pencilled in for the starting ‘Mike’ spot, and plainly, that’s not good.
While Worrilow’s got an impressive work ethic he simply isn’t a very good player. Worrilow’s what I describe as a ‘phone booth’ tackler, meaning he’s OK in limited spaces where he has a clean shot at the running back or ball carrier.
Move Worrilow off his spot in either run support or pass coverage and it’s pretty much a write off as he gets lost in space. Worrilow makes a lot of tackles, a lot of meaningless tackles that don’t in any way help the team win. Until the Falcons upgrade the ILB position I feel the defense won’t be able to really take that ‘next step’.
Options at LG
With long time starter Justin Blalock being cut in the offseason, many fans were hoping the team would add a guard in the draft who could come in and hopefully start Week 1. This didn’t materialize and as such the team now has an opening on the offensive line, which will likely be filled by Sam Baker or Mike Person.
Dec 8, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Atlanta Falcons guard Justin Blalock (63) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 22-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Person is a player I don’t really know anything about but apparently he’s a good run blocker who should be well suited to the zone scheme. Whether he’s good enough to be anything but a backup remains to be seen. Sam Baker is an intriguing option at LG.
While Baker has been much maligned for his poor play, awful contract and terrible injury history I do think if Baker is ever going to be useful, it would be this year. Baker’s a good fit for the zone scheme as he’s a good athlete who would be returning to a scheme similar to the one he ran in college.
Whether Baker can transition inside remains to be seen and his injury history is obviously a massive red flag but I do hold out some hope that we may get some usefulness out of Baker in 2015.
Overall, I think the Falcons will be a much improved team in 2015 as the organisation has improved dramatically both on and off the field. Dan Quinn has assembled what I feel is an impressive coaching staff and with the moves made in FA and the draft I definitely expect the team to return to winning ways.
With the NFC South looking as terrible as ever (remember when it was the best division in football) it wouldn’t shock me if the Falcons made the playoffs in 2015. The Falcons were a team without a direction at the end of the 2014 season but I truly believe that with the moves made this offseason the team has gone a long way to rediscovering the success they saw from 2008-2012.
Next: Blogging Dirty Podcast: Breaking down the 2015 NFL Draft