Why the Atlanta Falcons will not make the playoffs
The Falcons have no pass rush, whatsoever
The biggest problem the Falcons have had on defense in the last two seasons was not being able to pressure opposing quarterbacks. So what did the Falcons address first and foremost in the 2015 NFL draft? The pass rush. Atlanta drafted Vic Beasley with the hopes of him coming in right away and wreaking havoc on offensive lines and quarterbacks. Sadly, that hasn’t been the case.
After nine games, the Falcons rank 31st in the NFL in sacks with 10. Atlanta is a whopping 20 sacks behind the Denver Broncos who sit at 30 with only eight games played. So in reality, the Falcons are even more than 20 behind once Denver plays another game.
That is absolutely pitiful. The rest of the defense has played pretty well thus far. The Falcons rank atop the league in several categories including rush yards allowed, points per game allowed and turnovers forced, but a lack of pass rush has kept the Falcons’ defense from being one of the leagues’ best defensive units.
The Falcons’ secondary has been surprisingly good in 2015. Desmond Trufant ranks pretty high as far as shutting down wide receivers go and Robert Alford is having a great year as well. Ricardo Allen has done a great job in his first full year as the Falcons’ starting free safety, but there are still a couple of holes they need to fill.
Jalen Collins, the Falcons second round pick out of LSU still needs a lot of work before he becomes a competent corner and the William Moore experiment may be coming to an end very soon. It may be time to part ways with Moore and replace him in this years’ draft.
Another thing that has held the Falcons’ defense back is a lack of talent when it comes to their linebackers. Paul Worrilow may get replaced after this year while Justin Durant will get replaced without question. The Falcons will have at least one linebacker to replace after the season’s end, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they part ways with several players.
The Falcons interior defensive line is full of talent. Ra’Shede Hageman and Grady Jarrett will be stars in the very near future and Beasley will hopefully follow suite as well, but the Falcons could stand a couple more pass rushers via free agency of next years’ draft.
If the Falcons can’t rush the passer in the next seven games, then I don’t see them winning too many games with the Panthers, Saints, Colts Vikings and Buccaneers still on the list of games to play. All five of those teams’ quarterbacks will pick the Falcons’ defense apart without a pass rush.