Atlanta Falcons: Four positives from brutal week one loss

Grady Jarrett looks capable of carrying this Atlanta Falcons defensive line

You know the pressure that the Atlanta Falcons defense put on Jameis Winston on Sunday, but what you probably didn’t know is that most of that pressure can be attributed to one man, Grady Jarrett.

Grady absolutely took it to the Saints’ offensive line, not only on the inside but the outside as well.

Of course, he had the one-and-a-half sacks that show up on the stat sheet but his impact extends well beyond that. He caused all sorts of errors for the opposing blockers and nothing showed that more than when Mykal Walker sacked Winston on the Saints’ first drive of the second half.

Watch the left guard, he was so focused on helping the center with Grady that he did not even lift an eye, and as a result, Mykal Walker came in untouched to take down the quarterback. Just Grady’s presence scared Andrus Peat so bad that he didn’t notice a guy standing three yards in front of him.

We haven’t even mentioned his run defense which might have been even better than his pass rushing.

It is a welcomed sight for anyone after a down year from the veteran defensive tackle. It seems like he is back and better than ever.