1. The no-spin zone: The Falcons didn’t have a sack Sunday in their 38-20 win over the Panthers.
Falcons safety Richie Grant had a hurry. He came close.
Also, 36-year-old Andy Dalton, put a spin move on outside linebacker James Smith-Williams and broke loose for a long gain.
The Falcons have blitzed 83 times and have an NFL-low five sacks, according to Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats.
In addition to the five sacks, the Falcons have 17 knockdowns and eight quarterback hurries.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has the highest pressure number (hurries plus knockdowns plus sacks) at seven. Outside linebacker Matthew Judon is second on the team at five followed by Arnold Ebiketie with four. Linebacker Kaden Elliss, who’s been sent on 17 blitzes, Lorenzo Carter and David Onyemata have a pressure number of three.
“Just getting the guys out there in the prime situations to be able to go out there and get it done,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said about the anemic pass-rush numbers. “(Against the Panthers), we had a couple of prime situations and some sack opportunities to rush the passer and known passing downs and we missed some of those layups.”
Missing layups is bad in basketball and football.
“You’ve got to make those layups,” Morris said. “Some of it has come from the games that we’ve been in that we talked about before. When you played Pittsburgh, it wasn’t going to be that type of game. When we played Philly, it wasn’t that type of game because of the quarterbacks that they have and the ability to move around.”
The Falcons were playing Dalton, who’s set to turn 37 on Oct. 29. He’s a eteran pocket-passer.
“We didn’t take advantage of the opportunity that we (had) in getting them on the ground,” Morris said. “It’s really about putting the people out there in the right spots, playing the guys a bunch like we’re doing, but playing them in the right moments and the right times to be able to go out there and maximize their talents.”
Morris is putting stock in the fact that the Falcons held the Bucs to six points in the second half and overtime and held the Panthers to three points in the second half.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction because of what we’ve done in the second halves of ballgames,” Morris said. “Limiting the Bucs to six points and limiting these guys to three, that puts you in the right spot. We’ve just got to finish off the deal with sacks.”
The Falcons will have a challenge against Seattle, but Geno Smith has been sacked 19 times.
“We’ve got to finish off the deal with some of the production that you would justify more,” Morris said. “Like I said, the pressure rate and some of those things, the quarterback hits have gone up. Now, we’ve got to get the quarterback sacks, the quarterback pressures, the forced fumbles, and that will be able to break some of these games open.”
2. Hellams update: Falcons safety DeMarrco Hellams (ankle) is a few weeks away from returning from short-term injured reserve, while safety Micah Abernathy was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
“Yeah, he’s still on short-term,” Morris said of Hellams. “I think we’re weeks away from that. We got some versatility because we got two corners that do some safety-type stuff in Kevin King (and Antonio) Hamilton that does some safety-type stuff for us.”
Safety Dane Kruikshank was signed to the practice squad Tuesday.
3. Macdonald interviewed for Falcons job: Seattle, which has the league’s top passing attack, got off to a fast start this season under first-year coach Mike Macdonald, but since has fallen on hard times.
In an NFC matchup, the Falcons (4-2) are set to host the Seahawks (3-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Macdonald, who played baseball and football at Centennial High in Roswell, also interviewed for the Falcons position before landing his current job.
Macdonald started his coaching career at Cedar Shoals High in Athens.
He was a graduate assistant and quality-control assistant at Georgia before landing an internship with the Ravens. He was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator last season.
The Seahawks beat Denver (26-20), New England on the road (23-20) and Miami (24-3) to open the season. Since, they have lost games to Detroit (42-20) on the road, the Giants (29-20) and San Francisco (36-24).
4. Top passing attack: The Seahawks, who pass for a league-leading 276.7 yards per game, are led by quarterback Geno Smith, who has a nice trio of receivers in D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The ground game is led by running backs Kenny Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
The Falcons met Seattle’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb during the pre-draft process as they were doing their scouting of former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Grubb was the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington 2022 and 2023 before joining Macdonald with the Seahawks.
“He’s had a lot of success early on with his offense,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Geno’s been playing great the last couple of years. (He’s) kind of really bounce back (from a slow start) to his whole career.”
Metcalf is listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. He’s caught 31 passes for 469 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll likely see Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell when they play man-to-man defense.
Lockett has 26 catches for 339 yards and a touchdown. Smith-Njigba leads the team with 34 receptions and has 310 yards and a touchdown.
“DK Metcalf’s been a physical force in the league for a while,” Morris said. “Tyler Lockett’s been a pain in my neck forever it feels like (with) his ability to catch the ball and make big-time plays. Their new slot in (Smith-Njigba). He’s been able to come out there and have (some) success. He’s a really good football player.”
5. Rushing attack: The Seahawks 95.5 yards rushing per game, which ranks 29th in the league.
Walker, a former Wake Forest and Michigan State standout, has rushed 51 times for 284 yards and five touchdowns. Charbonnet has rushed 49 times for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
“They (have) two running backs who can play,” Morris said. “They (have) a lot of offensive weapons. They (have) a tough offense to deal with when you talk about their offensive personnel.”
6. Defense stout up front: Defensively, the Seahawks are stout upfront with ends Leonard Williams (6-5, 300), Jarren Reed (6-3, 306) and nose tackle Jonathan Hankins (6-3, 325).
“He’s been a force wherever he’s been,” Morris said of Williams.
The Seahawks made a deal Monday with the Jaguars to bolster the depth of their defensive line. They picked up veteran tackle Roy Robertson-Harris in a trade. Robertson-Harris, 31, has appeared in 106 NFL games and made 62 starts.
Former Falcons assistant coach Aden Durde (2016-20) is Seattle’s defensive coordinator.
7. Series history: This will the 20th regular-season meeting between the Falcons and the Seahawks. The Seahawks lead the series 12-7. The Falcons won the last meeting 27-23 on Sept. 25, 2022 in Seattle.
8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Seahawks at Falcons: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (4-2) and the Seattle Seahawks (3-3), which is set for 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
TV: Fox 5 – Play-by-Play: Kenny Albert. Analyst: Jonathan Vilma. Sideline reporter: Megan Olivi.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 225. Seahawks channel 83 or 382 and on the App.
Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game with the Seahawks:
Here’s the depth chart:
OFFENSE
QB: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan
WR: Drake London
WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington
SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge
TE: Kyle Pitts
TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley
LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker
LG: Matthew Bergeron, Elijah Wilkinson
C: Ryan Neuzil, Matt Hennessy, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
DEFENSE
ROLB: Lorenzo Carter, James Smith-Williams, DeAngelo Malone
DE: Grady Jarrett, Kentavious Street, Eddie Goldman
NT: David Onyemata, Ruke Orhorhoro
DE: Zach Harrison, Ta’Quon Graham, Brandon Dorlus
LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebiketie
IL: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand
ILB: Troy Andersen, Nate Landman
LCB: A.J. Terrell
RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant
FS: Jessie Bates III
Special teams
K: Younghoe Koo
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Liam McCullough
KR: Ray-Ray McCloud, Mike Hughes
PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes
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