FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons rank last in the NFL with six sacks after seven games. But defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is not alarmed.
“Not only with pass rush, but with all of our stuff, with tackling, getting off blocks, being more ball-aware, everything is a process,” Lake said when asked about the pass rush. “We’re trying to get better every single day. We are evolving. We’re still trying to grow and develop in all areas.”
The Falcons (4-3) are set to face the Buccaneers (4-3) in a key NFC South matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Falcons won the previous meeting, 36-30 in overtime, on Oct. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In that game, the Falcons had one sack and one quarterback hit, both by defensive tackle David Onyemata. The defense held the Bucs to six points in the second half as the Falcons needed a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer to force overtime and a 45-yard catch-and-run by KhaDarel Hodge in overtime to pull out the victory.
“That’s what the journey of a football season is,” Lake said. “We put all these guys together: coaches, staff and players. We’re continually trying to grow and develop every single day. Everybody has a growth mindset. They’re putting in the work.”
Outside linebacker Matthew Judon and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett lead the Falcons with 1.5 sacks each.
Jarrett has the highest pressure number (hurries plus knockdowns plus sacks) at nine. Linebacker Kaden Elliss, who’s been sent on 23 blitzes, has a seven, without a sack. Judon and Arnold Ebiketie have a five.
“I don’t go emotional with it, but there’s certainly spots and areas that you (must) talk about,” Morris said about the Falcons’ pass-rush plan. “We (must) be more aggressive.”
That will leave the secondary in more man-to-man coverage.
“Those spots came up (Sunday against the Seahawks), having to be more aggressive,” Morris said. “When you (must) get more possessions and dictate the terms of how you want to play the game.”
Lake is sticking to the plan.
“We’re just going to continue with our process,” Lake said. “We know the results will come. We don’t look down and stare down at what a stat sheet says on how many this or how many that. ... At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is, we’re trying to win football games.”
Yes, but sacking the quarterback more would help immensely toward the ultimate goal.
“The first thing (is) we’re trying to outrun the South,” Lake said. “Win the South and secure a playoff spot. So, individual statistics and all those things those are extracurricular stuff — that’s off to the side.
“The No. 1 thing we’re trying to do is get the ball back for our offense, make sure (opponents) score less points than our team scores, which would mean we could win at the end of the day.”
The Falcons had one sack and six quarterback hits against the Seahawks.
“Now, we didn’t get a lot of hits,” Falcons assistant head coach/secondary Jerry Gray said. “(Nor) a lot of sacks. But we saw the guy getting off the spot. ... That’s the thing that we want those guys to see. Don’t take a look at what we didn’t do. Look at what we did do. We actually got the quarterback off the spot. Every quarterback is not going to be as athletic as Geno.”
But the Falcons didn’t sack the Panthers’ 36-year-old quarterback Andy Dalton when they played Oct. 13.
Outside linebacker Demone Harris was active against Seattle, and James Smith-Williams had the lone sack.
“Demone got his first action and played really, really well,” Lake said. “We were not surprised because he’s been showing it in practice. He earned the right to go out there and get some reps.”
Smith-Williams is in his first season with the Falcons.
“I loved the sack that he had,” Lake said. “That was an awesome power rush. He took advantage of an (opportunity) right there. That was a big play in the game. James has (been a) physical force in the run game. He’s a power rusher. I really like where he’s at. He’ll continue to develop as well.”
Judon, who entered the season with 66 career sacks, was acquired in a trade with New England on Aug. 15. The Falcons sent a third-round pick to the Patriots. Also, Ebiketie, a second-round pick (38th overall) in 2022, is in his third season. He doesn’t have a sack after recording six last season.
Lake is fine with how Judon and Ebiketie are playing.
“Extremely well, stat-wise, I’m sure Judon has more stats than AK at this point,” Lake said. “But AK has had some excellent rushes these last couple of games that didn’t show up on a stat sheet, extremely close. Forced some balls out, especially two games ago against Carolina.”
The Falcons plan to continue blitzing Elliss, despite his not having a sack.
“He forced the interception in the Philadelphia game with his pass rush,” Lake said. “That was the game-sealing victory right there. Forced the interception on his pass rush against Kansas City Chiefs and (Patrick) Mahomes. So, that didn’t go down as a statistic on the laptop right there, but (there was) pressure, (and) the quarterback got rid of it.”
So, like Lake said, the pass rush is evolving.
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