FLOWERY BRANCH — Myles Garrett is not walking through the doors of the Falcons’ office.
Maxx Crosby isn’t either.
Both of the premier passers, who play for the Browns and Raiders, respectively, are not likely to be moved before the trade deadline, which is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The Falcons are in need of pass-rush help and could be in the market for some second-tier players. Last season, the Falcons tried to trade for Montez Sweat, but Washington accepted a second-round pick from Chicago.
The Falcons reportedly were offering a third-round pick.
If the Falcons don’t make a deal, they will carry on with the players on the roster.
Their options to improve include internal options such as outside linebackers Matthew Judon and Arnold Ebiketie coming on over the second half of the season. Also, the interior players – Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata – need get a better push up the field.
“We are just going to keep pressing,” Jarrett said. “Keep hunting, I know I am, for sure. I’ve got big goals that I want to achieve not only for myself, but for the team.”
The Falcons prepare a pass-rush plan for each opponent.
“Just being more deliberate in our assignments whether it’s just (doing) more,” Jarrett said. “I think there’s another level of preparation that we can put into it that we are working on now.”
Jarrett, outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake discussed how the players must finish their rushes stronger.
“I felt like I got close a couple of times last week,” Jarrett said. “I did draw a holding penalty. Just finishing, extra effort. It’s not like the guys are not trying; it’s just a strain. We have to go get it. Ain’t nobody going to do it for us.”
Jarrett believes the Falcons have the players to create a pass rush.
“I feel like the ball is going to turn in our favor soon,” Jarrett said.
Lake could be holding back on the blitz packages. The Falcons have blitzed 23% of the time (123 blitzes over 539 defensive snaps) this season.
“Just like every other guy rushing the passer, whether it’s an interior guy, outside guy, linebackers, nickel blitzers or whatever it is, we definitely we want to get to them,” Jarrett said. “We want to get to them badly.”
Morris is aware of the trade deadline.
“(General manager) Terry (Fontenot) is like the greatest in the world,” Morris said. “He’s constantly looking, constantly talking. We try to get better everywhere. He’s always going to be about his process.”
But teams reportedly aren’t looking to unload the top level pass-rushers.
“Right now, it’s just become more popular in the National Football League to talk about than it used to be,” Morris said of the trade deadline. “But now, it’s a lot more popular to talk about. There’s a lot more sellers, for the most part, than there used to be.”
Several wide receivers have been traded before the deadline, including DeAndre Hopkins from Tennessee to Kansas City, Diontae Johnson from Carolina to Baltimore, Amari Cooper from Cleveland to Buffalo and Davante Adams from Las Vegas to the New York Jets.
Some of the second-tier pass rushers who could be available include New Orleans’ Chase Young, the New York Giants’ Azeez Ojulari, Denver’s Baron Browning, Cleveland’s Za’Darius Smith and Miami’s Emmanuel Ogbah.
Detroit, which lost Aidan Hutchinson for the season, also is in the pass-rush market.
“You’ve got to do all the value things that come into the play of the trade and what you can get for them,” Morris said. “And then, who’s selling, who’s dumping, right? Then you’ve got to make those decisions. It’s tough. What point do you feel like you’ve become a seller. What point do you feel like you’re a buyer? All those things come into play.”
But from the Falcons’ standpoint, Morris is open to changes.
“I think you constantly tweak,” Morris said. “So, there’s no hard-headed coaching that’s ever involved with any of that type of stuff. You’ve done a different amount of things. You’ve seen zero blitzes. You’ve seen pressures. You’ve seen four-man rushes. You’ve seen the ability to play sticky coverage. You’ve seen off-coverage, allowing stuff to go underneath. So, it kind of changes from a week-to-week basis, but it’s just never a hard-headed mentality.”
The Falcons plan to continue to search for answers for the league’s worst pass rush.
“When you’re struggling with something, the only way I know to get better is to work,” Smith said. “So, you have to do work on the practice field. You have to do some mental study. You have to back and critique yourself. Critique your game. Continue to fix things that help you get out of slumps.”
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