Raheem Morris, Jeff Ulbrich ‘innovative and moving forward’ with Falcons defense

Revamping the pass rush is goal No. 1.

“Obviously, we have got to find ways to generate rush,” Morris said. “So, anyway you can do that and have a chance to get back to something that we’ve done in the past, something we watched (Ulbrich) do the last three years and him get better at the Jets. That was a major part of bringing him back.”

The Falcons finished with 31 sacks, but 21 of them came after the bye week and over the final seven games last season. That ranked 31st out of 32 teams in the league.

“Obviously you want to get this time of year, get together and see what you did really well,” Morris said. “Kind of find out what we did toward the end of the season, to be able to generate some of that rush and add to that this year.”

The Falcons are heavily scouting the defensive players in the draft, which is reportedly well stocked with pass rushers. The Falcons have five picks.

“We’re all here with (general Manager) Terry (Fontenot) and his crew,” Morris said.

The Falcons have to make decisions on outside linebackers Lorenzo Carter and Matthew Judon. Both appeared headed for free agency.

Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie and defensive end Zach Harrison have shown flashes of pass-rush ability. Ebiketie led the team with six sacks last season. The Falcons tried to move Harrison inside to tackle and he has one sack. He had three his rookie season as a defensive end.

“We have to find ways to make some of the guys that we do have on our team even better,” Morris said. “Then be able to add some people that we can really move forward with. Find ways to do that on defense.”

The Falcons are focusing on the line.

“Because it all starts up front,” Morris said. “We all watched that in the Super Bowl. Those guys (the Eagles) were a clear example in the Super Bowl with those guys being able to rush the passer, be able to finish off and do some really good things.”

The Falcons are looking forward to adding to the defensive front. They drafted three defensive tackles and outside linebacker Bralen Trice last season. Ruke Orhorhoro showed promise at defensive tackle. Brandon Dorlus, who was drafted in the fourth round out of Oregon, played in only two games. Zion Logue, who was picked in the sixth round, was claimed off the practice squad by the Bills.

Trice, who drafted in the third round, was lost for the season with an Achilles injury.

“So, we are looking forward to adding those type of players,” Morris said.

Morris terminated former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake after only one season. He was a first-time NFL signal-caller.

“That’s kind of where (we’ve) been over the last couple of weeks,” Morris said. “After we’ve added Jeff and have been able to get down and talk about some profile looks, things of that nature.”

It’s a reunion for Morris and Ulbrich, who went their separate ways after the 2020 season. They were together with the Falcons from 2015-20 and were apart of the Super Bowl 51 staff under Dan Quinn.

Morris went to the Rams as their defensive coordinator and helped them win a Super Bowl. Ulbrich, a former NFL linebacker, went to the Jets as their defensive coordinator on Robert Saleh’s staff. When the Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers quarterback experiments blew up, Saleh was fired and Ulbrich served as the interim head coach last season.

Over the four years, the Jets’ defense was ranked third (2024), third (2023), fourth (2022) and 32nd (2021) in yards allowed. The unit ranked, 20th (2024), 12th (2023), fourth (2022) and 32nd (2021) in points allowed.

Ulbrich’s unit was playing without a consistent offense, which the defense exposed eventually because they were on the field too much.

“Jeff Ulbrich brings the energy,” Morris said. “He brings something to the building that’s just a little bit different … he brings a nice energy. He brings a wealth of knowledge.”

The Falcons believe that time in New York was invaluable for Ulbrich.

“He brings some experience from being able to call (the defense) the last three years of the Jets,” Morris said. “He brings a different type of structure that we want to have in order to be able to create some of the pass-rush things that we want to have.”

Now, they must come up with a plan of attack for the Falcons.

“He brings an open mindedness that is ... in all of us here to collaborate,” Morris said. “So like, I can’t wait to get all these guys, and that process has already started.”

Getting the pass rush going has been a problem for the franchise for a long time. John Abraham anchored the pass rush from 2006-12 with five double-digit sacks season. Vic Beasley had 15.5 sacks in 2016 and was the team’s last double-digit sacker.

“It starts with the people,” Morris said. “We’ve got the people to be in place to be able to find those guys. I’ve got so much confidence in what Terry’s been able to do, building our offense, some of the young talent around our offense good to get some of those things going.

“And that really shifting the focus to some of the defensive issues that we have. Be able to bring people in. Then it goes to the coaches. Them being able to develop some of the players that we already have on our roster.”

The Falcons are going to add some players, too.

“Whether it be for agency, whether it be trade, or whether it be the draft,” Morris said. “I just think all of those things play a part in it. You’ve got to go out there and pick players and get people to be a part of it. Find ways to go win.”