“How can we generate a pass rush this season?”
That’s a question the Atlanta Falcons have been asking for way too damn long. For the better part of the past decade, the Falcons have not had a double-digit sack leader on their roster. Their last double-digit sack year was in 2016 with Vic Beasley. Before that, it was in 2012 with John Abraham. Which oddly correlates to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl.
As a team, however, the Falcons have been just as dreadful. From 2014 to now, the Falcons have had:
2014: 22 Sacks
2015: 19 Sacks
2016: 34 Sacks
2017: 39 Sacks
2018: 37 Sacks
2019: 28 Sacks
2020: 29 Sacks
2021: 18 Sacks
2022: 21 Sacks
2023: 42 Sacks
Even at 42 Sacks last season, the highest point over the past ten years for the Falcons, they still ranked only 21st in the league in sacks. That sucks. What’s the problem? Do we lack talent that badly? Is the scheme that vanilla? Let’s take a look at some of the different factors.
The Weapons
The Falcons approached their pass rusher plan pretty uniquely this offseason with new HC and DC Raheem Morris and Jimmy Lake. They let their top two sack leaders, Bud Dupree and Calais Campbell, walk in free agency. How did they address it and who do they have to work with?
On paper, they have the former golden boy of the defensive line in Grady Jarrett. Jarrett had proven himself as one of the better interior defensive linemen in the NFL across his career. He has 34 career sacks across his career but has only had more than 5 sacks in a season 3 times. The biggest concern is that Grady is coming off an ACL tear at 31 years old. Which may or may not end up being an issue, but we need to take it into account.
The other player that most expect to break out and turn into “that guy” is third-year pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie. For all intents and purposes, Ebiketie had a fine sophomore season last year with 6 sacks, but it’s tough to expect him to jump to a pass rush star in year three.
For what it’s worth, AK improved from years one to two. But he did have help from Campbell and Dupree. This year the assistance that Jarrett and Ebiketie have looks pretty different.
The New Guys on the Block
The Falcons took a pretty unconventional approach to fixing their pass rush after letting Campbell and Dupree leave. They added three* different interior defensive linemen to the rotation. (Yes we know, it was a weak group.) Those three* additions were:
- Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson
- Brandon Dorlus, Oregon
- Zion Logue, UGA
*** Eddie Goldman did return to the roster, however, I did not include him in this grouping.
The big names of those three additions are Ruke and Dorlus. They add unique versatility to a weak defensive line unit. Ruke and Dorlus should be able to carve in rotational roles in passing situations, which should give the Falcons some real flexibility and creativity in pass-rushing situations.
They also added a third-round outside linebacker Bralen Trice from Washington. Trice is a very sneaky acquisition as he has led Washington in sacks over the past two seasons with 16 sacks. The big kicker here is that Trice has led the FBS in pressures the past two seasons with 70 in 2022 and 78 in 2023.
What to expect
Obviously, before the first game of the season, we don’t really know what to expect the defense to do. But what we can hope for is this:
A vast array of stunts, pressures, and unique looks that allow our young twitchy defenders to run free and cause chaos. The additions of Dorlus and Ruke give two young defenders who can operate well in across the defensive line anywhere from a 5 tech to a 3 tech.
From those positions, we can see some long sticks or slants or other creative ways to free up our young linebackers on stunts and blitzes.
Creating assumptions here, but my thoughts would be to stunt with AK and Trice and the young DL’s and hope you can get guys on cleanup duty. It’s a dangerous game in today’s NFL with how well quarterbacks move under pressure because if you can’t get cleanup, you create escape routes for these mobile quarterbacks to kill you with their feet. But sometimes when you don’t have a true blue guy, you have to get creative.
It’s a tough situation when you don’t have a “guy” as a pass rusher, but let’s see if the Falcons can stir up some sacks.
