Travis B. from Missouri
OK, I want to get excited about this defense, and from what they have shown so far, I am. But on a level of reality, the Bucs star lineman was out which probably attributed to us putting so much pressure on Baker Mayfield, and J.J. McCarthy statistically holds the ball longer than the other starting quarterbacks trying to read the defense. Do you think we can put up this same pressure on offenses that are healthy and clicking, because we have Buffalo coming up soon. We are going to need the defense to continue their momentum until the offense can learn to get 6 in the red zone more consistently.
You’re right on all accounts, Travis. The fact of the matter is that the Falcons’ hot start is a thing of beauty, and something we haven’t seen from a Falcons defense in a very long time. But you’re also right that the Buccaneers offensive line was shaken up in Week 1 and McCarthy’s style of play and inexperience factors into his time-to-throw statistics. Still, I think there is reason to believe this hot start can be sustainable for Atlanta. The intensity of which they are playing with, the wrinkles within what they are doing with Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo’s blitzes couples with young playmakers only getting more and more comfortable in their skin and in their roles I think speaks to how far this defense can go. I don’t think Week 1 and Week 2 performances for this group is a flash in the pan.
A lot of their success comes from their blitzes. And they blitz a lot. On Sunday night, the Falcons defense sent extra rushers on 43.4% of McCarthy’s dropbacks. Those blitzes played into the team’s total pressures of 53.3% on all dropbacks. If those blitzes continue to work at this clip moving forward, it’s going to be a problem for opposing offenses. And give credit where credit is due here, too: The success of this pressure — particularly when sending an extra man — stresses the secondary, but they’ve held up their end of the bargain here, too.
I feel confident about this defensive trajectory being real, too, because I was expecting the unit to need more time to be as effective as they have been. I was expecting a few weeks of growing pains, but the fact they are as potent as they have been this early speaks to 1) the players and their buy-in and execution, but also 2) Jeff Ulbrich and his scheme. The numbers don’t lie. But I agree that I will be curious to see their overall effectiveness against Washington in Week 4 and then Buffalo in Week 6 after the Week 5 bye. Those two games will be a specific test for this unit. If they can keep Jayden Daniels and Josh Allen uncomfortable, I dare say they’d put every quarterback on notice.
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