FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Four days before Atlanta faced Seattle, Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said it was too early for his unit to “hit the panic button and start trying to change a whole bunch of stuff” to resuscitate the pass rush. Now might be a good time to panic, though.
The Falcons sacked Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith once in a 34-14 loss that snapped their three-game winning streak and brightened the spotlight on their continued inability to take down opposing quarterbacks.
“We have to get the quarterback on the ground, but the only thing you can do as a coach is get better every single week,” coach Raheem Morris said Monday. “You’ve got to make the small incremental steps. You like to do them while winning. We didn’t get the win, so that allows (the media) to absolutely pour it on, and you’re right. Got to sack them.”
The Falcons (4-3) are last in the league with six sacks. Seven players in the league have more than that. Half the league’s teams have at least triple Atlanta’s total. The Falcons have sacked their opponents’ quarterbacks on 2.7 percent of their dropbacks. That’s on pace to be the third-lowest rate in the NFL since the 2000 season, according to TruMedia.
This is far from a new problem. Since 2020, the Falcons have the fewest sacks in the league (116). Extend the time frame and the story remains the same. Since 2015, their 273 sacks rank last. Since 2020? Not last, but close. Atlanta is 31st there with 779 sacks. The catch is that the last-place team, the Houston Texans, has been playing football only since 2002. Morris and Lake were hired in part to fix that issue. So far, the progress isn’t showing.
While the coaches see steady improvements in their weekly film reviews, the numbers show a more roller-coaster output. Atlanta’s pressure percentage (30.4 percent) ranks 25th in the league. Its single-game best percentage came in Week 2 against Philadelphia (42.9 percent) while its worst came in Week 5 against Tampa Bay (20 percent), according to TruMedia. Against Seattle, the Falcons pressured Smith on 42.4 percent of his dropbacks.
“We have to play individually better, but we are rushing as a group better,” Morris said. “The hurries, the pressures, they’re on the uptick, but the only way you can end that question is if you go and finish off sacks.”
The Falcons have blitzed opponents on 31.5 percent of their dropbacks, according to TruMedia, which is the 10th-highest rate in the league. That basic philosophy won’t change, Morris said.
“It’s never going to be anything where all of a sudden you look like Brian Flores this week,” Morris said in reference to the Minnesota defensive coordinator who is blitzing opponents 43 percent of the time. “It won’t be that dramatic, but you’ll have things that you do add in and do differently. Sometimes you get burned on those things, and sometimes they work. You’ve got to continue to grow and continue to develop. I think it’s a fine line of adding to the scheme, doing different things, doing what best fits your guys, and finding ways to get to the quarterback. And we got to find our happy spot. And right now we haven’t found it.”
A benefit of the Falcons’ defensive approach is their ability to limit explosive plays. At 10.1 percent, they are surrendering the sixth-fewest explosive plays in the league, according to TruMedia.
“It’s a balance,” Lake said. “If you lean one way or the other, you’re bound to give up quick strikes, and all of a sudden, you’re down 7-0 right off the bat.”
The Falcons are “really, really close” to taking a significant step forward in their sack rate, Lake says.
“The process that our guys are going through, it is correct,” he said. “We’ve just got to trust that the results are going to come.”
Actually, there is an option other than patience. The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 5. The Falcons already have tried the trade market once to address their pass-rushing concerns, sending a third-round pick to the Patriots for Matthew Judon in August. Judon had 15 1/2 sacks in the last full season he played in New England, but he has only 1 1/2 through seven games in Atlanta.
Today, we’ll take a look at who might be available if the Falcons want to take another swing at a quick fix, breaking the possibilities into three categories.
Probably too expensive
Maxx Crosby, Raiders (6 1/2 sacks this season)
Myles Garrett, Browns (four sacks)
Dexter Lawrence II, Giants (NFL-high nine sacks)
The asking price for all three of these players probably starts at two first-round picks, and none may end up being traded, with Crosby initially saying he wanted to stay in Las Vegas. According to The Athletic’s most recent playoff projections, the Raiders, Browns and Giants all have a 2 percent or worse chance of making the postseason, so the teams might be motivated to get something for their stars in the next two weeks.
Morris has seen the impact a major midseason defensive move can make for a team after coaching cornerback Jalen Ramsey in Los Angeles. Ramsey was acquired by the Rams in October of 2019 for two first-round picks and was on the Rams team that won the Super Bowl with Morris as defensive coordinator following the 2021 season.
However, this type of move only makes sense for a team that believes it’s one player away from being a serious Super Bowl contender. That doesn’t appear to be the Falcons.
Might make sense
Za’Darius Smith, Browns (four sacks)
Will McDonald IV, Jets (eight sacks)
Von Miller, Bills (three sacks)
Even if the Browns can’t bring themselves to move on from Garrett, they might be willing to part with Smith. The 10th-year veteran has played end and outside linebacker in his career and has had three double-digit sack seasons in his career, the most recent in 2022. Smith is on the first year of a two-year deal worth $23 million and probably could be had for a mid-round pick.
McDonald, the No. 15 pick in the 2023 draft, might be having a breakout year in his second NFL season. He already has doubled last year’s sack number, and it’s very unlikely the Jets are going to want to deal such a promising young player. But if they decide that blowing things up is the only option, then maybe McDonald would be an option at a semi-high price.
Miller is currently serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, which was handed out following allegations of domestic violence. That won’t make him an appealing candidate for Falcons owner Arthur Blank. It might be a deal-breaker for Morris, too, but the coach and player have a personal history. The Rams traded for Miller late in the Super Bowl season, sending a second- and a third-round pick to the Broncos. Miller had three sacks in four games for the Bills before his suspension. Miller is eligible for reinstatement in Week 9.
Under the radar
Harold Landry III, Titans (four sacks)
Carl Granderson, Saints (three sacks)
Azeez Ojulari, Giants (four sacks)
Dante Fowler Jr., Commanders (4 1/2 sacks)
Landry is halfway through a five-year deal that’s paying him an average of $17.5 million annually. He’s not a home run, but he could help right away at outside linebacker, and the Titans probably are considering a (further) teardown. The Saints also should be motivated to move players, but how interested they are in trading with a division rival is an open question. Ojulari, a Georgia alumnus, is in the final year of his rookie contract. He had eight sacks as a rookie but hasn’t matched that total since. Fowler played for Morris in Atlanta in 2020 and had 7 1/2 sacks for the Falcons in 19 games in 2020 and 2021.
(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
