The Falcoholic
The Atlanta Falcons defense has caught many by surprise. Even the most faithful among Dirty Bird Nation didn’t anticipate the Falcons having one of the top passing defenses in the league through five weeks played.
The defense has overcome injuries and outbested well-respected offensive minds, but Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills offer the most formidable challenge yet. So, what questions do they need to answer to pass this test?
The Bills tight ends have played a critical role in the passing offense over the first five weeks of play. Buffalo leads the NFL with 395 receiving yards from their tight ends, 287 of which belong to Dalton Kincaid. Atlanta has yet to face a passing attack that relies so heavily on tight ends, and it will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich gameplans for this unique passing offense.
If things are business as usual, the Falcons will deploy a mix of different blitzes and sim pressures, some of which will take Devine Deablo out of coverage. The Falcons have the highest blitz rate in the league at 43.5%. However, Deablo is the team’s best coverage linebacker, so should his time be spent mugging the A gap when a team is proficient at using its TEs in the passing game, on top of having to worry about Josh Allen’s legs? This could be a game where we see Deablo utilized almost exclusively in coverage.
There’s also a chance the Falcons use Jessie Bates in key situations to match up with Kincaid. Kincaid has the second most yards (193) among all TEs against zone coverage, but hasn’t been as destructive against man. The Falcons are hovering around league average in terms of man coverage rate at 21.6% per PFF. This could be a signature Jessie Bates game if this defense can be sound in coverage and prevent Josh Allen from running around.
You can’t stop him; you can only hope to contain him. According to NFL Pro, Josh Allen has scrambled on 19.8% of his dropbacks this season, the 2nd-highest mark among qualified quarterbacks. Allen has 208 rushing yards (most in the league) and 83 passing yards (7th-most) on scrambles. Teams have failed to contain the best quarterback in the league this season, and if the Falcons want to give themselves a shot at winning this game, they’ll need to do better than those that came before them.
The Falcons appear to have legitimate solutions on paper, but the team has yet to prove it. We haven’t seen Ulbrich utilize ILB Devine Deablo as a QB spy, but this seems like a good time to tap into the linebacker’s athleticism. Deablo has the opportunity to be the X-factor in this game, and this defense will need to lean on his natural gifts. OLB Jalon Walker is another player who can be used in this capacity. Walker could be deployed as a spy in the...
