Watch: Advanced Stats Demonstrate How Bad Falcons Defense Has Been in 2019
Standard team statistics do a decent job of breaking down how bad overall the 2019 Atlanta Falcons defense has been. Still, there is an added tool that has been made available this season that can give a deeper look at strengths and weaknesses, both on a team and player level.
This season, Pro Football Reference.com (pro-football-reference.com) has come out with advanced statistics for both offense and defense. Take time to wade through the new numbers the site is offering and you can see some of the Falcons problem areas in clearer detail.
To start, it’s common knowledge that the Falcons are dead last in the NFL in sacks with seven. Their defense is also near the bottom of the league in quarterback pressures (sacks plus hurries plus knockdowns).
The Falcons have blitzed 72 times this season. 27 percent of their defensive snaps. Then, look at a team like the Chicago Bears, who have blitzed 71 times, 25.2 percent of their defensive snaps.
Once you look at the results though, you can see where the problem area is for the Falcons. Chicago’s defense has 19 sacks for the season. They also have 83 pressures against the 51 for the Falcons. The Bears get strong pressure on quarterbacks with their four-man rush. The four-man rush for the Falcons has been sadly lacking.
The numbers say the Falcons need to blitz to create more heat on quarterbacks. Their head coach/defensive coordinator apparently refuses to believe that.
You can also look at individual ratings, for example in pass coverage. You can find out the passer rating allowed by any defender in the league who is on a pace to be targeted more than 25 times over the 16-game season. A perfect passer rating is 158.3.
Safety Ricardo Allen isn’t the worst pass defender in the league. He’s second from the bottom. Allen has been targeted 22 times and allowed 19 completions for 245 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. That computes out to a 152.7 passer rating allowed by Allen when quarterbacks target his assignment.
Isaiah Oliver is fifteenth from the bottom in pass coverage, allowing a 135.5 passer rating when targeted. Another seven spots down and you find Kemal Ishmael at 130.8. You do have to take into account that it gets tougher for a defensive back to hold coverage the longer he has to maintain it and that the weak pass rush contributes to the problem. Still, don’t think that opposing quarterbacks aren’t aware of those numbers.
These are some telling statistics to see where the Falcons defense has failed this season. There is more to be found and as the season goes on, Falcon Maven will continue to dig through and analyze these statistics for you.
