Flick's Forum: Atlanta Falcons Defense Sees Impact of Offseason Adds in Win vs. New York Jets
The Atlanta Falcons invested $190 million in roster upgrades this offseason, but through 10 weeks, held the same 4-6 record they did a year ago.
Their defense - which received over $120 million in three starters alone between safety Jessie Bates III, defensive tackle David Onyemata and linebacker Kaden Elliss - allowed 84 points in the three games that preceded the bye week.
This once-celebrated defense was suddenly one of the biggest reasons for Atlanta's spiraling season ... and now, it's the most prominent factor in the Falcons' resurgence.
Since returning from the bye, Atlanta's gone 2-0 and hasn't allowed a touchdown, limiting its opponents to just 23 total points. The Falcons are back at .500 and are in sole possession of first place in the NFC South by a game over the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In Sunday's 13-8 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Atlanta's defense didn't allow points on its final six possessions, forcing three punts, two takeaways and a turnover on downs to emphatically secure the victory.
What changed over the bye week?
The adjustments were minor, but the turnaround has been major - and the same is true for the performance level of several of Atlanta's defensive newcomers.
"There were certain plays that we were giving up that we started calling a certain way," defensive end Calais Campbell said postgame. "It's us trying to figure out what we can do to combat what people are trying to do against us."
The Falcons' defense was led in tackles by Bates and outside linebacker Bud Dupree, with both players logging seven. Elliss was right behind with six.
Bates also snagged his fifth interception this season, becoming the first Falcon this century to reach five interceptions and three forced fumbles in the same year. Dupree added two sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a forced fumble.
Onyemata had four tackles and a quarterback hit. Veteran defensive end Calais Campbell registered three tackles and a tackle for loss. Cornerback Jeff Okudah made five tackles.
Trade deadline acquisition Kentavius Street, a defensive tackle tasked with replacing the void left by the injured Grady Jarrett, tied Dupree for the team lead with two tackles for loss.
None of these players were Falcons last season.
There are new faces aplenty, with significant investment attached with them, and the results are following - largely because of schematic improvements and the mindset Falcons coach Arthur Smith has long said his team has.
There are things with defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's scheme that change each week, most notably Atlanta's third down plan, what it's taking away, where it's helping and how it's mixing and matching.
But so much of that is dependent on chemistry and being in tune with one another, and with the abundance of new faces defensively, it'd be easy for this to be a challenge for the Falcons.
However, Smith knows what he has in the locker room - and the response he's seen since the bye week has shown he's coaching a tough-minded group capable of standing tall when things begin to spiral.
"This is the NFL, people are going to make plays, but don’t give up, turn those into disasters and let them get momentum," Smith said. "That’s a credit to mindset, but a lot of things we’ve been trying to work on week to week, certainly coming out of the bye, and we’ll continue to try to do that."
Atlanta's defense sacked Jets quarterbacks Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian four times Sunday, marking the third time this season alone it's reached at least four sacks in a game. The Falcons had three such games over the past three years.
With that, Atlanta's at 30 sacks for the season, a mark it hasn't reached since 2018. At the team's current pace, it'll end with 43 sacks, which would rank sixth-best in franchise history.
Second-year pro Arnold Ebiketie leads the Atlanta Falcons with 5.5 sacks.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Even taking away the additional 17th game, the Falcons are on pace to hit 40 sacks through 16 contests. The franchise has only reached that mark eight times. In the previous two years combined, Atlanta totaled 39 sacks.
By all accounts, this pass rush has a chance to finish the season as one of the best in Falcons history - and Nielsen is at the forefront of not only the improved play up front but across the entire defense, especially since the bye week.
"Shoutout to Ryan Nielsen, man, putting us in situations to be able to play ball," Dupree said. "He made adjustments as the season goes on and hats off to him for being a great corrector."
The biggest adjustments?
As Campbell mentioned, Atlanta's corrected the way it plays certain unspecified looks - but Dupree, who also singled out play calls, gave credit to the juice Nielsen's brought throughout the week and how it's translated to Sundays.
"Each and every day he’s going to be the same person, he’s going to get on you if you mess up, correct you, he’s going to do it all," Dupree said. "So, just being able to get everyone on the same page as him with his enthusiasm, his passion, and it matches the play."
If Nielsen, who was hired in late January after six years as the New Orleans Saints' defensive line coach, wasn't Atlanta's best offseason pickup, the honor goes to Bates.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot made Bates the fourth highest paid safety in NFL history, giving him a four-year, $64.5 million contract after five seasons with the Cincinnati Benglals.
Bates had a reputation of being a ballhawk, having recorded at least three interceptions in four of those campaigns, but he's taken it to a new level in Atlanta.
With his five interceptions, Bates currently ranks third in the NFL and has already set a career-high mark. Named a team captain in his first season, Bates has brought invaluable leadership to the Falcons' locker room while delivering on his lofty on-field expectations.
Afterwards, when dissecting his interception, Boyle was quick to give credit to Bates and the attention he demands during the preparation process.
"No. 3 all week has been a conversation point of just making sure you track where he’s at," Boyle said. "He’s big off the quarterback’s eyes. I threw a two-ball layer ball off angle a little bit and (Bates) at that point started tracking my eyes and made a really good play."
Boyle added he'd like to get the throw back but doesn't have an issue with the decision - Bates simply had an opportunity to make a play and did exactly that.
It was one of many big plays made down the stretch by Atlanta's defense ... and couldn't have happened without the help of another newcomer.
This time, it was third-round rookie defensive end Zach Harrison, who was bearing down on Boyle and forced a rushed throw that ultimately sailed high and into Bates' hands.
On Atlanta's next defensive play, Harrison blew up a running play. He missed the tackle but forced Jets running back Dalvin Cook back inside, where Falcons outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter dropped him for a five-yard loss.
And yet, for as impressive as Harrison's flashes were Sunday, he wasn't the Falcons' most productive rookie on that side of the ball.
Instead, the honor goes to fourth-round rookie cornerback Clark Phillips III, who played defensive snaps for just the second time in his young career and more than held his own.
Phillips made four tackles, one tackle for loss and forced multiple incompletions as the nearest defender, continually impacting the game in positive ways apart from a fourth quarter holding penalty.
Perhaps most notable about Phillips' performance is the versatility he showed along the way.
In the season's first 11 games, Phillips was inactive six times. He's slotted as Atlanta's third-string nickel corner behind Dee Alford and Mike Hughes.
With Hughes out due to a hand injury, Phillips was active Sunday but poised to see action primarily in the slot. That changed when starting outside cornerback A.J. Terrell left on the Falcons' first defensive series with a concussion and didn't return.
The 21-year-old Phillips was succinctly thrown into the fire on the outside and shined, drawing praise from Smith for his preparation and the growth he's made under coaches Steve Jackson and Jerry Gray.
"Clark, his mindset (is) why we liked him so much when we drafted him," Smith said. "These are moments, he didn’t play a lot, he’s played a little bit but not a lot, but he’s kept working. Credit to him, he competes and that’s why we love him."
The Falcons also received two tackles in extended snaps from seventh-round rookie safety DeMarcco Hellams, who continues to have his role increase as the season progresses.
And really, the ascent of the rookie class only mirrors that of the sudden post-bye week uptick that's put Atlanta's defense back on course and in position to drive the boat with five weeks left.
The Falcons held the Jets to just 62 rushing yards and 2.5 yards per carry Sunday, both season lows for the defense. New York converted only two of 15 third down attempts, with the 13.3 percent clip being Atlanta's best since the 2019 season finale.
That number's merely a continuation of strong third down play, as the Falcons' defense ranks second best in the league with just a 33.1 percent conversion rate allowed.
By keeping the Saints and Jets out of the endzone, the Falcons became the only team in the NFL this season to not allow a touchdown in consecutive games.
A key reason for this is an effective bend-but-don't-break playstyle and improved redzone play, as Atlanta's defense had two takeaways inside its own 20 against New Orleans and held the Saints and Jets to eight field goal attempts but no endzone visits.
This is an area Smith wanted to see progress in after the bye week, and like with the broader-scale defensive outlook, has been pleased by small adjustments paying big dividends.
"Sometimes it’s winning on a rush, maybe it’s the same coverage call but a guy ended up winning on the pass rush," Smith said. "Or, a little more discipline, don’t get moved off the spot on a play extension, don’t get baited into something, being disciplined down there. Little things add up.
"These guys, they have such a really positive mindset. They enjoy the practice (and) getting into the meetings. That’s why it’s such a fun group to coach."
Even when things were going wrong - three straight losses with 84 total points allowed and both player and staff questions mounting - Smith believed in the individuals housed in Atlanta's locker room, citing each was wired the right way.
The Falcons were given the choice to go down the road of least resistance and cave in down the stretch, succumbing to the preseason pressure and continuing to spiral.
Instead, they came together and have snatched two critical victories, instilling confidence they can end the six-year playoff drought that looms over the franchise.
It's a new defense with new players and new coaches - and newfound success has followed.
Now, the challenge becomes carrying this momentum over the next month, changing narratives that have become so closely affiliated with the Falcons in recent years.
But those teams of years past don't have the same firepower as this year's iteration - and in mindset alone, the results are reflected atop the NFC South leaderboard.
"We love adversity, we love when it strikes," Phillips said. "That shows who you are as a defense and who you are as a player, and I feel like we got to show that today."
