Falcons’ Grady Jarrett on Defense: 'No Excuse'
Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett was one of the bright spots in the defense that finished 29th overall in the NFL last year.
Jarrett made his second consecutive Pro Bowl last season after piling up 52 tackles and eight tackles for loss.
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Like nearly all of Atlanta's projected starters, Jarrett has yet to play a down in the Falcons' first two preseason games, and he was asked if he feels ready to play under new defensive coordinator Dean Pees.
"The more repetitions the better it gets," said Jarrett. "We're going to have a lot of multiple looks like coach Pees say. Wherever he wants to put the guys where he feels they're gonna be most effective."
"Guys willing to learn, there's no excuse for not knowing multiple positions whether it's in the front end, the back end. So we can put the best group of guys out there together to have a successful defense."
The Falcons spent the end of last week in Florida working with the Miami Dolphins, and Jarrett said it was good to be back in the Georgia heat.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm gonna be out in it," Jarrett laughed when asked if he really liked the sweltering weather. "I love it. The fortunate thing about being here in Georgia is you get all four seasons."
Despite the lack of preseason action, Jarrett believes players are still ahead of last year when there was no preseason at all.
"Having a preseason back has definitely been good for all the teams across the league," said Jarrett. "You get to see some guys who want to have an opportunity to play more and go out there and see what they can do on game-day. It's different from when you're on the practice field to the game field. So it's been good being in a supportive role."
The Falcons are in action on Sunday night against the Cleveland Browns. It will be Atlanta's third and final preseason game of 2021.
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Head coach Arthur Smith has said repeatedly that he uses the preseason as a tool to build depth and evaluate young players. Jarrett and the rest of Atlanta's projected starters might not see much action on Sunday against the Browns, but they feel ready when the season kicks off for real on September 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
