Falcons DB Mike Ford, Coach Marquice Williams Elevating Special Teams
Ask a casual Atlanta Falcons fan to name a cornerback.
It's probable that names such as All-Pro A.J. Terrell, starting nickel Isaiah Oliver and even the injured Casey Hayward will come up ... but probably not Mike Ford.
Granted, Ford has only played nine percent of Atlanta's defensive snaps this year - but pose the same question surrounding players on special teams, where Ford's logged 83 percent of snaps, and the answer likely remains the same.
So, who is Ford?
A fifth year pro out of Southeast Missouri State, Ford began his college career as a receiver before transitioning to defensive back in year two. He went undrafted in 2018, signing with the Detroit Lions shortly thereafter.
Initially cut at training camp's end, Ford re-signed to the Lions practice squad and spent much of the season there before joining the active roster in the middle of November and making seven appearances, earning four starts at corner.
He played two more seasons in Detroit, almost entirely on special teams - and it was there where he met an ascending young special teams coach named Marquice Williams.
Ford played in 24 games across two seasons, logging 58 and 64 percent of the special teams snaps, respectively, starring as a "gunner" on punt coverage and "jammer" on punt return.
Ford's a natural fit for both, mixing his background at receiver with extensive experience at cornerback to thrive. While not the most popular positions on the football field, gunners and jammers are instrumental in special teams success - and Ford is particularly skilled in the latter.
"When you talk about a team's punt team, the most athletic, dynamic guys on the punt team are the gunners," Williams said. "And they don't have to protect, they can just release when the ball is snapped. So being able to slow those gunners down is a critical part to that."
It's players like Ford who helped make the Lions special teams unit one of the league's best - which, in turn, opened up opportunities elsewhere ... for some.
After 2020, Williams departed Detroit for Atlanta, accepting a job as the special teams coordinator on coach Arthur Smith's new staff. Conversely, Ford was cut by the Lions just before the start of the season, eventually catching on with the Denver Broncos, where he saw time in 13 games and played 77 percent of snaps on special teams.
Even though the two were apart, Williams still thought of Ford often - largely because his game was constantly on display inside the walls of Flowery Branch.
"When I got here, Mike Ford was one of the guys that I used (for teach tape)," Williams revealed. "I coached him in Detroit; he's one of the reasons I'm in this position right now, because of the former players that I've coached. Guys like Mike Ford, Justin Coleman, Jason Verrett, Brandon Flowers ... those are guys I use as examples. It took a lot of pride in playing that jammer position."
What's better than showing tape and teaching one player's skillset to another? Getting the real version.
The Falcons did exactly that this past offseason, signing Ford to a one-year contract in April. Reunited with Williams, the 27-year-old Ford has played in all 13 games and is enjoying an outstanding campaign, currently sitting with 14 tackles (the most since his defense-heavy rookie season) and is likely to set a career high in total snaps played on Sunday when the Falcons face the New Orleans Saints.
Ford has only played three total snaps on defense since Week 7, all in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers, but makes his presence felt every Sunday - even if not by those watching on the outside.
"(There are times where) he single-handedly takes out the gunner by himself," Williams said. "And he does that week in and week out and those plays a lot of times go unnoticed because he's on the outside and he's taking on their best gunner. He does a great job of playing that position and helping our returner get vertical with the football."
Ford, along with the rest of Atlanta's punt return unit, has more than helped returner Avery Williams get vertical - they've done it at a rate better than everybody else in the NFL. Through 13 games, Williams sits fifth in punt return yards at 279, with his 17.5 yards per return the best mark in the league by some two and a half yards.
Without Ford, who's responsible for slowing the progress of the opponent's best gunner, or as coach Williams called "the most athletic, dynamic guys on the punt team," Atlanta's success likely isn't as high.
The Falcons view punt returns as chances to get first downs and turn defense into offense - and they've done that at a great clip. And perhaps best of all, while Ford has provided plenty of value on the field, he's just as important off of it, giving teach-tape lessons in more ways than one.
"I view him as an impact player," said Williams. "I know when he's in our room, he brings a lot of great energy, football IQ, awareness, he's positive, he's a leader, he leads by example. He's been a great addition to our special teams unit. He does a great job of leading by example, playing with great effort; in our room, we talk about 'great plays are made from great effort' - and he shows week in and week out that great effort."
While most of Williams' praise of Ford's skillset has been centered around his ability as a jammer, he does much more than just that. The effort that's put in permeates throughout several different units of special teams - and he manages to make his mark on each of them.
"Whether you talk about him being a gunner, being one of the first guys downfield on kickoff or punt or being a lead blocker for Avery on the punt return trying to block their best gunners, or the key block on the kickoff return for touchdown," Williams relayed. "Those things happen because of effort, attitude and technique, and that's what we harp on in our room. He exemplifies that day in and day out as a special teams player for us."
The Falcons were eager to establish a new identity under Smith, and with special teams offering roles to a majority of Atlanta's roster, it's an underrated area of team building.
As such, players like Ford, who aren't often talked about and don't draw much external attention but put forth immense effort every single snap because they flat-out care so much about winning and impacting the game, are extremely valuable to setting a team character.
And Ford, now back with Williams, is putting up teach tape once more, serving as a shining example at a dim, unheralded positional one effort-filled snap at a time - because that's just who he is.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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