WATCH: Falcons Coach Dean Pees Rips Media on 'Pressure'

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees was visibly frustrated when asked about generating more pressure on the quarterback.

The Atlanta Falcons rank 30th in the NFL in sacks with just 10 on the season. Atlanta ranks 31st in pressures on the quarterback.

However, Atlanta has shown improvement year over year by moving to 18th in total defense in 2021 after finishing 29th in 2020.

New defensive coordinator Dean Pees has done well, we say, to improve a unit that saw no significant personnel upgrades during the offseason, and now he is without edge rusher Dante Fowler for at least two more games because of a knee injury.

Long-time Atlanta Falcons beat reporter D. Orlando Ledbetter asked Pees about generating pressure on the quarterback, and Pees was visibly frustrated.

Watch: Pees Schools Falcons Reporter on Pressure

Some of the key points on Pees discussion were basic. The Falcons aren't very good in man coverage, and they're not getting to the quarterback even when they do add players to the pass rush.

There's a middle-ground on the discussion. The most dangerous team is one that can pressure the quarterback in its base defense. If the Falcons could get to the quarterback with a four-man rush, the discussion becomes academic.

But they're not accomplishing that.

Fowler, even when healthy, has been a disappointment in a Falcons uniform and likely won't be with the team next season. Steven Means is on the other side of him at outside linebacker and has six sacks in his seven-year NFL career... none in 2021.

For the Falcons to put pressure on the quarterback, they're having to bring more linebackers and/or players from the secondary. This plays into Pees' point: taking a player from the back seven leaves more open holes.

Generating more pressure on the quarterback doesn't appear to be a quick fix. The Falcons will have to address the glaring holes on the defensive line in the NFL Draft and free agency.

With the Falcons up against the salary cap already, the draft looks like a more likely scenario. Atlanta has already been linked with defensive linemen Jordan Davis and DeMarvin Leal out of Georgia and Texas A&M respectively. 

The Falcons are in action on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Carolina has lost four in a row, and they have given up 18 sacks over that period.

If Atlanta is ever going to generate pressure on the quarterback without committing more players to the pass rush, it's this weekend against the Panthers.