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Monday, January 9, 2006
Please don’t squeeze the defense
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Rich McKay promised himself he would get away from football this past weekend. So it follows that he watched every game.
“Actually I missed half of the Tampa game, and saw, ‘Walk The Line,’” the Falcons general manager said. “Great movie.”
Tough guy, Johnny Cash. Should’ve been a defensive coordinator. In “A Boy Named Sue” Cash sang, “Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean. My fist got hard and my wits got keen. … Some gal would giggle and I’d get red. And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head. I tell ya, life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue.”
Maybe that’s what the Falcons’ defense needed this season: Jerseys with “Sue” on the back. Because after watching the first round of the NFL playoffs, it was the teams with nasty, physical and don’t-even-think-of-calling-me-Sue defenses that won, exhibiting traits that were in stark contrast to your soft and cushy, Charmin-like Falcons.
Carolina went to New York, stuffed the run, forced five turnovers and won. Washington went to Tampa, stuffed the run, scored twice off turnovers and won. New England hosted Jacksonville, held Fred Taylor (24) to fewer rushing yards than Byron Leftwich (26), registered six sacks and won. Pittsburgh just did it the easy way in Cincinnati, knocking Carson Palmer out of the game on the second play. The TV screen was covered with pain.
The Falcons rarely stopped anybody on the run or, seemingly, even made anybody say “Ouch.”
“We weren’t as physical as we wanted to be, particularly in the middle of the field,” McKay said. “You need to be as tough. We can’t let people have the impression that they can come into our place and run on us like that.”
“Sue.” I like it.
But, no, the Falcons will go the more conventional route: They’ll change players. They’ll dissect the scheme. They’ll analyze the coaches.
McKay will accept some heat. Injuries not withstanding, the cupboard on the defensive side of the ball proved to be relatively bare. In his words, “We didn’t give the coaches a lot of ammunition.” This comes after Tim Ruskell, McKay’s former right-hand man in personnel, tweaked Seattle to the best record in the NFC (13-3).
“It’s always a partnership: You can’t just say, ‘The coaches didn’t run the right scheme,’” McKay said. “Typically, it’s a combination of things. But it starts with me and making sure we get the right players. This year I felt we had the right guys. But we have to go back and evaluate that now.”
But before the roster churn, the coaching staff will be examined. It’s all about timing. Recent firings have led to the sudden availability of former head coaches with a certain expertise on either side of the ball: Dom Capers and Jim Haslett (a Mora pal) both excel on defense. Norv Turner, Steve Mariucci and Mike Martz have successful track records working with quarterbacks and developing offenses. It’s not known if any would be interested in a position, but the Falcons would be foolish not to look into the possibility.
McKay wants two things made clear: 1) He won’t dictate staff changes to Mora; 2) “I think this is a very good staff.”
But he reaffirmed everything is on the table. And when asked about the sudden availability of other coaches, he acknowledged: “All that stuff does get discussed.”
The Falcons were dead in January because they couldn’t stop anybody in late November or December. As a season wears on, weaker teams wear down. Physical teams belt receivers when they run over the middle. They punish running backs. Did you see that Saturday and Sunday?
“Everybody talks about the pretty pass plays that make SportsCenter,” McKay said. “But what about the 7- or 8-yard run that turned into 25-yard runs? That’s what hurt us.”
McKay went through this before with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers went 10-6 in 1997, were touted as a Super Bowl contender the following season, then flopped to 8-8.
“It was the end of the world,” he said.
They rebounded. The Falcons think they can do the same. But if they need some tips, Carolina plays at Chicago Sunday. Take notes. Or change your name.
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