Reflecting on Falcons’ offseason: Did they do enough to catch Tampa Bay?

The Falcons had a busy offseason, but did they do enough to fix some of their major issues before opening training camp in late July?

“You have to take a small break, you have to enjoy family,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “But there’s a certain part of it that you got to be ready to go when we get back.”

The Falcons entered the last week of the 2024 season with a slim chance to make the playoffs.

The Saints needed to beat the Buccaneers, and the Falcons needed to win over the Panthers.

The Saints faded, and the Falcons were beaten 44-38 in overtime by the Panthers, a week after losing a slugfest to former Falcons coach Dan Quinn and the surging Commanders.

The Falcons limped into the offseason with an 8-9 record, their seventh consecutive losing season and no playoff berth. Only the Jets (14 seasons, 2010) have had longer playoff droughts than the Falcons, who are tied with the Panthers (seven seasons, 2017).

Here’s a look back at the offseason as the Falcons to determine if the franchise moved forward enough to position themselves to claw back over the .500 mark and possibly return to the playoffs:

Lake, Rodgers: The Falcons didn’t waste much time before they fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers on Jan. 11, less than a week after the season ended.

Lake, a former head coach at the University of Washington, was in his first season as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

The Falcons finished in the bottom half (16th or lower) of the league in three of the four major categories: total yards (345.2 per game, 23rd); passing (224.5 yards, 22nd), rushing (120.6, 15th) and points (24.9, 23rd).

The Falcons finished 31st in the league with 31 sacks. Only New England (28) had fewer.

Ulbrich, Rutenberg and Ollie hired: Jeff Ulbrich, who was a coach with Morris on the Falcons’ staff from 2015-20, was considered the front-runner for the defensive coordinator job.

He was coming off four seasons as the defensive coordinator and interim head coach with the New York Jets. He was named to the job Jan. 18.

A native of San Jose, California, Ulbrich began his coaching career with the Seahawks as a special-teams assistant from 2010-11. He spent three years in the college ranks at UCLA as the assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams (2012-13) and defensive coordinator (2014).

He jumped on the radar screen in Georgia when linebacker Roquan Smith of Macon County High changed his commitment to UCLA and chose to play at Georgia after Ulbrich left to join the Falcons.

On Jan. 24, the Falcons hired Mike Rutenberg as their defensive passing-game coordinator and Nate Ollie as the defensive line.

Both Rutenberg and Ollie worked with Ulbrich with the Jets. Rutenberg was with the Jets from 2021-24. Ollie, who joined the Falcons from the Texans, was with the Jets in 2021.

Ollie was a hit over the offseason as the Falcons instilled an “attack-styled” defensive front.

“We’re getting off the ball, attacking, throwing haymakers,” Ollie said. “No jabs. It’s all haymakers — that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Cousins reveals injury: In February during Super Bowl week, quarterback Kirk Cousins, while promoting an event, went on NFL Network and said he was indeed injured in Week 10 last season against the Saints. “… Against the Saints, I got hit pretty good in my right shoulder and elbow,” Cousins said. “From there I was kind of dealing with that.”

Fontenot talked about Cousins’ status: It was at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis when Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said that Cousins was the team’s backup quarterback and noted that they would do what was best for the Falcons.

There was chatter about Cousins being released or traded.

Free agency: As the new league business year kicked off in March, the Falcons lost center Drew Dalman and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who both signed with the Bears.

The Falcons signed outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, returner Jamal Agnew, safety Jordan Fuller, defensive lineman Morgan Fox and tight end Feleipe Franks as part of their free-agency class.

They also re-signed cornerback Mike Hughes, center Ryan Neuzil, cornerback Kevin King and nickel back Dee Alford.

Cousins called Blank: Cousins had a phone conversation with Falcons owner Arthur Blank apparently to discuss his desire to leave the team. Blank said he took five pages of notes during the hourlong discussion. Blank discussed the call with Cousins at the NFL owner’s meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.

The draft: The Falcons made it clear they were heavily scouting defensive players at the scouting combine. They used four of their five picks on defensive players, including first-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. to address the pass-rush.

The Falcons also drafted safeties Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. In the seventh round, they added offensive tackle Jack Nelson.

Falcons, Ulbrich fined: After the draft, the Falcons found themselves unwittingly in the spotlight.

The NFL fined the Falcons $250,000 and Ulbrich $100,000 following a prank call to former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders by Ulbrich’s son during the NFL draft.

Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son, made the prank phone call.

The Falcons issued an apology for Jax, detailing that he obtained the contact information for Sanders through his father’s open iPad.

In the prank call, Jax pretended to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and said that the Saints planned to take Sanders, who was projected as a first-round pick and was sliding in the draft, with their next pick.

The elder Ulbrich did not face disciplinary measures from the team.

Offseason program: In late April, Cousins allegedly attended the first day of the Falcons’ offseason program.

The Falcons didn’t want to release him and couldn’t find a trading partner.

Organized team activities: Cousins did not attend the OTAs that were open to the media. Michael Penix Jr. took over as the leader and starting quarterback.

Injury report: Most teams give full offseason injury reports, but the Falcons would not name the injuries to tight end Kyle Pitts and offensive tackle Kaleb McGary. Both reportedly were foot-related injuries.

Also, outside linebacker Bralen Trice (knee) is expected back for training camp.

What’s next: The Falcons report for training camp July 23.

They will hold their first practice July 24.

Morris was reluctant to play the starters much in the exhibition games last season, and he put a lot of stock in the two joint practices with the Dolphins.

Considering the team’s fast start last season, he’ll likely stick with what worked. However, he’ll have to consider getting the projected first-team defense more work since there will be as many as seven to eight new starters.