Falcons defense took oath to focus on ‘getting population’ to the football
FLOWERY BRANCH — In old-school football parlance, they used to call it “gang tackling.”
Nowadays, the Falcons refer to the time-honored defensive concept as “getting population” to the ball. You saw players racing to the ball carrier repeatedly in the Falcons’ 24-14 win over the Bills on Monday. The Falcons (3-2) will need to replicate the performance when they face the 49ers (4-2) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“It’s part of our style,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “It starts with heart and always will.”
The front-line players have bought in as the Falcons are two-deep across the board. Tackles David Onyemata and Zach Harrison can go hard because they know Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus can come in.
Outside linebackers Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd can hustle to the ball because rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. are ready to fly around.
The inside linebackers and secondary players don’t have the same luxury.
“We demonstrate our connection to each other by the way we’re willing the strain for each other,” Ulbrich said. “One of the easiest ways to see strain is 11 guys in the frame, every single snap. So, run or pass, it doesn’t matter; 11 guys in the frame. The guys have accepted that challenge, and it’s rare you don’t find 11 in the frame.”
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had to go against the defense all offseason and in training camp to get ready for the season, and he noticed the new attacking style.
“Every day. Every day,” Penix said. “I feel like Ulbrich and ‘Rudy’ (defensive pass-game coordinator Mike Rutenberg), they brought a different energy to the defense, to this team, and everybody’s feeding off of it. They’ve always been sort of swarming to the ball since we started back in OTAs and camp.”
Former NFL coach Jon Gruden, a friend of the Falcons who hosted several offensive players before the 2024 season, is a fan of the approach.
“Let’s take an in-depth look at this Falcons defense … who the hell are these guys???” Gruden wrote on his @barstoolgruden account on X. “I call them THE BLANK SQUAD. … Get to know ‘em!!”
He goes on to count all of the players showing up at the football in plays against the Bills. He posted an earlier video highlighting some of the players on the defense.
“That’s something that we talk about in the defensive meeting rooms,” safety Jessie Bates III said. “We made an oath to each other that we’ll get 11 guys inside the frame every run play. That way we can force teams to drop back and you see our (defensive) line and pressure starting to heat up a little bit.”
Ulbrich cited nickel back Dee Alford for his play against the Bills. He worked all last week at outside cornerback, but when nickel back Billy Bowman Jr. aggravated his hamstring Friday, Alford had to go back inside.
“We got an opportunity to see Dee step in for Billy, who’s becoming one of the best nickels in this league,” Ulbrich said. “Just to have an exceptional game. I mean, seven tackles, three pass breakups, an interception and a sack.”
He had only a walk-through practice Sunday to get ready for the game.
“He’d been playing corner all week long,” Ulbrich said. “That’s a Friday injury, no prep, no practice, no reps, and to step in and play the way he did was just exceptional.”
The Falcons know they must swarm to the ball against the 49ers, who feature running back Christian McCaffrey.
“From the run-game perspective, it’s way more technical and it’s a challenge,” Ulbrich said. “It’s another one where you really better take a hard look at yourself, scouting, when you go up against (49ers coach and play-caller) Kyle Shanahan because he’s going to look really hard at the way you’ve been beat, the way you’ve been attacked. You better make sure that everything that’s been put on tape has been resolved.”
The 49ers average only 82.2 yards rushing per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
“It’s a good squad,” Bates said. “They hang their hats on running the ball. They haven’t really gotten it going as well as they want to, but they’ve got the back who’s more than capable of doing it.”
49ers quarterback Mac Jones has passed for more than 340 yards in each of their past two games.
“You’ve got some big shots off of it as well,” Bates said. “Those are the problems that they present.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
