Falcons juggling players among the linebackers after Deablo injury
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons are reeling from the loss of linebacker Divine Deablo.
The 49ers and the Dolphins ran the ball down the middle of the defense over the Falcons’ past two games.
“We did a little bit of by-committee this past game (against the Dolphins), where JD (Bertrand) had a portion of it, which he did a nice job,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “Ronnie Harrison played a little bit in that position. We rolled the safety down to that position at times.”
Coach Raheem Morris was not as kind in his evaluation of Bertrand, who made his first NFL start Sunday.
“It wasn’t good enough from an overall standpoint,” Morris said. “Obviously, he’s got big shoes to fill. He went out there, he tried to do those things, did a nice job on a couple of those plays. Obviously, there’s some plays that he wants back.”
Bertrand also had to play on special teams.
“He was able to get out there and do a little bit of it with Ronnie Harrison,” Morris said. “Get a chance to get him out there a little bit next to him in that three-linebacker defense a little bit. We’ll be able to do a little bit more of that and try to get him in some of those space areas and do some of those things for JD as well.”
The Falcons are preparing to face the run game.
“Teams are going to try to run the ball on us,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said. “That’s the reality of it. Limit our offense from getting the ball and control the game. We’re with the right mindset in stopping that run and forcing guys to be in that third-and-long situation.”
Ulbrich insisted that the Dolphins did not pick on Bertrand on Sunday.
“I don’t know, I think they were going after the field in some ways,” Ulbrich said. “They’re going away from the safety rotation, and at times that’s where (Bertrand) plays in that defense. I think it was probably a little bit less maybe picking on him, a little bit more of just going away from a really good player that we have.”
The struggle to replace Deablo is real.
“Divine is a hard guy to replace, just because his skill set is so unique,” Ulbrich said.
Morris and Ulbrich have some options in DeAngelo Malone, Josh Woods or rookie Jalon Walker.
“Maybe some of the stuff going forward, for sure,” Ulbrich said. “Jalon’s very unique in his own way. He’s got a different skill set. But Divine is very unique in the way he goes backwards. He’s been a safety, so he understands space. He’s very comfortable in space. It’s a hard job for any one person on this roster to replace him.”
Inside linebacker Kaden Elliss has taken on an expanded role.
“He takes on a few of Divine’s roles,” Ulbrich said. “He’s part of that committee to replace Divine. He gets a little bit more action as far as that is concerned, a little bit more diversity to what we’re asking him to do from game to game.”
So, Elliss will move around the defense more.
“I don’t know if that allows him to make more plays or puts him in a position to make more plays,” Ulbrich said. “It’s probably just the fact that he’s got that responsibility that he feels.”
The Patriots average 112.6 yards rushing per game, which ranks 18th in the league. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson (279 yards), running back TreVeyon Henderson (228) and quarterback Drake Maye (250) have rushed for more than 200 yards this season.
“We’ve got to play the run better,” Ulbrich said. “I think everybody knows that.”
Ulbrich contended that the run defense made some progress Sunday against the Dolphins.
“I’ll say this, we did play the traditional runs and the traditional run windows better than we had in San Francisco,” Ulbrich said.
Switching up calls on third downs may help.
“I’ve got to do a better job of maybe playing a little bit safer in those windows, a little bit more run-sound defense as opposed to trying to steal a third-down rep,” Ulbrich said. “Because that’s the way we’re being attacked right now. So, I’ll do a better job putting them in better spots to be successful.”
Ulbrich also could get back Walker, who has missed the past two games. He could also get back rookie nickel back Billy Bowman Jr. Rookie James Pearce Jr. made his first NFL start Sunday.
“In all honesty, who we start is based upon the package,” Ulbrich said.
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.
