Here’s how the Falcons revived their pass rush, are on pace to break record
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ pass rush has been attacking from a lot different places.
The Falcons have 39 sacks with six games to play. They are currently ranked third in the NFL behind the Broncos (49) and Browns (42).
“We’ve gotten better for sure,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “They’re starting to understand the rush plan better.”
The Falcons have 15 players with at least half a sack.
Defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus, who played sparingly as a rookie last season, leads the team with six sacks. Rookie Jalon Walker has five followed by Zach Harrison (4.5) and James Pearce Jr. (four).
“We’re rushing better as a unit because that’s what it’s about,” Ulbrich said. “When you’ve just got a bunch of mercenaries that are rushing rogue, it’s hard to sustain success in that way. But they’re rushing more organized.”
Linebacker Kaden Elliss also is a key figure in the pass rush. He has 3.5 sacks and leads the team with 10 quarterback hits. He has blitzed a team-high 69 times, according to profootballreference.com’s advanced defensive stats.
Pearce, who has blitzed 21 times, has come on over the past four games.
“Yeah, man, we love James Pearce,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “He’s done a great job of providing us a lot of relief in some of our pass rush and things that we wanted to do this year.”
The Falcons have a blitz rate of 40.5%, which is the highest in the NFL. However, the number has been decreasing in recent weeks as the Falcons had to play more zone coverages with backup cornerbacks.
The Falcons are on pace to register 60 sacks and break the franchise record of 55, which was set in 1997. Big Chuck Smith (12 sacks) and Travis Hall (10.5) led the way in 1997.
The Falcons have 23 sacks in their last four games.
“They understand, ‘You cover me, I cover you, I create space for you, you create space for me,’ is how that works,” Ulbrich said. “The best rush units, they understand that.”
Walker and Pearce have been rotating with Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd at the outside linebacker spots. The Saints had Floyd and Harrison rated as the Falcons’ best pass rushers. Harrison suffered a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve.
“I think they’ve just been getting better every single week,” Morris said. “Jalon started off playing really well in the run game, really strong, really physical, throwing people around.”
He had a big sack-strip of Drake Maye against the Patriots to breathe some life back into the team right before halftime.
“He found some pass rush, and he was able to go and really get after the passer and really apply pressure,” Morris said. “(He’s done) some really good things for us.”
Pearce has become stronger in the run game.
“James started off where he was really affecting the game as a pass rusher first,” Morris said. “Now, it’s fun to see his run game just grow and grow into a more physical player.
The Jets have allowed 39 sacks, which is tied for 29th in the league.
With the pass rush in clicking, the defense has other issues to fix.
Ulbrich was not pleased that the defense couldn’t hold a 25-22 lead with 1:44 left against the Colts on Nov. 9 in Berlin and a 24-19 lead with 2:43 left against the Panthers on Nov. 16.
“First of all, there’s always calls that I could have made that would have helped,” Ulbrich said. “So from that standpoint, there’s some things and some calls here and there where I could have put the guys in a better position to be successful. It starts with me.”
Ulbrich felt the players were overextending themselves.
“Then beyond that, it’s just some really uncharacteristic fundamental flaws, errors that we don’t make,” Ulbrich said. “It’s not me making an excuse, but there is an element of these guys thinking they have to do more than what they’re being asked of. That comes from the best of places.
The Falcons hope to close out their next opportunity.
“It’s been a really powerful message, especially for our younger guys, to understand in these moments, being at your best requires doing your job,” Ulbrich said. “That’ll be powerful going forward.”
With the pass rush rolling, the Falcons want to focus on improving the run defense. After giving up 323 yards rushing to the Colts, the Falcons have held the Panthers (67) and the Saints (79) under 100 yards rushing.
“I felt like there’s been a real issue regarding the run game,” Ulbrich said. “I felt like we took a step in the right direction regarding that. Our physicality, our run fits on that second level and our third level. It’s something to build on. We’ve just got to put it all together now.”
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.
