Cover 9@9: More picks to come for A.J. Terrell

(Here’s our weekly nine items at 9 a.m. Wednesday on the Atlanta Falcons, otherwise known as the Cover 9@9 blog!)

1. The no-spin zone: Falcons second-year cornerback A.J. Terrell made the second interception of his career against the Patriots on Thursday night.

He had seven passes defensed and one interception last season as a rookie. He has seven pass breakups and one interception this season with seven games to go.

“The more he’s played, he’s gotten better,” Falcons secondary coach Jon Hoke said recently. “He does a good job of working at it in practice. Football is one of those games where it’s a rep game, and the more you play and the more situations you’re in, the better you can (be).

“It just helps. I think the way he prepares and the way he works in practice is also a big piece of it. He’s done a really good job. It’s been good steady growth day to day, week to week.”

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Terrell is getting more comfortable in meetings.

“He’s been pretty consistent with me, for me on a week-to-week basis,” Hoke said. “You can just see the confidence getting better. But it’s always been, he’s done a good job of steady climb from week to week, even day to day. You can just see it. So, it’s been good that way.”

Hoke wasn’t sure if Terrell is making a big leap just because it’s his second season in the league.

“In Chicago, we drafted Kyle Fuller,” Hoke said. “I was with Kyle in his rookie year, but he had a nice steady climb as well. I mean, he got hurt towards the end when he fractured his wrist but, you know, I was with him (his rookie year). I wasn’t with him a second year.

“So, I couldn’t tell you. I know he’s has evolved obviously into a really good player. So, I wasn’t with him a second year. With A.J. I’ve just been impressed with him from … the day to day and week to week, just trying to get better. … He’s done that.”

Hoke wants to see all of the players in the secondary turn those pass breakups into interceptions.

“We’ve got to go finish some of those balls,” Hoke said.

Drills can help defensive backs get better attacking the ball.

“We had (former Georgia Bulldog) Tim Jennings (with the Bears),” Hoke said. “Tim had dropped a few (interceptions) or whatever. He just never became comfortable with ball and (during the) early stages (of his career) after he was let go from Indianapolis. We just got him on a routine with the (ball-throwing machine), and he got comfortable. The following year, he ended up leading the NFL in interceptions.”

The Falcons are stressing those points to Terrell.

“You have to keep talking to him about attacking the ball, keeping it out front,” Hoke said. “A.J. does a good job of getting his hands on the ball. They all do, but you know, we just got to finish. Get our hands out front and those type of things. Just get comfortable catching the ball.”

2. Mixing and matching nickel back: The Falcons plan to continue mixing and matching in the slot at the nickel-back position. They have used five different players to try to replace Isaiah Oliver.

“Yeah, it depends on who we’re playing in the game and stuff like that,” Hoke said. “We’ve had different guys in there. We’ll continue to do that throughout the course of the year. Just kind of see what combination works the best.”

Richie Grant, Avery Williams, Darren Hall, Chris Williamson and safety Erik Harris have showed up at nickel back for the Falcons.

Harris appears to be the preference, but he can’t go to nickel with Jaylinn Hawkins out with an injury. That’s why Williams had to play so much nickel against Dallas and got exposed.

“He’s doing good,” Hoke said of Williams on Nov. 12 before the Dallas showing. “He’s getting better every day. Smart young man and works hard. I will say this, about this group, they do work. They do not shy away from work. They study the game. It’s important to him, so it’s been very good that way.”

3. No Ridley update: Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who is away from the team indefinitely to work on his mental well-being, was placed on the non-football injury list by the team Nov. 5. He has not played in the past four games and the Falcons 1-3 over that stretch. When the Falcons placed him on the NFI list, he was set to miss at least three games.

The window is open for his potential return, but coach Arthur Smith said he did not have an update on his status last Friday and then again on Monday.

Ridley missed the game against the Jets in London on Oct. 10 because of a personal matter. He played against Miami on Oct. 24 and caught a touchdown pass in the 30-28 victory.

Ridley has 31 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns this season.

4. Betting line: The Falcons at Jaguars game opened as a pick-’em game, with the over-and-under in points set at 47.5 on betonline.ag. The line has moved with the Falcons being favored by a point and the over-and-under dropped to 46 points.

5. Series history: This will be the eighth regular-season meeting with the Jaguars. The Falcons lead the series 4-3. The Falcons won the last meeting 22-12 on Dec. 22, 2019. The Falcons have won the past three meetings. The teams regularly meet in the exhibition season.

6. Lawrence coming off good game: Trevor Lawrence, who played at Cartersville High and Clemson, was taken No. 1 overall in the draft by the Jaguars. He’s completed 58,4% of his passes and has thrown nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

Coach Urban Meyer said he played “one of his better” games against the 49ers in a 30-10 loss Sunday.

Lawrence has been without one his top weapons since the fourth game of the season when former Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Chark was injured.

Wide receiver/returner Jamal Agnew, the team’s big-play specialist, was placed on injured reserve with season-ending hip injury Monday.

Also, running back James Robinson has been slowed by a heel injury.

Robinson rushed for 29 yards on 12 carries against the 49ers. He suffered the injury against Seattle on Oct. 31. He missed the big 9-6 win over Buffalo the following week and has played in the past two games after he was listed as questionable for the games.

Meyer plans to talk to Robinson and may sit him down for the Falcons’ game.

“He’s tough as nails, and he doesn’t say much,” Meyer said. “I just don’t feel the same open-field running that he showed when he was healthy. We just want to do right by him and do right by us. But there’s no one tougher than that guy.”

7. Jags’ offensive woes: Like the Falcons, the Jaguars are struggling on offense. They’ve scored 43 points over the past four games, while the Falcons have been outscored 68-3 over the past two games.

The Jaguars trace their struggles to Robinson’s injury. The Falcons have been without wide receiver Calvin Ridley and wide receiver/running back Cordarelle Patterson for much of the past two games.

“Before (Robinson’s injury), I saw steady improvement,” Meyer said. “I don’t want to (put) it all on him. He’s obviously a very valuable member, but when someone goes down, someone else has to pick up that flag and go harder. We’re not getting that right now.”

The Jaguars have incorporated some of the read-pass options that Lawrence ran at Clemson into their offense.

“When these young quarterbacks, it’s kind of like how college football is, a lot of RPOs and stuff like that,” Falcons free safety Erik Harris said. “Obviously, he had a lot of success at Clemson doing it. I think it’s in his best interest. ... Do whatever your quarterback is natural at. Especially, when he’s a young guy.”

The Falcons consider Lawrence a threat.

“They’ve got talent down there,” Harris said. “You just have to do whatever he’s natural at and put him in a comfortable position. Allow him to be who he is to make plays. You’ve seen his bright spots, and you’ve seen his rookie moments. That doesn’t mean he is not a good player. I think he’s a really talented player with a lot of upside.”

8. Myles Jack is a stud: On defense, the Jaguars are led by linebackers Myles Jack and Damien Wilson. Also, free safety Rayshawn Jenkins is a force along with edge rusher Josh Allen.

Wilson leads the Jaguars in tackles with 72. Jack has 67 tackles and Jenkins has 56. Allen has 5.5 sacks.

Jack led the defense with 12 tackles against the 49ers.

“He’s been a good player for them since he’s been there,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Since they drafted him out of UCLA. He’s flashed.”

Smith is familiar with Jack’s work from his days in the AFC South with Tennessee.

“Myles is a terrific football player and has been,” Smith said. “He’s been a pain, you know, when I was in Tennessee, and he will be a pain on Sunday for us. I say that in the highest compliment.”

Credit: Matt Hazlett

Credit: Matt Hazlett

9. Depth chart: With punter Dustin Colquitt going on the reserve COVID-19 list Monday, the Falcons signed punter Thomas Morstead after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that they were looking at the veteran on Tuesday.

Morstead, who was recently released by the Jets, will be ready if Colquitt and make it through the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols in time play against Jacksonville. The team also signed Dom Maggio to the practice squad.

Morstead, 35, punted for the Saints for 2009-20. He punted for the Jets in seven games this season. He averaged 48.2 gross yards on 23 punts for the Jets this season. He went to the Pro Bowl after the 2012 season.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith said he didn’t want to reveal his “schematic tweaks” that he needs to make to get the offense back on track. But that indicates that he’s not making wholesale changes nor will he reconfigure his shaky offensive line that can’t open holes for the run game, produce in short yardage situations and has had trouble pass blocking in obvious passing situations.

Here’s the Falcons’ official depth chart for the Jaguars’ game, which was released by the team Tuesday:

OFFENSE

WR - Tajae Sharpe, Christian Blake, (Calvin Ridley on the NFI list)

TE - Kyle Pitts, Parker Hesse

LT - Jake Matthews, Jason Spriggs

LG - Jaylen Mayfield, Josh Andrews

C - Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman

RG - Chris Lindstrom, Drew Dalman

RT – Kaleb McGarry, Jason Spriggs, Colby Gossett

TE – Lee Smith, *Keith Smith (Has not lined up as traditional TE), *Feleipe Franks (was part of TE/QB package)

WR - Russell Gage, Olamide Zaccheaus, Frank Darby

RB - Mike Davis, Cordarrelle Patterson, Wayne Gallman

*FB - Keith Smith, Cordarrelle Patterson (Added to reflect that they played the position in the opener.)

QB - Matt Ryan, Josh Rosen, Feleipe Franks

DEFENSE

DL - Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson

NT - Tyeler Davison, *Anthony Rush, Ta’Quon Graham

L - Jonathan Bullard, Mike Pennel, John Cominsky

OLB - Dante Fowler, Brandon Copeland

ILB - Deion Jones, Mykal Walker

ILB - Foyesade Oluokun, Emmanuel Ellerbee

OLB – Adetokunbo Ogundeji, James Vaughters

LCB - A.J. Terrell, Darren Hall, Chris Williamson

FS - Erik Harris, Jaylinn Hawkins

SS - Duron Harmon, Richie Grant

RCB - Fabian Moreau, Avery Williams, Kendall Sheffield

SPECIAL TEAMS

K - Younghoe Koo

P – Dustin Colquitt (On COVID-19 list)

LS - Josh Harris

H - Dustin Colquitt (On COVID-19 list

PR - Avery Williams, Olamide Zaccheaus

KOR - Cordarrelle Patterson, Avery Williams

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