FLOWERY BRANCH -- Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence is on the minds of the Falcons defense are they prepare to slow him Sunday.
The Falcons (4-6) will face the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at TIAA Bank Field. With a win Sunday, the Falcons will break a two-game losing streak. In trying to break that streak, they know they will face a talented, dual-threat quarterback in Lawrence.
Lawrence, who starred at Cartersville High and Clemson, is completing 58% of his passes while throwing for 2,141 yards, but has thrown nine interceptions and eight touchdowns.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith is not underestimating Lawrence and said he knows what he is capable of.
“He’s got a live arm,” Smith said. “He’s a talented player. I’m willing to bet he’s going to figure it out. He’s played well. He’s a rookie, but he’s a very talented player. I can see why he was the first overall pick. He can hurt you with his feet when he gets going. He’s a great athlete.”
Lawrence has rushed for 192 yards this season and has scored twice while running.
While the Jaguars have a losing record, Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees believes that is not an indicator of how talented Lawrence is.
“Yeah, he’s a rookie, but he came from a system in college that was a good system,” Pees said. “They won a lot of games. He is used to winning, he has a winning attitude. All he is lacking is experience in the NFL. I saw a play the other day that he threw, and the zone closed quicker than it did at Clemson because he’s playing against an NFL defense. Other than that, this guy got the tools to be a great quarterback in this league for a lot of years.”
The tools Pees is referring to are Lawrence’s arm and his running ability. His ability to stay alive during plays is something else Pees believes is underrated.
“He’s a big guy, not an easy guy necessarily to bring down,” Pees said. “He can also run a little bit. He can run the zone read a little bit, the guy can run. You don’t want to underestimate what he can do with the football running. He’s got an arm; he can throw all of the throws. I don’t know what throw this guy can’t make, he’s got all of the throws.”
Although the Falcons defense is ranked 27th in total defense according to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence is not underestimating what they’re capable of.
“They do a good job,” Lawrence said. “(It’s) pretty simple on base down like the last few teams we’ve played. (Pees) does a really good job mixing it up the looks. They like to play man coverage, but then he does a really good job of mixing in the two-high zones with pressure so you don’t know where guys are coming from. We just have to communicate really well and make sure we’re just on point with all of that. For me, my eyes are super important post-snap just seeing the rotation and where guys are going and finding soft spots. That’ll be big.”
Falcons outside linebacker Brandon Copeland is ready for the challenge of slowing Lawrence. While he understands what Lawrence can do running, he knows the defense has to do a great job of applying pressure if they want to win.
“You always notice a quarterback’s athleticism,” Copeland said of when he first watched Lawrence. “His athleticism is up there. He can run away from you if you give up the edge. Obviously, they have a lot of zone-read and RPO and stuff like that, so he’s an extra running back, back there.”
“We have to be really good in our pass-rush lane, so he doesn’t creep through the B-gap or around the edge. He’s a great player, and I’m excited for the challenge of trying to contain him.”
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