FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ defense is looking to rebound after the bye week.
The unit opened the season strong, but has regressed during the team’s three-game losing streak. The Falcons (4-6), who are set to face the Saints (5-5) in a battle for first place in the NFC South at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, have a plan for their revival.
“Just bring the savage back out,” Falcons outside linebacker Bud Dupree said. “Bring the hammer back out. Make sure everyone out here is playing like dogs, like savages. Each person beside you has to want to be better, collectively as a unit. We want to be great across the board.”
The Falcons have given up 149, 146 and 122 yards rushing over the three losses.
“We know exactly what we want to do,” Falcons defensive tackle David Onyemata said. “If you stop the run, you get more opportunities to rush the passer.”
The Falcons are giving up 108.4 yards rushing per game, which ranks 14th in the NFL. The Saints rush for 100 yards per game, which ranks 22nd in the league.
“There is so much good that comes from (stopping the run),” Onyemata said. “The biggest thing for us as a group, we take pride in it. We take pride in stopping the run, and we know exactly what the outcome is after you stop the run. Everyone is working towards that and just execute.”
The Falcons were hurt by the scrambling of quarterbacks Joshua Dobbs and Kyler Murray in the past two games.
“I think a lot of times you kind of freak yourself out, scare yourself while you are preparing, how you are going to rush a guy who’s actively been escaping,” Dupree said. “We’ve been dealing with escaping guys over the past couple of weeks. We have to get back into our mode of playing our game.”
The Falcons want to coordinate their pass-rush moves better and be mindful that the quarterbacks may want to run on third downs.
“We have to make sure we are getting pressure in his face,” Dupree said. “At the end of the day, you don’t want the quarterback just sitting in the pocket. ... We have to get after him. But also have fun and fly around.”
While the Falcons have played the past two games without two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (right knee injury), they have some adjustments to make.
“There’s a lot of things that we need to continue to improve, a couple of small changes that we’ll make that I think will be beneficial, so even if we had won the past two, if we didn’t objectively correct those or don’t get them corrected, they would hurt us later in the season,” Smith said. “That’s the situation we’re in. The biggest thing and challenge you’ve got is that you have to do something about it. We’re just thankful that we have the opportunity to do that.”
The Falcons should get a boost from Onyemata’s return. He missed the most recent game with an ankle injury. He returned to practice Monday and fully participated.
“It was tough,” Onyemata said of missing a game. “At the end of the day, just having faith in the guys in the group that we have in the (defensive) line room. Just knowing that guys are going to execute game in and game out.”
Onyemata believes they have an approach that will help up front.
“The biggest thing is taking it one play at time,” Onyemata said. “Just executing on every play. Regardless of how basic that sounds. It’s a big job that we need to do on the defense. Just take it one play at a time. Just hone in on the little keys and details of executing.”
Dupree, who played six seasons with the Steelers, is used to intense rivalries. But he’s taking notes for his first game with the Falcons against the Saints.
“Grady said this will remind you of that high school game where you really hate the other person,” Dupree said. “That type of ordeal. It’s always fun. It’s that same type of atmosphere we had when I was with the Steelers, we had with the Ravens and also how it became with Cincinnati.
“It can either be cordial like it was with the Ravens and Steelers or it can be (nasty) like the Steelers and the Bengals. I’m excited to see which way it’s going to go. Is it going to be cordial fight or is it going to be a (nasty) fight?”
The Falcons plan to keep their emotions in check.
“Don’t do anything after the play that will hurt the team, kind of get in the way of the outcome,” Dupree said. “Everyone wants to go out there and win. It’s going to be a high-intensity game. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to come out of there with a win.”
The Falcons know they’ll need a win to help turn their season around.
“We’re in a situation now, where every game counts for us,” Dupree said. “We want to make sure we go down that right road. We’re doing everything we can to execute the plays and come out with a win.”
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