FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons’ pass rush is showing early signs of coming to life.
Three games is a small sample size, but the Falcons have six sacks, two sack-strips by outside linebacker Dante Fowler, one big timely sack by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and 14 quarterback hits.
The Falcons (1-2) are set to play the Washington Football Team (1-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“If you’re going to play, you got to play in the whole scheme and where everybody fits in all 11,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said of the pass rush. “A lot of times when you’ve been tagged as a (designated pass rusher) right, you’re just a pass-rush specialist. A lot of these guys, can confuse (themselves) as an independent contractor. That’s not what Dante is, it’s not how he’s made up, and I think he’s starting to see the vision.”
Fowler’s sack came on the defense’s final stop Sunday and allowed the offense to get back on the field and move into field-goal range for the winning kick.
Like most things for the 2021 Falcons, the pass rush is a work in progress as the defense is converting to a 3-4 under coordinator Dean Pees.
“There were some things that we didn’t like with our rush lanes in Week 1,” Smith said. “Sometimes you get rewarded just running around and you may fall into a sack, great, but you really screwed up the rush lanes, and it all goes together where I think you think you see Dante’s biggest growth in his play.”
Fowler was injured early last season and tried to play on a high-ankle sprain, which led to other injuries and little production.
“This is a huge credit to him. I’ve enjoyed working with Dante and these guys are playing together,” Smith said. “When his number was called, a lot of it is plays that he may not make, but he’s playing within the scheme, and his effort’s been phenomenal.”
Even when things got out of hand in Week 2 at Tampa Bay, Fowler keep pushing.
“I think there’s a play against Tampa, the game’s over, we’re all frustrated,” Smith said. “He rushes and comes down and makes a stop, gets it to fourth down, and we stop them on fourth down, and that says a lot about his character.”
Pees believes progress is being made.
“I just think that the guys keep working on the stuff that we do,” Pees said. “We’re trying to kind of do the same things over and over so that we can learn to do them.”
Pees has reduced the packages for the defense since Game 1. He’s resistant to making wholesale changes.
“This isn’t working so we have to change this, we have to change that,” Pees said. “You end up changing all the time; nobody ever becomes good at anything. Some things you’ve got to go through some growing pains to get what you want.”
The players have been embracing the steady themes.
“You stay with the stuff and you get good at it,” Pees said. “Not just jump all over the place because you’re not going to be good at anything. Hopefully, we’re going to keep getting better and better.”
The Falcons had three sacks and five hits against Tampa Bay. They have two sacks and five hits against the Giants.
“It’s pressures,” Pees said. “It’s making sure you have gap integrity when you want to pressure. Sometimes, it’s not the pressure, but it’s the offensive line that messes it up. If you are in the right spot, then let them mess it up. Be right. Don’t guess. Don’t be doing something that you shouldn’t be doing.”
Jarrett had a big sack on New York’s first drive of the game. The defense gave up yards, but held the Giants to a field-goal attempt.
“I can never get frustrated,” Jarrett said of sometimes getting double-teamed. “It’s expected. When you want to be the best at what you do, you are going to garner more attention. Whether the numbers are there or not, I know that I’m putting in work. If I get doubled, that just means I just have to find a way to beat it.”
Jarrett beat his blocker with a swim move to the inside and was in Giants quarterback Daniel Jones’ face before he figure out what happened.
“It was there,” Jarrett said. “The guy had some low hands. It was there where I saw I had a split second, an opportunity to get through there. It just kind of came kind of naturally. I felt good to get though there.”
The Falcons believe they can keep building on the early pass-rush success.
“It definitely feels good and it’s encouraging,” Jarrett said. “It makes us want to strive for more. Getting that early success, it definitely pushes us to be better. I think there’s a lot out there for myself and for the whole defensive line. Guys are definitely pushing to get better.”
The defensive line has been holding gatherings to go over the details of the defense.
“We’ve been diving into it a lot more collectively and as a group after hours,” outside linebacker Steven Means said. “That’s definitely helping in a big way with us getting home and getting to the quarterback.”
Means doesn’t have any sacks yet, but he’s trying to ramp up the pressure.
“Even guys like me winning, rushing and getting close, it’s just helping the whole camaraderie of the whole group,” Means said. “We do a lot of extra stuff together. I think that’s something big that we’ve been doing different.”
Maintaining their rush lanes in passing situations is vital.
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the team,” Means said. “The defense is structured where it might even run you into a sack while you’re just sacrificing for the team. We just have to build a trust. That’s what we have been doing lately.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
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Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT at Falcons, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
