FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons’ offensive line is three sacks from having quarterback Matt Ryan sacked 40 times for the fourth consecutive season.
With Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan on a tear and Marcus Davenport developing, Falcons tackles Kaleb McGary and Jake Matthews will be on the hot seat Sunday when the teams meet at 4:25 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ryan has been sacked 41, 48 and 42 times over the past three seasons.
The new regime thought they could scheme around this obvious deficiency by throwing quicker passes and having Ryan take less than five- and seven-step drop-backs. That worked for a while, as the line gave up only 16 sacks through 10 games.
But after teams saw the Falcons’ offensive scheme on film and started taking away the short and quick pass routes, Ryan has had to hold the ball longer, and the line has collapsed. He has been sacked 21 times over the past six games.
Buffalo and Tampa Bay put up five sacks each, and the Patriots had four.
In the previous meeting, the Saints had two sacks and nine quarterback hits.
Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander confirmed that the Falcons have been trying to go faster to reduce pressure on Ryan.
“Yeah, we have been seeing that; we’ve seen them trying to not hold the ball and get it out quicker,” Alexander said. “We watched all that, and we’re going to try to get pressure on him, and that’s the main goal is to try to get pressure on him and make big plays. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
For more content about The Atlanta Falcons
Follow me on Twitter @DOrlandoAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
Atlanta Falcons coverage on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
About the Author
