Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley has a goal in mind.
With a late-season surge, Beasley has a chance to reach double-digit sacks for just the second time in his career.
Beasley, who had a sack for a 7-yard loss in the second quarter of Sunday's 24-12 win over Jacksonville, has four sacks in the last three games and eight total this season.
“That’s always my goal,” Beasley said. “I want to be a double-digit guy. I’m just constantly going for it. I just constantly trying to get there.”
Beasley, the eighth pick in the 2015 NFL draft, had four sacks as rookie and 15.5 sacks his second year. The last two seasons, rushing mainly from the left side, Beasley only had a combined 10 sacks (five each in ‘17 and ‘18).
After the bye week, the Falcons started moving Beasley around and now he’s rushing from the right side at times. On his sack against the Jaguars, Beasley began the play standing up at left outside linebacker and rushing next to Jack Crawford.
He went up field for two steps and then came underneath Crawford, who went outside on a stunt. Beasley came free and pounced on Jacksonville quarterback Gardner Minshew for the sack.
If Beasley gets 10 sacks, local sports talk radio personality Mike Bell has promised to get a tattoo of Beasley on his behind. “Yeah, I’ve heard about that,” he said.
Beasley said he’s not offended by the tattoo pledge.
“Not really,” Beasley said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. If that’s how he feels and (thinks) I’m not capable of doing that, well, that’s his opinion.”
Beasley is in the last year of his rookie contract. He’s likely headed for free-agency after the season.
The Falcons normally sign their players to contract extensions, but with the team underachieving those plans are on hold as owner Arthur Blank promised an extensive evaluation of the entire football operation.
“My motivation is to be a double-digit guy,” Beasley said. “That’s my goal. If I can get there hooray, you know what I’m saying.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn pointed out that Beasley is using his hands better.
“All of that is a byproduct of playing better as an entire group,” Quinn said of Beasley’s surge. “Certainly defensively over the last seven games we’ve played a lot better. Some of those are (on) third downs and some of those where you get moments to go. But collectively I think the group is playing better.”
Beasley’s sack against the Jaguars was on a first-and-10 from their 11-yard line and led to a punt.
In the previous game against San Francisco, Beasley was playing right defensive end next to defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. On a second-and-8 from the San Francisco 22, Beasley beat Niners left tackle Joe Staley with an inside move and found a clear path to QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
“The front helps the secondary,” Beasley said. “The secondary helps the front. The linebackers. When we are all on one page, we are pretty dangerous.”
Beasley has been developing his moves from the right side.
“It has been a big emphasis,” Beasley said. “We have been working on different types of moves like the side-scissors week-in and week-out. It’s been working for me a lot out of the field.”
The Falcons also had Beasley spying Minshew, who likes to scramble.
“You just have to know your assignment, whether if you are on the left side or the right side,” Beasley said. “Some guys do certain moves on one side. That for me too, I always do certain moves on my left side. On the right side, I have a different arsenal of moves. Just knowing what side that you’re on and the situation that you are in.”
While the Falcons were going 1-7 over the first eight games of the season, Beasley had just 1.5 sacks. He had one in the second game against the Eagles and then a half of sack against the Colts.
Then Beasley and rest of a defense went on a long sack-drought. The Falcons went four entire games and parts of two other games without getting a sack.
Between the Beasley-Takk McKinley sack against the Colts with 9:50 to play in the third quarter Sept. 22 and Jarrett’s sack of Russell Wilson with 8:52 left in the third quarter of the Seattle game Oct. 27, the Falcons went 357 defensive snaps without a sack.
“Yeah, obviously, we had a bad start,” Beasley said. “But we picked it up this half (of the season.) We just have to keep going forward. We can’t fix what happened in the past. Or try to run from it. We just have to take it as a lesson.”
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