Falcons finally find their pass-rushing groove

The Falcons went four entire games and parts of two other games without getting a sack.

Between the Vic Beasley-Takk McKinley sack against the Colts with 9:50 to play in the third quarter Sept. 22 and Grady 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.

But against the Saints, the Falcons dropped quarterback Drew Brees early and often. They finished with six sacks and 11 quarterbacks hits.

"I think it’s just good energy,” Beasley said. “When you’re seeing guys make big plays, I think you’re seeing the momentum carry over from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive side of the ball. When they’re putting points up, it gives us encouragement to go out there and put plays up, too."

Now, with 13 overall sacks the Falcons no longer rank last in the league in sacks. The Miami Dolphins, who have 10 sacks, are last.

“I would say No. 1, the connection and the communication,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said about the sack outburst. “The ability of the whole unit working together.”

With re-distribution of some of the coaching duties since the Arizona game, Quinn has been able to spend more time with the pass rushers.

“I kind of use the analogy of being a mechanic and looking under the hood,” Quinn said. “What’s not right and what’s not going? You make some changes and adjustments, close the hood and try to start it up again. For us, we started it up again and we had better communication.”

Here's a review of the Falcons' six sacks against the Saints:
• On third-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 4:57 left in the first quarter, linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, coming from the right end of the defense, beat a cut-block attempt Saints fullback Zach Line and levels Drew Brees as he tries to slide up in the pocket.
"No, it was just a regular play," Campbell said when asked it it was a blitz.  "I just read my keys and thought I could make a play."
• On third-and-4 from the Saints' 42 with 3:41 left in the second quarter, Jarrett and Adrian Clayborn worked a twist, with Jarrett going outside and Clayborn inside, where he powered his way to Brees for the second sack. 
• On second-and-10 from the Falcons' 10 with 7:14 left in the third quarter, Jarrett beat Saints guard Will Clapp. Jarrett and Beasley broke free and hit Brees.
• On third-and-14 from the Saints' 42 with 13:28 left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons rushed only three players, with Jarrett in the middle. He worked his way free to his left and got past guard Larry Warford for the sack. This was a coverage sack.
• On first-and-10 from the Saints' 26 with 6:56 in the fourth quarter, Jarrett beats Clapp for another sack.
• On fourth-and-5 from the Saints' 21 with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter, McKinley and Beasley work a stunt. McKinley powered up the field, and Beasley came free and got the sack.

One came on a Campbell reading a key, three were off of two-man twists, one off of a three-man rush with tight coverage and one from Jarrett just beating his man.

“It wasn’t just one thing,” Quinn said. “I thought it was collectively that we played better.”

Quinn liked that three of the sacks came on third down to help the defense get off the field. Beasley’s sack came on a fourth down.

Getting off the field on third down has been a point of emphasis.

“We were also fortunate early that we knocked them back with some tackles for losses or a penalty which created some matchups that we liked better for sure,” Quinn said.

“More than anything, just owning the matchups that you have and being able to capitalize in those moments. I thought the guys did a good job.”

Quinn didn’t want to take any credit for the pass-rushing outburst.

“I was happy for the players,” Quinn said. “Because they’ve been working hard at that. So, when you don’t get the results and you’re kind of working and trying, and still not meeting the mark that you set, it gets frustrating. There’s doubt and disappointment that creeps in.”

But the players, if only for one week, had a breakthrough.

“The ability to stay with, more than anything, the plan,” Quinn said. “I was like OK, this is how we need to play this team. The communication just didn’t back off. We stayed with the plan all the way through the end of the game.”

Linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich believes the players came back refreshed from the bye week.

“I thought it was just a reflection of our week,” Ulbrich said. “We had one of our better weeks of practice in our preparations and walk-throughs. Likewise, we played better on Sunday.”

While the defensive front did most of the damage, the secondary had better coverage to help them.

“I think it’s really a marriage of the back end and the front,” Ulbrich said. “The communication across the board was better. From a coverage standpoint they were sounder, tighter. From a rush perspective, I thought the communication was very strong, taking advantage of certain looks.

“You put those two things together and typically good things happen, and they did.”

Like Quinn, Ulbrich did not question the players’ work ethic while they were going through their pass-rush drought.

“Although the record wouldn’t indicate that we necessarily were all-in, all the time, but these guys are,” Ulbrich said. “The culture is right here. The people are right.

“They have been working their butts off, and for them to finally have a little success, I was happy for them. Now, it’s just the search for consistency. We have to elevate everything that we did last week from a preparation standpoint.”

AJC Correspondent Matt Winkeljohn contributed to this story. 

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