Falcons have four-point plan to turn season around

Communication, tackling, pass rush and ball-hawking must improve

Falcons wide receiver discusses the return to running back Devonta Freeman to the backfield

In 2013, the Falcons were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders.

Fresh off a trip to the NFC Championship game, they coaxed tight end Tony Gonzalez out of retirement, signed running back Steven Jackson and defensive end Osi Umenyiora in free agency.

The Falcons were primed and ready to make a Super Bowl run.

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But that team, like the current 2018 team, which is set to play the Steelers at 1 p.m. Sunday at Heinz Field, got off to a 1-3 start. The 2013 Falcons lost the fifth game of the season and lost wide receiver Julio Jones to a broken foot.

The Falcons couldn’t recover and went on to finish 4-12.

Jones remembers those tough times and not being able to help on the field. He believes this team can overcome its slow start.

“Most of it is just everybody staying confident,” Jones said when asked what lesson he learned from 2013. “Not shying away from anything and just coming out here every day and keep working.”

Jones doesn’t believe the Falcons really are a 1-3 team.

“It’s not one of those things where our record defines who we are,” Jones said. “Right now, we are 1-3 team. But at the same time, at the core, we are not built like that. We are way better than that. We just have to come out (to practice) and keep working.”

Back in 2013, the Falcons lost that fifth game to quarterback Geno Smith and the New York Jets.

The Falcons deny that there’s pressure to not fall to 1-4 this season.

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“There is no pressure on us,” Jones said. “The first quarter is done. It’s four quarters. The first quarter of games are done. It’s behind us.”

Now that the Falcons’ inability to score in the red zone has been fixed, their major concerns are on defense after injuries have knocked out four key starters.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn has a four-point plan to make sure this season doesn’t go off the rails as it did for former Falcons coach Mike Smith in 2013, when there was a major miscalculation of the talent level along the offensive line.

The Lamar Holmes (tackle) and Peter Konz (center) era did not last long.

The Falcons must improve their communication, tackling, continue to emphasize the pass rush and work on their ball-hawking skills.

The Falcons had two blown coverages against the Bengals that resulted in two touchdowns in a one-point loss. They missed 15 tackles against the Saints. They dropped three potential interceptions against Carolina, but won. They also had a chance to beat the Bengals with a game-saving interception, but cornerback Desmond Trufant dropped the ball.

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The pass rush did show some spark in the third quarter against the Bengals, and the Falcons would like to build on the showing.

“Those are four, key principles of how we (must play),” Quinn said.

The communications on defense against the Bengals was so bad that Quinn ordered the team’s D.J. to lower the sound of the music at practice last week.

Two players were playing different coverages when the Bengals’ Tyler Eifert and John Ross scored touchdowns in the 37-36 loss to Cincinnati.

“On both occasions, that was Falcons beating Falcons,” Quinn said. “So, that is as difficult as it gets. You generally haven’t seen a lot of that from us where we bust a coverage and miscommunicate to cause an explosive play.”

With free safety Ricardo Allen out, the secondary struggled. He was the main signal-caller for the back end of the defense. Second-year player Damontae Kazee has to be more vocal.

The Falcons’ calls are relayed from the coaches to the players and then are spread around the defense individually. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell has the helmet with the green dot and has sideline communications with the coaches.

“We had our DJ turn the music down some this week in practice so that we can clearly hear some of our communications,” Quinn said. “It was more of an emphasis for us in every single spot that we could look for it, hear it and acknowledge it.

“It starts in the classroom from player to player. Then from a coaching side, I wanted the coaches to the side. I want to hear the players talk.”

Campbell has taken over for the injured Deion Jones.

“It’s huge because if somebody doesn’t get the call it’s on me,” Campbell said. “So, I just have to make sure that I’m relying the message to everybody and make sure that everybody is on the same page.”

Campbell doesn’t mind making sure everyone has the correct signals.

“Somebody has to be the bad guy,” Campbell said.

The secondary doesn’t want a repeat performance against the Steelers.

“We have to communicate,” cornerback Robert Alford said. “If one person sees something off the formation just relay it across the field all the way to the other cornerback or to the linebacker.

“You never know. Maybe they are tired or can’t remember the play from the film. You can say something to them and it will spark something in their brain that they will remember. Communications is always the No. 1 key.”

Quarterback Matt Ryan somehow survived the 2013 season. Behind the shaky offensive line, he was sacked a career-high 44 times, which ranked 10th in the NFL. He also was hit 100 more times, which ranked fifth in the league.

The current team doesn’t have an obvious defect like the 2013 team.

“Last week we had a couple opportunities with low red-zone stuff where we didn’t come away with as many touchdowns as we needed so that’s got to be a point of emphasis for us in this game,” Ryan said about the Falcons getting stuffed and held to a field goal after getting the ball on the 8-yard line after a blocked punt.

The offense also stalled with a chance to build a two-score lead late in the fourth quarter.  The Falcons settled for a meaningless field goal when the team needed a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

“The late-game situations, we’re going to continue to work those to try to be the best we can be,” Ryan said. “Then continue to keep putting the work in the way that we have throughout the offseason and throughout the first quarter of the season.”