Falcons looking for improvement versus pass

Through the first five games, the changes seemed to be working. The Falcons' defense had limited the big passing plays that were an issue last season, when opponents had 55 pass plays of 20 or more yards, sixth-most in the NFL. This season, the defense was on pace for only about 30 such plays.

But in just one game, the signs of progress took a hit.

In Sunday's 31-17 Eagles victory, Philadelphia completed six passes of 20-plus yards, including an 83-yard touchdown strike from Kevin Kolb to Jeremy Maclin. Kolb had easily his best game of the season, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing.

It was a humbling outing for the Falcons' secondary, which had little luck stopping Maclin or DeSean Jackson. The performance brought into question how much of the early season success was because of progress and how much has to do with facing mediocre passing offenses in four out of the first five games.

"There's always room for improvement," said safety William Moore, who registered his team-leading third interception Sunday. "But, at the same time, I definitely think this is a much-improved defense. Everybody's got a year under their belt and more experience than last year. I just know from seeing the guys flying around out there. They're just hungry. ... I don't know what the [stats] say; I try not to even look at it because I don't think that describes how we play."

They're hoping that's true because many of the numbers aren't helping the case.

The Falcons' opponents are posting 239.5 passing yards per game, almost identical to the 241.9 they gave up last season, both placing them in the bottom third of the league in that stat.

Perhaps more condemning, opponents are completing 68.5 percent of passes against the Falcons. That's 30th in the NFL and is far higher than the 62.5 percent number opponents posted on them last season.

Coach Mike Smith, however, indicated much of that could be a bit of an anomaly, brought on by the style of defense they play against different opponents.

"It depends on what your plan is on how you’re trying to defend someone, if you’re going to let someone throw it short and underneath and rally up then you’re going to give up those completions," said Smith, who also pointed out his team leads the league in interceptions with 11. "If you’re playing match coverage and tight coverage then you don’t want to have that. We’ve gone into different games with different philosophies. Philosophically, how we’re going to defend the pass is going to change week in and week out.”

Backing up Smith's statement is the fact that the team in last place in this category is the Patriots, still one of the league's elite teams. And just three spots ahead of the Falcons is Pittsburgh, generally regarded as having one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the NFL.

Some of it could also be attributed to the score, particularly in a game such as the Falcons' 41-7 blowout of Arizona.

"First of all, a lot of that stuff, we've been playing with a lead," safety Erik Coleman said. "Our offense has been doing a great job of scoring points, and teams are in their two-minute mode a lot quicker than they normally do. So a lot of those passes are checkdowns. We're worried about getting wins."

To do so Sunday, the pass defense likely will need to play well against a Bengals team that's seventh in the league in passing yards per game, with Terrell Owens having a resurgence opposite Chad Ochocinco.

Against Philadelphia, the Falcons never seemed to figure out Maclin and Jackson. Keeping Owens and Ochocinco out of the end zone could be key to staying on top of the NFC South this week.

"It goes back to just preparing better," Moore said. "You've got to spend a little more time in the film room because, every week, you're going to have fast guys. So it's hard to just (plan) against one person in the NFL. It's just taking more pride in what we're doing and going a little bit harder."