With Tony Gonzalez as their tight end, the Falcons saw every conceivable legal and illegal double-team tactic over the past five seasons.
Some teams resorted to triple-teams or to basically holding him in the contact zone.
For this season, the NFL will place an emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding.
Defenders can get physical with receivers in the first 5 yards, but the receiver must be allowed to “run free” after that.
Falcons tight end coach Chris Scelfo is making sure his players are aware of the point of emphasis.
“We have to be real careful about pushing off and using our hands,” Scelfo said. “We have to get out of that first 5 yards where we can get free. It seems like the first five yards is fair game. We have to find a way to get past that landmark.”
The tight ends caught five passes for 48 yards in the Falcons 16-10 win over Miami.
Miami had a sack negated when safety Louis Delmas was called for an illegal contact in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Miami linebacker Jelani Jenkins was called for defensive holding and cornerback Will Davis was called for defensive pass interference.
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