For all the noise made by Calvin Ridley, the NFL’s loudest rookie through the first quarter of the season, the most racket made lately by a Falcons newcomer went the other way when Bengals wideout A.J. Green froze Isaiah Oliver.
Everything thundered and went immediately quiet.
Groans followed Green’s 13-yard touchdown reception with seven seconds left Sunday, and then you could practically hear a pin drop in Mercedes-Benz Stadium as Atlanta’s soul was torn for the second consecutive week.
Bengals 37, Falcons 36.
And Oliver, the young cornerback who moments earlier went kind of left (his right) when Green went right, wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened.
Maybe it’s a good thing that coach Dan Quinn thinks highly of his team’s rookie class because as many as three may start Sunday when the Falcons (1-3) try to keep their season alive at Pittsburgh (1-2-1).
Every rookie figures to play.
Suddenly a starter after carrying a whopping 11 defensive snaps and one game of NFL experience into last week, Oliver has jumped on a learning rocket. This week, he has become quite the film critic, and he’s burying coaches and teammates with questions.
“Probably the No. 1 thing would be just knowing all situations,” Oliver said this week. “I kind of went all throughout the entire game just kind of knowing each situation and what the offense is trying to do to our defense.
“I knew what to do, but I really wasn’t thinking about the entire perspective all the time ...”
That’s a way of saying he didn’t adapt correctly to Cincinnati’s personnel and formation and adjust his assignment. He covered Green straight up when he should have leveraged the wideout’s outside shoulder.
He had no outside assistance from other Birds, and Green broke out, as he did many times while the now offseason resident of Atlanta played for the University of Georgia. The home invader made a diving end-zone catch near the right sideline.
Game over.
Quinn was bummed that Oliver’s teammates didn’t help him out.
“We had one player playing one call and the other player playing the other one,” Quinn said. “... It was painful ... for him to have the end-of-the-game play that came down to him, but what I do know is that he’ll learn from it.”
The boss man ordered the music level turned down at practice this week so that coaches could better learn the way players are communicating with each other.
That’s DEFCON 2 stuff because the Falcons’ three primary defensive talkers – free safety Ricardo Allen, middle linebacker Deion Jones and strong safety Keanu Neal – are on injured reserve.
So, there are not only new generals everywhere on defense, but a bunch of privates on the battlefield.
As the Falcons strive to keep re-integrating fresh faces on defense, Quinn seems happy with the team's rookies ... considering.
Of late, there’s been no stopping Ridley.
The first-round draft choice from Alabama has scored six touchdowns in the past three games, landing the label of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.
He’s a humble guy and not much for soliloquy. Ridley keeps it linear, and does not buy into the fact that the Falcons’ offense has to score even more points because the defense has been so strapped by wounds.
“No pressure, no pressure, no pressure,” he said with a smile to confirm him to be in many ways ahead of curve.
Quinn is enthused by the rest of the team’s rookies.
His team’s first- and second-round draft choices likely will start against the Steelers (if you count the Falcons’ three-receiver set as their starting lineup), and third-rounder Deadrin Senat may replace Jarrett at tackle, although Quinn has put veteran Jack Crawford into consideration there.
Ito Smith has played a lot, although the new running back drafted in the fourth round may see playing time reduced with the return to health of Devonta Freeman.
Russell Gage, a college wide receiver drafted in the fifth round, has been trained on offense and defense and already has played 65 special-teams snaps in his three games.
Sixth-rounder Foyesade Oluokun is picking up meaningful time at weakside linebacker after Deion Jones went down in the season opener with a knee injury. He has played 60 defensive snaps and 78 more on special teams.
“As they’re developing into the system, whether that’s Isaiah or Gage on teams, Ito, you’ve seen his emergence at running back. You haven’t gotten a chance to see Foyesade all the way. You’ve seen him some on teams, but I think as the season goes, you’ll see him grow into a role as well,” Quinn said.
“And Calvin right there at the front of it. ... As the season goes on all of them will have significant roles for us and a number of them already do.”
Perhaps Oluokun, the Yale graduate, said it most wisely.
“Gaining the experience in the games, that’s how you get better, so I’ve definitely come along that way, knowing how teams are trying to attack us in our defense,” he explained. “It’s just different than looking at a piece of paper and knowing your responsibility.”
Coaches are still students, too.
Defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel went against the new book in the second half against the Bengals, calling mostly man-to-man coverages because they’re easier for young defensive backs to understand.
That was a big deal with nickel back Brian Poole making his first start at strong safety, second-year pro Demontae Kazee making his fourth NFL start at free safety, and Oliver making his first start at cornerback as Desmond Trufant moved into the nickel spot.
That fateful final Cincinnati play, though, went against one of the Falcons’ typically preferred zones.
With everybody healthy, the Falcons’ DC can try calculus. Now, it has to be algebra.
“For young guys, you have to simplify it. Never put a guy in a compromising position,” Manuel said before offering an example of how that might be done. “What works for you and for me? It’s a learning experience for me as well. How do you call a game when the other guys are injured?
“Man. I’ve got that man, you’ve got that man, we have that man (coverage), let’s play man. Just details man, communication ... simplify so they can communicate.”
