FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman, who's played 71 snaps this season, doesn't have a tackle or a sack, but he's doing some of the dirty work along the defensive line.
“If I have to take on double-teams and make ugly plays, that’s what I have to do to help the team,” said Hageman, who was drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft.
He played 28 of 73 snaps (38 percent) against the Eagles, 29 of 68 (41 percent) against the Giants and 14 of 53 (26 percent) against the Cowboys. He’s a part of the Falcons’ nine-man defensive line rotation.
“I’m fine,” Hageman said. “I’m not a selfish player. I want my teammates to make plays as well. I’m just out here to do my job. I’m obviously a small piece of this puzzle, but at the end of the day, I have to do my job because everybody else is doing theirs.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said Hageman has been doing his job.
“One of the topics that we talked about yesterday was doing the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, whether that’s the dirty work or taking double teams,” Quinn said. “So much of that comes from our toughness, heart, and the brotherhood of how hard I’m willing to go. I think he’s a perfect example of doing the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
The Falcons have an improvement plan for Hageman.
“The things we’ve really tried to address with him are how fast he can come off the ball,” Quinn said. “For a big guy, he’s got explosion. So, we’re still working as hard as we can to improve on that.”
How the rotation breaks down each week depends on how much nickel and how much base defense the Falcons have to play. Hageman started in the base against the Cowboys. The nickel linemen started in the first two games. The base unit is likely set to face the Texans on Sunday.
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