If the Falcons had defensive players like Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Justin Houston and Dontari Poe, it’s unlikely they would have finished last season with the 32nd-ranked defense in the NFL.
Now, with a restructured front office, assistant general manager Scott Pioli, who had a major hand in the drafting of those four players in New England and Kansas City, will be charged with finding those kinds of quality players for the Falcons, who are starved for a pass rush.
“Clearly, we have not had a pass rush for a number of years,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. “That’s important in this league.”
Pioli, 49, who joined the team Jan. 22, 2014, will take over the day-to-day pro and college scouting operations and direct the team’s next draft, while reporting to general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Pioli was a standout defensive tackle at Division II Central Connecticut State and knows the inner-workings of NFL trench warfare. Before joining the Patriots in 2000, he worked with the Browns, Ravens and New York Jets.
Over the nine seasons with the Patriots, Pioli and coach Bill Belichick compiled an NFL-best 102-42 (.708) regular-season record and won three Super Bowls.
His first order of business: construct the Falcons a pass rush by adding players through free agency and the draft.
Pioli was with the Patriots from 2000-08 as vice president of player personnel. He was the general manager of the Chiefs from 2009-12 before he was fired.
The Patriots selected Seymour, out of Georgia, with the sixth pick of the 2001 draft. He went on to make seven Pro Bowl teams and record 57.5 sacks.
The Patriots selected Wilfork 21st in the first round of the 2004 draft. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler and has 16 career sacks.
In 2011, Houston was a first-round talent, but slipped to the third round after reports surfaced that he failed a drug test at the NFL combine. He was taken 70th overall. Houston, who also played at Georgia, has been selected to two Pro Bowls and has 48.5 career sacks, including a league-leading 22 last season.
In 2012, the Chiefs took a major flyer on Poe with the 11th pick in the first round. He’s developed into a two-time Pro Bowler with 10.5 sacks.
Together the four players have registered 132.5 sacks and 17 Pro Bowl selections.
Finding the right players to get the opposing quarterback on the ground will be Pioli’s first order of business.
“You can turn an ordinary quarterback into looking like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or some version of that, if they have plenty of time,” Blank said. “If they don’t have plenty of time, they are making decisions and are often throwing the ball to the team that has the other uniform on. Even the better quarterbacks in this league, when they are under tremendous pressure, they make more mistakes than they do if they are not.
“In my opinion, pressure is a very big deal, and we have not had pressure. We just have not for a variety of reasons.”
The Falcons addressed the coaching aspect of their defensive line last season by replacing Ray Hamilton with Bryan Cox. They addressed the scheme by replacing Brian VanGorder with Mike Nolan after the 2011 season.
The area that has not been addressed with success has been the acquisition of players via the draft. Under the Dimitroff-coach Mike Smith collaborative, the Falcons drafted 11 defensive linemen, and none of those players have made a Pro Bowl appearance.
In free agency, they whiffed badly on Ray Edwards and Osi Umenyiora, while letting the only pass-rushing threat they had, John Abraham, walk out of the building after the 2012 season.
All of Pioli’s picks along the line have not been excellent, and he has his critics.
CBS analyst Boomer Esiason categorized Pioli’s tenure in Kansas City as a “failure” and said he “ruined” the franchise.
“I’m sure he would tell you that he drafted some good guys while he was there,” said Esiason during a radio appearance on 92.9 The Game on Friday. “Then of course Andy Reid was the beneficiary of that, but Andy Reid has a different tact of doing things.”
Esiason, the former quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals (1984-92, ’97), New York Jets (1993-95) and Arizona (1996), credits coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady credit for New England’s success.
In 2009, Pioli selected defensive tackle Tyson Jackson with the third overall pick. He’s turned into a solid player, but the Chiefs let him go in free agency last season. The Falcons, looking for run-stuffing help, signed him to a five-year, $25 million contract.
Like Dimitroff, Pioli had some major success picking in the early rounds.
In addition to Poe and Jackson, Pioli selected safety Eric Berry, of Creekside High and Tennessee, with the fifth overall pick in 2010.
He missed on his first-round pick in the 2011 draft when he selected troubled wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin with the 26th pick. He’s out of the league.
Cornerback Javier Arenas was taken in the second round (50th overall) of the 2010 draft. He was a backup last season for the Falcons.
Falcons right guard Jon Asamoah was a third-round pick by Pioli in 2010, but he was allowed to leave in free agency last season. He started 15 games for the Falcons last season.
An analysis of Pioli’s four drafts in Kansas City reveals that the Chiefs didn’t have any major finds after the third round. His biggest hit was getting Houston in the third round.
The best player of the bunch may have been defensive back Kendrick Lewis, who was selected in the fifth round (136th overall) in 2010. He was allowed to leave Kansas City, but started 16 games with Houston last season.
In addition to addressing the pass rush, the Falcons need to find a middle linebacker, running back and buttress an offensive line which has been ravaged by injury in each of the past two seasons.
Pioli will have a key role in trying to improve the talent level.
“We’re happy with a lot of them, we’ve got a lot of great players,” Blank said. “But do we have as many as we need? Probably not. Do we have holes? Probably, yes. How best to fill them will be in large part up to the new coach. (His) assessment of our team. (His) assessment of our players (while) working with our personnel department.”
The personnel department that now reports to Pioli.
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