The Falcons have spent a lot of time and resources with the goal of having an improved pass rush.
But after six games, the Falcons’ pass rushing efficiency is down from last season.
In 2014, the Falcons harassed the quarterback – either with a sack, hit or hurry – on 249 of 635 passing downs for a pass rushing efficiency of 39.2 percent.
This season, the Falcons have harassed the quarterback on 72 of 234 passing downs for a pass rush efficiency of 30.7 percent.
Last season, the Falcons finished with just 22 sacks, which tied for 30th in the league with Oakland. In 2015, the Falcons have seven sacks, which is tied for 30th with Miami and New York Giants. They are on pace for 18.6 sacks. Denver leads the league with 26 sacks.
Falcons first-year coach Dan Quinn knows those numbers must improve. The coaching staff broke down the rushes over the mini-bye, searching for answers.
“We’ll have some four-man rush, some five-man rush, but we went back through all of them,” Quinn said. “Looked at the pressures. Looked at the rushes. Which ones were better for us? Which ones did we convert better? The good news is that there is a lot for us to improve on and I can’t wait to see that happen.”
The Falcons drafted defensive Vic Beasley with the eighth overall pick in the draft. They signed O’Brien Schofield and Adrian Clayborn as free agents. Along, with defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, they have been the Falcons main rushers.
Beasley and Clayborn have affected the quarterback on 15 plays and Schofield on 12 plays. Babineaux has two hits and six hurries for eight plays on the quarterback.
“We have to take it up a notch in the trenches because we have so much talent on the front line,” Beasley said. “We just have to go harder.”
The Falcons have been getting a lot of quick-game passing from the opposition, which normally doesn’t allow the rush to get to the quarterback. Also, the base defense is facing a lot of play-action fakes and maximum protections.
“Basically, we have to come together and have started to watch film together and we are starting to understand that we need to rush as a group,” Schofield said. “We’ve had some great individual rushes. We just have to get that coordination up front with the understanding of the pass rush lanes.
“There have been a couple of times where we won off the edge, but the quarterback has been able to step up. There have been times where we have won up the middle and me and Vic took inside moves and the quarterback was able to get outside. It’s just orchestrating a better rush and having a better plan as a group together.”
Quinn generally does not believe in blitzing to fabricate pressure. But, he may have to consider that as an option moving forward.
“It’s always an option, but as we are getting together on how we want to play our style, it’s certainly a part of it, but we’ll always do what’s best in terms of how we want to play,” Quinn said.
Beasley, who’s had to go against some of the top tackles in the league, has been solid.
“We are in practice working on it each and every day,” Beasley said. “We are looking forward to this coming weekend and throughout the rest of the season. We have to take it up a notch.”
Beasley has faced Philadelphia’s Jason Peters, Dallas’ Tyron Smith and Houston’s Duane Brown, who as a group have 12 Pro Bowl appearances and four first-team All-Pro selections. He plans to put the lessons he learned to use.
“I just learned that I have to keep going,” Beasley said. “I’ve got to take my game to another level now that I’ve seen the level of the guys I’ve been going against. They are great players. I want to get to that level in my pass rush.”
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