Falcons defensive coordinator Richard Smith had an embarrassment of riches at defensive end at his last stop in the NFL.
While on the staff of the Denver Broncos, sacking the quarterback and generating a pass rush wasn’t a problem. The Falcons had the 32nd-ranked defense last season and haven’t been able to create much of a pass rush since allowing John Abraham to leave after the 2012 season.
“Well, it’s nice to have those,” Smith said when asked about having a marquee pass-rusher. “We had DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, two of the best in the league.”
While Smith, 59, has not fully evaluated the roster, a cursory review would reveal that the Falcons don’t have a player in either Ware or Miller’s league. Miller had 14 sacks and Ware had 10 last season.
“That’s a pretty good tandem,” Smith said. “When you do have that, it makes the coverage a lot easier. They both go hand in hand.”
The Falcons have gone two full seasons without a double-digit sacker. Abraham had 10 in 2012.
The last time the Falcons had two double-digit sackers was in 2004, when defensive end Patrick Kerney had 13 and defensive tackle Rod Coleman had 11.5 as the Falcons were on their way to the NFC Championship game.
“Sacks matter,” said Smith, who coached with new coach Dan Quinn in San Francisco (2001-02) and Miami (2005).
The Falcons finished with 22 sacks last season, which ranked tied for 31st in the league. Denver’s 41 sacks ranked ninth. Buffalo led the league in 2014, with 54 sacks.
Over coach Mike Smith’s seven-year tenure, the defense never mounted much of a pass rush as they averaged 29.8 sacks per season.
The new regime’s hopes for a turnaround on defense will rest on their ability to find some pass-rushers in free agency and the draft and by coaching-up a player such as Jonathan Massaquoi, who’s flashed some pass-rush ability over the past two seasons.
“(If) you’re playing third-and-long and if you play from that standpoint, you’re going to be a successful team on third down,” said Smith, who was Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator for the Dolphins in 2005.
“Yes, to generate pressure on the quarterback, to get him off his spot … you’d love to have, you know a 45-, 50-sack football team every year.
“You might not have that. But can you get the quarterback off his spot? Can you make him fill uncomfortable? Those are the things that we’ll try to create.”
The Falcons must make decisions on defensive ends Kroy Biermann and Osi Umenyiora, who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
“We are in the process right now of evaluating the personnel here,” Smith said. “We’ve done that since the first day that we’ve come in, and we’re continuing to do that right now.”
While the personnel review is ongoing, Smith said the Falcons will look to find some faster players on defense, overall.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant, the team’s highest rated defensive player last season on Pro Football Focus, looks forward to working under Quinn.
Truant’s brother, Marcus Trufant, played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. He was on the team when Quinn was the assistant head coach/defensive line in 2009 and 2010.
“He told me that he’s a great coach,” Trufant said. “He’s going to help the players, and he will get the best out of us. I’m excited.”
Smith said the returning players will start with a clean slate.
“Dan’s mindset, which I believe is really good, is let’s find out what the player can do and not what he can’t do,” Smith said. “Whatever was in the past is in the past.”
All signs are pointing toward Quinn calling his own plays and that’s fine with Smith.
“I’m not an ego person,” Smith said. “You look at a lot of teams in the league, if it goes that way, him and I go way back. We’ve got a very good relationship not only as friends, but also as coaching partners.”
