From Bijan’s big day to Michael Penix’s near-flawless effort, the Falcons bounced back.
What a difference a week can make. The Atlanta Falcons are back to .500 after an outpouring of production from the offense. Zac Robinson won’t be allowed up in the booth for the foreseeable future, and this defense gets the quarterback on the ground. Here are the Week 4 snap reactions:
The sacks continue
The Falcons are tied for a league-leading eight sacks in the first half of games played. Veterans Kaden Elliss and Leonard Floyd are leading the way, and young players like Zach Harrison are realizing their potential. Atlanta has continued to get to the quarterback with a variety of players in a variety of ways.
Nate Ollie deserves a lot of credit for getting production out of both his starters and second-wave players. The defense would probably like to be generating more pressure overall. It was a quiet day for James Pearce Jr., but Jalon Walker did draw a hold and record a QB hit. While consistent pressure is ideal, sacks end plays, and the Falcons have been effective at converting pressures into sacks.
Sideline POV
The first drive of the game looked all too familiar. The Falcons drove the ball down with ease before stumbling and settling for a field goal. Only this time, when Penix came to the sideline, his offensive coordinator would be waiting for him, and the very next drive, the Falcons drove down the field for a touchdown, and that was the theme for the day.
There was a play-action pass out of pistol in the red zone, but the offense’s scheme didn’t fundamentally change; the execution was night and day from what we had seen in the first three weeks. The Falcons had to produce results after the firing of Hilliard and the relocation of Zac Robinson, and they did. It’s too early to say whether today’s success will be sustained, but it is a promising development, at the very least.
Soft Run Defense
This was noticeable last week, but there were bigger fish to fry. This defense has been getting moved in the run game, and teams are starting to catch on. The Commanders were grinding out tough runs and popping off explosive ones; the Falcons also neglected to account for Marcus Mariota’s legs on one particularly costly scramble. One of the pitfalls of the defensive fronts’ get vertical’ approach is that it is susceptible to gap schemes, which can exploit how this defensive front wants to operate.
Offensive lines use angles and momentum to create lanes off the line’s aggressive approach. The line will need to be more disciplined with gap integrity and not running themselves out of plays. Jeff Ulbrich also needs to consider using Devine Deablo as a QB spy more often.
Offensive core looks like the promised future
Michael Penix Jr. bounced back and played a nearly flawless game outside of one aggressive interception. Drake London finally broke out of his slump and made big-time plays for the offense. Bijan Robinson is one of two players in the last decade with 250 rushing yards & 250 receiving yards in his team’s first four games, and the first with 300 rushing yards & 250 receiving yards in his team’s first four games since 2011.
Kyle Pitts has arguably been the most consistent and reliable receiver to start the season. Everybody ate on offense today, and that is the formula that will lead to more wins. Penix shouldn’t have the world on his shoulders, and it can’t all be on Bijan’s either. The Falcons have been striving for complementary football, and today they achieved it.
The rollercoaster
Last week the season was over, but this week it’s been saved. Big picture, this is still a roster that’s growing and developing, and remaining level-headed will save you from fanatic-induced whiplash. If we’ve learned anything about this team, it’s that there will be ups and downs. Consistency is what they need to work on the most. Scoring 34 a week after being kept off the scoreboard speaks to this team’s volatility. It’s unlikely that this issue will resolve itself over the bye week.
Still, the team can build on this performance and mitigate their volatile nature by continuing to focus on the details of execution, as they did today. Zac Robinson needs to dive in after getting his feet wet with play-action in the red zone. This offense played well today, but an interception and botched opening drive indicate they haven’t peaked.
The Falcons desperately needed this win after the week they’ve had. The offense was revived, and the defense continues to get the quarterback on the ground. The bye week provides the team with an opportunity to get healthy before a challenging two-game primetime stretch against the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers.
Category: General Sports
