When Jalon Walker went down for the season with a knee injury at training camp, the media almost completely wrote off the Atlanta Falcons' season as a failure before it even began. How could they be expected to compete without their top two edge rushers and a series of question marks at quarterback?
Through four weeks we have an answer to both - Michael Penix Jr. providing the second by performing far better than anyone had a right to expect based on what we'd seen from him so far in his career.
The first question is tougher to answer, but the Falcons are getting great results from a cast of supporting role players - including Cameron Thomas, Samson Ebukam, Yasir Abdullah and recent additions like Za'Darius Smith and Gervon Dexter. Together, they've
managed to compile more pressures than any other team in the NFL despite blitzing at a very low rate.
How are they getting it done? Jonathon Jones at The Athletic has the details.
"'It’s an attack front,” one Falcons source told me. “Get big people who can move...' With the variation of sizes and skill sets, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been able to “deploy different variations of his scheme.” The overarching idea is that the team wants big guys to affect the quarterback in a division where they face Bryce Young and Baker Mayfield a quarter of the season."
The numbers that Jones included are nuts. The Falcons already have 88 pressures, a 47.3% pressure rate and opposing quarterbacks are getting rid of the ball in just 2.78 seconds - the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
The mixing of looks was on display best in the team's Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Cooper Rush imploded their chances at a win, Atlanta's defense did a marvelous job of pressuring, confusing and frustrating Aaron Rodgers, one of the smartest quarterbacks to ever play the game.
Players have to execute the scheme, but defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich should be an early favorite for Assistant Coach of the Year for how he has his short-handed defense playing.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL insider breaks down resurgent Falcons pass rush
