FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Say this for the Atlanta Falcons, they are trying everything.
The Falcons benched their prize offseason defensive acquisition, outside linebacker Matthew Judon, on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints in favor of Arnold Ebiketie. They have given special teams stalwart DeAngelo Malone more snaps at outside linebacker in the last two games than he had in the previous 25 games combined. They even tried giving an outside linebacker wearing a No. 92 jersey — Khalid Kareem, a practice squad elevation who played nine snaps against the Saints — his first game action since Week 8 last year in Chicago.
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“When you look at the big picture, you see we’re pressuring (the quarterback), we’re getting the ball out, we’re making him force throws, but if you’re not getting the production, nobody gives a damn, honestly,” Judon said.
The Falcons (6-4) definitely aren’t getting the production. They are last in the league in sacks (nine) and sack percentage (2.5) and 31st in pressure percentage (27.4), according to TruMedia. Their sack rate is the second lowest of any team since at least 2000, ahead of only the 2008 Chiefs, who finished 2-14.
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This is not a new problem in Atlanta, where the team is perennially at the bottom of the NFL’s sack statistics. Judon was supposed to be part of the fix. He had 32 sacks in his 38 games before joining the Falcons. He has 1 1/2 this season and is on pace for the fewest of his nine-year career. In the last two games, he has had two tackles and one quarterback pressure.
“I’m trying to do what I do within the defense,” Judon said. “You play the call that has been played. They brought me here to do a job, and I have to be within the defense. If I come here and try to do what I did with the Ravens and the Patriots and not play within the scheme of the defense, that’s not being one of 11.”
Judon has fewer pure pass-rush snaps in the Falcons’ scheme than he did when playing in Baltimore and New England, he said, but he did not dispute that his production needs to increase.
“On third-and-long and when you’re trying to close out games, it’s just, ‘Go get the quarterback,’” he said. “I just have to do that at a better clip.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris praised Judon’s play against the run and said the decision to start Arnold Ebiketie in his place against the Saints was an attempt to “get our pass rush going, which we were not able to get going fast enough.”
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Atlanta had no sacks and only one quarterback hit against New Orleans, but Morris said the game wasn’t “a step back” and instead credited the Saints’ offensive system for making it difficult to pressure the quarterback.
“Obviously, when you play a Kyle Shanahan type of system that New Orleans has adapted, it’s always going to be a different game,” Morris said. “You’re talking about being ready for those guys to run the ball in some second-and-long situations. They’re not going to let you just rush the passer on some of the normal (down and distances).”
Ebiketie is second among Falcons defenders with more than 10 pass-rush snaps in pressure rate (10.87 percent), according to TruMedia. He had a career-high six against the Cowboys in Week 9 but only one against the Saints.
“Sometimes I joke with myself that I feel like I’m cursed,” said Ebiketie, the No. 38 pick in the 2022 draft. “I definitely have left a lot of those on the table, especially this year. That finish, that last part, that’s something we don’t get to rep at practice because you don’t get to bring the quarterback down, just emphasizing that finish and bringing that quarterback down. It sounds easier than it is to do, but as I continue to evolve as a player, that’s something I’m continuing to work on.”
Atlanta’s unwillingness to use a first-round pick in the 2024 draft on a defensive player looms larger each week it struggles to generate a pass rush. The Falcons selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick and took outside linebacker Bralen Trice in the third round. Trice was lost in the preseason to a knee injury, which prompted the trade for Judon.
Jared Verse, who was selected 19th by the Rams, has been the best of the rookie pass rushers with 4 1/2 sacks. The other three first-rounders — Laiatu Latu (Colts, 15th), Dallas Turner (Vikings, 17th) and Chop Robinson (Dolphins, 21st) — have two or fewer sacks.
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Only one Falcon has more than two sacks this season — veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who has 2 1/2. Improving the overall pass rush is dependent on many factors, Jarrett said, including better execution and quicker recognition of run and pass plays.
“But the key factor is not giving up,” Jarrett said. “You can’t get discouraged, you just have to keep hunting.”
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Judon’s 1 1/2 sacks rank second on the team. Inside linebacker Kaden Elliss (the team leader in pressure rate at 29 percent), outside linebacker James Smith-Williams, cornerback Dee Alford, defensive tackle David Onyemata and Ebiketie each have one.
Smith-Williams and defensive tackle TaQuon Graham suffered significant injuries against the Saints, which will necessitate some shuffling of the Falcons’ front seven rotation. Specifically, it could mean that fourth-round rookie Brandon Dorlus makes his NFL debut this week against Denver. Dorlus, a defensive tackle, had 12 career sacks at Oregon.
“It sucks that TQ went down, but you have to have the next-man-up mentality,” Dorlus said. “If it’s me, I’ll be ready to go. I’m for sure antsy. I can’t wait to play football. If it’s me, I’m going to go out and give my all.”
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Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who missed the last four games because of a concussion, could also return against the Broncos. Carter was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday.
Denver is fifth in the NFL with only 17 sacks allowed this season. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s average time to throw (3.13 seconds) ranks 29th among quarterbacks with more than 100 pass attempts, but the Falcons’ average time to sack, which is the third-worst in the league, is 5.05 seconds, which gives Nix plenty of cushion to get rid of the ball.
Despite the Falcons’ struggles, they have to avoid pressing to get sacks so much that they lose sight of their individual assignments, Judon said.
“Sometimes you can just say F it and just go rogue and you don’t want to just go rogue,” he said. “We have been close in every game besides the Seahawks game. I’m telling the defense, we can be the deciding factor. When we step up and play the right way, it’ll be a two- or three-score win, but if we don’t and we keep lagging, we’ll be in closer games. At some point in time, it’s on us. We’ve got to choose.”
(Top photo of Matthew Judon: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
