All of the pieces needed to finally leave Atlanta’s fingerprints on the Lombardi trophy will be in the Falcons’ locker room heading into 2013. Whether these pieces can be properly assembled into a team will ultimately determine if the outcome of 2013 is a Super Bowl or a losing record, as Vince Young and his Philadelphia Eagles “Dream Team” discovered in 2011. The Falcons seem to have something special, though, with a core group of guys that have combined their level of talent with team-oriented qualities to mold of a Super Bowl-ready team.
With all due respect to 2008, this is Thomas Dimitroff’s most important draft to date. Dimitroff has to find at least two reliable defensive starters with an NFL-ready skill set that will have what it takes to sustain the punishing season. The defense already has a few solid starters, especially with its two Pro Bowl safeties in William Moore and Thomas DeCoud. This duo is the perfect safety net to any defense and having playmakers at safety helps Asante Samuel and Robert McClain in the cornerback position. Free agent cornerback Brent Grimes would jump back into the starting lineup if the Falcons can re-sign him, and this trio would allow defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to run his nickel packages that sparked big plays in 2012.
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Communication on defense was a weakness last season. When teams made halftime adjustments, the unit struggled at times to regain its grip on the game. Sean Weatherspoon will be the anchor of the defense next season, as he assumes the top leadership role. John Abraham has been the face of the defense for years, but with Abe’s departure, Weatherspoon is a considerably more vocal and energetic face of the defense. His vocal personality could be the winning ingredient that Atlanta has been missing. Communicating effectively between the linebackers and defensive line is half the battle when facing a team that can run the option. Any uncertainty or confusion between the positions results in a positive and potentially game-changing play for the opponent.
The most concerning area last season was with the defensive line. With Abraham out of the equation, the line will have to be gathered in the draft and completely manufactured this offseason. Nolan’s 4-3 defense got worked by the read option last season and switching to a 3-4 could allow the Falcons to have a more protective first line of defense with four middlemen containing the outside.
FINDING JULIO
On offense, there is just some minor work to be done. It is very possible that we will be watching the best offense in Falcons history take the field in 2013. Matt Ryan is the leader, but in the huddle, he will need more vocal assertiveness from his teammates to reach the offense’s full potential. If you are the best offense in the league, attack defenses like you are the best offense in the league. It is okay to have guys who want and demand the football in the huddle. In the first half of the NFC Championship, Julio Jones was unstoppable. San Francisco made some defensive adjustments after a record-setting first half, but Jones had seen an array of coverages already and had the 49ers on the their heels. Physically, there was no one that could match up with Jones and perhaps the greatest comeback in NFC championship history could have been avoided if the Falcons had given Jones more targets. Jones was targeted 13 times and caught 11 of those passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns on the game.
Tony Gonzalez caught all eight of the eight targets that Ryan fired his way for 78 yards and a touchdown in the same game. With that type of efficiency, the offense should have kept the pace up and fed the guys who were winning their matchups over and over again until the 49ers could not take it anymore.
In the no-huddle offense, you convert your third and short, and when the defense still has its run-stopping package in, you race up to the line before the opposition has the chance to substitute a guy and find Gonzalez, Jones or any other target for the mismatch with an easy throw-and-catch. Then if it is third and long and the defense has its passing personnel in and you convert, run up to the line before they can get their big linemen back in and hit them up the middle with a run or take advantage of their personnel. These elite defenses, especially the 49ers, are too good if you let them continuously change personnel and get their best pieces on the field each play. A no-huddle attack with Steven Jackson and this year’s Falcons offense would be unstoppable. The onus will be on Ryan and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to perfect it this offseason.
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