What’s been odd to me is that there have been games where the D looked fantastic. In each of those games, the common denominator was the pass rush… we had the opposing QB scrambling the entire game. Then in the next game, the QB has 7 or 8 seconds in the pocket and just tears our secondary apart.

I don’t know enough about defense to really say why it works one game and not another, but is it because we aren’t blitzing enough? And is that because we are afraid our secondary can’t handle throwing that many people at the line?

One suggestion I would make is to stop making it so glaringly obvious what we’re doing on defense. We seem to have no deception to what we are doing… when we do blitz, everyone in the stadium knows it and we give the QB plenty of time to adjust and complete a short pass to a wide open tight end or receiver. Our D is so easy to read. My friend and I were watching the NY game and laughing at how bad it got… we would call out exactly what was about to happen, and we were right almost every time, as was the Giants offense in adjusting to it.

Earlier in the year, roughly through the Chicago game, the Falcons defense was a swarming, gang-tackling, punishing defense that caused turnovers and put pressure on the offense. The past few games, though, that defense has largely disappeared, and it was nowhere to be seen against the Giants.

For some reason our defense has lost that intensity, and I can only surmise it’s due to coaching, as there’s no reason even with injuries the players on the field can’t play with more focus.

line up more CBs on the field on most downs. Not all of these backs need to play in coverage, but the appearance would still mean something to the defense. We have plenty of speedy CBs who could blitz on running downs or just to create pressure on the QB.

I think the issue with our defense is multi-faceted. There is some talent, and at times, that talent stands out and the defense as a whole looks good to great. Unfortunately, the majority of that talent (DeCoud, Nicholas, Peria Jerry, Lofton, Houston) is very young. Young players struggle with consistency, this coupled with injury, creates a need to be able to rely on talented veterans, of which there are few.

Some of you mentioned that at times the D has seemed to “get it”, with most of these games coming early in the year; its no coincidence that Jerry was playing well to start the season, he was pushing the center of the line, and caving in the pocket, forcing quarterbacks to roll to a side, and the rush was good enough to then force bad throws. The loss of Jerry left us without a defensive tackle with such abilities; this is meant to take nothing away from Babs, I think he has played extremely well this year.

The previously mentioned youth movement, coupled with what lately seems to be lackluster play calling (and there is a big difference between coaching and play-calling, I think that our team has played fundamentally sound football, but the plays that have been called have been somewhat questionable) has seriously cost the defense. Its not surprising to see a team that decided go with a youth movement on defense struggle for a few years; the falcons have been blessed with Curtis Lofton, and he’s a player that can be built around. The fact that our blitzs have seemed telegraphed lately also suggests that either Lofton or Coleman needs to step up and get the guys lined up better, and to not be afraid to change plays when the offense seems to know exactly what is coming.

I’ve spouted the same belief here since I signed up sometime shortly after this sites creation; games in the NFL are won by the linemen (unless you have Peyton Manning). The best we can roll out on the D-line right now doesn’t cut it game in and game out. Perhaps the players along the line will improve in a similar manner to Babineaux, and turn into very good starters, but I will say the following until I am blue in the face: If this team is serious about contending, they MUST, MUST, ADD AT LEAST TWO PROVEN PASS RUSHERS. Anything less would be a nice gesture, but will probably not produce the desired effects. Once we have a consistent pass rush, the extremely young secondary will look leaps and bounds better, although adding another corner probably wouldnt hurt (think someone with a bit more size…)

I think it’s time for Falcons to rebuild. They remind me of the 06 Saints team. Had that great first year , went all the way to the game before the SB and then lost. Then they had to go and get more players in and start over. The next 2 years they were around 8-8 but real close and losing about 4-6 games a yr by less then 3 pts each. Other words , after 2006 they rebuilded and stayed close to playoffs , but not in them. Now , the Saints are seeing the little light at the end of the tunnel. We had new coach , so do you , we have Brees and you have Ryan , we have Bush and you have Turner. If you look , seems like teams are close , after hiring new Coaches and what happens after that first year of starting. I think the Falcons need to start twinking some here and there for the next year or two and they will be right there.

Most people here aren’t answering the question — they’re either saying what’s wrong with the D, or saying what we can do next year. Your question was, “What can we do RIGHT NOW?”

Of course there’s no easy fix, but there does seem a logical choice that was hinted at in an earlier comment. Teams have obviously fixed us as a D that can be passed on all day. They watched film and made an adjustment, and now we have to adjust to that.

What we have to do is push them into running every play. The way you do that is to put more people in coverage.

Have linebackers dropping back on most plays to cover short. Put an extra d-back in there. Have the DE rushing upfield every play, not looking to stop the run. I don’t know all the specific things they can do, but the overall strategy is to overcompensate and force teams to start running the ball again.

It may backfire and then they start running all over us, but hey, at least they aren’t having record passing days against us!