Getty Dean Pees has made the Falcons' defense unique in the NFL.
The Atlanta Falcons would never have been mistaken for the 1985 Chicago Bears last season. Performances were about as removed from the NFL’s most famous defense as possible.
Dean Pees took the reins as coordinator in Atlanta in 2021, but a lack of blue-chip talent, especially along the front seven, hamstrung the creative play-caller. Pees’ unit ranked 29th in points allowed and 26th in yards surrendered.
Yet for all the issues, Pees did manage to make the Falcons’ defense unique in one surprising area. In fact, the Falcons utilized one unusual ploy at a “top-five rate.”
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Falcons Keeping QBs and WRs Guessing
In a list of the “most unique” defensive schemes teams use, Eric Eager of Pro Football Focus based his analysis on the following factors: “box counts used, number of even and odd fronts used, coverages used, blitz and stunt rates (on neutral downs), and many other things.”
Eager also split the teams listed into a pair of distinct schematic schools:
The Vic Fangio defenses really are a thing, with Raheem Morris/Brandon Staley’s Rams and Staley’s Chargers out-Fangioing Fangio. Additionally, you have Joe Barry’s Packers and Browns creeping into that territory. Fangio defenses tend to use low box counts — the Rams used fewer than six men in the box on average in neutral situations, with Green Bay and Denver the next two lightest. His defenses are also known for low rates of not playing the same coverage.
The Gus Bradley-ish tree to the left-hand side of the graph, featuring a group of teams that use a lot of even fronts and odd coverages, does emerge. It’s interesting that without Stephon Gilmore in 2021, the Patriots trended more in this direction than they had in previous years.
The two notable outliers in Eager’s formula are the Falcons and their NFC South rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Eager explained why and how the Falcons go against the grain: “Atlanta actually disguised coverages at a top-five rate, but the team also ran stunts at a bottom-five rate while using a below-average rate of man coverages and blitzes.”
Pees’ penchant for disguising his defense at both ends helped produce some of the Falcons’ best defensive plays last season. One of the highlight moments was A.J. Terrell snatching this interception against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.
The Falcons fooled the Eagles by shifting from a Cover-2 look to a three-deep shell with a simple rotation by the safeties lined up in the deep middle:
Looks like the Falcons came out with two safeties high is a disguise and went to a cover 3 and AJ Terrell took the bait and allowed Ertz to come up the backside. Busted coverage, was wondering who’s fault this was
Pees has a well-earned reputation for this kind of bait and switch. He established those credentials when running defenses for the New England Patriots from 2006-09.
When the Falcons were getting ready to host the Pats last season, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels talked up the problems Pees can cause: “The thing that I think I’ve always been most impressed with Coach Pees is his ability to adapt his scheme, which is I would say multiple, to the strengths and weaknesses of his players. Some games we’ve played them they’ve been almost entirely man-to-man coverage, other games they’ve used blitz zones, some games have been more split safety coverage and less of that other stuff.”
Those problems were evident when Mykal Walker scored a 67-yard pick-six against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in Week 14. The spectacular takeaway owed a lot to the way Pees disguised a four-man rush and inserted Walker as a robber into his man-coverage setup.
Former Falcons backup quarterback D.J. Shockley broke down the play for the team’s official site:
Pees’ innovative use of personnel and X’s and O’s manufactured some big plays and helped a talent-poor defense punch above its weight at times last season. Things should be even better this year thanks to the stronger options at Pees’ disposal.
Improved Pass Rush Key to Falcons’ Defensive Leap
The Atlanta defense can take a giant stride forward in 2022 if the new edge-rushers recruited this offseason make a difference. General manager Terry Fontenot drafted Arnold Ebiketie in the second round before taking DeAngelo Malone in the third.
This rookie duo will join Lorenzo Carter, signed from the New York Giants in free agency, to boost the Falcons’ ability to generate pressure. The trio will be key to Pees continuing to keep his blitz calls to a minimum and instead rely on a four-man rush sent from multiple angles.
Rushing only four allows the Falcons to deploy seven coverage, an obvious advantage, but Pees won’t need to rely on zones to protect his primary covering defenders. Not when standout cornerback Terrell is joined by Casey Hayward on the outside.
As Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus detailed, Hayward and Terrell were among the stingiest cover men in the league a year ago:
Fewest receiving yards allowed per game last year at CB (out of 65 CB with 400+ coverage snaps):
1. A.J. Terrell: 12.5
2. Casey Hayward Jr: 22.8
Tighter coverage on the back end combined with greater athleticism up front, will let Pees indulge the full range of his unorthodox playbook. The combination can make the Falcons one of the better defenses in football this season.