Current Atlanta Falcons Starting Defense

By Brian Cox on Friday, May 2nd 2014
Current Atlanta Falcons Starting Defense

In the 2013 season the Atlanta Falcons were tied for fifth worst in the NFL in total defense and allowed the sixth most points per game. To say the least, their defense was pretty bad. Their pass defense was slightly above average but their rushing defense was second worst in the league. They’ve made some good additions and some good subtractions as well. The most important thing, however, is they switched from a 4-3 defensive front to a 3-4.
 

Starting Defense
Left Defensive End Tyson Jackson
Nose Tackle Paul Soliai
Right Defensive End Jonathan Babineaux
Strong Outside Linebacker Kroy Biermann
Strong Inside Linebacker Paul Worrilow
Weak Inside Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon
Weak Outside Linebacker Jonathan Massaquoi
Cornerback Robert Alford
Strong Safety William Moore
Free Safety Dwight Lowery
Cornerback Desmond Trufant
Nickel Cornerback Josh Wilson


New Starter: Tyson Jackson

Jackson was signed as a free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason and will certainly help their run defense. Although he’s stout against the run, he won’t add much to their pass rush (which is a big need for them considering they only had 32 total sacks as a team last season).

 

Area of Improvement

The biggest and most obvious are of improvement for this defense is their run defense. With the change in schemes, they’ll need to start drafting guys for their front seven that fit in a 3-4 scheme. They brought in a true nose tackle already and a very solid defensive tackle. They will most likely target linebackers that fit their scheme better than the ones they currently have on the roster. Inside linebacker Paul Worrilow is someone they’ll look to either replace or at least draft someone who can push him in training camp. The outside linebacker they might be looking to do the same thing with is Kroy Biermann.

 

Potential Breakout Star: Jonathan Massaquoi

Massaquoi played as a defensive end last season and did very well in only his second season. Although he did well at defensive end, I fully expect him to show even more improvement this season playing outside linebacker in a 3-4. His athleticism will be better utilized at this position and he has great pursuit, something very valuable as a 3-4 outside linebacker.

 

On His Way Out: Jonathan Babineaux

Babineaux is getting up there in age and he is also small for the position, especially in a 3-4 scheme. His biggest strength is his quickness but will most likely be asked to play more of a 2-gap technique this year. On top of all this, he led all defensive tackles in the league last year in missed tackles with 12. That just can not happen. I expect the Falcons to draft a defensive tackle and Babineaux to have a more rotational role to help develop the rookie. After this season I expect he retires or Atlanta cuts him.

Stay In Touch

Scores

No NFL games.
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy