Five things we learned from the Falcons’ defensive coaches today

[birdz4i]

FLOWERY BRANCH  — 

During a break in the OTAs, the Falcons’ Defensive coaches were available to the media on Wednesday.

 

Here are five things we learned during the interview session:

1. In game logistics: Senior assistant coach Bob Sutton, who’ll help with in-game decision-making, and head coach Dan Quinn have not decided if he’ll be upstairs in the booth are on the sidelines. “We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Sutton said. “We are really just setting the parameters. Where ever he’d like me to be. Where ever he’s most comfortable.”

 

2. The return of Trufant: Defensive passing game coordinator Jerome Henderson believes that left cornerback Desmond Trufant is having a strong offseason. “He’s in a great place, physically and mentally,” Henderson said. “He’s been locked in in camp. He’s competed hard. I expect him to have a really good season. I expect him to be the player we all know that he is.”

 

3. Oliver update: The Falcons are counting on Isaiah Oliver to take over for the departed Robert Alford. He’s been working on the right and left side. “He’s going to be a solid pro,” Henderson said. “The sky is the limit. How high he can go?”

 

4. Senat getting action: The Falcons are hoping second-year defensive tackle Deadrin Senat can make a big leap in his second season. 

“He’s a good ascending player,” defensive line coach Jess Simpson said. “He’s been in here every day doing extra. The guy really wants to get better. He’s really put the work in.”

 

5. DeVondre “The Eliminator” Campbell: Falcons linebacker coach Jeff Ulbrich went on a freestyle rant when asked how DeVondre Campbell was doing. 

“He does the dirty work,” Ulbrich said. “He does the stuff that nobody talks about. He eliminates tight ends from games, but nobody wants to talk about that.

“We put him on Zach Ertz by himself for an entire game against Philly. The same year that Zach Ertz sets the tight end record for receptions and Zach does not catch a ball on him. He broke two balls up. He just eliminates guys from games.

“He does that extremely well. Solid run defender. The next part of his game to evolve is his anticipation. With the anticipation comes the special plays that I think he’s capable of.”

 

 

https://www.ajc.com/sports/football/five-things-learned-from-the-falcons-defensive-coaches-today/b4t29FzE3vwNA3v1G1AdkJ/

[TheFatboi]

I was just telling somebody about Campbell in another thread after a few said he wasn’t good. I had to explain he does the dirty work. He doesn’t get glory since moving to SLB. I said almost the exact same thing ulbrich said. Maybe now what I said will be recieved differently now that a coach said it. In other words Campbell does HIS job. Last year was terrible for the defense as a whole but he was one of the guys that did his job well. It doesn’t look good because it’s a dirty work job and when the players next to him aren’t doing their jobs right it makes him seem bad. This is where PFF gets it wrong. They’re never right on the dirty work players unless they get sacks or picks. The game is more than just splash plays and highlight reels. Some players do the dirty work for other players to be stars.  

[Lethal]

5 minutes ago, TheFatboi said:

I was just telling somebody about Campbell in another thread after a few said he wasn’t good. I had to explain he does the dirty work. He doesn’t get glory since moving to SLB. I said almost the exact same thing ulbrich said. Maybe now what I said will be recieved differently now that a coach said it. In other words Campbell does HIS job. Last year was terrible for the defense as a whole but he was one of the guys that did his job well. It doesn’t look good because it’s a dirty work job and when the players next to him aren’t doing their jobs right it makes him seem bad. This is where PFF gets it wrong. They’re never right on the dirty work players unless they get sacks or picks. The game is more than just splash plays and highlight reels. Some players do the dirty work for other players to be stars.  

Facts.  It's like a good olinemen.  When you aren't calling their name, they are doing their jobs and that's a great thing.  DC does his job and does it well and I'm excited to see the corps of DC/Debo/Foye this season.  Sanu is in a similar boat with fans I think.  People don't see eye popping stats so they assume he sucks.  Sanu is a huge part of the offense and the reason it works.  Same with DC (on defense).

[TheFatboi]

52 minutes ago, athell said:

Facts.  It's like a good olinemen.  When you aren't calling their name, they are doing their jobs and that's a great thing.  DC does his job and does it well and I'm excited to see the corps of DC/Debo/Foye this season.  Sanu is in a similar boat with fans I think.  People don't see eye popping stats so they assume he sucks.  Sanu is a huge part of the offense and the reason it works.  Same with DC (on defense).

Exactly. The average fan thinks the only thing that makes a player good is killing the stats line it every block is a pancake block or every tackle is a hard bullseye tackle or getting a pick every ball that’s thrown or only breaking 10 plus yard runs on every play AFTER that pancake block lol. That ain’t the game. It’s 11 moving pieces that each have a specific job to do. 

[Lethal]

3 minutes ago, TheFatboi said:

Exactly. The average fan thinks the only thing that makes a player good is killing the stats line it every block is a pancake block or every tackle is a hard bullseye tackle or getting a pick every ball that’s thrown or only breaking 10 plus yard runs on every play AFTER that pancake block lol. That ain’t the game. It’s 11 moving pieces that each have a specific job to do. 

Honestly, it's because the average fan didn't play the sport at any kind of level and only sees the play where the ball is on television.  That coupled with fantasy football (there is a post in the Nuk vs Julio thread where someone called Nuk garbage in 2016 because he killed his fantasy team...) and most really are just box score chasers with no fundamental understanding of the intricacies of the game.

[Xero]

7 minutes ago, athell said:

Honestly, it's because the average fan didn't play the sport at any kind of level and only sees the play where the ball is on television.  That coupled with fantasy football (there is a post in the Nuk vs Julio thread where someone called Nuk garbage in 2016 because he killed his fantasy team...) and most really are just box score chasers with no fundamental understanding of the intricacies of the game.

Bullseye!! Yup you hit it

[TheFatboi]

5 minutes ago, athell said:

Honestly, it's because the average fan didn't play the sport at any kind of level and only sees the play where the ball is on television.  That coupled with fantasy football (there is a post in the Nuk vs Julio thread where someone called Nuk garbage in 2016 because he killed his fantasy team...) and most really are just box score chasers with no fundamental understanding of the intricacies of the game.

I think fantasy has killed the game from a fan perspective. I like reality football. And I’ve played fantasy from time to time but usually for money. Fan duel. Lol. A lot of fans think Julio sucks because he’s not a fantasy darling. That’s the falcons offense as a whole. Really the only guy you can count on is Matt in fantasy because he dishes out the points usually. Free was a good fantasy falcon but Julio is on and off. Heck I’ve started Matt and paired him with sanu and sanu went off and helped me win money. lol. 

[FalconsIn2012]

1 hour ago, TheFatboi said:

I was just telling somebody about Campbell in another thread after a few said he wasn’t good. I had to explain he does the dirty work. He doesn’t get glory since moving to SLB. I said almost the exact same thing ulbrich said. Maybe now what I said will be recieved differently now that a coach said it. In other words Campbell does HIS job. Last year was terrible for the defense as a whole but he was one of the guys that did his job well. It doesn’t look good because it’s a dirty work job and when the players next to him aren’t doing their jobs right it makes him seem bad. This is where PFF gets it wrong. They’re never right on the dirty work players unless they get sacks or picks. The game is more than just splash plays and highlight reels. Some players do the dirty work for other players to be stars.  

That was me..lol.  I like Dre, just thought he wasn’t up to his standard last year.  

[Lethal]

1 minute ago, TheFatboi said:

I think fantasy has killed the game from a fan perspective. I like reality football. And I’ve played fantasy from time to time but usually for money. Fan duel. Lol. A lot of fans think Julio sucks because he’s not a fantasy darling. That’s the falcons offense as a whole. Really the only guy you can count on is Matt in fantasy because he dishes out the points usually. Free was a good fantasy falcon but Julio is on and off. Heck I’ve started Matt and paired him with sanu and sanu went off and helped me win money. lol. 

Don't get me wrong, I have played ffl since like 2000.  I enjoy it.  It broadens my scope of players by forcing me to play closer attention.  There is value, but when all you look at is stat lines...you aren't going nearly deep enough.  That's the surface.

3 minutes ago, Xero said:

Bullseye!! Yup you hit it

Respect!

[FalconsIn2012]

13 minutes ago, athell said:

Honestly, it's because the average fan didn't play the sport at any kind of level and only sees the play where the ball is on television.  That coupled with fantasy football (there is a post in the Nuk vs Julio thread where someone called Nuk garbage in 2016 because he killed his fantasy team...) and most really are just box score chasers with no fundamental understanding of the intricacies of the game.

Hey, I resemble that remark

Dre had 93 tackles so his box score was fine.  Just wasn’t very good last year IMO

[Ergo Proxy]

On the Campbell topic, that’s pretty much it.

 If he starts trusting his instincts more then he could take a big step. Right now, he is valuable with length in coverage and in the system. Good player.

I think having to cover so much with Debo out last year; like taking the control of the communication lead, had him doing too much. Plus, he didn’t benefit from Rico holding it down and doing the dirty work at the 3rd level behind him!

He wasn’t gonna be the guy to make a ton of plays on his own while not having the best instincts and being asked to babysit. So, yeah his numbers aren’t great. I feel like Campbell could be so much more at the same time but needs to be freed for high level play doing the job he can do. Hopefully Foye is mostly up to speed and the unit around him let’s him not worry about covering up so much and he can play loose.

[TheFatboi]

3 minutes ago, athell said:

Don't get me wrong, I have played ffl since like 2000.  I enjoy it.  It broadens my scope of players by forcing me to play closer attention.  There is value, but when all you look at is stat lines...you aren't going nearly deep enough.  That's the surface.

Respect!

Right. I like fantasy too. I just play it for money but I never lose reality football either. I also learn about other players that show up in fantasy too. Usually the lesser known players. 

[Lethal]

3 minutes ago, Falconsin2012 said:

Hey, I resemble that remark

Dre had 93 tackles so his box score was fine.  Just wasn’t very good last year IMO

And this is why just looking at stats are misleading.

Why do you think he wasn't very good last year?  Was he...perhaps...missing anyone of import around him?

[TheFatboi]

7 minutes ago, Falconsin2012 said:

That was me..lol.  I like Dre, just thought he wasn’t up to his standard last year.  

Nah I wasn’t just you. I remember our convo. It was a few folks that felt he didn’t play well last year. I agree he wasn’t up to standard but I think that was by default because the entire defense wasn’t up to standard. Hopefully we see a bounce back from him and the entire defense this season. 

[FalconsIn2012]

4 minutes ago, athell said:

And this is why just looking at stats are misleading.

Why do you think he wasn't very good last year?  Was he...perhaps...missing anyone of import around him?

Meh...I don’t love that excuse.  He wasn’t much better when Debo returned.  

Kazee was fine without Rico & Neal.  Why couldn’t Dre do the same.

Time for a mediator

@Vandy do you think Dre was good last year

[Lethal]

Just now, Falconsin2012 said:

Meh...I don’t love that excuse.  He wasn’t much better when Debo returned.  

Kazee was fine without Rico & Neal.  Why couldn’t Dre do the same

It's not an excuse, it's reality.  And Kazee may have lit up the news with flashy picks, but he made plenty of mistakes.  He was caught out of position on several occasions, some resulting in touchdowns.  He took bad angles.  Like @TheFatboi said, DC isn't going to flash, he is just going to put in the ugly work that goes unnoticed.  Especially with all the guys out around him and having to make up for the Duke's of the world.

I place more blame on Quinn than anyone else for last year.

[RING OF HONOR]

Ahhhh yeah.... Fantasy....I would really like to take 2 women and....

Oh **** ....wrong thread...

[FalconsIn2012]

1 minute ago, RING OF HONOR said:

Ahhhh yeah.... Fantasy....I would really like to take 2 women and....

Oh **** ....wrong thread...

Two women and a cup?

[RING OF HONOR]

1 minute ago, Falconsin2012 said:

Two women and a cup?

Lol

[hjerry]

5 minutes ago, Falconsin2012 said:

Two women and a cup?

One woman and a pitcher?

[duckhoa]

Campbell is a solid LB.  

He came into the league with lack of instincts.  He still has that issue.

Sure wished we had upgraded him with Devin Bush this past draft.

Who knows....he may change it around this year.  We sure could use another game changer on D.  

 

[Vandy]

On 6/6/2019 at 2:47 PM, Falconsin2012 said:

Meh...I don’t love that excuse.  He wasn’t much better when Debo returned.  

Kazee was fine without Rico & Neal.  Why couldn’t Dre do the same.

Time for a mediator

@Vandy do you think Dre was good last year

I thought he stunk it up last year. Missed tackles, missed assignments, got caught up in the trash way too many times. 

But he is a decent player when he has a defined role, and when Debo went down Campbell was asked to do too much outside his skill set. I would expect his play to improve greatly this upcoming season. 

[falcons007]

1 hour ago, TheFatboi said:

I was just telling somebody about Campbell in another thread after a few said he wasn’t good. I had to explain he does the dirty work. He doesn’t get glory since moving to SLB. I said almost the exact same thing ulbrich said. Maybe now what I said will be recieved differently now that a coach said it. In other words Campbell does HIS job. Last year was terrible for the defense as a whole but he was one of the guys that did his job well. It doesn’t look good because it’s a dirty work job and when the players next to him aren’t doing their jobs right it makes him seem bad. This is where PFF gets it wrong. They’re never right on the dirty work players unless they get sacks or picks. The game is more than just splash plays and highlight reels. Some players do the dirty work for other players to be stars.  

The biggest problem with Campbell was in red zone. Gave up few TD. But then he was thinking instead of anticipating and playing. But then he was best LB on this team last year when Debo went out.

[Ergo Proxy]

 

[TheFatboi]

21 minutes ago, Falconsin2012 said:

Meh...I don’t love that excuse.  He wasn’t much better when Debo returned.  

Kazee was fine without Rico & Neal.  Why couldn’t Dre do the same.

Time for a mediator

@Vandy do you think Dre was good last year

Kazee wasn’t fine tho because Tru and Alf suffered. His stats line was fine but he isn’t the qb back there that Allen is. He left his corners out to dry a good bit. He was looked off fairly easily by the better qb’s he faced. And he didn’t notice things that Allen would’ve and communicated it to the defense. So in the grand scheme of things he was not fine. His stats just looked good.

 

That is not an excuse. I can’t say this any better. An offense or defense is like a car engine. It’s 11 moving parts that all have a specific job to do. When one part fails it puts pressure on another part, then another part, and if it’s not fives eventually the whole engine fails. From what I saw Campbell played well. 93 tackles isn’t anything to sneeze at and what THAT tells me is he was tackling more than he usually would from the SLB position and that’s probably because he was doing a bit more than his job trying to cover for another guys job on occasion.

 

There’s facts to missing certain players. Imagine what the line would’ve been if Mack went down last year? Yea who you’re playing next to makes a difference because when everybody knows their job you don’t have to try and help them do it.