Post by Guvmintcheeze on Oct 6, 2015 20:38:31 GMT
Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman not enough to push Falcons into top 5
The Atlanta Falcons come in at No. 6 for the second consecutive week in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings, an impressive turnaround for a team that was ranked 20th or worse in the eyes of ESPN’s Power Panel in 16 of 19 rankings last season.
It’s the first time the Falcons have been ranked in the top 6 in back-to-back weeks since Weeks 2 and 3 in the 2013 season.
But what do the Falcons need to do to crack the top 5 in the eyes of ESPN's Power Panel?
Their offense is more balanced than it has ever been with Matt Ryan at quarterback, but the defense is still holding them back from being in that top tier.
Balanced offense
Those 2013 Falcons were very one-dimensional. They were coming off a 2012 season in which they averaged 87 yards rushing per game, despite a 13-3 record, with an average of 3.7 yards per rush (29th in the NFL). They started the 2013 season with 62 yards per game on the ground in their first two games.
This year’s team finally has some balance thanks to Devonta Freeman.
Freeman leads the Falcons with 252 yards rushing this season, with more than 200 of those yards being gained in the past two weeks alone.
To put that in perspective, the 2013 Falcons didn’t have a rusher get to 252 yards on the season until Jacquizz Rodgers did it in Week 11.
Freeman’s 141 yards in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys was the first 140-yard rushing performance by a Falcons back since Michael Turner in 2011. Steven Jackson’s best game in two seasons in Atlanta was 101 yards late in the 2014 season.
And rushing is only part of Freeman’s game.
Among running backs this season, Freeman ranks fifth in receptions (17) and fourth in receiving yards (196). Freeman’s two receptions on passes 15 yards or more downfield in Week 4 tied the most by a running back on throws that distance in a game going back 10 seasons.
Ryan has never played alongside a running back with as versatile a skill set as Freeman’s.
Julio being Julio
One thing that has not changed since early 2013 is wide receiver Julio Jones.
Through four games in 2013, Jones had 33 receptions, 481 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Through four games in 2015, Jones has 38 receptions, 478 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Jones’ 38 receptions are the most through a team’s first four games in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. If Jones keeps his current pace, he will finish the season with 152 receptions, 1,912 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
Defense still a problem?
New Falcons coach Dan Quinn was brought in after two seasons as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator. The Falcons’ biggest issue over the past two seasons has been defense, and statistically, that unit has not improved as a whole so far with Quinn at the helm in 2015.
The Falcons gave up 391 yards per game through Week 4, 28th in the NFL, even though their opponents have averaged 25:43 in time of possession per game, which is second lowest in the NFL.
Quinn’s Seahawks did not blitz very often from 2013 to 2014, but they didn’t have to. They blitzed on 27 percent of opponent dropbacks, which was eighth lowest in the NFL during that span. They pressured quarterbacks on 30 percent of dropbacks during that time, the highest rate in the NFL.
This season is a different story, with a Falcons defense that is still early in the rebuilding process.
Atlanta has sent five or more pass-rushers on 15 percent of opponent dropbacks through four games, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. No one has pressured opposing quarterbacks less frequently than the Falcons so far this season (13 percent of opponent dropbacks).
The Atlanta Falcons come in at No. 6 for the second consecutive week in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings, an impressive turnaround for a team that was ranked 20th or worse in the eyes of ESPN’s Power Panel in 16 of 19 rankings last season.
It’s the first time the Falcons have been ranked in the top 6 in back-to-back weeks since Weeks 2 and 3 in the 2013 season.
But what do the Falcons need to do to crack the top 5 in the eyes of ESPN's Power Panel?
Their offense is more balanced than it has ever been with Matt Ryan at quarterback, but the defense is still holding them back from being in that top tier.
Balanced offense
Those 2013 Falcons were very one-dimensional. They were coming off a 2012 season in which they averaged 87 yards rushing per game, despite a 13-3 record, with an average of 3.7 yards per rush (29th in the NFL). They started the 2013 season with 62 yards per game on the ground in their first two games.
This year’s team finally has some balance thanks to Devonta Freeman.
Freeman leads the Falcons with 252 yards rushing this season, with more than 200 of those yards being gained in the past two weeks alone.
To put that in perspective, the 2013 Falcons didn’t have a rusher get to 252 yards on the season until Jacquizz Rodgers did it in Week 11.
Freeman’s 141 yards in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys was the first 140-yard rushing performance by a Falcons back since Michael Turner in 2011. Steven Jackson’s best game in two seasons in Atlanta was 101 yards late in the 2014 season.
And rushing is only part of Freeman’s game.
Among running backs this season, Freeman ranks fifth in receptions (17) and fourth in receiving yards (196). Freeman’s two receptions on passes 15 yards or more downfield in Week 4 tied the most by a running back on throws that distance in a game going back 10 seasons.
Ryan has never played alongside a running back with as versatile a skill set as Freeman’s.
Julio being Julio
One thing that has not changed since early 2013 is wide receiver Julio Jones.
Through four games in 2013, Jones had 33 receptions, 481 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Through four games in 2015, Jones has 38 receptions, 478 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Jones’ 38 receptions are the most through a team’s first four games in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. If Jones keeps his current pace, he will finish the season with 152 receptions, 1,912 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
Defense still a problem?
New Falcons coach Dan Quinn was brought in after two seasons as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator. The Falcons’ biggest issue over the past two seasons has been defense, and statistically, that unit has not improved as a whole so far with Quinn at the helm in 2015.
The Falcons gave up 391 yards per game through Week 4, 28th in the NFL, even though their opponents have averaged 25:43 in time of possession per game, which is second lowest in the NFL.
Quinn’s Seahawks did not blitz very often from 2013 to 2014, but they didn’t have to. They blitzed on 27 percent of opponent dropbacks, which was eighth lowest in the NFL during that span. They pressured quarterbacks on 30 percent of dropbacks during that time, the highest rate in the NFL.
This season is a different story, with a Falcons defense that is still early in the rebuilding process.
Atlanta has sent five or more pass-rushers on 15 percent of opponent dropbacks through four games, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. No one has pressured opposing quarterbacks less frequently than the Falcons so far this season (13 percent of opponent dropbacks).