FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – When Atlanta Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn looks at the stat sheet and sees one sack for the team through two games, he shakes his head.
"Nobody wants to see that, man. It's embarrassing," Clayborn said. "That's embarrassing, to be honest."
Vic Beasley Jr. is the guy credited with the one sack, and it came only as a result of Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr running out of bounds with Beasley in pursuit.
"It's hurtful," Beasley said of the team's sack production. "But we know what we're capable of. We just have to keep going. We have to keep the right mindset and stay positive."
The Falcons enter Week 3 at the bottom of the league, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with just one sack. Remember, the Falcons finished last in the league with 19 sacks a year ago. And, according to ESPN Stats and Info, the Falcons have posted two sacks or fewer in 19 consecutive games, by far the longest active streak. The next longest streak is held by the Raiders, Panthers, and Browns (five consecutive games each).
Monday night's game against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints would be the perfect time to start generating pressure, no matter how difficult it will be to get after the quick-trigger veteran quarterback. The Falcons sacked Brees just once in 81 pass attempts last season. They would love to mirror the performance from December 2014, when the Falcons sacked Brees five times and picked him off twice in a 30-14 win to eliminate the Saints from playoff contention.
For the Falcons to affect Brees, they’ll have to work in unison.
"It's coming together," said Dwight Freeney, the seven-time Pro Bowler who was signed this preseason to get sacks. "Pass rush is like chipping on a boulder -- keep hitting at it, keeping chipping at it, and one of these games or ones of these times, that boulder's going to crack. So, it's going to happen. I think we've got some stuff installed."
First and foremost, the Falcons might be able to take advantage of the Saints' injury situation. Starting left tackle Terron Armstead is out for the game with a knee injury, meaning Freeney could see Andrus Peat, Senio Kelemete or Tony Hills while rushing from the right side.
Going back to the season opener against Tampa Bay, the Falcons ran somewhat of an effective stunt with Freeney and Clayborn on the right side that allowed Freeney to come free on an inside rush, although it didn't result in a sack. Running such stunts effectively -- and quickly -- might be part of the solution against Brees, with the aspect of bringing pressure in his face and disturbing his vision. When pressure comes off the edges, the savvy Brees typically has the pocket presence to step up and make a play anyhow.
"In practice, it works well," said defensive lineman Derrick Shelby, who typically works off Beasley on the left side, of the stunts. "We just have to transfer that over to the game. Brees, he's a shorter guy, so you’ve got to have guys in his face. And once he starts to move, he's not nearly the quarterback he is sitting in the pocket. That's always the plan with Brees. You've got to get him off the spot."
Last year at the Georgia Dome, Beasley came on an inside rush against Brees in the red zone and put his hands up to deflect a pass, but Beasley was called for roughing the passer after hitting Brees in the head with his follow-through.
In the same game, the Falcons tried to pressure Brees by sending linebacker Philip Wheeler on the blitz. Wheeler, known as the team's best blitzer, is moving back to inside linebacker, so maybe he'll be involved Monday. At the same time, the Falcons believe they're better equipped to blitz and play man to man when rookie linebacker De'Vondre Campbell is on the field in coverage. Campbell is out again this week with a significant left ankle injury.
Brees is completing 73 percent of his passes so far this season when he's not blitzed, by the way.
However, if the Falcons plan to attack Brees, they have to be more disruptive than they've been the first two games.
"Everything is good," Freeney said. "It's coming. Some games, the ball is going to come out quickly. If it's under 2 seconds or 2.5 seconds, I don't care who you are, you're not going to get the sack."
