The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Defense feeds off Manuel
New coordinator brings energy, ignites confidence.
Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen was quick to let every
one know that the defense has been spanking the offense early in training camp.
“That was the sixth straight
we had a turnover,” Allen said Wednesday. There were more interceptions Thursday.
It’s not unusual that the defense starts faster than the offense early in training camp. Offensive plays require more timing and precision.
But the defensive players — from the first team through the third team — are exud
ing the infectious emotion of first-year defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel.
“Now it spreads to all of the unit,” Allen said. “He gets the offense pumped sometimes.
He gets the defense pumped. He brings that intensity to everybody with how smart and how intense he is.”
Also, the defenders are more comfortable in the scheme.
“The coaching has been the same,” Allen said. “We
n’t changed really anything.”
The Falcons’ defense is running parallel to the Seattle defense after Pete Carroll took over and added a lot of speed and some big hitters.
The Seahawks were 7-9 and gave up 407 points in Carroll’s first season in 2010. They ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring defense. Last season, the Falcons were 11-5
and gave up 406 points, which ranked 27th in the league.
Carroll’s defense made a leap up to the seventh spot in 2011, as they gave up 315 points, shaving off 92 points, or about 13 touchdowns.
The Falcons hope to make the same type of drastic jump into the top 10 under Manuel as their young defenders mature.
Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who led the league in sacks last season with 15.5, is excited about the team’s defensive prospects. Again, it’s early in camp,
but the defense looks primed to make a major move. The Falcons played seven firstor second-year players last season.
With the addition of defensive tackle Dontari Poe, defensive ends Jack Crawford and Takkarist McKinley and the return of Derrick Shelby from a ruptured Achilles, Beasley likes the unit’s prospects.
”I’m looking forward to seeing what this team can do,” Beasley said.
Beasley, who was taken eighth overall in the 2015 draft, had four sacks as a rookie before breaking out last season. He’s beaming with more confidence.
“It did a lot,” Beasley said when asked if last season boosted his confidence. “I feel like our defense can feed off each other, and we can be the best that we can be.”
He likes Manuel’s approach to running the defense.
“Oh, he’s a great coach,” Beasley said. “Having him last year as the defensive backfield coach, I knew that he would be a great defensive coordinator. Having him in that position has been great so far, and I know he’s going to continue to do great things in the future.”
Right cornerback Robert Alford also says Manuel’s energy will infuse the defense with more confidence and playmaking mayhem.
“Marquand is a very energetic guy,” Alford said. “He brings a lot to the defense; everyone feeds off him, and we feed off each other. We just let the energy keep flowing.”
In helping Alford improve his play, Manuel appears to have coached him out of using his hands so much. The Falcons told him to rely more on his elite speed to regain ground if someone temporarily breaks away from him.
Alford says that Manuel’s coaching style is a perfect for the young unit.
“He carries the whole team, especially on the defensive side,” Alford said. “When you’ve got a coach that’s out there flying around, you don’t want to be the one that’s lagging around ... so we just keep the energy flowing through the defense.”
Alford has been lining up back at his right cornerback position after ending last season at left cornerback with Desmond Trufant out with a pectoral injury. He can play both sides, and Jalen Collins did well filling in on the right side but has been working mostly with the third-team defense.
The Falcons coaches love Brian Poole at nickel. He’s also seen some cross-train
ing at linebacker. Alford says the secondary is going to be versatile.
“The basics are going to be the basics depending on the game plan,” Alford said. “It depends on the team and what the team likes to do with the scheme we’ll be running each week.”
Alford is elated to have Trufant back.
“He’s going to bring his energy, and everyone else is going to feed off him,” Alford said.
The person with the biggest grin at training camp has been second-year linebacker Deion Jones. He’s barking out the signals with little hesitation. He’s weaving his way to ball carriers with ease with very few missteps.
“I’m a little bit more comfortable now,” Jones said. “Last year, I had no clue what to expect. I was pretty much just running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It’s real good to sit back and just enjoy camp and focus on the things that I need to focus on.”
Jones is now the veteran, and he’s taken rookie thirdround pick Duke Riley under his wing.
“Pretty much the same thing (linebacker Paul) Worrilow told me last year: Take it one play at a time, one day at a time, just enjoy the experience,” Jones said.
The linebackers are working well under Manuel.
“He does a great job,” Jones said. “We learn what he expects of us. We learn the playbook, and we’re teaching it to the young guys.” Jones, after making the Pro Football Writers of America all-rookie team, says he believes the unit can make a big leap in scoring defense. “In our defensive meet
ings, we talk about the goals we want to set for the season, and we put it on little cards,” Jones said. “We’re going to go out every day and try to live up to the standards we’ve set for ourselves.”
The Falcons have the model on how to jump from 25th in the league to seventh in scoring defense like Seattle did in 2011. It’s early, but the Falcons clearly don’t look like the 27th-ranked scoring defense in the league.