Week One Thoughts

Want to start off by saying I feel infinitely better about our team following a week 1 loss than I did in 2023 following a win. Not to say I’m happy, but seeing a quarterback that kept us in it the whole game, a defense that didn’t look like the worst in the league, and front that applied pressure on >40% of dropbacks (!!!!), I feel like this team is finally giving us a look at what the foundation will be over the next few years. A couple things I picked up on:

1. The “Bijan doesn’t get explosives” is a dead narrative. While he should be ripping off bigger chunk plays, especially in the run game, it’s certainly not due to any lack of athleticism on his part. Bijan in space is one of the most stress-inducing things for any defensive coordinator, and I believe the lack of big plays falls more on offensive play calling than anything Bijan is doing wrong. Which brings me to my next point.

2. Zac Robinson needs a more diverse run game. I believe the passing concepts are okay, but when your QB can throw the football at Mach-piss, that matters slightly less. The run game, however, looked stagnant, and part of that is due to the fact that Tampa’s defense is meant to stuff the run and force offenses to pass, but part of it was unseasoned play calling. Outside zone should be the backbone of this offense, but there needs to be run concepts to complement this. Counters will be a good place to start and playing misdirection opposite of Woerner’s motions would serve this offense well, as opposed to following Woerner every time he’s in motion. Playing out of the pistol was cute last year, and we did somehow find effectiveness in a scheme that isn’t very effective, but the pistol has to go now. Robinson wasn’t all bad however, and I do appreciate the uptick in play action calls, and getting Pitts in motion started paying off in the second half.

3. Terry Fontenot signed a bargain free agent who looks to be paying immediate dividends. Again. A very underrated aspect of Fontenot’s tenure has been his ability to find quality contributors at a cheap price in free agency. Cordarelle Patterson, Kaden Elliss, Bud Dupree/Calais Campbell, Darnell Mooney, Charlie Woerner, and Ray-Ray McCloud are all vets that outperformed their relatively small price tags, and if Deablo keeps up this pace, he will soon join that list. He flew to the football, played well in zone (especially on a pass break up in a deep Tampa 2 drop), and blew up a few plays for our defense. He seems to fit Ulbrich’s prototypical linebacker, and he can finish the year as a top linebacker if he keeps this pace. I can give credit where it’s due, and Fontenot’s buttoned up approach to professional scouting (currently blocking Cousins’ contract from my mind) has earned it thus far.

4. Penix is that dude. My biggest concerns with Penix coming into the season were his touch balls and his accuracy underneath. Even on a few misses deep, the touch certainly looked improved, and with Tampa Bay focusing on containing Penix’ deep ball, he methodically diced up their underneath coverages. He distributed the ball to the right guy, managed the pressure in the pocket exceptionally well (I don’t have an exact pressure-to-sack ratio, but he was recorded as having taken one sack despite waves of pressure), and made plays with his feet when he needed to. I’m trying to keep from getting my hopes up too much, but the eye test tells me that we have a gamer in number 9.

5. A couple miscellaneous notes. Defensive rookies in the secondary looked like quality contributors, and Xavier Watts in particular had a nose for the ball; picks will come for him. Mike Hughes looked like the weak link in the secondary, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I won’t hang my hat on Mike Hughes being the boundary corner of the future, but if Mike Hughes is one of the weakest parts of your defense, you could be in a much worse position. I have no trust for him in quarters or on man coverage against deep routes, but he is a solid player in underneath coverage (take that with a grain of salt). Raheem Morris’ game management is improved, but still has a way to go. Ulbrich has his guys flying to the football and playing fast. I want to see more contain as the pocket collapses when playing man coverage, but the defense looked like it’s starting to find a remnant of an identity. Casey Washington is a good depth piece at receiver and plays scrappy, but we need Mooney back. Mooney is clearly the deep guy on this offense, and as much as I like Washington, that’s not his game. Last thing, Koo has to go. It’s been a good run, but you can’t hitch your cart to a limp ox late in the game, and Koo is certainly beyond his best days.

I hope anybody that got through all of this enjoyed it and has their own thoughts to share. As much as I hate to lose like we did, we had a quarterback that kept us in the game, and I feel good about the future. Just glad to be watching Falcons football again, FTS!