The Falcons have been arguably the best defense in entire NFL over the past two weeks. They’ve gotten sacks, interceptions, big stops on third down — all things that seemed overly difficult for this team during its first eight games.
There’s been some minor coaching and schematic tweaks, but the biggest difference has been execution. The defense has communicated better, which is easily noticeable just from watching the group’s overall speed.
One change the coaches made after the bye week that seems to be working out well was putting free safety Ricardo Allen into the strong safety role, playing him more in the box where he can help orchestrate the defense.
This has let Damonate Kazee play as the free safety, where he’s probably best suited to play in this current defense. So far, the move has paid off brilliantly, with the Falcons’ secondary picking off Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen four times during Sunday’s win.
What we’ve seen this group do over the past two weeks is what most assumed it would do all season. It may be too late now to matter, but at least the team is giving fans something to cheer about after a rough first eight games.
