Falcons Have 'Work Cut Out' vs. Panthers Defense, Says Arthur Smith

Ejiro Evero is leading the Carolina Panthers defense against the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener.

The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for the Carolina Panthers and their new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

Recently, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith opened up on the types of defensive looks he expects to see from Evero.

"Ejiro [Evero]’s coming over from Denver," Smith said. "That scheme – a lot of people have gotten jobs that have kind of used their own versions of it as it’s broken off, but we practiced against something similar down in Miami. [We] played something similar last year with the Rams and Chargers. Those guys all cross paths. There’s some familiarity there. We know we have our work cut out for us." 

As a frame of reference, the Falcons averaged 21 points across those three contests, just under the 21.5 points that they averaged per game for all of 2022. Perhaps Evero is a defensive guru, but Atlanta is stacked offensively. 

The trio of Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson is arguably the most talented young core of playmakers in the entire NFL. In second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder's lone preseason start, he looked as though he had a firm grasp of the offense, meticulously slicing up the defense for a nearly 10-minute drive that got everyone involved and using his speed to escape the pocket when necessary. 

From the Panthers' perspective, they just spent the No. 1 pick on Bryce Young, an undersized quarterback who's sure to face some growing pains in the NFL, and those are some pains that Atlanta will happily dish out, whether it be physically at the line or mentally as All-Pro's Jessie Bates III and A.J. Terrell try to disguise what they're doing in the secondary. 

Sure, the Falcons will likely have their work cut out for them as it will be their first game of the season as the team looks to create momentum, but on paper, Atlanta seemingly an edge in talent and experience that not even Evero should be able to account for.