'Fast, Free & Physical!' Falcons Coach Jimmy Lake to Play Base 3-4 Defense

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake shared the three pillars of the defense he hopes to build - along with revealing the schematic principles his unit is poised to embody.

With change at head coach comes schematic alterations - and the Atlanta Falcons' defense is set to experience that firsthand.

After firing Arthur Smith and losing defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Falcons have a new face in head coach Raheem Morris, who hired Jimmy Lake to fill Nielsen's shoes.

Nielsen primarily ran a 4-3 scheme en route to elevating Atlanta's defense to its best season in five years, though he utilized multiple fronts.

Lake, who was introduced to reporters Wednesday, falls on the opposite end of the spectrum - at least in principle.

“It will be a base 3-4 for sure, but very multiple as soon as teams go 11 or less personnel,” Lake said. “You could see us in a lot of different fronts with various coverages, and we’re going to lean on all of our experience that we’ve had over the years and also some of the stuff that the 2023 defense did here as well.”

Lake, who played defensive back at Eastern Washington University, started his coaching journey in 1999.

He worked as a defensive backs coach at various levels - twice in the FCS at Eastern Washington and Montana State University, in the FBS at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.

Jul 27, 2021; Hollywood, CA, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake speaks with the media during the Pac-12 football Media Day at the W Hollywood / Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Lake was the defensive coordinator at Washington from 2018-2019 and became the Huskies' head coach from 2020-2021. He spent 2022 away from football, visiting nine NFL teams and studying both sides of the ball, deciding he wanted to coach in the NFL as opposed to another stint at the college level.

Lake joined the Los Angeles Rams last season, where he worked on offense for the first time as a coach. He assisted the quarterbacks and was involved in offensive installs, resulting in a growth-filled year.

Now, Lake is in charge of an ascending Falcons defense - and plans on fielding an identifiable product characterized by three key traits.

“I'm hoping on opening day, you would see our defense play fast, play free and play physical,” Lake said. “We’re going to play fast because we’re going to get fast players, but they’re going to play free because they know the defense. When we call that defense, they can diagnose. They can read and react, and they go fast.

“And they’re going to play physical because this defensive game has to be physical. You have to be able to get off blocks and go tackle. So, quickly: fast, free, physical.”

Lake, with two decades of experience on defense, has seen a lot. He knows what works and what doesn't - though he's never called plays in the NFL.

He's unconcerned about that, noting there's not much of a difference in collegiate vs. professional play calling, just the personnel.

Lake said his dream was being an NFL defensive coordinator - stopping opposing offenses is perhaps his greatest passion and "gets the juices flowing," he said.

In Nielsen's lone season, the Falcons' defense was complex and threw a plethora of looks at quarterbacks.

Lake's defenses will be much the same - a headache to prepare for but easy to fit into.

“Our defense, defenses that I’ve been around in the years that I’ve coached have looked very, very complicated to offenses, but it’s been simple for our guys,” Lake said. “That’s the balance. You want to look complicated to your opponents, but our guys know it inside and out so they can play free.”

It's going to be a collective effort, Lake said, noting that he, Morris and the entirety of Atlanta's defensive staff has been around great coaches.

With a variety of backgrounds, the Falcons will incorporate a number of schematic looks, which Lake said will largely be predicated on the opposing offense.

“We’re definitely going to be multiple,” Lake said. “We’ve been in a bunch of different schemes, Raheem and I. We’ve been in 4-3. We’ve been in 3-4. We’ve done both. We’re really reactive to what we’re seeing on offense.

“That’s what you have to do as a defensive coach - what personnel are they bringing out on the grass so we can match that personnel.”

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When Lake turned on the tape for the first time, he saw a defense that played fast, physical and together - precisely what he was hoping for.

In essence, Lake sees the starting points. Now, he's ready to join Morris and assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray in taking the unit to another level, blending the scheme to fit the personnel while establishing the fast, free and physical identity.

“We’re going to boil this thing down to what our players do best,” Lake said, “and what’s going to present a lot of problems for our opponents.”