Raheem Morris Breaks Silence on DC Jimmy Lake's Play Calling Duties

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake's job security appears safe entering the bye week.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris doesn't appear likely to lessen the workload of defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons' defense ranks No. 25 league-wide in total yards allowed per game, No. 26 in scoring, No. 30 in opponents drives ending in scores and third-down conversion, and last in sacks and opponents' completion percentage.

Atlanta's defensive struggles culminated in an uninspiring showing Sunday, when the Falcons (6-5) fell 38-6 to the Denver Broncos (6-5) at Empower Field at Mile High.

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The performance -- which included Denver posting 400 yards of offense and its starters scoring on six of eight possessions -- created external discussion about the job security of Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.

But Falcons coach Raheem Morris, who spoke with reporters via Microsoft Teams on Monday, seemingly denied the possibility of removing Lake's play-calling duties when asked about potential staff changes.

"There's no major thing going on," Morris said. "I’ve got no breaking news for you that anybody's doing anything that way."

The bye week is a convenient time to self-scout, but Morris said the Falcons evaluate everything they do each day. Thus, changes wouldn't necessarily come solely during the week off.

Atlanta reviews what happens, who does what and how it wants to execute tasks on a week-to-week basis, Morris noted, with hopes of determining the best way to get its message across to players. Leading into the loss to Denver, Lake showed players videos of boxer Mike Tyson, knockout punches and other combat sports-related clips.

Meanwhile the team played on Sunday like the 58-year-old version of Tyson that looked like a shell of his former self against Jake Paul on Friday night.

Lake provides visual representations each week. His goal for Week 11 was to inspire quicker starts. The Falcons, who entered the game down three corners, two linebackers and a pair of defensive linemen due to injuries, forced Denver into a 3rd on 9 on its opening set of downs -- but the Broncos converted, scored and never trailed thereafter.

"Everything's always going to be up for discussion for how we do things better," Morris said. "We're never ever going to stay stagnant and tell you that it's one-size-fit-all for anything. But, everything's always going to be evaluated."

However, as Morris and the Falcons enter their week off, they'll do so with the plan to search for a solution and get better -- which they appear poised to try with Lake leading the charge defensively.

"I think the most important part is being helpful as opposed to being negative," Morris said. "You just go out there, and you try to do the best you can do to go out there and win football games, and that's all we can do."

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