What Will Falcons GM Terry Fontenot 'Prioritize'? Pass Rush vs. Coverage

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith weighed in on the pass rush vs. coverage debate - and seemed to tip which way they'll be leaning this offseason.

It's a debate as old as football itself - should the defense put an emphasis on pressuring quarterbacks or covering receivers?

Of course, in an ideal world, the answer is both ... but rarely can a team piece together best.

Really, it's much more likely for a team to have neither than both - and that's the situation the Atlanta Falcons find themselves in entering the offseason.

The Falcons have just 39 sacks across the last two seasons, ranking last in the NFL two years ago and second-to-last this past campaign. Through the air, Atlanta ranked No. 25 in passing yards allowed at 231.9 yards per game this year and tied for the sixth-fewest interceptions with 10.

Fortunately, the Dirty Birds have plenty of resources to address these woes in the coming months, holding some $56 million of cap space and the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

But where will the emphasis be placed? Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot gave his answer.

"We're going to always prioritize the front," Fontenot said. "I mean, we just talked about the trenches, that's where games are won and lost.”

This is a shared belief between Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith, who made sure to note that pressure can also be generated from the interior, not just the exterior.

"We've got to continue to find ways to pressure the quarterback," Smith said. "It's not just on the edge - it's the coordinated rush inside, too. There's a lot that goes into it - as you're going into the rush plans, how you're going to attack certain quarterbacks, it all goes into it, and we know we've got to be more productive there."

Prior to announcing his retirement, defensive coordinator Dean Pees issued a similar message regarding the pass rush and defensive front.

"We need to be better," Pees stressed. "(That's) the one spot we're probably playing the worst in. We need to be better."

The Falcons have several promising players up front ... but the proven production isn't really there.

Defensive tackle Ta'Quon Graham took a huge step forward in his second season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, logging eight quarterback hits in nine games - but he's yet to record a sack as a professional.

Second-round outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie improved throughout his rookie season, finishing with two-and-a-half sacks and 11 quarterback hits.

It's a similar story for third-round outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone, who had four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and one sack while making his mark on special teams.

The collective numbers aren't exceptionally eye-catching, but Smith nonetheless remains optimistic about the future of the defensive front.

"The growth of those young guys and the things that they've seen ... you'd love for a guy to come out as a rookie and have 15 sacks, (but) it just doesn't happen," Smith said. "We feel good about their development. We've got to continue to improve, and it's all across the board."

Smith added that to have a "top-flight" pass rush, there are "a lot of coordinated things" such as the rush skills of linebackers and the ability to "create matchup and protection issues up front."

Some of the progress that needs to be made start pre-snap, where defenses can affect quarterbacks with falsified looks. There also games with stunts and the ability to generate pressure inside and outside to truly maximize the efficiency of everything else.

But still, Smith said that getting pressure with only four guys is a game-changer up front, and new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen doesn't come from a scheme predicated on sending additional players.

As such, it's become abundantly clear where the Falcons believe they need to improve the most - just ask Fontenot, who noted the absolute value of trench play on both sides of the ball.

"That's the most (important)," Fontenot said. "The trenches and the line of scrimmage. And I think you look at our games this year, I thought we really grew on our offensive line, and we value that, establishing the line of scrimmage. So yeah, the quarterback position is obviously very important, and yet you have to have the right offensive line; it's a complimentary game.

"But yeah, those line of scrimmage are always going to prioritize for us."

The need to improve goes beyond the pass rush - the Falcons ranked No. 23 league-wide with 130.2 rushing yards allowed per game.

One of the biggest benefits of having a good defensive front is being able to stop the run without having to load the box - Smith added that stopping the run in two-high safety looks makes the run defense "pretty damn good."

Thus, Smith is focused on finding ways to get that stout four-man front ... and seemed to declare it as priority No. 1 this offseason.

"Everybody's constantly working to find that," said Smith. "We're working to develop our own guys, and that will certainly be a huge point of emphasis this offseason."

Smith and Fontenot don't often declare their next move - but they've made it obvious that they value the line of scrimmage more than anything else.

Does this mean they'll pass on secondary help even if the best player available is a defensive back? Hardly.

Rather, what it means is that the Falcons have a plethora of resources to use over the next three months and it appears the primary goal of these resources will be to bolster the play up front.

It's a "huge point of emphasis."

Or what the Falcons are "always going to prioritize."

And now ... it's time to put words into action.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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