Only this college football Saturday stands between us and the return of Atlanta Falcons football this Sunday. Folks, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.<\/p>\n
My day job responsibilities are too demanding for me to cover the Falcons in person every day there\u2019s media availability, and Thursday\u2019s generally the day I have the fewest meetings, so it\u2019s easier for me to get up to Flowery Branch. One opportunity that affords me is the chance to check the vibes each week. And my friends, the vibes in Flowery Branch are quite good.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019ve been credentialed with the Falcons for about a decade now, so I\u2019ve had a lot of opportunities to observe the vibes in good times and bad. Remember how magical it was to open the season with five straight wins in Dan Quinn\u2019s first season as head coach? The vibes were impeccable. Remember that six-game losing skid that followed that five-game winning streak? The vibes were extremely not good. You get the idea.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a vibe check on the defense, offense, and special teams heading into Week 1.<\/p>\n
Jeff Ulbrich\u2019s got my attention<\/p>\n
Media members keep asking players and coaches during minicamp and training camp what\u2019s different about this team this season. I do think bringing back Jeff Ulbrich has injected a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball. Players really respect him and trust his judgment, and they\u2019ve bought into his aggressive philosophy of \u201cheart, mind, fist.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou\u2019ve got someone who\u2019s played in the league at a high level for 10 years, so it\u2019s a little different when you\u2019ve got somebody that\u2019s been in your seat,\u201d Jessie Bates III, arguably the best safety in the NFL, said on Thursday. \u201cI think the teaching is a little bit different with Brich and just his presence, man \u2014 that\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve been really impressed with, is the person that he is and the way that he\u2019s explaining our style of play. He lives by it. That\u2019s what he does day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as that \u201cheart, mind, fist\u201d mantra of Ulbrich\u2019s, Bates pointed to the Jets defensive success under Ulbrich\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey embraced it so much, so it\u2019s a reason why they were top 5 defense over there for the last, what, three years?\u201d Bates said. \u201cI really think that he emphasizes the connection, and playing for one another is way more deep than any type of scheme, any type of coverage. I think that\u2019s what really separates good defenses and great defenses, when you\u2019re able to make it your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another unknown heading into Sunday is what to expect from Atlanta\u2019s rookie starters on defense. But Ulbrich\u2019s looking forward to it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s exciting. Yeah, it\u2019s exciting for for them. It\u2019s exciting for the guys that are also going to play,\u201d Ulbrich said.<\/p>\n
With the team\u2019s plans for rotation, there will be less pressure on rookies, and more opportunities to coach them up on the sideline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you guys will find is, we do such a heavy rotation,\u201d Ulbrich said. \u201cI spoke about the defensive line, but we\u2019ll even rotate in our secondary. So although the rookies are going to play a substantial amount, if the package they\u2019re on is the first package we throw out there that they will get the start, everybody\u2019s going to play on Sunday. You\u2019re going to have an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
This offense has enough talent to make some noise this season<\/p>\n
Offensively, yeah, the Falcons are starting a quarterback with very little pro experience, but it\u2019s not like the man wasn\u2019t playing at a very high level for a big-time college program before the Falcons drafted him. Health is always the biggest variable in the NFL, but if heaven forbid something happens to Penix, the Falcons have the most expensive and arguably the best backup quarterback in the league right now in Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n
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Bijan Robinson is otherworldly. Drake London is legit. Darnell Mooney might be able to play. (He\u2019s listed as questionable for Sunday.) Kyle Pitts has so damn much potential. Jake Matthews is one of the best tackles in the league, and Chris Lindstrom is one of the league\u2019s best guards.<\/p>\n