The Atlanta Falcons have a phenomenal defensive coordinator.
The Atlanta Falcons are going to try to bounce back on a short turnaround this week from an absolute embarrassment of a start to the season over the first two weeks of the year.
Much of that was due to the quarterback situation and in Week 1, the defense actually showed some serious signs of encouragement, but losing 34-3 at home against a division rival is never just on one position. Bryce Young had Atlanta's number once again, however the Falcons are not panicked that the defense is anything but what they thought it was the week prior.
Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich spoke Tuesday to the media and revealed what he saw as at times his unit trying to do too much to make a play to help the offense rather than just playing their game and letting it come to them. One of the best teachers in football, Ulbrich described this as a teaching moment and one which will make the team better moving forward.
Falcons DC Using Performance in Week 2 as Teaching Moment
It was obvious especially in the secondary that the defense was pressing a little bit, and it's understandable why that was the case. Through two games, the offense has not run a single snap in the red zone and while Week 2 was out of hand, a play on defense might have changed the momentum a little bit.
With Michael Penix returning to the lineup this week, hopefully everyone in the organization can get back to simply focusing on doing their job individually and taking care of their assignments, the rest could start to take care of itself.
Atlanta is in an 0-2 hole and the Thursday night showdown against the Green Bay Packers is about as close to a must win as you can get this early in the season. If the defense can look more like it did during Week 1 rather than Week 2, this would go a long way towards potentially securing a win.
It's never been more clear that the defense under Ulbrich is in great hands, and it makes sense why Kevin Stefanski kept him on board from last year's staff. Should he be able to get this unit to its highest potential, then the offense simply will have to operate at a decent level for this team to win a whole lot of games.
It all starts this week.
