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The Falcons' offense will test the Chargers' defensive achilles heel

Ryan Watkins · 2024-12-01T15:35:07Z

Coming off the back of conceding 64 points over the last two weeks , it appears that the hype around Jesse Minter's defense has started to fade away. The tape shows a different story, Minter has called good games and it has been more of a lack of talent and depth in certain positions that has meant his unit have lost fine margin battles against two of the best offenses in the league. By no means has it been all on the players and entering into a game against the Atlanta Falcons, Minter has a chance to show how he can overcome what seems like a bad matchup. At a high level, a betting man would look at the form of the both teams and question why the spread is set at a single point in favor of the Bolts. Atlanta just got smacked 38-6 by the Denver Broncos, the same team that the Chargers handed a 23-16 loss to a few weeks earlier. Both affairs were not close contests from the first snap to the last and on paper, it seems like a mistake from the bookmakers to have the line at a virtual coin flip.That is not how the NFL works though, it is a week-by-week league where any team can win on any given Sunday. Just look at the pathetic 2-9 Las Vegas Raiders taking the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs all the way to the last play before Patrick Mahomes' deal with the devil kicked in again to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. So, why is the line in this week's game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium so narrow especially given that the Falcons have a bottom five defense? The answer is that the failings of the Chargers' defense over the past two weeks are exactly where the Falcons can hurt you. Zac Robinson, Atlanta's offensive coordinator, has a system that wants to do one thing: stretch you out across to defend the whole field. This applies to both how they run the ball and how they pass the ball. Ground Game On the ground they run a heavy dose of zone concepts as they want to get their offensive line blocking in one direction which is something the Chargers have not dealt with well over the past two games. The Chargers' front has earned decent penetration on the front side of these looks with Poona Ford and Teair Tart finding ways to slice through the angled blocks but the backside is where the problems start as Otito Ogbonnia, Scott Matlock and Justin Eboigbe have struggled with how to pursue the runners whilst still maintaining their gap integrity. On this example against the Ravens on Monday night Matlock failed to read the line shift and it cost him the chance to penetrate the backfield or cut off the backside lane so Henry couldn't press inside.This play illustrates why linebackers matter despite what the media groupthink has been trying to pedal in recent years. Derwin forces the fullback block which means that Henley has to hit the outside shoulder of the tight end as he has a backside fill coming his way in Niemann. Instead he tries to shoot the gap which would have been fine if the tight end didn't have a free release due to Derwin forcing the issue from a wide alignment. Which player was wrong here I can't say as I don't know the exact run fit principles but needless to say if the front is not in cohesion, this stuff will happen again. Injuries have forced Jesse Minter into playing Troy Dye and Nick Niemann in base looks as Denzel Perryman is out again to add to Junior Colson being on IR and even the only remaining starter, Daiyan Henley, is carrying an injury which could limit his snaps. Together these absences and limitations have put the Bolts in spots they don't want to be in against a Falcons' interior line group which has become the lifeblood of their offense. "The Falcons were on a bye this week, but Chris Lindstrom retained his lead atop the run-blocking grades for guards. His 93.4 is made up of 90.0-plus grades in zone and man blocking." - PFF Chris Lindstrom, their All-pro right guard, is playing at an elite level but the two lesser known names of Drew Dalman and Matthew Bergeron have flashed as young players to watch in the future as they grow into their scheme. All of this meshes will with who they have in the backfield with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier being put in a position to expose the creases their line create for them in very different ways. In the example below you can see Bijan path to the second level by some great reach block from the center and a solid climb from the left guard. To give a back that talented , that much space is a killer.After this play the Broncos contained Robinson in check for 13 carries and only 44 yards, they adjusted quickly to have their outside linebackers play hard off the edge and they had Zach Allen causing chaos on the backside every single play. Both these moves allowed their off ball front players like Justin Strnad and Cody Barton to fire through gaps early. Jesse Minter's defense is likely not going to be able to do the same thing as the linebackers haven't shown they can do this and if they play overly aggressive, the other part of the Falcons' attack will come...

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Smith

Dec 01, 2024 11:49 am

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They’ve got to come away with more than three here. No repeat of the Arizona mess. (I refuse to call that one a game.)

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Buck Melanoma

Dec 01, 2024 11:51 am

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Nice....I like seeing that on third and one.

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Buck Melanoma

Dec 01, 2024 11:52 am

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Gee....maybe Vidal >>>> Haskins?

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Smith

Dec 01, 2024 11:52 am

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Kimani. Nice. More, please.

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Buck Melanoma

Dec 01, 2024 11:52 am

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Jeebus don't get our one receiver killed.

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NickCoulter

Dec 01, 2024 11:53 am

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Man, I hope Ladd can last for the whole game. He's kinda beat up.

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Erick V

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Dec 01, 2024 11:54 am

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NickCoulter

@nickcoulter that’s what happens when you have 1 real WR

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Buck Melanoma

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Dec 01, 2024 11:54 am

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NickCoulter

From your lips to the football gawds' ears.

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Buck Melanoma

Dec 01, 2024 11:53 am

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Well look at that....another sneak.

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Kyle DeDiminicantanio

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Dec 01, 2024 11:54 am

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Broken record again, but it really looks like an AC sprain for Ladd, and those are brutal as a receiver.

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Kyle DeDiminicantanio

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Dec 01, 2024 11:55 am

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If Ladd goes down, might be to bring Heinicke in and plug Herbert in a TE 😉

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Buck Melanoma

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Dec 01, 2024 11:56 am

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Kyle DeDiminicantanio

I'm thinking let Herbert play edge too.

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NickCoulter

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Dec 01, 2024 11:57 am

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Buck Melanoma

Guard.

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Buck Melanoma

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Dec 01, 2024 11:59 am

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NickCoulter

I wanna keep him at QB. But he'd probably generate more pass rush than some.

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Kyle DeDiminicantanio

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Dec 01, 2024 11:57 am

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Buck Melanoma

Matlock who?

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Smith

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Dec 01, 2024 11:56 am

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Kyle DeDiminicantanio

Haha. The old high school special. Sadly, I could see it.

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Smith

Dec 01, 2024 11:57 am

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McConkey back in.

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The Falcons' offense will test the Chargers' defensive achilles heel

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