Atlanta Falcons Grades: Week Six Player Grades Versus Tampa
Defensive Players That Struggled
Vic Beasley Jr. – Edge Defender Grade: F
Vic Beasley Jr. continues to struggle as he appears to be a shell of the guy who lead the NFL in sacks in 2016. Beasley currently ranks last of 100 edge players by Pro Football Focus. The only time Vic Beasley really had his name called against Tampa was during the two times he jumped offsides.
Beasley recorded zero tackles for the second straight week. He missed his only tackle attempt. He did have two hurries on the day but is still stuck on one sack for the season. All of this resulted in Vic receiving a team low tying PFF grade of 42.8, an F for the game, and for this season thus far.
Brian Poole – Cornerback Grade: F
Brian Poole has struggled mightily this season. He showed so much promise as a rookie in 2016. He was one of the better slot cornerbacks in the NFL as a rookie, but has steadily declined.
Brian Poole was thrown at eight times by Tampa quarterback Jameis Winston. He was torched for five catches, 96 yards and a touchdown. The biggest blow was him being beaten by Adam Humphries for a 51 yard pass. He was also beaten by running back Peyton Barber for the touchdown.
Poole was also called for one penalty in the game,and allowed four first downs. Winston had a 104.2 quarterback rating when throwing at Poole. He did have an interception off of a Duke Riley tip, but the abysmal showing gave Brian Poole a team tying low PFF grade of 42.8.
As the games go by, Poole appears less and less likely to be a player the Falcons want to invest in long-term. He gets an F for the game vs Tampa.
Robert Alford – Cornerback Grade: F
Robert Alford had a tough afternoon last week against the Tampa Bay wide receivers. Not only was he flagged for two penalties, but he was beaten several times as well.
Rocky Alford was targeted seven times in coverage and gave up five catches for 68 yards. He gave up 19 yard catches to both DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans. Alford was victimized for four first downs in the game and the Tampa QB had a 102.1 rating when targeting Alford.
Pro Football Focus graded Alford a 44.7 for the matchup, making him the third worse performer for the week. That’s deserves an F grade for the Falcons starting cornerback.
Duke Riley – Linebacker Grade: F
Duke Riley was expected to make a leap in production heading into year two. Unfortunately for the Atlanta Falcons and the former LSU Tiger linebacker, Duke hasn’t shown the improvement that coach Dan Quinn has hoped for.
Magnifying his performance is the fact that Duke is forced to take on a bigger role, with the injury to Deion Jones. Duke has struggled to the point that he is losing snaps to Foyesade Oluokun and Bruce Carter.
Riley was targeted four times in coverage against the Buccs, surrendering 3 catches for 21 yards and a touchdown. Jameis Winston had a 126 quarterback rating when targeting Duke. PFF gave Duke Riley a grade of 45, fourth worse on the Dirty Birds.
Things weren’t all bad for Duke as he recorded four tackles and a pass breakup. That pass breakup lead to a Brian Poole interception. Duke also didn’t miss a tackle, after missing an embarrassing six tackles the previous week.
Despite the improvements, Duke still continues to take bad angles. Duke Riley still receives an F, but the slight improvement on less snaps in encouraging that he could maybe settle into a lesser role.
The injuries continue to pile up more and more for the Atlanta Falcons. With the team being the walking wounded, replacements are certainly going to have to step up.
Even more importantly, the incumbent starters must play their best if the Atlanta Falcons are to win these next four games, and get back into the race to play in the super bowl at home.
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