Atlanta Falcons Defense: Week 12 Grades Vs New Orleans
Atlanta Falcons Turkey of the Week: Defense
Brooks Reed – Defensive End
Defensive End Brooks Reed had a game to forget. The one positive is he had three solo tackles and one assist. One of those tackles was a stop. On the negative, he also missed a tackle. Additionally allowed contain to be broken outside in his direction multiple times, in route to a sub par 55.8 run defense grade.
As a pass rusher, Reed failed to get any pressure on Drew Brees. Inexplicably Brooks Reed found himself in coverage multiple times in the contest. No surprise that he was targeted twice and allowed two catches for 29 yards, to tight ends Dan Arnold and Benjamin Watson. Watson a UGA alum, had a 20 yard catch on Reed.
It was certainly a horrible game for Brooks Reed, in nearly every way possible. As this season winds down, it’s a strong possibility that Brooks is playing his last snaps as an Atlanta Falcons player.
Snaps Played: 20
Pro Football Focus Grade: 35.2
ATL All Day Grade: F –
Atlanta Falcons That Flew Low: Defense
Duke Riley – Linebacker
Second year linebacker Duke Riley out of LSU, once again finds himself on our low flyer list. He continuously looks confused and often is found out of position. This includes bad run fits, that earned him a run defense grade of 38.4. He was credited with two tackles and one assist
As a pass defender Duke Riley was targeted once, giving up one catch for eight yards. He was beaten more than that though, as evidenced by his PFF coverage grade of 56.3. Duke Riley ranks number 78 of 84 linebackers despite his speed. He appears in our low flyer list so often, I wonder if he is a legitimate NFL player at all.
Snaps Played: 25
Pro Football Focus Grade: 40.2
ATL All Day Grade: F
Vic Beasley – Defensive End
The 2016 season in which Vic Beasley Jr. led the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL in sacks, is now nothing more than a distant memory. After giving us a small flashback with two sacks last week, Beasley returned to his typical non district play of this season.
It’s never a good thing for a defensive player to miss more tackles than he makes. This was the case for Vic Beasley, as he missed two tackles and made only one tackle. The tackle did qualify as a stop. The missed tackles contributed to a horrible tackling grade of 24.6.
Pass rush wise Vic Beasley did not get one bit of pressure on Brees in 17 attempts. At this point it’s fair to assume the Vic Beasley we saw in 2016 is not going to resurface again. The Atlanta Falcons front office has to be reconsidering the 13 million dollar option they exercised on his contract prior to the season.