The Atlanta Falcons made defense a priority this offseason. They loaded up veteran players to beef up the line as well drafting rookies to take care of the secondary. While the roster was being filled up, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan was drawing up schemes that would see certain players in more hybrid roles than before. As the Falcons continue on with training camp, both Kroy Biermann and Osi Umenyiora are seeing their roles shift.
Biermann is slowly becoming a fan favorite for his productivity on the field. After putting on muscle weight in the offseason, Biermann is moving more from a linebacker to a defensive end. The former Montana player earned a starting spot after being a standout on special teams. His best season came when he was rotating in as a defensive end, racking up five sacks. Now in a season as a full-time defensive end, Biermann's numbers are sure to rise.
Both Nolan and head coach Mike Smith are stressing flexibility with the defense. An ability to adapt to certain situations will be key for the unit's overall success. In the team's first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Falcons opened in a 3-4 defensive scheme, but finished the game in a 4-3 scheme.
"We've got some personnel that are playing in different positions," Smith said via the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Again, we want to have as much flexibility as we possibly can. It gives us as a coaching staff the ability to work on the proper type of match ups."
Umenyiora came to the Falcons after a strong career as a defensive end. Now, the veteran is seeing snaps as a linebacker due to his rushing abilities. Umenyiora is used to playing a 3-4 scheme, but is exceling under Nolan due to the coordinator constantly switching up the fronts and looks. Nolan's defense tallied up just 29 sacks last season, but Umenyiora is likely to change that. A lot has been made about the defensive end standing up during plays, something Smith says is overblown.
"I think a lot of that has been overblown," Smith said. "Defensive ends in this League, whether you're playing a 4-3 or a 3-4 will stand up at times, and I thought he did a very nice job. It's something that he's not done a whole lot of, but in our scheme with the flexibility that we want to have and not identifying who's rushing and who's not, it gives us an opportunity to work on our disguises."
Time will tell if Nolan's creativity pays off. The unit looked rusty in the game against the Bengals. If the Falcons are going to return to Super Bowl contention, players will have to adapt.
