Atlanta Falcons: What does Dean Pees bring to the defense?
The Atlanta Falcons finished last in the NFC South for the first time since 2007 this past season but can new defensive coordinator Dean Pees help turn things around?
Back in late November (via David Boclair of SI.com), longtime defensive mind Dean Pees expressed an interest in returning to the game, saying, “I’ll be honest with you, I miss it. I miss it a lot…If the right situation came along, I would certainly consider it. I’ll put it that way. I don’t know that I’d do it. But I’m not saying that I wouldn’t at least consider it…I don’t know if it’d be Tennessee, though. I have no idea.”
Now we do.
The Atlanta Falcons’ newest defensive coordinator enjoyed long previous stops with the New England Patriots (2004-09) and Baltimore Ravens (2010-17) before joining the Titans in 2018.
New Falcons’ head coach Arthur Smith was already with Tennessee when Pees came aboard. Now the pair are reunited and look to resurrect a team that finished dead last in their division and finished with its worst record since an identical 4-12 finish in 2013.
In 2020, only three teams in the league allowed more total yards per game, and no NFL club gave up more yards through the air. A mere 29 sacks and 21 takeaways weren’t enough to offset a unit that allowed 49 offensive touchdowns, 34 of those through the air. And in case you’re wondering about those numerous late collapses, the Falcons surrendered 414 points — more than one-third of that in the fourth quarter (150).
What’s going to be extremely interesting is seeing how Pees and the team address Atlanta’s pass rush, a major problem for the team for far too many seasons. You have to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time the Falcons came up with at least 40 sacks. And in four of their last seven campaigns, the club failed to total at least 30 quarterback traps.
In two seasons and 32 regular-season contests with the Titans, Pees’ defenders combined for 82 sacks. In 2019, the year Tennessee reached the AFC title game, the team totaled 43 QB traps in 16 outings and six more in three postseason outings.
Perhaps what Pees really brings to the Falcons is more experience as an NFL coach than Smith. The latter spent 10 seasons with Tennessee before taking over the Falcons. Although he took a year off in 2020, Pees’ résume with the Patriots, Ravens and Titans spanned 16 seasons.
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He was a member of Bill Belichick’s staff when they won Super Bowl XXXIX (2004) and lost Super Bowl XLII (2007). He was John Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator when the Ravens won the Super Bowl XLVII. That Baltimore team had 10 takeaways in four postseason games. It’s safe to say he brings an awful lot to the table.