FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Praise be to the sweet Lord above. The bye week is finally upon us. I'll tell you what, I need this week, y'all. But, before we officially break for the bye, I thought I would leave you with one final Mailbox to keep you company as we take some time away.

And I will say: We really will be away.

An initiative that began a few years ago is continuing this year as the entire Falcons' digital media team (or as Kirk Cousins calls us: The Content Team) takes a much-needed — and dare I say — well-deserved break. That includes the social, video, photo and editorial teams.

I often time get asked, "Tori, what does your team do in the offseason?" Well, would you believe we are just as busy — if not busier — in the offseason as we are in the regular season. And this offseason was particularly grueling in nature because of coaching changes, a big-time free agency window, new staff introductions, an unprecedented draft, Matt Ryan's retirement, offseason feature projects and so much more... all before we even got to training camp, I might add.

Various aspects of the football team get a break during some of these times, depending on which part of the team you're talking about. But, the digital team? Nah, we're at it 24/7. News, ideas and innovation knows not what time is. But in order to be our best, we have to rest.

So, starting at noon on Wednesday, all of our channels will go dark for the bye week. There will be no content via social media, the YouTube channel, the website or the app. We're taking a break in hopes that we come back from the bye as strong as we can be. Because if things go right for the Falcons, they could be looking at a season extended. That's the hope of the team anyways.

So, until then, let's answer some questions before we close down the shop for a few days.

See you all on the other side of the bye!

Mike S. from Calgary

Not wanting to get out my pitchfork and get on the "Fire Jimmy Lake" bandwagon... yet, but I'm confident it will be a topic. Let's get out the bias of the last game we just saw which was admittedly very bad - what is one area or stat the Falcons defense is better in or at this year than last year? Give us some hope here!

Tori: This is a great question, Mike. I have to say, it stumped me! So, I had to call in reinforcements (a.k.a Will McFadden). Here's what Will found through the TruMedia data basis:

"Believe it or not, the Falcons actually have the league's best yards-per-completion-allowed mark on defense. They've given up 9.6 yards per completion this season, which is ahead of Buffalo and Denver, who are tied behind them at 9.71. For context, the Browns are last at 12.68. The reason for that is a combination of two stats that they are also very good in: Air yards per attempt (6.5 - they rank 5th) and yards after catch per reception (4.8 - they rank 4th). Last year, Atlanta ranked 16th in yards per completion allowed (10.9) and 29th in air yards per attempt (8.6)."

In essence, despite the last couple games being what they were, this secondary has still been a bright spot when you look at their body of work in 2024. As Will said in his Slack message to me Tuesday morning: "They've actually done a good job forcing short passes and rallying to make the tackle."

Everyone say, "Thanks Will!"

Nicholas W. from Rexburg, Idaho

Hey there! Lifelong Falcons fan here. I have to say that as a Falcons fan you get pretty used to losing, almost to the point where you don't know what to do when they win, "Same 'ole Falcons" as many of us in the fan base like to say.

However, this year felt different after we strung together some big wins. I have my hopes up that we will finally end our playoff drought. One thing is bothering me, though - no pass rush, AGAIN. I can safely say it's costing us games, with this loss to Denver highlighting it. Pass rush has been an issue since after our 2016 Super Bowl run. I was shocked when we took Michael Penix over a pass rusher and I still believe it was a mistake. When will pass rush be taken seriously?

Tori: Hey Nick (can I call you Nick?), you're preaching to the choir my dude. The nature of my job in the offseason is to speculate on moves the Falcons could make, whether it be by free agency, the draft or via a trade. Ever since I began covering the team in the summer of 2020, I have tried to hypothesize ways to insert pass rush power into this defense. Because you're right, it's been an inconsistency organizationally for years. This isn't a new revelation.

Time after time, I would go to the draft, specifically, for hypothetical help. I don't know how many times I have mocked an edge rusher to the Falcons in the first or second round in each of the last four draft cycles. I know I have done it so often that it's become a running joke with some of my closest friends, many of whom don't even watch football.

"Which edge rusher do you have the Falcons drafting this time?"

^I get this question from them a lot. A few of them don't actually know what an edge rusher is... and yet, they know I am clamoring for the Falcons to draft one. I've made that no secret.

But even though they haven't gotten the pass rush help they need, I don't think there is malicious intent by this front office to simply not address the pass rush problem. I actually believe the opposite. I truly think they have tried to find someone who can move the needle. And they've done so in almost every way possible.

The draft? There's not a doubt in my mind that — based off Terry Fontenot's comments after the first round — that the Falcons were working every team from No. 9 to No. 32 trying to get back into the first round of this year's draft in hopes of landing an edge rusher.

Via a trade? I don't think anyone expected Matthew Judon's pressures and sacks to be so low in 2024 after the monster years he had previously. At the time, that trade was revered. It was a huge get for the Falcons in conjunction with the pick-up of Justin Simmons in the same week, too.

Then, there's the passing of the most recent trade deadline when fans were clamoring for the Falcons to pick up an edge rusher. I don't think the Falcons just sat idly by during that time, but if nothing materializes in your price range (and that includes what you have to give up by way of draft capital), there's little to be done.

And then there's free agency, right? The Falcons picked up Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree last year. They helped the Falcons to double their sack totals from the year before. But we know how that story ends, they're no longer in Atlanta.

I say all of this to ultimately say Falcons leadership has tried to build up the pass rush, but unfortunately, little has worked consistently.

You have to keep trying, though, and this coming offseason is crucial to hit on an edge rusher, in anyway he comes. If finding a quarterback was priority No. 1 of last offseason, finding the guy coming off the edge is priority No. 1 this time around. Otherwise? The narrative surrounding the Falcons' pass rush will remain.

Camereon W. from Snellville, Georgia

As we get ready to approach December, the Falcons seem to be heading in the wrong direction. Do you think the Falcons are capable of turning this atrocious of a two weeks around after the bye? We have the Chargers and Vikings after the bye so it doesn't get any easier.

Tori: I do think they can. But it's not going to be easy, and in a lot of ways, the team has to account for their shortcomings in others ways. I do not think pass rush is something that is going to be fixed overnight, for example. So, you have to offset that lack of production with something else. What is that something else you may ask? I am not sure. Perhaps it's turnovers. Perhaps it's more consistent and productive red zone appearances by this offense. Whatever it may be, the Falcons have to find it and find it quickly.

These two weeks of losses are not the end-all-be-all for this Falcons team. However, it's a time period that shined a light on very distinct, reoccurring issues that will stand in the way of the team being what it has the potential to be. I'm still hopeful that next gear can be found and tapped into.

It's up to the team and coaches to decide who they want to be, though. My hope in them does nothing on game day. They'll be the ones to dictate who they are.

Call for questions

If you would like to be included in any of the upcoming Mailbox editions, you can submit your inquiries here. Or if Twitter/X is your thing, you can always tweet your question to either Will (@willmcfadden) or myself (@tori_mcelhaney).

Thank you to everyone who has joined us every Tuesday and Thursday so far this year. We're looking forward to many more Mailboxes to come after the bye week.