FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday, and the Falcons were not among those teams who made a move.
As has been the case for nearly every mailbag these last few weeks, virtually every submission we received focused on the team's pass rush. And while I would love to spend some time talking about any of the other fascinating aspects of this team, this is a space to answer your questions and that's what I'm going to do. You can submit future questions for the mailbox here.
For the sake of brevity, though, I've chosen one question to represent all of those we received about the pass rush and the trade deadline.
Joe C. from Huntington Beach, Ca.
Seriously?! The trade deadline comes & goes and we do nothing for our pass rush?! We're ok letting Jarrett get double-teamed and opt not to compliment the D-line opposite Matt Judon?! SMH.
Please explain the reasoning here cuz Za'Darius was available in Cleveland. Even bringing Calais Campbell would have been money well spent…
I am confused.
Hi, Joe! Your confusion has been heard loud and clear through your six submissions to the mailbox, so I wanted to make sure we got to you first.
From the framing of your question, it seems you believe the Falcons just sat on their hands throughout the days and weeks prior to the trade deadline. Based on everything I've learned in that time, I do not believe that to be the case at all. However, Atlanta is not the only NFL team attempting to make moves at the deadline, and it did have a couple of things working against it.
For starters, the Falcons have just five picks to work with in next year's draft — one pick in the first, second and fourth round, and two seventh-round picks. They also have between $7.5 and $7.9 million in cap space, depending on which site you look at, which isn't necessarily prohibitive, but it does complicate the discussion about short-term benefits and long-term planning. In this league, it's simply not possible to be all-in every single year without meticulous planning and some excellent decisions.
Reports indicated the Falcons were eyeing potential pass rush help at trade deadline. Those discussions apparently never manifested a move, and it's impossible to say exactly why that is. Maybe another team wanted draft capital the Falcons either didn't have or weren't willing to part with. Trading away a player likely would weaken the team in another area as well. And my personal belief is that the two players you mentioned above wouldn't be great fits for this current version of the Falcons' defense, so their cost doesn't really matter if that's how the team felt as well.
The Falcons are 6-3, which I'm willing to bet every single reader here would have gladly taken if offered that record in July, even knowing the sack totals would be low. But, here's the thing: Atlanta actually has the third-most pressures in the NFL over the last three weeks. Raheem Morris and his staff have liked the growth they've seen from their pass rush recently, and Sunday's three-sack performance was another good indicator.
"We feel really good about the guys we got," Morris said Wednesday. "So, we feel really good about where we're at."
I know it's hard to see no moves happen at the deadline, but I believe the relatively limited assets, a front office that carefully weighs future benefits and costs, and a unit that is showing real signs of improvement have far more to do with that than the Falcons choosing to do nothing.
John Brandt from Braselton, Ga.
This team is happily looking better and better by the week. At 6-3, our cohesive play, winning these "full team victories," is improving.
My question to you is, who do you think would put this team on the next level by stepping up?
Thanks and Rise Up!
Thanks for the question, John! It's a great one to pair with the question above, because my answer is Matt Judon. Acquiring a player of his caliber in training camp was exactly the type of move fans were hoping the Falcons would make at the trade deadline, and it's also a reminder that things don't always work out the way you expected.
Judon hasn't been a bad player this season, by any means. He leads the team in quarterback pressures and is second on the team in sacks. However, the big caveat there is that his sack total stands at just 1.5. That needs to improve down the stretch for the Falcons to really become a threat in the NFC.
Those who are clamoring for something to change with Atlanta's pass rush are not wrong to feel that way. It's just that I believe that change has to start with the guys in the building already, and Judon is at the top of the list. He's a four-time Pro Bowler with two double-digit sack seasons for a reason, and it's tantalizing to think what Atlanta could become if he recaptures that form.
Thank you all for today's questions! If I didn't get to yours today, it may be selected in future editions of The Mailbox. The next one will be published Tuesday morning, when Tori will answer your questions.
If you'd like to submit a question for a future mailbag, *you may do so here*.
