Matt Ryan is the prohibitive favorite to collect the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award on Saturday night on the eve of the biggest game of his career. His dominant season is the biggest reason the Falcons are set to tangle with the Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl LI.
But the most telling explanation for why the Falcons should challenge to return to this stage over the next couple of years is a young defense on the rise for second-year coach Dan Quinn.
Maintaining a competitive edge has been difficult for NFC teams, and the Falcons’ appearance this week is certainly no guarantee they will prosper in 2017, when they move into a new stadium. It will be especially difficult if they lose Sunday because recent history has proved the Super Bowl hangover is a real stumbling block, one that tripped up the NFC South rival Panthers this season.
In the last 11 years, the only NFC teams to reach two Super Bowls are the Seahawks and Giants. In the AFC, the Patriots (four), Broncos (two), Steelers (two) and Colts (two) have all been more than once. Sure, that has plenty to do with quarterbacks named Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, but the Falcons could get back on the strength of a defense that is blossoming, the product of consecutive fine draft classes and a new system installed by Quinn, who came from the Seahawks after a loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
Most coaches consider 12 players to be starters on defense because the nickel cornerback plays so much, perhaps more than usual against Brady. Of the Falcons’ 12, four are rookies and four are in their second season. So while offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is expected to board the first flight to San Francisco on Monday morning to become head coach of the 49ers, there won’t be a significant hit to the defense.
The Falcons have the No. 1 offense in the league, and the defense is just scratching the surface. End Vic Beasley, drafted one pick after Bears wide receiver Kevin White in 2015, led the NFL with 15 1/2 sacks. Linebacker Deion Jones and safety Keanu Neal were first and second in tackles among league rookies.
The Falcons drafted Neal 17th overall, and some believed they reached for the thumper. He forced five fumbles and broke up nine passes. To put it in perspective, Bears safeties Adrian Amos, Harold Jones-Quartey and Deon Bush combined for nine pass breakups.
Cornerback Jalen Collins and safety Ricardo Allen, who has two postseason interceptions, are second-year pros. Nickel cornerback Brian Poole is an undrafted rookie. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell is a rookie, and tackle Grady Jarrett is in his second season.
That’s a lot of inexperience for Brady and Bill Belichick to plot against, but the Falcons dismantled the high-powered Packers offense in the NFC championship game after shutting down the Seahawks in the divisional round. The young players, especially the rookies, have made the defense progressively better and much faster than it was before Quinn’s arrival.
"When you have this many young guys who are kind of feeling their way and gaining confidence as it goes, that’s the thing that you take the most pride in," Quinn said, "because the jumps that they’re making to get better are really large. What we’ve seen from guys in their first or second year, making these strides quickly, the goal has been how fast can the young guys play like old guys in terms of their knowledge, their scheme, their effort, their communication."
In preparing for Super Bowl 51 on Feb. 5, we’ve done our homework, ranking all 50 previous Super Bowls on how enjoyable they were to watch. Arriving at these conclusions was actually pretty simple. Ask yourself a few questions: Was there exciting drama? A legendary performance? A moment that we still can’t forget? Or were they just all hype and no substance?
Here’s our complete list.
— Jeremy Gottlieb, Washington Post
The Falcons believe they put a system in place in which the newcomers were forced to earn their jobs. Injuries created some openings; top cornerback Desmond Trufant went down at midseason. And the Falcons have a core of veterans who have been willing mentors.
Edge rusher Dwight Freeney has helped bring Beasley along after an underwhelming rookie season with only four sacks. Defensive linemen Jonathan Babineaux and Tyson Jackson have seen most everything, and cornerback Robert Alford is in Year 4.
"We have no control over their experience and their background," Quinn said. "What we can control is our readiness, our mindset, the style and attitude we want to play. That’s a part of the good thing about being young, too, that you don’t have too much other stuff to worry about other than just getting ready and getting your game in order."
The Falcons look back at their Week 11 open date as key. Coming off a dud road loss to the Eagles, they closed the regular season with five wins in their final six. A year ago, a 5-0 start for Quinn was undone when they lost eight of 11.
"We were continuing to learn throughout the year, but after the bye week is when everything just clicked," Neal said.
Youth has been served, and the only question remaining is if it can help knock off the 39-year-old Brady in his bid to win an unprecedented fifth Super Bowl.
"That’s what makes this defense so good," said Allen, a fifth-round pick from Purdue in 2014 who spent that season on the practice squad. "We are fast. We are all hungry."
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BradBiggs
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