The Atlanta Falcons made a huge move Wednesday morning, as defensive-end Bruce Irvin was signed to a one-year deal with his hometown team. There has been speculation about this move for a few years now; however, the right moment hadn’t come until a few days ago when the Oakland Raiders released the former Super Bowl champion.
There is a saying that says, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Thankfully for the Falcons, the Raiders were, once again, ignorant enough to let one of their more-talented players find work elsewhere.
If we are being honest, this couldn’t have come at a better time for Dan Quinn’s Falcons. Through eight games of the 2018 season, Atlanta has only recorded 17 total sacks, which is sixth-worst in the entire National Football League. While Irvin’s production has certainly been less-than-impressive this year in Oakland, I have faith in Quinn’s ability to motivate his players and take them to another level.
It will be interesting to see how the addition of Irvin affects Vic Beasley at defensive-end. Of Atlanta’s 17 sacks this year, the former Clemson Tigers star has only recorded one. That’s right, one.
If Irvin can revitalize the Falcons pass-rush and give Atlanta two solid pass-rushing options off-the-edge, including Takk McKinley, this Dirty Birds team becomes very scary moving forward. Not to mention, Atlanta will be getting middle linebacker, Deion Jones, back in just a few weeks.
Was this a move that sets Atlanta up to make a run towards being the first NFL team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium? We’ll find out soon.
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