Jimmy Lake has to be better for Falcons against shorthanded Bucs

The topic of conversation for the Atlanta Falcons is the defense, more specifically, the pass rush or lack thereof.

For seemingly the umpteenth time in a row, the club ranks dead last in the NFL in sacks. It’s a tired conversation, and to make it more infuriating, Falcons coaches are doing the same song and dance as their predecessors.

“We don’t look down and stare down at what a stat sheet says on how many this, and how many that, and how many that,” defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said. “At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to win football games. The first thing we’re trying to do is outrun the South and win the South and try to secure a playoff spot. And so, individual statistics and all those things, those are extracurricular stuff that’s off to the side.

“The number one thing we’re trying to do is get the ball back for our offense, make sure they score less points than our team scores, which would mean we would win at the end of the day.”

Listen, nobody subscribes to the “shut up, nerd” narrative more than me, but at a certain point, we have to acknowledge the stat sheet is a direct representation of what’s happening on the field.

The stat sheet says the Falcons’ defense is a bottom-five unit. The eye test says the same. Jimmy Lake has to be better, and he’ll have an excellent opportunity to do so this week against the Buccaneers.

Baker Mayfield tore the Falcons up in their first meeting, but the Tampa quarterback will be without his top pass catchers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Falcons didn’t take advantage of a hobbled Seattle offensive line, only sacking Geno Smith once and letting the veteran signal caller dice them up despite being under constant pressure.

That isn’t necessarily on Jimmy Lake, but the buck stops at the coordinator, and he’ll be in a prime position to improve his unit against a very shorthanded Bucs offense.

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Photographer: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire