Atlanta Falcons training camp fights are a good thing

The Falcons’ offense is going to be what puts butts in seats this season, but the defense is what will be the difference in the club accomplishing its goal of a postseason berth.

Michael Penix Jr. and the slew of weapons will fill Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Zac Robinson has Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts, and D.J. Chark, along with an offensive line that is returning four and a half starters from a year ago.

The unit finished sixth in yards per game (369.8 yards), 10th in rushing yards per game (130.5 yards), fifth in passing (239.5 yards), and 13th in points per game (22.9 points). That’s all with Kirk Cousins failing to throw a touchdown compared to eight interceptions across a four-game span.

However, the reason the Falcons haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 has mostly been due to the pitiful defense, with the pass rush being the most glaring weakness of that side of the ball.

Terry Fontenot invested heavily in the defensive line over the last two offseasons, spending five total draft picks on three players — Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr., and Ruke Orhorhoro. The Falcons GM selected Walker with the team’s top pick in April’s draft and traded a future first-round pick and a third-rounder for Pearce and Orhorhoro, respectively.

The Falcons’ defense hasn’t just been missing good players, though. They’ve been missing attitude. They’ve been missing guys who strike fear into opposing offenses, like Keanu Neal. However, it seems the Falcons got a pair of guys who certainly talk the talk in Orhorhoro and Pearce. The two were at the center of several training camp fights last week.

“He’s prideful as it gets,” Jeff Ulbrich said of the rookie James Pearce Jr., via Marc Raimondi. “He loves this game. He’s got deep love for his teammates … and he wants to come out here and create a strong impression on everybody — and himself included — that he can do this. And you do this at a high level, and I think when you’re in that place of just every ounce of your body’s trying to prove who you are, sometimes it gets to that place where it can get a little wacky sometimes.

As for Orhorhoro, even though he hasn’t proven anything at the NFL level, he’s not letting that affect his confidence. “I’m chirping at everybody. Quarterbacks, receivers. Anybody in my way I’m chirpin at em. Once I get going I’m not gonna stop, I can’t shut up,” he said.

Raheem Morris once said that bad teams fight, and maybe there’s something to that. I’m not going to pretend I know more than the Falcons head coach, but I can’t help but think back to two of the greatest coaches — Bill Belichick and Nick Saban — this game has ever seen, and their takes on practice

During the Patriots documentary, we saw behind-the-scenes looks of Tom Brady and New England’s offense fighting Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel, and the rest of the defense. Competition was at the highest level every time they stepped on the field, and Belichick loved it.

Saban, and Kirby Smart more recently, had practices that were famous for being more difficult than games. It’s the kind of competition that breeds champions, and it feels like the Falcons haven’t had that kind of edge in quite a long time.

Maybe those teams just had really good players, and the intense practices were a by-product of ultra-competitive guys. But I can’t help to think there’s a correlation, even if it’s slight, between how those teams practiced and the championships they won.