One of the most underrated things about great NFL defenses is how efficiently and effectively they communicate. The Falcons brought in a hands-on new head coach, a new defensive coordinator, and several new (in some cases, extremely new) faces on that side of the ball. Making sure that communication is on point heading into the season is key.
New additions Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons hit the ground running, though, according to Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.
“It’s been extremely smooth,” said Lake on Wednesday. “Shoutout to our position coaches for getting them up to speed, and then shoutout to those players (Simmons and Judon) for really being in this building and taking good notes and watching the film and asking great questions.