When fans discuss ways to improve the struggling Atlanta Falcon’s defense, they often focus on shuffling the team’s defensive lineup in favor of a youth movement. Often, it is due to the belief that the unknown and unproven young player offers more upside than the more established veteran.
The assumption is that some as-of-yet-unseen combination of 11 defenders will get positive results. But this perspective fails to understand that the on-field results are due to choices made by coaches on the sideline regarding the scheme.
I discussed this last week when suggesting specific tweaks the Falcons defense should make to their scheme.