Dean Pees is trying to change the culture surrounding the Falcons' defense at Flowery Branch. He entered a franchise that has struggled to consistently piece together a competent defense, but he's not using that as an excuse.
"I'm tired of everyone telling us how bad we are because after a while you start believing it," defensive coordinator Dean Pees told the media on Saturday. "Guys around here believe that 15th is OK or whatever. You've been in the top-10 (defense) one time in the last 20 years, well that bull***t is over."
Chris Goforth discussed the Falcons' DC's post-practice comments and why they get him excited about the evolving culture at Flowery Branch.
"Being average is not OK," Goforth exclaimed. "Being middle-of-the-pack defensively should not be the goal here."
We're all guilty of it, especially while Matt Ryan was leading this team. Over the last decade or so, Falcons fans and media alike have given the defense a pass so long as the offense continued to play at a high level. The narrative was always "well if they could just be middle-of-the-pack defensively..."
Why settle for that?
"(Defense is) an attitude, it's a swagger, that the Falcons defense hasn't had in a long time," Goforth said. "This is not just something that has popped up over the last two or three years, this has been an ongoing problem that the Falcons have had on the defensive line, specifically with the pass rush, and number two on the offensive line."
This team needs an attitude adjustment, they need a little nasty. We saw a little bit of that intensity pick up on Saturday as some fights broke out between the two lines.
The team has appeared to have a chip on its shoulder after an offseason full of people telling them they can't get it done, but it remains to be seen if they can capitalize on that.
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Listen to Chris Goforth and Dean Pees' full comments above.