It’s good news for Atlanta’s intriguing young defensive linemen.
With no offense intended toward any of the coaches the Atlanta Falcons hired this offseason, Nate Ollie was the one I was most excited about. A well-regarded coach who has consistently found a way to elevate the pass rushing prowess of lines he’s worked with at stops from Philadelphia to Indianapolis to Houston, Ollie was the right hire for a Falcons team in desperate need of development and cleverness up front.
That impression was reinforced when Ollie joined other coaches in speaking to the media earlier this week. Reiterating Raheem Morris’s belief that no team can ever have enough pass rushers, Ollie talked about the importance of having talent and depth in late game situations, when games can be won and lost by whether a defense is ruthless or gassed.
“Most of these games, you’re not blowing nobody out,” Ollie said, noting most games come down to the final minutes in today’s NFL. “You need everybody. You can never have enough rushers. Really, I stamp that, I stand on that.”
Ollie said the team will be in an “attack-style” front, where he’ll want linemen (and outside linebackers, naturally) to play free, attack gaps while maintaining integrity, and not worry so much about reading what’s happening and reacting as going after the quarterback and ball carrier like very large bats out of a very hot hell. He specifically mentioned the benefits of an attacking front for second-year defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro, who will handle the three technique (where a defensive lineman is lined up against the outside shoulder of the opposing guard) and should benefit from “taking the thinking out of it” and simply using his athleticism, strength, and savvy to get into the backfield.
“Shoot, just all I know is get off the ball and attack,” Ollie said.
In addition to Ruke’s role, Ollie talked about using Brandon Dorlus both inside and on the edge this season, where he said he’ll be a mismatch against tight ends forced to try to block him. Dorlus came out of college with pass rushing production and a history of playing all over Oregon’s defensive line, and it sounds like he’ll both A) get significant playing time and B) get to showcase his versatility and pass rushing chops for Atlanta this year. Zach Harrison will be used off the edge as a big end, and Ollie’s motto for this line is a pretty simple “GTFO.” That’s a direct quote. He’s as fired up about rushing the passer as any coach I’ve heard from in Atlanta.
Ollie’s passion for having a deep stable of pass rushers and showing aggression is welcome for Falcons fans who saw Jimmy Lake’s curiously passive approach last season, not to mention the years of ineptitude this defensive front has weathered since John Abraham was pushed out way back in 2013. Now the job is just translating that passion into results, but I’ll leave you with a quote that illustrates exactly what Ollie envisions for the pass rush from this front in 2025.
“When a guy gets tired, you can just go in waves. Everything we trying to do now, we’re trying to be like Mike Tyson and throw haymakers, we’re getting off the ball and attacking, throwing haymakers, no jabs.”