Week 8 Quick Reactions: A fond farewell to Kirktober

The talented Tre'Shon Diaz is traveling this week, so I have the honor of sharing a few snaps. As you can see, the snap occurs quite slowly as it occurs many hours later.

Nonetheless, there is much to respond and discuss, so I will not hesitate any further.

Kirk Cousins ​​closes out Kirktober in style

Cousins ​​loves the game against the Buccaneers and their suddenly soft defense. He's scored eight touchdowns against one interception in two games against Tampa Bay this year, and it all just seems that way sharper when he plays them. Whether it's terrible midfield coverage, limited pass rush, or a general dislike of Pirates, Cousins ​​is borderline surgical in these matchups.

He had to be there on Sunday and was obviously obliged to do so. He found Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney downfield, worked the flats to Ray-Ray McCloud and Bijan Robinson, and even made an impressive 13-yard scramble, faking pump the whole way as he ventured to the middle of the field and him followed The with a sneak for a first down.

Let's hope Kirkvember is just as good.

Atlanta's success on fourth down is a huge blessing

Today there were two fourth downs within reasonable range, two clear signals from Raheem Morris and great calls from Zac Robinson. The Falcons managed to get Kyle Pitts offside on the first drive — with a big assist from Pitts, of course — and Kirk Cousins ​​threw him a touchdown pass on the team's first drive. They later surprised the Buccaneers with a move from Kirk Cousins, something we weren't sure we'd see in 2024.

The Falcons are now 9/13 on fourth downs this year, a top-ten percentage in the league, and have converted more fourth down attempts in eight games than they did in 17 a year ago (8/19) and the total of the 2022 team achieved (9). /18). It's not hard to see that Morris does a good job with the details – stupid penalties aside – getting the team to stop and being willing to trust his team and be aggressive in these situations. Paired with the talent on offense and Robinson's fine work as a play caller, it helps this team convert in critical moments, and that in turn helps a team built to live dangerously weather the storm.

Wha-what? The defense is not evolving!

Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake has been under constant fire from the fan base this season for Atlanta's deeply frustrating and often lackluster play on that side of the ball. Lake has spoken of patience, hard work and a defense that is evolving, and a first-year defensive coordinator will go through growing pains along with his players.

But at some point we have to see this development, and this is not the case. The team had no sacks on Baker Mayfield's 50 dropbacks, letting him get away each time to allow an easy first-down scramble. They allowed 4.6 yards per carry and over 100 yards on the ground, had Mayfield throw three touchdowns, and seemed completely unprepared for how often the Bucs would target tight end Cade Otton and his running backs throughout the year, though This was the obvious plan Tampa Bay comes into play. After half-time they went hard again and benefited from three big ball losses; Once again they allowed enough points to keep Tampa Bay in the game late into the night and endured many frustrating periods. If anything, the defense appears to be largely the same as it was at the start, with the exception of some personnel changes and AJ Terrell's sudden emergence as a ballhawk.

Maybe these second halves and key moments will turn into something more consistent and the pressure will turn into dead ends in the coming weeks. At the moment, however, we don't have any particular reason to believe that will happen, which has everyone looking sideways at Lake and the greater defense.

The department is there for the taking

The final two division games are against the collapsing Saints and the woeful Panthers. Atlanta is currently a solid 4-0 against its NFC South rivals, including 2-0 against its closest rival after Sunday. Of course, that and a schedule that seems manageable, if a little more difficult than before the season, makes us think about Atlanta winning the division.

To be honest, that's only right. The Bucs have overcome a terrible defense and the loss of two stars, the Saints are an injury-riddled mess several games in the standings, and the Panthers need to be eliminated from orbit. The division is right there and the Falcons are in pole position to win the last nine games; Let's hope they succeed.