Rethinking and rearranging your depth charts will take up an incredible amount of your time. After you take your team’s offensive and defensive schemes into account, you can easily drive yourself crazy thinking about the ideal lineup. No worries, we’re here to help. Today, we’re taking you through the ideal depth chart setup for the Atlanta Falcons.
Falcons Offense
Offensively, you probably won’t have to make any changes to the lineup unless you have different preferences. Otherwise, the ideal depth chart setup for the Atlanta Falcons offense is already ordered for you.
Atlanta is a team you will certainly come across frequently during online H2H matches. After all, they have the NFL MVP Matt Ryan at quarterback with Julio Jones running routes.
Jones is possibly the most dangerous offensive weapon in Madden 17 with an amazing 98 overall rating. It’s definitely worth mentioning that Julio’s final player ratings are nearly perfect across all receiver categories. He sports a 98 catch, 96 route, 97 catch in traffic, 98 spectacular catch, 98 beat press, and 97 jump.
Factor in Taylor Gabriel, Mohamed Sanu, and Jacob Tamme, and throwing the ball all over the field isn’t an issue with the Falcons in Madden 17.
Also, the Falcon’s backfield is loaded with talented players. Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, and Patrick DiMarco are all dangerous in the run game (DiMarco more on short yardage downs). Perhaps, the only weakness on the Falcon offense is on the offensive line. RG Chris Chester is only rated a 72, and LT Jake Matthews a 77, which seems a bit low for the LT. Matthews’ rating should be a little higher given his performance in the playoffs this past season.
Depth Chart
QB: Matt Ryan
HB: Devonta Freeman (1), Teviin Coleman (2)
FB: Patrick DiMarco
WR: Julio Jones (1), Mohamed Sanu.(2), Taylor Gabriel (3), Justin Hardy (4), Aldrick Robinson (5)
TE: Jacob Tamme (1), Austin Hooper (2)
LT: Jake Matthews
LG: Andy Levitre
C: Alex Mack
RG: Chris Chester
RT: Ryan Schraeder
3DRB: Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman
Falcons Defense & Special Teams
Atlanta is a great team on offense, clearly. However, you should be aware that the ideal depth chart setup for the Atlanta Falcons defense isn’t as simple as pressing the “Auto Reorder” button. Setting the lineup on this side of the ball requires special consideration since they play a 4-3, and the default lineup fits better with a 3-4 scheme. You’ll probably want to make some changes starting with the defensive ends.
NFL sack leader Vic Beasley is the starter at LOLB on the default chart, so you’ll want to move him over to LE instead of Tyson Jackson. FYI, if Beasley is the starting LOLB in a 4-3 scheme, then he’s taken off the field in certain sets like Nickel and Dime.
Replace Beasley with Paul Worrilow. Worrilow is a 74 overall at the LOLB spot. With 83 speed, 78 awareness, and 81 tackle, Worrilow is a decent choice for LOLB. Reed makes a great option at RE in the Falcons 4-3 defense, but you could always put Freeney at RE. The choice is yours and comes down to a matter of preference.
Also, Adrian Clayborn works a little better at DT instead of at RE. Clayborn sports much better strength than Babineaux. Clayborn also has an 82 power move rating to go along with an 80 in block shedding. Babineaux’s measly 63 power move, and his low 74 block shedding both make him a liability in the running game.
Ra’shede Hageman is another great option for the number two DT spot. Hageman has a better strength rating than Clayborn, but also has lower power move and block shed ratings.
Remember, this reconfiguration is only a suggestion. The ideal depth chart setup for the defense is hard to achieve. The types of players they have, and the type of defensive playbook they use both conflict with one another.
Depth Chart
LE: Vic Beasley
RE: Brooks Reed/Dwight Freeney
DT: Grady Jarrett(1), Adrian Clayborn/Ra’shede Hageman(2)
LOLB: Paul Worrilow
MLB: Deion Jones
ROLB: Devondre Campbell
CB: Desmond Trufant(1), Robert Alford(2), Jalen Collins(3), Brian Poole(4)
FS: Ricardo Allen
SS: Keanu Neal
On special teams, consider moving Taylor Gabriel into both the starting KR and PR roles. Gabriel is definitely one of those players under the radar. His speed and agility ratings make him a threat to run back punts and kicks. Eric Weems is rated highly in both the KR and PR spots, but his sluggish 84 speed rating hurts your chances to run away from the kicking team.
Special Teams
K: Matt Bryant
P: Matt Bosher
KR: Taylor Gabriel (1), Eric Weems (2)
PR: Taylor Gabriel
LS: Alex Mack
KOS: Matt Bryant
That does it for Atlanta’s ideal depth chart setup. What are your thoughts? Would you configure your defense differently? Maybe start Tevin Coleman over Devonta Freeman? As always, feel free to comment below.
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