Atlanta's defense winning with swagger
September, 18, 2012
SEP 18
2:00
AM ET
By Pat Yasinskas | ESPN.com
RECOMMEND151TWEET27COMMENTS2KEMAILPRINT
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
William Moore's first quarter interception set the tone for the defense Monday night.
ATLANTA -- They still are wearing disguises -- lots of them -- but the days of the Atlanta Falcons masquerading as a team capable of going deep into the postseason might be ready to end.
If you saw Atlanta's defense in Monday night’s 27-21 win against the Denver Broncos at the Georgia Dome, you probably didn't recognize it. It looked nothing like the Atlanta defense that spent the previous four seasons without establishing any sort of true identity.
The Falcons have an identity now under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. They're aggressive, they've got swagger, and, most important of all, the defense is capable of winning a game on a night when the offense never fully hit its stride.