Falcons coach Arthur Smith touts Jaguars LB Myles Jack

Arthur Smith considered Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack a pain to prepare against when he was the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator.

Nothing has changed now that Smith is in his first season as the Atlanta Falcons head coach. Smith still considers Smith a pain with the Falcons preparing to play the Jaguars this upcoming Sunday at TIAA Bank Field. 

"Myles is a terrific football player and has been since they drafted him out of UCLA," Smith said. "He's been a pain. You know when I was in Tennessee, and he will be a pain on Sunday for us, and I say that in the highest compliment."

Jack's strength is his consistency to make plays because of his tremendous sideline-to-sideline speed. He also has improved his ability to get off blocks. After 10 games, Jack is the Jaguars' second-leading tackler with 67 tackles, 38 solo. Middle linebacker Damien Wilson leads the team with 70, 40 solo.

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The Jaguars' defense had allowed 3.89 yards per carry going into this past Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers. But Jacksonville surrendered 4.1 yards per carry and 171 yards rushing in Sunday's 30-10 loss.  

"You know, they've been dealing with (things) like everybody," Smith said. "It's a long season. They changed their schemes. Joe Cullen, I think is doing a really good job. You can see that it's things that as they start to evolve. Some of the elements of places where he's been. Whether you go down to some of the four down stuff or really, you know, you can see some of the Baltimore influence as well. I know this, they're going to be flying around. They're competitive."

The Falcons have experienced their share of offensive execution problems in back-to-back losses against the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. In those two losses, they got outscored 68-3. Coming off a 25-0 loss to the Patriots last Thursday, the Falcons have gone the past two games without scoring a touchdown since 1987. They also were shut out at home last week for the first time since 1988.

Similar to the Jaguars, the Falcons' offense has been ineffective. Their offensive line allowed quarterback Matt Ryan to be sacked four times last week. Atlanta's 308.3 yards per game average is the fourth lowest in the NFL. 

"The first two drives at the Dallas game, you got a chance to put points on the board. You don't. I mean, we kick a field goal, right, the first possession, second possession, and then you go a couple three and outs, and we don't handle the end of the half," Smith said. "It's just lack of execution."

Pitts has one TD catch

Former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Falcons, has only one touchdown catch after 10 games. He was limited to three catches by 29 yards against the Patriots last week. After catching seven passes 163 yards against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7, Pitts has not had more than 62 yards receiving in each of the past four games. For the season, Pitts has made 43 catches for 635 yards and his only touchdown catch came against the New York Jets. 

Hurst on injured reserve

Jacksonville native Hayden Hurst won't have the homecoming he expected. Hurst, the Falcons backup tight end and former Bolles star, won't play Sunday against the Jaguars because he was placed on injured reserve last week because of an ankle injury. Hurst will become a free agent after this season, because the Falcons declined to exercise the fifth-year option on his contract in May.

The Falcons acquired Hurst in 2020 in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a second-round pick. During his first season with the Falcons, Hurst caught a career-high 56 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns. After nine games this season,  Hurst has caught 20 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown.