Falcons’ Offense Needs to Evolve!

Otto Greule / Getty Images
(bleacherreport.com)

For the last 3 years the Falcons’ offense looked virtually the same, except for a lot of window dressing which created a bit of confusion for the teams that weren’t very good.  They ran the ball on a consistent basis and that was the backbone of this offense; the Falcons go as Michael Turner goes.  On several occasions, Atlanta put out 4 and 5 receiver sets and the ball was thrown to the same 2 guys: Roddy White and Michael Jenkins.  I think they are becoming too predictable and their offensive scheme doesn’t pose problems to opposing teams.  The Falcons were successful this year because: they were the least penalized team in the league – they are disciplined, they were in the top 3 on 3^rd down conversions, they didn’t turn the ball over and they are well coached.  Their success is not related to their talent level as much as their effort and work ethic.  The Falcons have a long way to go in the personnel department and I am sure Thomas Dimitroff is working on that very thing.  Because of the players available, the coaches have to create a game plan that plays to the strengths of those players and conceals the weaknesses of the team.  Coach Smith wants to run the ball, control the clock and keep the defense on the side lines because he knows what personnel he is working with.  They were exposed in the last game with Green Bay and it became very clear why some of the strategies we saw during the season were in place.  In this coming Draft the Falcons have a lot of needs to fill and if they want to be successful next year the organization has to be active in free agency.  If Atlanta wants to be successful next year, needs Mike Mularkey to open up the back half of the playbook and mix it up a little. It all leads back to the O-line needs and we can talk all we want about changes, but until the right personnel is in place the coaches can’t do anything.  They can’t change who they are on offense until the defense is fixed.  If the Falcons want post-season success in the next year or two, they need to be aggressive in free agency and hit big on their first 3 selections in the Draft.  The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl and bring to Atlanta the Lombardi trophy; the window of opportunity for this team started to open and they have to move diligently in creating that Super Bowl contender.  Success in this league is hard to achieve, but to sustain that success year in and year out is incredibly difficult, just ask the Saints and the last few Super Bowl winning teams.  The Falcons are on the right track and I am sure if they persevere with consistency and effort they will succeed.