AJC > Sports > Falcons > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 10
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The red zone puzzle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Players were off today but will resume practice Wednesday.
Coach Jim Mora emphasized Monday that during the bye week, coaches spent a great deal of time trying to figure out ways to get into the end zone once they got inside the opposing 20-yard line. That, of course, has been a problem.
It is unknown how they plan on rectifying the situation, but I wouldn’t expect a radical shift. Atlanta might try more lob passes or interior runs. The key also could be to limit the play action and get the ball out of quarterback Michael Vick’s hands faster, if he’s not running.
A huge problem so far in the red zone has been the abundance of negative yards on first and second down that have forced obvious passing situations.
Some other things that I’ll try to keep you updated on when practice resumes will be whether Ashley Lelie retains his starting job at wide receiver, how middle linebacker Ed Hartwell factors into the defense and if Jerious Norwood looks like he’ll get more snaps at tailback.
