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Monday, September 18, 2006
Falcons running toward harm’s way
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Flowery Branch — Fresh off the Falcons spending a second consecutive game executing the spread-option college attack of Texas and West Virginia so well that they could meet Ohio State for the national championship, offensive coordinator Greg Knapp wasn’t available for comment on Monday. Perhaps he was breaking down old films of Red Grange and the Four Horsemen.
This running thing for the Falcons is getting a little creepy.
There isn’t a thing wrong with running, running and running some more. In fact, from the Pop Warner level through that of the pros, running is preferred. Running wins championships, whether we’re talking about Steelers (as in The Bus and Willie Parker for Pittsburgh), Longhorns (as in Vince Young destroying USC) or Vikings (as in Lowndes, Georgia’s Class AAAAA high school champions for two years).
Not only that, during the NFL season’s opening two weeks, the Falcons used a lot of Michael Vick, even more of Warrick Dunn and a little of Jerious Norwood to chew through the historically run-suffocating defenses of Carolina and Tampa Bay for 252 yards and 306 yards, respectively. The Falcons also are undefeated. Plus, in each of the two seasons during the Jim Mora regime, the Falcons led the league in rushing for a trip to the NFC championship game that first year and a flying start the next before crashing shy of the playoffs. That’s all fine, but this potentially isn’t: Unlike any team in recent NFL history, the Falcons are prospering on the ground with a heavy emphasis on this option stuff.
It’s an offense that is splendid for colleges, where most defenses aren’t solid across the board regarding size and speed. So, with an efficient option attack at that level, you can exploit a weakness or three of your opponent. Conversely, it’s an offense that hasn’t longevity in the pros. Defensive coordinators eventually figure these things out, and they also have enough prolific linebackers to make your quarterback wobble instead of sprint along the way to the injured reserve list.
That said, Mora praised Vick for avoiding mighty blows during his various zigs and zags on Sunday. It’s just that at this staggering rate of carries for Vick, those mighty blows are only a sprint away. With the option to run, pass or hand off on many plays against the Buccaneers, Vick nearly ran (14) as many times as he threw (15) for 127 yards rushing. Then there is Dunn, the NFL’s top rusher with 266 yards. The thing is, he’s averaging 25 carries per game, and he entered this season averaging 15 carries per game during each of his previous nine years in the league, and he’s 31, a dinosaur age for running backs.
Not good.
Well, that’s me talking.
“It’s a unique offense that we have right now, but I just think it’s unique for us, because we have an exceptional player at quarterback who can run and throw,” Dunn said. “We also have backs that this system really fits. We have receivers who can block and catch. We have an All-Pro tight end. We have the talent to drop back and throw it, but we also have the talent to run. We complement each other. That’s why it’s so unique.”
Unique can get you killed in a league that hasn’t had a team attempt to run like this in decades. Literally. I worked in Cincinnati in 1978 when the Kansas City Chiefs came to town, and I was sent to write about their new coach, Marv Levy, resurrecting the wing-T from the dead. The offense featured a wingback operating as a second tight end while running inside counters, snatching curls and blocking like crazy. According to Levy, owner of a master’s degree from Harvard, he wished to keep what statistically was the worst defense in history at the time off the field. In other words, Levy was desperate, and those Chiefs averaged 41 carries per game.
These Falcons aren’t desperate, with a defense that is the antithesis of the one for Levy’s Chiefs. Still, these Falcons are averaging four more carries per games than those Chiefs. Definitely not good. Still, unlike those Chiefs, these Falcons are winning, which is the bottom line.
Until somebody gets hurt.
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