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Monday, October 16, 2006
Mora should shoulder the blame
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
There is a tendency in times like these to blame the quarterback. While you’re throwing your beer can at the TV, it’s easy to forget this is the same Michael Vick who four years ago won a playoff game in Green Bay, who two years ago led his team to the NFC title game, and who has played in three Pro Bowls in as many full seasons.
There is a tendency to look at the obvious, like receivers who can’t get open, or drop the ball when they do, or suddenly think they must be good because their paychecks say so.
But this is not about players. It’s about direction. That starts and ends with coaching.
Michael Vick is not a bad quarterback, and the Falcons should not have a bad offense. But right now he is, and they are.
In the past three games, the Falcons’ offense has scored three touchdowns. Two of those were fluky aberrations you generally see in Division I-AA — a 90-yard run by Warrick Dunn and a 78-yard run by Jerious Norwood. Those aren’t staples, they’re bonuses.
Over the past three games, covering 34 possessions, the offense has one other touchdown drive. Go back to the second half of the Tampa Bay game and it’s 40 possessions.
The loss to the New York Giants on Sunday was game five of year three.
Things should be better by now.
It’s important to remember that the Giants game came after a bye week, affording the Falcons extra practices to work on their problems. It came after an offseason in which Vick reportedly spent more time in Atlanta, studying tape and getting comfortable with his receivers.
If this is comfortable, what does uncomfortable look like?
Coach Jim Mora will tell you that he and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp coach a productive offense. He won’t tell you that the Falcons rank 32nd in the NFL in passing. They have allowed the sixth-most sacks (18).
The good news is that Vick has thrown only three interceptions. The bad news is that he has thrown only three touchdowns and completed only 59 passes (less than 12 per game).
The Falcons are 3-2 despite having scored only seven offensive touchdowns.
When things don’t go well and Mora is asked questions that suggest as much, he gets defensive. Monday was no exception. When asked about a perceived lack of confidence in the passing game, he said, “Is that from you or from us?”
And then it went like this: “From me, from the outside,” I said.
“Were you at the game?”
“I watched the game.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I would not agree with you. But your opinion’s fine. That’s OK. You’re entitled to that.”
I appreciated the confirmation.
But at this point, I wondered if maybe the two-dimensional view Fox afforded me was inadequate. I mean, maybe six punts, two turnovers and three straight three-and-outs in the second half (net gain: 8 yards) look a lot better in 3-D.
Maybe Roddy White looks better in 3-D. Maybe in 3-D, he breaks a sweat. In 2-D, he stinks. In any dimension, Ashley Lelie should be starting ahead of him.
Mora again: “We’ve dropped some balls. … We need to make tough catches. We need to make easy catches. We need to just make catches.”
We found common ground. After hearing this, I’m certain Mora has been at all five games.
He says he’s confident. That’s good. But if supposedly talented players aren’t performing, there’s something to be said about not being coached up. And if an offense is not in sync and players do not appear to be collectively playing with confidence — at least, to these untrained eyes watching from a couch — then there are failures in the system and play-calling.
Lelie has played in productive offenses in Denver. He said of the current situation with this one: “It’s not good. It has to be a major concern. We can’t just say, ‘Oh, we’ll get better.’ We have to go into practice Wednesday trying to fix things because things won’t magically get better.”
Another offseason didn’t help. A bye week didn’t help.
At some point, you realize that it’s not players being outplayed as much as coaches being outcoached.
WHERE THEY RANK A look at where the Falcons rank in the NFL: Rush offense No. 1 232.0 yards per game Pass offense No. 32 114.0 yards per game Rush defense No. 15 107.2 yards per game Pass defense No. 13 193.4 yards per game
