Back in February, I wrote: "The only reason the Falcons weren't much better in 2015 is because their offense, so reliable in the past, suddenly went flat. But I'm calling (Matt) Ryan's season an outlier: a mix of uncharacteristically inaccurate throws and poor decisions compounded by letdowns by his receivers and pass protection. I believe Ryan and coordinator Kyle Shanahan will rediscover the symbiosis that had the unit rolling early in 2015."
Nailed it.
Of course, I also wrote this in September: "I think the Falcons will be better than last season, in large part because I believe Dan Quinn's defense will make another leap in Year 2, but put me down for seven victories. The reason for skepticism is what might end up being the toughest schedule in the league."
Hey, nobody’s perfect.
It’s possible the Falcons could collapse again, but I don’t see it. It feels different this time because the All-Julio Jones offense that carried the Falcons to that 5-0 start in 2015 now is just one of many options. Shanahan's unit now is as versatile as it is effective.
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We’ve seen the Falcons outsmart the Raiders with a heavy dose of three tight-end sets. We watched the Falcons pummel the Saints by grinding out runs and picking their spots passing (and with one catch for Jones). The Falcons pounded the Panthers with Jones and Ryan setting records.
And then on Sunday the Falcons flummoxed the Broncos with Tevin Coleman doing his best Julio Jones impression (and Jones again serving as decoy). You can mitigate what the Falcons' defense did to the Broncos by noting the rookie QB making his first start; there are no such caveats for the Falcons gaining six yards per play against Denver's defense, which ranked No. 5 in Football Outsiders Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average.
This Falcons offense is for real, and after the Falcons beat the Broncos, the talking heads are noticing.
NBC analyst Rodney Harrison on “Football Night in America”: “You have to give offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan a lot of credit. He’s doing a great job week-to-week adjusting his game plan. Last week it was big plays to Julio Jones throwing the ball down the field; today it was utilizing his running game.”
Harrison’s co-analyst, Tony Dungy: “They went right for that match-up, those running backs on the linebackers. They didn’t test those corners so much, and I thought it was a great game plan.”
ESPN analyst Herd Edwards on “SportsCenter”: “Kyle Shanahan figured this thing out. (The Broncos) are 21st versus the run. . . . (The Falcons) ran the ball but what I like is they spread them out and they threw the ball to them. They had more receptions than Julio Jones. Give Kyle Shanahan a lot of credit.”
Edwards’ co-analyst, Merril Hodge: “Atlanta is the most exciting offense in football. They do more flow and misdirection than anybody and they have a ton of mismatches across the board. Julio Jones has one catch, they win. Then they have 300 yards and they win. That tells you how flexible they are.”
The Falcons offense is indeed flexible. And that’s why these 4-1 Falcons are not like those 4-0 Falcons who faded in 2015.
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