Falcons’ Zac Robinson on the run game: ‘Offensive line will all bounce back’
FLOWERY BRANCH — Perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of the Falcons’ 23-20 season-opening loss Sunday against the Buccaneers was the offense’s struggles in the run game.
The Falcons were held to 2.5 yards per carry, which ranked 28th in the NFL in Week 1.
The Falcons (0-1) are set to face the Vikings (1-0) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Falcons averaged 130.5 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 10th in the NFL. The Falcons did lose perhaps their best run blocker in right tackle Kaleb McGary for the season with a leg injury. Elijah Wilkinson started for McGary, but the Falcons repeatedly tried to run the ball behind left tackle Jake Matthews and left guard Matthew Bergeron and were stuffed.
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, after his film review, believes they know how to get the run game going.
“With the run game, with everything in detail and greater detail, as much as we can,” Robinson said. “But there was some stuff we look back on the tape that we kind of knew, in game, just some of the mistakes from an execution standpoint that can be cleaned up.”
Robinson avoided singling out any players.
“We all have shared accountability with what happened on Sunday,” Robinson said. “So, a lot to clean up. It was great to, obviously, flush the tape out and move on to the next week.”
Running back Bijan Robinson was held to 24 yards on 12 carries. Tyler Allgeier had 10 carries for 24 yards. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had six carries for 21 yards and a touchdown.
“I know those guys are excited to practice just to get that bad taste out,” Robinson said. “But (we have) a lot to clean up and just as we continue to build this thing, knowing it’s a long season.”
The Falcons’ offensive line takes pride in running the ball.
“I know our offensive line, everybody knows our offensive line will all bounce back together,” Robinson said. “But again, it’s us collectively figuring it out and making sure that it’s a little bit better this week.”
In addition to the overall low output, the Falcons were getting stuffed in short-yardage situations.
“I think we were in the pistol (formation), I think, in short yardage,” Robinson said. “Yeah, pistol and underneath the center. The (quarterback is) at the exact same location and in the (shotgun), he’s at 5 yards. He’s a little bit closer to the line of scrimmage.
“But again, depending on the week, without getting into too much schematics, we look at those things based on what we’re trying to accomplish from a scheme standpoint, from what we’re seeing on their end.”
The Falcons are putting together a better short-yardage plan.
“That’s definitely an area that we’re regrouping,” Robinson said. “Short yardage, we want to make sure that we have great answers for the guys and that we can execute those plays in those crucial moments. But, definitely a big point of emphasis this week is the short yardage, getting that going and those things definitely can happen.”
In the meeting with the Vikings last season, the Falcons ran the ball well. The Falcons had 32 carries for 158 yards (4.6 per carry) and two touchdowns.
It was clear that the Falcons missed McGary. Robinson acknowledged that it’s time for the revamped line to gel.
“That unit, like you’re alluding to, it is continuity and reps and feeling blocks and understanding the angles that you’re driving people on,” Robinson said. “So, it absolutely is something that we know. Shoot, Week 1 to Week 5, we expect to see a big jump in that to Week 10. We expect it to be firing on all cylinders.”
Bijan Robinson’s 24 yards was his lowest output since he had 11 yards on seven carries against Carolina his rookie season on Dec. 17, 2023.
“So, we understand it’s a long season,” Zac Robinson said. “It’s not a one-game season. Those guys will just continue to grow together from a communication standpoint and then just from a fundamentals and techniques standpoint. Expect those guys to just keep getting better together.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris gave the Bucs credit for shutting down the run game.
“I don’t want to take any credit away from what Tampa was able to do,” Morris said. “They did an excellent job. They presented some great challenges for us, but we’ve got to go out and find ways to run the football whether that’s coaching better, whether that’s playing better, whatever the case may be.”
The Falcons had several question marks this season, but the run game was not supposed to be one of them.
“Very key to what we want to do,” Morris said. “That’s always going to be key every single week, so I don’t think that’s a big secret. But, we want to go out there and be able to establish our run game the way we want to do it.”
Correction
This story has been updated to correct the Falcons’ record.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
