FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ vaunted rushing attack has been stuck in the mud in recent games.
They will look to open some running room for Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier when they face the Bucs, who have the NFL’s seventh-ranked rush defense, at 1 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
“We understand that people are coming up,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone. “There are a lot of guys in the box. We give credit to our players for identifying a lot of those structures. The coaches do a great job of putting our players in the best position to understand what the defense is trying to do.”
The Falcons, who regularly have faced eight men near the line of scrimmage, believe they are close to breaking some runs.
“We are going to continue to rely on the fundamentals,” Ragone said. “We are going to continue to believe in what we believe. Go out there and play with good energy.”
Over the past two games, the Falcons have shown they can pass the ball when teams are geared to stop the rushing attack. Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder has thrown for back-to-back 300-yard games.
The Falcons stayed with the run when the Texans and the Commanders decided to place eight and sometimes nine players near the line of scrimmage.
Robinson and Allgeier ran 26 times for 88 yards for a subpar 3.4 yards per carry against the Commanders. A total of 4.0 yards per carry is respectable.
Allgeier rushed 13 times for 51 yards (3.9 per carry) and Robinson rushed 13 times for 37 yards (2.8 averaged).
Falcons coach Arthur Smith doesn’t want to force the run “45 times” with so many defenders near the line of scrimmage. But somehow the Falcons must still figure out ways to pierce defenses with their rushing attack, which ranks 10th in the league (119 yards per game).
Robinson looks at the loaded boxes as a sign of respect.
“For me, they respect what we do on offense and how we go about things on the field,” said Robinson, who has 80 rushed for 401 yards (5.0 per carry). “So, they are going to want try to get the upper hand and try to do whatever they can to stop what we do best.”
The Falcons plan to continue to lean on the rushing attack.
“For us as an offense, we can’t worry about that,” Robinson said. “It doesn’t matter how many people you want to put in the box or anything. You’ve got a job to do.
“We want to make it (work) to the best of our ability. Yes, teams are going to come out with a game plan, but for us we need to come out with a better game plan to counter.”
Robinson, who was taken eighth overall in the draft, plans to keep plugging away against the Bucs, who are giving up only 83.8 rushing yards per game.
“Yeah, just keep on playing my game,” Robinson said. “Keep the faith.”
Allgeier broke the franchise rookie rushing record last season when he rushed for 1,035 yards. The old mark of 1,023 was set in 1979 by William Andrews. (Robinson is on pace for 1,136, which would break Allgeier’s mark.)
Allgeier knows the Bucs have a sturdy defense that is anchored by massive tackle Vita Vea (6-foot-4, 347 pounds) and linebacker Lavonte David.
“They have a really good defense,” Allgeier said. “It will be a great challenge for us. It’s a matter of us getting back to the fundamentals and executing. Playing our brand of football, that’s the biggest thing.”
Allgeier has rushed 75 times for 242 yards (3.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns this season.
He made his first NFL start at Tampa Bay last season and rushed 13 times for 45 yards in a 21-15 loss Oct. 9. He rushed 24 times for 135 yards in the 30-17 win over the Bucs on Jan. 8.
“It’s a battle,” Allgeier said about what he learned from those two games. “We have bad blood, I would say. Almost as bad as the Saints. It’s a good team. Glad to face them and have them as rivals.”
Allgeier believes the Falcons just need to stay patient in the run game.
“Not all runs are going to be perfect,” Allgeier said. “Be able to go through them and just watch the film and see what we could (do) as the running backs.
The Falcons must figure out how to thrive against the loaded boxes.
“Obviously, having what, 10 guys in the box, compared to six or seven, it’s a hard look,” Allgeier said. “It’s hard to put a body to a body, and obviously combos (combination blocks), to get to where we need to, but just having that extra guy in the box can cause issues, but that’s just a guy that we have to handle. Or possibly, it depends on the run, I guess.”
More play-action passing was mentioned by Allgeier as a possibility.
Also, running back Cordarrelle Patterson has not been a major factor.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
About the Author
