FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons have had to time reflect on their struggles to convert in short-yardage situations Sunday against the 49ers.
The Falcons’ were 1-of-7 in short-yardage plays, and they ran an assortment of plays trying to get an advantage mostly in speed. They didn’t feel like they had an advantage in the power department.
The Falcons (6-8) will need to convert their short-yardage situations when they face the Detroit Lions (2-11-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Obviously, those are critical downs,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “There are different philosophies when you get to first-and-1, second-and-1. Some people, generally, if you want to be risky there, there are all kinds of different theories and whatnot.”
Second-and-short is the time to be risky and maybe throw the ball down the field.
“What you really have to look at is the critical downs,” Smith said. “What happened after that. If you take a shot on second-and-1 and don’t get it, so you convert on third down or do you lose a yard? Now, it becomes third-and-2. … It’s not clean. Like a lot of football, there are a lot of variables.”
In a scholarly football article on The33rdTeam.com website, author Peter Engler examines the used of size vs. speed in an article titled: “Size vs Speed: How to Convert Short-Yardage.”
He looks at John Riggins’ 43-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 in Super Bowl XVII and breaks down the power formation and the blocking.
Engler used an example of Indianapolis Colts’ play out of a three wide-receiver formation in Super Bowl XLIV. Peyton Manning passed to Reggie Wayne on a slant to convert in short yardage.
Smith noted that Washington had the famed “Hogs” offensive line blocking for Riggins, who broke loose on Don Shula’s defense on his 36th carry of the game.
“It was a thing of beauty,” Smith said of Riggins run.
In the space example, Smith noted that the Colts put the ball in the hands of their playmaker, Manning.
“Then there are a lot of ways to look at it,” Smith said. “Ultimately, some of the best coaches say put the ball in your best player’s hands. I’d argue that they probably did that with Peyton Manning, no offense to (Washington guard) Russ (Grimm) and all of his teammates, there were other Hall of Fames on that line, but Peyton was pretty damn good.
“So was John Riggins and those guys upfront, Russ and the boys,” Smith said.
Engler wanted to know whether in 2021, with smaller defenses and more speed on the field, which concept is more efficient at converting in short yardage.
Based on Smith’s calls Sunday against the 49ers, he likes a mixture. The Falcons also struggled in short yardage against New England.
“Now you get into to critical yardage, third-and-1, fourth-and-1, and I believe we are 61% on the year on third-and-1 (which they are, along with 41.7% on fourth-and-1),” Smith said. “We were 68% last year in Tennessee in third-and-1, give or take. You’ve got to win those downs, and there’s a lot that goes into it.”
There’s the Riggins, smash-mouth approach.
“Obviously, primitive, right up the middle,” Smith said. “Sneaks, dives, bellys, or what every you want to call it. One-back hitters. It’s all about matchups. Sometimes ... it’s going to be about matchups up front.”
So, if you have the Hogs and can move folks around, take the power approach. If you don’t, then you have to consider the speed approach. The Falcons went with the speed approach several times against the 49ers. They went shotgun, empty backfield and even faked a dive and tossed a pitch out.
“There are strategic things you try to do whether if you want to go inside, you want to go outside, want to do misdirection,” Smith said. “You’ve seen a lot of jet sweeps. We’ve converted on a jet sweep.”
The Falcons, like most teams, work on their short-yardage packages as a part of the game plan during the week.
“You try and find what your advantages are,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Is it spacing them out and trying to create space to get a gap to be able to move the chains or do you feel like the defense that you’re going against, you’re better off packing it in and trying to go with those power percentages.”
The coaching staff studies the film to come up with their perceived advantages in short yardage.
“I think as players it’s our responsibility to make those plays come to life,” Ryan said. “To find ways, whether it is with power or space whatever that may be, we have to find a way to get the job done.”
The concept of snapping the ball backward into a shotgun formation away from the goal seems anti-football. The Falcons pitched the ball seven yards from the one yard they needed to gain to Cordarelle Patterson against the 49ers.
“I understand,” Ryan said. “You don’t want to take the ball further away from where you’re at. But we’ve scored plenty of touchdowns from the ‘gun. Thrown plenty of them from the ‘gun down there on the 1-yard line. I think there are successful ways to do it from multiple different looks.”
Ryan doesn’t appear to have a preference.
“In my experience, we’ve had success doing it both ways,” Ryan said.
Engler crunched the down-and-distance numbers.
“Spreading out the field is enormously beneficial to an offense, but if you need to pick up those final few yards, size still reigns supreme,” he wrote.
Credit: ArLuther Lee
Credit: ArLuther Lee
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