FLOWERY BRANCH — Despite statistics that point to low production, Falcons coach Arthur Smith doesn’t believe there is a disconnect between quarterback Marcus Mariota and tight end Kyle Pitts.
“There’s not a disconnect,” Smith said. “We’ve been pretty efficient in the red zone; it’s been trending that way. Again, the further the ball travels, statistically, those aren’t high-percentage plays.
“Every player is different, how much air you need to put on them, they run underneath it, or whatever. So, we have hit plays to Kyle, we can continue to work with all of our guys. That’s the name of the game every week.”
The Falcons (4-5) are set to play the Panthers (2-7) at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
When the Falcons get the ball to Pitts, they win. His two biggest games came in victories over Seattle (87 yards receiving) and Carolina (80). In the other seven games, Pitts has been held to under 30 yards receiving.
Mariota completed only two passes to Pitts for 27 yards in the 20-17 loss to the Chargers on Sunday. He was targeted seven times. One of the misses came when Pitts was wide open on a deep throw.
“We just didn’t execute,” Pitts said.
Pitts has caught 23 of 46 targets (50%) for 285 yards and two touchdowns. That puts him on pace for 43 catches and 538 yards. He has three dropped passes, according to profootballreference.com. Pitts caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards last season as a rookie with Matt Ryan at quarterback.
“First and foremost, I can do a better job of giving Kyle more opportunities with the ball,” Mariota said. “I think sometimes I’ve been a little too safe, a little too conservative, where I’m putting the football.”
Pitts’ wingspan (83 ⅜ inches) was well publicized after the Falcons took him with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. There’s a theory that Mariota just has to get the ball within Pitts’ massive wingspan.
“So, giving him a chance to go get it,” Mariota said. “I think that’ll help some of his target numbers.”
Mariota and Pitts are not the gold standard quarterback-to-tight end combination of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. However, consider that Pitts made the Pro Bowl last season. Kelce has just one game with under 30 yards receiving. He has three 100-yard games and has caught 77 of 57 targets (82.4%).
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
“I think it just comes down to, one, getting more opportunities, and making the most of those things,” Mariota said. “Those opportunities will come when we convert third down, if we’re better on third down, the volume of pass plays will increase.”
The Falcons convert 45% of their third downs, which ranks seventh in the league.
“The better we are on third down, the more opportunities we’ll get to throw the football,” Mariota said. “I know these guys can do it, and we’ll just go out there and make plays.”
In the loss to the Chargers, Mariota was 1 of 8 on passes that traveled 15 yards or more, according to Next Gen Stats. He was accurate underneath, completing 9 of 11 passes of 10 yards or less.
“I think it comes down to me, I just got to give those guys a chance,” Mariota said of connecting on deeper passes. “Guys are finding a way to get open, and sometimes it’s not necessarily the perfect throw.”
Mariota said he’s not trying to be a perfectionist.
“I think some of those deep shots have always been – the kind of guy that wants the guy to just kind of catch it on the run, but with the guys that we have, the players that we have, sometimes it’s giving those guys just a chance to go up and get it,” Mariota said. “I’m working on those things, those are things that we go out there and practice, so, hopefully, that will (transfer) onto the field.”
Smith is fine with how Mariota has performed this season.
“Enough to be right in the middle of the race,” Smith said.
Mariota has completed 124 of 201 passes for 1,561 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He has a passer rating of 90. He passed for a season-high 253 yards against the Panthers on Oct. 30 but has five games in which he didn’t pass for more than 150 yards.
“We’re right in the middle of this thing,” Smith said. “It hasn’t always been perfect for none of us, but there’s been a lot of progress that’s been made. There’s been times where I thought we played pretty good offensive football.”
The Falcons are striving for consistency in their passing attack.
“The timing, the spacing, the trust of all of that,” offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said. “We’ll continue to press that as the weeks go on and hope for consistent results as we move forward.”
The Falcons have been pleased with Mariota’s play, with no signs of them ready to turn to rookie Desmond Ridder.
“You sign a guy and you make sure you try to work with him to improve, how you plan to attack and play to the strengths of your team,” Smith said. “I think, for the most part, we’ve done that.”
The Falcons consider the Mariota-to-Pitts connection as a work in progress.
“It’s give-and-take there; we’ve hit some explosives down the field,” Smith said. “Obviously, we’ve got to continue to work (on) that with him and Kyle, which we will.”
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The Bow Tie Chronicles
Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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