FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons did not wait until the bye week to self-scout their offensive woes on third downs.
“We talked about it a little bit as an offense this morning,” left tackle Jake Matthews told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “It’s just executing. It’s such a buzzword that is used a lot, but it holds so much weight.”
After three games, they have enough of a sample size – 27 – to realize there is a problem on third downs. The team converted only six of those 27.
“On third down on offense, we have not been very good,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “That is definitely an emphasis for us just in general to keep drives going.”
The Falcons (1-2) hope to be more efficient when they face the Saints (2-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The offense met as a unit to discuss their third-down problems Wednesday.
The conversion rate of 22.2% ranks 29th of 32 in the NFL.
“You go back, you watch them, you try to figure out the solves for it,” Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “The biggest thing is just executing at the right time.”
Robinson said the coaches have to provide the player with some clarity on their assignments.
“But, there was no real, like, rhyme or reason behind it,” Robinson said. “It’s just kind of each plays is its own. So we’re definitely working to correct those, knowing that those are some critical situations ... definitely some good reflection throughout the week.”
The Falcons will work on their third dow,ns in practice Thursday.
“I think it’s a combination of factors,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “I wish it was as simple as one thing we can hone in on. It’s probably a variety and among that is let’s get in third-and-shorter distances, first of all.”
The Falcons have had 10 third downs of third-and-9 or longer. They are 0-for-10 on those plays.
Cousins said they need to do better on first and second downs and steer clear of penalties. There also have been three sacks on third downs.
“As you look at it, you’ll get a lot of one-offs,” Cousins said. “Well, on that one play that was the reason we didn’t convert. But that wasn’t a repeating theme throughout all of these third downs.”
With advanced technology, it was easy for the Falcons to string together the 27 plays and watch them all on a continuous reel.
The Falcons were 2-of-9 on third downs in each of their three games. That has led to them decisively losing the time-of-possession battle. Also, the defense remained stout through four possessions of 10 plays or more in the most recent game against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs won the time of possession 34 minutes, 57 seconds to 25:03. The Eagles won the time of possession 35:39 to 24:21. The Steelers won the time of possession 35:36 to 24:24.
Picking up third downs would help with time of possession.
“That’ll affect some of the plays they get on our defense,” Morris said. “That can also affect the scoreboard. So every individual week, that’s something we got to get better at. We’ll go work on those things and get those better.”
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney leads the Falcons with eight receptions. He had 66 yards receiving against the Chiefs.
“I feel like we had a good third-down plan,” Mooney said.
One thing the Falcons could do against the Saints is target the tight end more on third downs.
The Eagles targeted tight end Dallas Goedert 11 times. He caught a career-high 10 passes for 170 yards and helped set up the game-winning touchdown run. Quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with Goedert on third downs three times for conversions and once on a fourth-and-1.
London and Mooney have two conversions, Ray-Ray McCloud and Bijan Robinson have one each.
There have been simple mistakes that have led to drives stalling.
“If one guy is just a little bit off here or there, this is a tough sport,” Matthews said. “It’s not going to work that way. We just (must) find a way to do what we do well consistently and not mix too many mistakes in there.”
The Falcons looked at the six plays that have worked. They’ll keep them in the rotation.
“There is definitely a little bit of that,” Matthews said. “I think those plays worked because everyone did their job. That is what makes this game so fun, it’s such a challenge. We just (must) continue doing stuff like that.”
Right tackle Storm Norton, who likely will in place of Kaleb McGary, who was injured in Sunday’s game, against the Saints, doesn’t believe the Falcons are that far off.
“It’s the same thing every week,” Norton said. “Kind of being on that same page and kind of on our points and where we are going to. Just being on the same page with Kirk and the running backs.”
The Falcons are 6-of-17 (35.3%) in third-and-8 yards or less.
“In the NFL, it’s a game of inches,” Norton said. “Whether Kirk is getting that ball out or whatever it may be. As long as we are all on the same page and Kirk kind of knowing where he’s protected and going from there.”
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