One way for the Falcons to help their revamped and developing offensive line in pass protection is to run more effectively.
“You can’t line up and allow the defense to tee it up, so to speak, on every down,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said after practice Thursday. “You’ve got to establish the running game, and it has to be a consistent running game.”
The expectation for the Falcons was that replacing running back Michael Turner with Steven Jackson would improve the running game. Jackson didn’t get many opportunities to make an impact Sunday in his debut, but may be leaned on heavily when he faces his former team, the St. Louis Rams, at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
“Whatever is going to be successful, that’s the beauty of this offense,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “If we have to give the ball to Steven Jackson 40 times a game, I’m sure we’ll do it if that’s going to get us a win.”
Jackson played his previous nine seasons with the Rams, where he amassed 10,135 yards rushing.
In the 23-17 loss at New Orleans on Sunday, Jackson managed 20 yards on his first seven carries before breaking out for a 50-yard run early in the third quarter. But Jackson received only three carries the rest of the game to finish with 11 carries for 77 yards.
The Falcons passed 38 times, and the running backs received only 13 carries against the Saints. The team’s average of 6.3 yards per carry was the best in the league in Week 1, but only the Browns rushed fewer times.
Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked three times, hit six times and hurried on 14 other passes against the Saints. The Falcons are replacing three starters along the line, and starting left tackle Sam Baker has missed the past two practices with a knee injury.
“We need to be closer to 50/50 (run/pass ratio),” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “We weren’t able to run it as much as we would like to. When you only run 56 plays in a game — the NFL average is around 64, unless you ask (Eagles coach) Chip Kelly — there is a lot of stuff we wish we could have done more of.”
After Jackson’s big run, the Falcons went three-and-out in each of their subsequent two possessions of the third quarter and had two possessions in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 20-17 on the first possession of the final quarter, the Falcons passed five times in six plays. By the time they got the ball back, they trailed 23-17 with 3:12 left and needed to go 80 yards for the winning score. They ran once on 10 plays out of their no-huddle offense.
Jackson said he wasn’t disappointed with the 11 carries because he understands the Falcons spread the ball around to their skill players. He said they did “a fairly good job” running the ball and expects it to get better as he and the linemen get acclimated to one another.
“People think an offensive lineman just needs to ‘pancake’ a (defender), and that’s just not realistic in the National Football League,” he said. “I just need those guys to understand what I am seeing, what I am reading. You may not go down the middle of him and knock him over, but if you understand what I am reading and push him a certain direction, I am able to read your block and make a cut off of that.”
Jackson believes the running game will improve over time.
“I think we did a fairly good job,” he said. “The guys came off the ball and won the line of scrimmage a few times. That big run I had in the third quarter, we took advantage of what we saw on film and executed. As the weeks go by and we get more games under our belt, the guys see on film how I read things and how I run, we’ll only get better.”
Jackson’s backup, Jacquizz Rodgers had two carries for minus-1 yard. He’s ready for more duty if needed, too.
“Anytime you can run the ball, that will open up the pass and vice versa,” Rodgers said.
So, the Falcons may have the answer for their pass-protection woes after all.
About the Author
