Devonta Freeman fits in new Falcons scheme

Once Falcons coach Dan Quinn hired Kyle Shanahan hired as his offensive coordinator, that ended any chance the team would bring back running back Steven Jackson.

No longer would the Falcons feature a power running back grinding out yards between the tackles. Instead, the Falcons would use a running scheme popularized in the 1990s by the Broncos with assistant head coach Alex Gibbs and coach Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s father.

“We believe in the outside zone scheme,” Kyle Shanahan said during his first Falcons news conference in February.

The Falcons soon released Jackson and used a third-round draft pick on Tevin Coleman, a back who fits Shanahan’s philosophy. But what about holdover running back Devonta Freeman, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by GM Thomas Dimitroff?

It took three games for Freeman to get the chance to prove it, but it turns out that he fits the new scheme just fine.

Freeman replaced Coleman (ribs) in the starting lineup against the Cowboys on Sunday and erupted for 141 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns. The 141 rushing yards were the most for the Falcons since Michael Turner had 172 in Week 17 of the 2011 season, and the three touchdowns were the most since Turner had three in 2010.

Clearly Freeman can thrive in the new system, though he said he just needed a chance in any scheme.

“I like the ball in my hands,” Freeman said. “I like every style. If I have to run power 15 times, I’m going to do it. I like everything.”

Not every running back is suited for the outside zone because it requires patience and discipline.

At the snap, the running back turns his shoulders to the outside of the play direction and typically takes slow steps while waiting for defenders to commit to their gaps. The running back then “presses” his blocker by staying on his heels before making a decisive cut outside, up field or back toward the center.

Running backs in the outside zone don’t have the luxury of making moves in the backfield or changing direction after the initial cut.

“If you sit and think about it and start to dance there are going to be nine guys hitting you from every single direction,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got to hit it. You’ve got to go. You cannot hesitate.”

It’s that part of the scheme that can be a big adjustment for some running backs. There are several videos online featuring Gibbs explaining the system, and in one of them he talked about the potential difficulty for a running back in the scheme.

“Whatever decision he makes, he lives with it,” Gibbs said. “He does not dodge defenders or double cut with the ball. … The back has to take the ball upfield and make the yards he can. He has to take the dirty play and live with the toughness of the play.”

If Freeman continues to excel in Shanahan’s system, he would become the latest running back drafted in the mid-to-late rounds to have success in an outside zone scheme.

Terrell Davis, a sixth-round pick, famously became a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the Broncos. Two of his successors, Olandis Gary (fourth-round pick) and Mike Anderson (sixth round), had big seasons. Alfred Morris, a sixth-round pick for the Redskins, rushed for 1,613 yards as a rookie in 2012 and 1,275 in 2013 with Shanahan as the offensive coordinator.

Freeman didn’t become the featured back for Florida State until his junior season and opted to declare for the 2014 draft. He got just 65 carries last season as Jackson got the bulk of the carries.