No team in the NFL is more efficient on offense than the Falcons and none in the NFC have scored as many points.
Few NFL teams are less efficient on defense than the Falcons and only one in the NFC , Tampa Bay, has allowed more points—and that’s because the Buccaneers were bulldozed by the Falcons’ offensive machine in the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons’ offense has been great and their defense has been bad, so clearly the offense needs to be better.
Wait, come again?
“We are going to have to,” Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said in the aftermath of their 41-28 defeat at Minnesota on Sunday. “This team was basically built offensively with all of our players. In games like this, we have to find a way to win on offense. Even when it is a shootout and we were able to take the lead, I felt like we need to score another touchdown or two.”
The Falcons had managed four touchdowns on the road with their offensive line so depleted by injuries that a tight end had to play right tackle. That White still believes they should have done more speaks to the state of the Falcons (2-2) as they prepare to play at the Giants on Sunday.
To essentially dismiss the idea of stopping opponents and hoping to bury them in points sounds strange even in the new-era NFL. It flies in the face of conventional wisdom about defense winning championships (not to mention the Falcons’ much-discussed efforts to improve their unit in last off season).
That is the reality for the Falcons. It’s to the point that coach Mike Smith, himself a long-time defensive assistant, felt obligated to point out Monday that while everyone focused on the shortcomings of the defense at Minnesota “the offense left some plays out there.”
“I don’t like to think in terms of shootouts,” Smith said. “But I definitely think we’ve got to score more than the other guy. We have to do whatever it takes. There will be a time that it is going to end up being a one score game, 10-7. You don’t know in the NFL.”
The idea that the Falcons could hold any opponent to seven points seems far-fetched at the moment. Actually it’s been that way since last season, when at least the Falcons could point to several injuries to key players as mitigating factors.
The Falcons are relatively healthy now but still give up yards (429.8 per game) and points (28.3) in bunches. They beat the Saints with some timely turnovers and never really had to worry about stopping the Buccaneers, who were down by five touchdowns at halftime.
Forced to slug it out on the road with the Bengals and the Vikings, the Falcons were hit for big plays, especially on the ground. The Vikings churned out 241 yards on 44 carries with four touchdowns.
“It’s a wake-up call,” Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo said. “The Bengals pretty much ran on us like that too. We can’t let that happen no more. We’ve got to put our foot down and stop them. If I have to go ahead and scream at everybody, I will. I’m kind of (ticked) off myself, even being a part of that.”
Shembo, a rookie, wasn’t around for the Falcons’ defensive collapse in 2013. New personnel and a tougher attitude were supposed to make things better but there have been no tangible signs of progress.
After Sunday’s games the Falcons ranked 28th or worse, out of 32 teams, in nine defensive categories.
“You see all the yards and you see what’s going on and it looks bad, and it is bad,” Falcons linebacker Kroy Biermann said. “But it’s something that can be corrected. It will be corrected, and sooner (rather) than later.”
In the meantime the Falcons will try to take their offense, already humming, up another level.
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