While quarterback Matt Ryan passed for a franchise-record 4,177 yards in the 2011 season, Falcons coach Mike Smith was not pleased with the inconsistency of the offense.
The Falcons trace the inconsistency to the inability to build unity along a new offensive line and to get their passing game in proper timing because of the lockout. It was an NFL-wide problem.
“Some people capitalized on it and others did not,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said.
The offense finished ranked seventh in the league in points scored (25.1 points per game), 10th in total offense (376.6 yards), third in time of possession (32:05) and ninth in gains of 20 yards or more (71).
But Smith was not happy with the dropped passes — Roddy White (14) and Julio Jones (six) combined to drop 20 — and the red-zone offense.
Smith was quick to defend Ryan from claims that he’s not athletic enough to extend plays and that he doesn’t have the arm strength to throw deep passes.
“Matt Ryan is an outstanding quarterback in this league. Does he have the skill-set that some other quarterbacks have, in terms of his speed? No he doesn’t,” Smith said. “Does he have other qualities that those other quarterbacks don’t have? Yes, he does. Matt is a very cerebral quarterback.”
A look at the Falcons’ offense by positional grouping:
Quarterbacks
Players: Ryan, Chris Redman (free agent) and John Parker Wilson.
The skinny: While Ryan broke the single-season passing mark set by Jeff George in 1995, there were a lot of empty yards racked up as the team stalled too often inside the red zone. On 60 red-zone trips, the Falcons scored 31 touchdowns (51.6 percent), which was 13th in the NFL. Detroit led the league at 66.1 percent.
The team wanted to get more explosive and had 71 plays of 20 yards or more.
However, the Falcons passed more than 40 times in seven games and had a 1-6 record.
Those games were against New Orleans (61 and 52), Chicago (47), Houston (47), Tampa Bay (47), Seattle (42) and the New York Giants (41). They beat only Seattle while throwing more than 40 times.
Running backs
Players: Michael Turner, Ovie Mughelli, Jason Snelling (free agent), Mike Cox (free agent), Antone Smith (restricted free agent) and Jacquizz Rodgers.
The skinny: For the third time in four seasons, Turner has had more than 300 carries. He's set to turn 30 in February, and that's the magic number for when running backs usually start to slow down.
However, he was used sparingly early in his career in San Diego and may have more miles left than normal.
Turner needs to improve his pass catching to extend his career. He caught a career-high 17 passes, but had four drops. Turner also missed Mughelli’s crushing lead blocks.
Rodgers will benefit from having minicamp and organized team activities. He showed some promise as a rookie, but his development was slow because he didn’t receive a playbook until the lockout was over.
Snelling, a dependable backup, is a free agent.
Smith turned into a solid special-teams player.
Tight ends
Players: Tony Gonzalez, Michael Palmer and Reggie Kelly.
The skinny: Gonzalez was nearly unstoppable when teams left him in single coverage.
He finished with 80 catches for 875 yards and seven touchdowns. He signed a one-year contract extension worth $6.9 million to return for the 2012 season. Kelly was added as a blocking tight end after Justin Peelle was injured.
Palmer caught 10 passes for 72 yards and made strides as an edge blocker.
Wide receivers
The players: White, Jones, Harry Douglas (free agent), Kevin Cone, Kerry Meier and Eric Weems (free agent).
The skinny: White and Jones combined for 154 catches, 2,255 yards and 16 touchdowns. White was targeted on 180 passes and caught 100, with 14 drops.
Jones was targeted on 95 passes and caught 54, with six drops.
Douglas was productive when passes came his way. He caught 39 of his 62 targets (62.9 percent), but had four drops.
Offensive linemen
The players: (Starters) LT Will Svitek, LG Justin Blalock, C Todd McClure (free agent), RG Joe Hawley, RT Tyson Clabo. (Backups) LT/RG Sam Baker, RG Garrett Reynolds, C/G Brett Romberg, T Kirk Chambers, G Mike Johnson.
The skinny: Baker, the former first-round pick, likely will have to win the job at right guard to stick with the team. It will be an all-comers battle for that position.
McClure, the fiery leader of the unit, wants to continue playing after 13 seasons in the league. He’ll turn 35 in February.
This unit will be heavily scrutinized this offseason after they struggled in short-yardage situations and couldn’t protect the quarterback on five- and seven-steps drops early in the season.
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