The Falcon chalked up the lack of production from their wide receiver screens against Carolina to being just a bad day at the office.
They connected on 1 of 5 for a 17-yard gain. Wide receiver Devin Hester fumbled at the end that play.
There were two inaccurate throws by quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Roddy White didn’t execute his route to perfection on one of the screen plays, that looked promising big-play. Also, Carolina cornerback Josh Norman, with the help of linebacker Luke Kuechly, sniffed out one of the screens and blew it up.
Despite the lack of the success of their bread-and-butter play, the Falcons don’t have any plans to scrap the screens from their attack.
“Those kinds of plays are hit or miss,” Ryan said. “We knew that going into it and we’re going to stick with them. That’s part of who we are and we’re going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers, our running backs and wide receivers, in space.”
With a revamped offensive line, the Falcons have relied on those screens to help slow down the pass rush and beat blitzes.
When they were trying to run out the clock against Detroit in London, they hit the wide receiver screen for a 22-yard gain. They tried it again on third down and Jones had the key dropped pass.
The old Green Bay Packers ran the Power Sweep. The Falcons run wide receiver screens.
“They’ve been successful for us,” Ryan said. “We’ve made a lot of big plays on those. Even this year, we’ve had a lot of success on those (screens). You have to give those guys some credit. Carolina did a great job defending them.”
Ryan expects that offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will dial up the screen plays a few times against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Falcons plan to execute them better.
“I trust our guys,” Ryan said. “We talk about landmarks and all of those things. When you play in this league you have got to have trust with your guys across the board that they are going to pull their weight and do their job. I trust our guys up front to be in the right spots and the guys outside to be where they need to be.”
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