FLOWERY BRANCH -- With the players locked out during the offseason, Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had additional time to put the team's offensive scheme under a microscope. In coach speak, they call this "quality control."
Mularkey, during his self scout of the offense, tried to assess what worked and what didn’t during the Falcons' NFC South title run.
“Was it the scheme?" Mularkey said. "Was it the players? Was it the defense we were against? ... If there are some things that maybe we don’t have the players to do, we throw it out.”
Last season, the Falcons methodically moved the ball down the field. They routinely stacked together five-minute drives that often required more than 10 plays. The unit thrived on ball control and it led the league with 34 10-play scoring drives. The Falcons tied for first in the league with 28 drives of five minutes or more.
Overall, the Falcons led the league by averaging 9.39 plays and 4.13 in elapsed time per scoring drive.
Yet in the divisional playoffs, when the Green Bay Packers started to pull away, the Falcons’ deliberate and methodical approach could not keep up.
If they get in another high-scoring affair, they want to do better. Coach Mike Smith and Mularkey have talked about the team’s ability to create more explosive plays, which are defined as gains of 20 yards or more.
That’s why the team traded away five draft picks to move up 21 spots and select fleet wide receiver Julio Jones, becoming younger at the position.
The Falcons had only 32 pass plays of 20 yards or more last season, which was 31st in the league. They only had nine plays of 40 yards or more. Their longest pass play was a 46-yarder to Roddy White against Cincinnati on Oct. 24.
The drafting of Jones was the first step.
“Fortunately, with the time period we had after the draft, we had a chance to get him the book,” Mularkey said of the playbook. “At least he has the beginning stages of the offense. He can play fast immediately.”
Mularkey contends that several factors go into creating more explosive plays.
While throwing deeper passes, Matt Ryan will need additional time in pass protection. That's why Smith was happy that the team retained two of its three free-agent starting offensive linemen in left guard Justin Blalock and right tackle Tyson Clabo.
Receivers can help create more explosive plays by making defenders miss or breaking tackles after the catch. All Pro wide receiver Roddy White led the league with 115 catches last season, but averaged a career-low 12.1 yards per catch. He’s ready to rip down the field on some deeper routes.
“That will make scoring drives easier,” White said. “To get that one big 30- or 40-yard gain, that sets everything up. That’s probably our biggest thing: We lacked a lot of explosive plays last year.”
He believes the Falcons can double their big plays by throwing deep routes more often.
“Matt has to throw them, too,” White said. “Matt has to go out there and throw the ball down the field. That will help the offense out.”
The Falcons worked on their no-huddle attack on Sunday. They normally use it as a tempo setter as opposed to just coming out and launching deep passes. Against Baltimore last season, they went to the no-huddle attack exclusively and Ryan threw a career-high 50 passes.
“It’s a part of our offense and we’re very confident in it,” Mularkey said.
Mularkey believes that Ryan, who went to his first Pro Bowl last season, will continue to develop and become a more dangerous passer.
“The field, he’s seeing things [and] it’s getting bigger to him,” Mularkey said. “He can see things that I can see from upstairs. Before we can even have a conversation, I know that he’s going to see some things as we go forward."
The Falcons are high on their returning running backs Antone Smith and Gartrell Johnson. They also drafted Jacquizz Rodgers in the fifth round. They would like for Jason Snelling, an unrestricted free agent who was third on team in receptions last season with 44, to return.
Like Jones, Rodgers was added for his ability to make the big play.
“He has shown some explosiveness out here,” Mularkey said. “Now he is a little behind the eight ball because he didn’t get a book as Julio did. When he’s had his opportunities, he has gotten some ‘wows’ based on some of the things he’s done."
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