FLOWERY BRANCH — Five games into the season and the question persists. What happened to the Falcons’ running game?
Coaches and players insist that what you are watching is not Falcons football. They want to successfully run the ball. It’s “part of our DNA,” coach Mike Smith said.
The fact remains that the Falcons are 23rd in the NFL in rushing offense with 98.8 yards per game. They were in the top half of the league the previous three seasons under Smith, including a rank of second in 2008.
“It’s not where we want it to be,” said running back Michael Turner, who is 12th in the NFL with 360 yards. “We are a running team, and we are going to keep that mentality.”
The Falcons (2-3) point to two main reasons for the lack of a consistent running game. They have fallen behind and been forced to throw the football to get back in games. They have also failed to sustain drives, often because of penalties, to remain focused on running the ball.
The Falcons indeed have faced large deficits. They have trailed by nine or more points in the fourth quarter of four of their five games — Bears (24), Eagles (10), Buccaneers (13) and Packers (nine).
The alarming result is that quarterback Matt Ryan is tied for second, with the Patriots’ Tom Brady, with 196 pass attempts. They trail only the Saints’ Drew Brees with 219. With all those pass attempts, Ryan ranks 12th in passing yards (1,302). By comparison, the Falcons have run 116 times, 36 percent of their plays on offense this season.
That’s not what the Falcons had in mind.
“A couple of ballgames we had to throw the football because when you are down by two scores or more you are not going to get back in the ball game by running,” Smith said. “We want to be able to attack the defense based on how they are trying to defend us. Philosophically that’s what we do. That’s what we believe in, and that’s always going to be the case.
“We’ve got to go out and coach better. We’ve got to go out and execute better. I think if we focus on those things, then we will like where we are going to be as the season progresses.”
The Falcons have not consistently sustained drives, even as Turner ranks 18th among NFL running backs with a 4.3 yard per carry average.
“When you go through the flow of the game, plays get dialed up,” Turner said. “If we don’t get positive yards on first and second down, it’s hard to stay consistent with the run game.”
Penalties have been an issue. The Falcons are tied for 13th in the NFL with 32 penalties (15th in total penalty yards, at 251). Fourteen of the 32 infractions came on offense, including all five in Sunday night’s loss to the Packers.
The Falcons ran 22 times (of 55 offensive plays) against the Packers, with Turner rushing for 56 yards on 16 carries. Smith said he was happy with the balance of plays, especially in the first half when the Falcons ran 14 of 27 plays.
“I liked the way we ran the ball,” Smith said. “Mike ran the ball very effectively. We wanted to run the ball. We wanted to control the clock. That was part of our game plan. ... They way the game unfolded, we weren’t able to sustain some drives. We’ve got to be able to sustain drives to be able to run the football.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey said last week that the Falcons will continue to run the football — when the circumstances are right. “It’s worked for three years,” he said.
Turner, who finished sixth in the NFL and second in the NFC in rushing last season, wants the ball. That also will not change.
“I’m a competitor,” Turner said. “I always want to have the ball more. I want to contribute any way I can.”
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