FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Dan Quinn stated that improving the offensive line would be a huge emphasis this offseason.
Despite that the Falcons were pushed around by some of the more powerful defensive fronts in the league like Washington and Carolina, the offensive line, which was cobbled together right at the start of the season, was ranked the fourth best unit in the NFL by profootballfocus.com.
The unit had problems in power situations and led to a decision not to go-for-it on a fourth-and-1 at San Francisco.
The unit did a good job coming together in the outside zone blocking scheme and paved the way for running back Devonta Freeman to rush for more 1,056 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
The Falcons also gave up 32 sacks and 89 quarterback hits.
“4. Atlanta Falcons (26th)
“Pass-blocking rank: 6th
“Run-blocking rank: 8th
“Penalties rank: 3rd
“Stud: One of the more unheralded players in the league, Ryan Schraeder is the kind of right tackle you don’t realize is as good as he is. A really solid player, you rarely notice him—which is a great thing at his spot.
“Dud: The team lost faith in him eventually, with Mike Person’s continual problems snapping the ball playing a pivotal role in the Falcons’ second half collapse.
“Summary: On paper, this line didn’t inspire confidence, but when you get guys doing what they’re good at, positive things happen. The introduction of Andy Levitre and Chris Chester, as well as the commitment to a zone-based scheme, worked from day one, with their work in the run game excellent. Are they a little lightweight against more powerful defenders? Yes. Are they much better than anyone expected? Definitely.”
The Dallas Cowboys were the No. 1 ranked offensive line.
Here are the rankings for the teams in the NFC and AFC championship games: Carolina (second), Arizona (17th), Denver (tied 20th) and New England (25th).
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