Refs slowed down up-tempo attack
After the Falcons 24-10 loss to the Bengals, wide receiver Roddy White said he wanted to see the Falcons run more up-tempo offense.
Falcons coach Mike Smith said the plan was to attack more out of the no-huddle and go uptempo, but the referees slowed things down.
He pointed out that both teams were in the no-huddle and the Falcons ran 65 plays to the Bengals’ 69. He said the Falcons were in the no-huddle for 45 plays (69 percent).
“Each game has a completely different dynamic in terms of the tempo,” Smith said. “That was a game where both teams hardly ever huddled. When you watch the game, you could see that they had their no-huddle offense going as well. I think sometimes the officials can slow a tempo game down.”
Smith there were several times both units were at the line of scrimmage and ready to play, but the officials – perhaps for a television timeout to sell more advertising – were standing over the ball.
“I think if you look, there were plays were both teams wanted to get out there and play but there was a stoppage by the officials,” Smith said. “They stood over the ball a lot more in this game than they had in other games.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
