Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan likes the No. 2 fullback on the depth chart.
The Falcons used defensive tackle Dontari Poe on two plays near the goal line against Dallas, including on running back Tevin Coleman’s 1-yard touchdown run.
“He’s a versatile guy,” Ryan said. “You have to watch out for him. I’ve seen him throw passes in the league, too.”
Poe provided the offense a boost.
“We were lucky to have him in that situation,” Ryan said. “He did a great job for us in that situation, coming in and busting it open twice for us.”
Poe wasn’t the only role player to step forward on offense.
Taylor Gabriel, the third wide receiver, and Justin Hardy, the fourth wide receiver, made plays.
Gabriel caught three passes for 58 yards and had one run for 15 yards. Hardy had two catches for 7 yards and a touchdown.
“Those two guys are huge for us,” Ryan said. “Obviously, we’ve got some great top end guys in terms of Julio (Joens) and Mohamed (Sanu), but the depth at that position is key for us.”
Gabriel has 23 catches for 202 yards and one touchdowns. Hardy has 12 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
“When you can rely on guys like Justin in the red zone and on third downs that great,” Ryan said. “The offense allows Gabe to make explosive plays for us both in the run game and the pass game. Those guys have done a really nice job for us.”
In addition to the role players, Tevin Coleman will have to take on more of the load against Seattle if Devonta Freeman is not cleared from the concussion protocol.
“I don’t think it changes in term of the scheme or anything like that,” Ryan said. “We trust both of our guys, both in the run game and I don’t think anything changes in the run game for sure. I usually don’t even think about who’s in there when we call run plays.”
In the passing game, Freeman is more of an outlet receiver while Coleman can run deeper routes down the field.
“On pass plays, their skill sets are a little bit different but they both are really talented out of the backfield,” Ryan said. “I don’t think it changes all that much. It’s nice to have both of them for sure, but I don’t think it changes things too much.”
Freeman has 19 catches for 137 yards (9.7 yards per catch), while Coleman has 17 catches for 23 yards (11.9 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.
“(Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian) has done a really nice job of keeping it balanced and mixing guys in,” Ryan said. “All of our guys have stepped up when they’ve had their opportunity.”
While Ryan hasn’t been running as many bootlegs as he was under former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, he’s passing the ball well while on the run.
“We’ve done a good job of getting outside the pocket and creating some plays, kind of moving the launch point, changing the launch point,” Ryan said. “That’s something that I feel like I’ve done at a pretty good level my entire career, it certainly fits into what we do in this scheme. It pairs up well with our run game and gives us another thing for defenses to have and try to defend.”
About the Author
