Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has leaned heavily on his backup, T.J. Yates, to learn the team’s new offense.
Yates played for the Houston Texans for three seasons and ran the offense that’s being installed by new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“He’s been super helpful kind of going through this,” Ryan said after the first padded practice on Sunday. “It’s basically just translating languages. That’s all it is, English to Spanish. It’s all the same stuff.”
Over the offseason, at times, the learning process was difficult.
“You have to figure out what he’s saying and so T.J. has kind of been the translator for me a little bit,” Ryan said. “He kind of knows where my thoughts are and how I think. He’s been really good to key me into what they are thinking in this system.”
The Falcons are trying to balance out the offense and provide Ryan with a more potent rushing attack. Shanahan and Ryan are also working on the bootlegs out of the stretch runs and the new passing route tree that binds the attack together.
Ryan was on the move at times under former offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey early in his NFL career.
“It’s been a big part of Kyle’s scheme in the past,” Ryan said. “We’ll kind of figure out how it shapes to our personnel and how it shapes to the game plans that we’re going to put in. But we are certainly working on it.”
Yates has been a pretty good translator.
“He’s certainly not in English 101,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s teaching a Masters course at this point. That’s how his brain works.”
Ryan and Shanahan are nearly linked at the hip in practices.
“Those two have really forged a bond,” Quinn said. “That’s a really important one for the play-caller and the quarterback for these two to be connected.”
Ryan has let his preferences be known. He’s also been quick to request additions in what has been a free exchange of offensive ideas.
“Kyle has kind of been a chameleon,” Ryan said. “Kind of everywhere that he’s gone he’s had different guys to play with. I think he’s shown that he’ll kind of adjust to whatever personnel that they have.”
Shanahan has had stops in Houston, Washington and Cleveland. He’s played with running quarterbacks (Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel) and and drop back passers (Matt Schaub).
“He has great ideas,” Ryan said. “He’s trying to do some things that I like.”
While much has been made of the competition for the starting running back spot, Ryan prefers a committee approach.
“In this league it takes a group at that spot,” Ryan said. “I think we have the right group to do it.”
Devonta Freeman and rookie Tevin Coleman are battling for the top spot. The Falcons also have Antone Smith, Terron Ward and Jerome Smith on the roster.
The Falcons are installing a outside-zone blocking scheme.
“Anytime you can run the football and you can run it effectively is slows down the pass rush,” Ryan said. “That’s the goal for us, to be balanced on offense and to be able to get that run game going.”
The rushing attack is a work in progress.
“We have to rep it,” Ryan said. “Get better at it. Get on the same page, all 11 of us on offense.”
Like Quinn, tight end Jacob Tamme believes Ryan has a firm grasp of the offense.
“We can have an offense that can be pretty dynamic, but it’s going to take a lot of work,” Tamme said. “Just kind of one day at a time…We just have to keep building and building.”
Right tackle Ryan Schraeder hasn’t noticed much of a change in Ryan in the new system.
“He’s been great,” Schraeder said. “Just like Matt in the other offense. He’s the leader. He gets everybody where they need to be. He makes everything gel really well.”
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