Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, despite rolling up 528 yards of offense and scoring on six of seven possessions against Oakland, still plans to use the no-huddle offense on a case-by-case basis.
“There are really no absolutes in football,” Shanahan said Friday. “It has to do with what you’re going against and situations. You’ve got to be able to adjust to anything.”
The Falcons, according to the official gamebook, ran 25 no-huddle plays in their 35-28 win over the Oakland Raiders.
“Against Oakland, we definitely did it the most than we have done it,” Shanahan said. “A lot of that had to do with the (fact) that it was working. When you don’t get into third down – we only had 10 third downs – that means first and second down were going real well, so you stay in it.”
If the offense is getting stopped, then Shanahan will huddle up in order to get his best personnel group on the field.
“Why stop it,” Shanahan said. “You go until they put you in a third down. Fortunately, they didn’t stop us very much.”
The 528 yards were the sixth-most in franchise history. The Falcons amassed 568 against the Saints on Sept. 7, 2014 for their top total yardage output.
Shanahan is not sure how much no-huddle the Falcons will run when they face the Saints. The anticipated noise in the Superdome is not a factor.
“It’s the same issue everywhere,” Shanahan said. “New Orleans, especially on Monday night, will be harder than most. It was extremely hard in the black hole last Sunday, too. I thought the guys handled it well.”
The Falcons are ready if they elect to go no-huddle.
“Sometimes, the no huddle can be easier because you quiet the crowd up a little bit,” Shanahan said. “Some time you get going and you have to communicate with signals more. There is never one type of deal that’s easier than the other.”
Falcons quarterback felt the offense got in a rhythm against the Raiders.
“Specifically, from the second quarter on and into the second half, I thought we did a good job of creating explosive plays both in the run game and the pass game,” Ryan said. “I thought it was a good mix of the two.”
Ryan move the ball around to nine different receivers against the Raiders.
“We got everybody involved and we kept it going,” Ryan said. “Our offensive line, continues to do a great job. I think they’ve been excellent in Week 1 and Week 2. That was a good couple of drives for us.”
The Saints will be without starting cornerbacks Delvin Breaux (fibula) and P.J. Williams (concussion). New Orleans coach Sean Payton will like use rookies Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris along with Sterling Moore.
The Saints also played a lot of three-safety looks with Kenny Vaccaro playing close to the line of scrimmage and rookie Vonn Bell and Jairus Byrd back deep. The Saints held the New York Giants to three field goals last week and lost 16-13 because a blocked field was returned for a touchdown.
“I know it’s going to be a challenge,” Shanahan said. “They did a good job last week. The Giants have as good of receivers as there are. I know that we do, too. But they held the Giants to nine points and they struggled to get in the end zone.”
Over the course of his film study, Ryan has been been impressed with the Saints patch-worked secondary.
“I think they’ve done a pretty good job for being their first couple of games out there being thrust into that spotlight and matching up against some really good receiving tandems,” Ryan said.
About the Author
