The Falcons ran the football while trailing 7-3 late in the second quarter on first-and-goal from the one-yard line against the Bills two weeks ago.
Yep, in a short-yardage situation, running back Devonta Freeman took a handoff from Matt Ryan and got in behind left guard Andy Levitre and center Alex Mack and scored a touchdown.
Later in the Bills game and early against the Dolphins last week, the Falcons made questionable calls similar situations. They passed on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 against the Bills. On third-and-1 against the Dolphins, they called a toss sweep.
Failure to run in short-yardage situations was one of the lessons from their Super Bowl loss. Run the ball on third-and-1 and you’re champions. The Falcons still haven’t committed five games into the season.
So, we asked Levitre and Mack if they wanted to run the ball in those short-yardage situations.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Levitre said. “I trust the guys that we have on this team. I trust the coaching staff that whatever they are calling, they are putting us in the best position. We have the guys who can execute it. It doesn’t matter to me.”
But running from one-yard out worked early in the Buffalo game. Do it more, right?
“Yeah, that’s what everybody wants to see, but if you’re thinking it, that’s probably what the defense is thinking,” Levitre said. “It’s just about execution.”
Mack, before the bye week, didn’t want to delve into the sticky area of play-calling either.
“We almost ran it (late against Buffalo), there was a check if they come out in something that was advantageous to us or we could have run it,” Mack said. “I think the best thing to do is have confidence in your play caller and do what you’re told. That sounds so bad, but it’s not my job to question the call.
“I’ve given that up way back in college. This is what they do. This is the chess game that coaches play. I let them do that.
“It makes my job real easy to not second guess. You just get behind the play and do it the best that you can and focus on what’s important and not worry about anything else.”
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