The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Offense ‘gelling’ better as a unit
Players’ familiarity with Shanahan’s system boosts production.
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons lead the NFL in points scored and yards gained per play, and no team has produced as many plays of 30- and 40-plus yards.
Matt Ryan is the league’s top passer, Julio Jones is the top receiver and Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman have gained more yards from scrimmage than any other running back duo.
Those eye-popping statistics are much better than how the Falcons finished 2015, their first season with Kyle Shanahan as offensive coordinator. Yet Jones waves away those numbers and cites qualitative reasons to explain why the Falcons are a much better offensive team this season.
“Kyle and the guys that were here before he got here, we are gelling a little better — way better
— and he is letting it loose,” Jones said. “We see something in the game, and we tell him, he dials it up. There is no second-guessing. He believes in us, and we believe in him.”
There were growing pains for the Falcons during Shanahan’s first season. After a strong start the Falcons’ offense faded amid turnovers, dropped passes and blown red-zone opportunities. They had early success with Jones carrying a large part of the load, but never developed other consistent options.
The Falcons have been better in all facets this season while not relying so much on Jones’ production. Shanahan said he and players have developed better chemistry when it comes time to make adjustments.
“I think the more people have been through the stuff, the more you start to think the same,” Shanahan said. “When you haven’t been through things and (opponents) stop stuff, (then) you have six different guys thinking about something they did earlier in their career that would be an answer for this (and) another guy thinking another thing.
“But when you’ve gone through things for a while with the same group of guys, everyone starts to think the same. It takes time. It’s time we’ve put into it, and I think it gets a little bit easier each week having 11 guys think the same.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said the harmony extends to Shanahan’s play calls, which he described as one step ahead of opponents.
“There are a number of times I’ve said on the head set, ‘Man, that was a good call,’” Quinn said. “I think as a play-caller that’s when you can kind of get into a groove and you set one thing up and here comes the next. I think that’s a real strength of his, where he has the ability (to show) this formation may mean this and then the next time you see it, it may mean something . ... That can be very frustrating for a defense.”
Quinn said he expects the success to be sustainable this season. He noted the Falcons were good on thirddown conversions last season (ranked second in the NFL) and with time of possession (second), but said turnovers were the “real issue” for the offense. Their five giveaways this season are tied for fifthleast in the league.
Quinn said the improved versatility on offense this season includes more effective plays because an improved running game gives Shanahan more options.