There’s a pretty clear culprit to what held the Falcons back offensively last Sunday; the offensive line simply didn’t hold up their end of the bargain against the Eagles. However, looking at the advanced analytics, there are still some things to like about what Arthur Smith did on Sunday:
play action usage comparison
2021 week 1 vs 2020 full season
(early downs, quarters 1-3) pic.twitter.com/m5Kicrk63W
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 14, 2021
Early down pass rate over expected (based on situation).
The season opener had the two pass-happiest teams, and wow, Bengals pic.twitter.com/vizVO8CTiR
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) September 14, 2021
As you can see, the Falcons are placing a much greater emphasis on the run game. We all knew Dirk Koetter was allergic to running the ball, which ultimately made his play action ineffective. While the Falcons didn’t find much offensive success, I have faith that this brand of offense will find success sooner rather than later. Let’s hope we begin to see the results on Sunday against the Bucs, because this Falcons defense likely won’t have much success against Tom Brady.
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