FLOWERY BRANCH ? For the first time in Matt Ryan?s NFL career he faces a major fundamental change in how the Falcons will operate on offense.
Some applauded the departure of former coordinator Mike Mularkey, but it?s hard to argue that he presented Ryan with a formula that led to instant success, three trips to the playoffs, one trip to the Pro Bowl and a franchise-record passing mark last season.
Under Mularkey, Ryan posted a 43-19 regular-season record, but 0-3 in the playoffs.
That?s part of the reason why coach Mike Smith was extremely careful in selecting a new coordinator in Dirk Koetter. He believes that if the quarterback/coordinator relationship doesn?t work, the entire operation and possibly the team could implode.
Matt is going through a process,? Smith said. ?The relationship between the coordinator and the quarterback is one that probably needs to be the strongest one on the football team. I know that Dirk has worked with Matt as well as with Glenn.?
Upon conclusion of the offseason program Thursday, Smith was pleased with the first steps taken by Ryan and Koetter, who coached for one year (2007) with Smith in Jacksonville.
?Matt, I think, has really progressed,? Smith said. ?I think you can see it physically that he?s bigger. I think his arm strength is much-improved from the first four years.?:SIB
Koetter and Ryan have spent a lot of time together in order to make sure that they get on the same page with the new offensive attack.
Some of the major differences in the passing attack will be more vertical routes with an emphasis on getting the ball to receivers on the move. Also, the team will implement a package heavy in screen passes.
Koetter and Ryan?s meetings have been fruitful.
?Matt will look you in the eye and tell you how he sees it ...,? Koetter said. ?By the same token, I can tell him what I think, what I see and what the coaching staff sees. He takes coaching well, but he also gives good feedback.?
Ryan notes that there are some key differences from Mularkey?s attack.
On the first day of minicamp, the offense struggled as the defense, under new coordinator Mike Nolan, unleashed a flurry of stunts and blitzes. The offense was bogged down and there were signs of frustration.:facepalm:
In part, that was by design.
?It hasn?t been like the last few years, where Matt knows when he comes out here that the defense is going to install this coverage,? Smith said. ?It?s been a little bit more of a chess match between the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator because it?s the first time that they?ve worked together in terms of how we install our offense and defense. This is the first sequence that we had to do it as a new staff.
?That?s always an interesting dynamic, not only for the coaches, but for the players.?
Koetter welcomed the assortment of looks from Nolan.
?Coach Nolan has been giving us a bunch of tough looks defensively ? a lot of the problems that you?re going to face during the season, our defense has been showing us those problems,? Koetter said. ?That?s great when you see it in practice, so now you?re not seeing it for the first time live.?
During the second minicamp practice Wednesday, the offense was on fire. Ryan was drilling passes to wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. He was cutting up the defense with shots to backup tight ends LaMark Brown and Tommy Gallarda.
It was a dizzying passing display that drew raucous roars from the crowd on the hill and caused White to contend that it was the best practice in the past three seasons.
?I feel good,? Ryan said. ?I?ve worked hard this offseason. I feel like I?m in good shape and I felt really good out there during OTAs and minicamp. There is still some time before training camp. There is still time to work hard, to improve ourselves, and I think that everybody has got that mindset.?
Despite tight end Tony Gonzalez missing minicamp because of a death in his family, Ryan felt the offseason workouts were very important in order to help Jones continue to develop.
Jones was all over the field catching passes on the run, putting his hand down on grass to balance himself at times, while still running near top speed.
?He?s had an opportunity to work with our receivers coach Terry Robiskie without the stress of a week during the season and without a game plan,? Ryan said. ?He can really just work on technique. Work on route-running and try to understand our offense a little more in depth.?
White has witnessed the give-and-take between Koetter and Ryan and believes that the relationship is headed in the right direction.
?Dirk has made it easy,? White said. ?He has things that he?d like to do. We have some things that we like to do, and he just put it together and we?re rolling. Everybody has brought into the system. We are going to just keep rolling.?
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Falcons 8-8
From what I see so far after the first mini camp the Falcons really havnt changed that much.
They can say Matty Ice has got bigger and is stronger through weight training etc. I don't see it. He still has the same issues with not being able to thread the needle when he has to. He also is affected by the bright lights of big games and the playoffs. Matty ice :shrug:
The Falcons still have to showcase the Burner Turner who has lost two steps, is over 30 , and gets arm tackled way too much. It seems like he gets stopped for loss 70% of the time. And Turner is still the Falcons feature back to get a first down or score at the goal line ? I think not.
Granted Julio Jones is a monster and Roddy White is still solid but older. Harry Douglas is a good third receiver and will compete for the punt return job.
Replacing Weems who did so much in running punts, kickoffs, and was a top tackler on special teams is going to be hard to replace.
Tony Gonzalez in his retirement year. Thats a joke and the Falcons have no other choice but to play him. He can still catch balls over the middle occasionally but he is a detriment to the overall offense.
The defense should pick up with Asanti Samual as he is a high octane guy. But that aint going to help when the Falcons still have no pass rush.
Dunta Robinson is forced to the middle and he says he is happy about it, but I guarantee he was miffed. Its a ego thing basically saying he is not capable to cover the best receivers in the NFL.
This was a terrible free agent pick for the Falcons as he gets burned way too much. It continued in the mini camp with Jones and White running over him roughshod. And they still owe Dunta millions and are stuck with him.
Speaking of the pass rush the Falcons keeping Abraham who is old was all they could do. He rarely gets in the backfield for sacks and never is in the right place to tackle a running back or the QB for that matter.
Edwards another free agent who was supposedly hurt when the Falcons got him has not shown he is anywhere near worth what he got.
The Falcons still have Snelling who is a solid back up and tested the free agent market and no one wanted him. And second year Rodgers who may be too small to ever make it big in the NFL . Even though he was young and learning, Rodgers is not that fast and was tackled pretty easy when he tried to dish and dash through the line for gains.
I watch all the Falcons games and probably have the best understanding of this NFL team and what they are trying to do on both sides of the ball during the season.
For me when Vick left I lost some wins betting for and against the Falcons as he was so predictable.
Here is another downer for the Falcons. Their schedule this year is brutal. There are no cupcakes in this years schedule.
I wouldnt be surprised if the Saints with all their problems have a better record than the Falcons when all is said and done.
I think the team to watch in this Division is the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton
Unlike the Falcons the Panthers made some solid picks in the draft and got better. With Newton throwing over 4 K yds as a rookie he will improve those numbers this year.
The Falcons did not play well in either game vs the Panthers and I think this year they might lose both. Or at least the away game.
Go Falcons
Some applauded the departure of former coordinator Mike Mularkey, but it?s hard to argue that he presented Ryan with a formula that led to instant success, three trips to the playoffs, one trip to the Pro Bowl and a franchise-record passing mark last season.
Under Mularkey, Ryan posted a 43-19 regular-season record, but 0-3 in the playoffs.
That?s part of the reason why coach Mike Smith was extremely careful in selecting a new coordinator in Dirk Koetter. He believes that if the quarterback/coordinator relationship doesn?t work, the entire operation and possibly the team could implode.
Matt is going through a process,? Smith said. ?The relationship between the coordinator and the quarterback is one that probably needs to be the strongest one on the football team. I know that Dirk has worked with Matt as well as with Glenn.?
Upon conclusion of the offseason program Thursday, Smith was pleased with the first steps taken by Ryan and Koetter, who coached for one year (2007) with Smith in Jacksonville.
?Matt, I think, has really progressed,? Smith said. ?I think you can see it physically that he?s bigger. I think his arm strength is much-improved from the first four years.?:SIB
Koetter and Ryan have spent a lot of time together in order to make sure that they get on the same page with the new offensive attack.
Some of the major differences in the passing attack will be more vertical routes with an emphasis on getting the ball to receivers on the move. Also, the team will implement a package heavy in screen passes.
Koetter and Ryan?s meetings have been fruitful.
?Matt will look you in the eye and tell you how he sees it ...,? Koetter said. ?By the same token, I can tell him what I think, what I see and what the coaching staff sees. He takes coaching well, but he also gives good feedback.?
Ryan notes that there are some key differences from Mularkey?s attack.
On the first day of minicamp, the offense struggled as the defense, under new coordinator Mike Nolan, unleashed a flurry of stunts and blitzes. The offense was bogged down and there were signs of frustration.:facepalm:
In part, that was by design.
?It hasn?t been like the last few years, where Matt knows when he comes out here that the defense is going to install this coverage,? Smith said. ?It?s been a little bit more of a chess match between the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator because it?s the first time that they?ve worked together in terms of how we install our offense and defense. This is the first sequence that we had to do it as a new staff.
?That?s always an interesting dynamic, not only for the coaches, but for the players.?
Koetter welcomed the assortment of looks from Nolan.
?Coach Nolan has been giving us a bunch of tough looks defensively ? a lot of the problems that you?re going to face during the season, our defense has been showing us those problems,? Koetter said. ?That?s great when you see it in practice, so now you?re not seeing it for the first time live.?
During the second minicamp practice Wednesday, the offense was on fire. Ryan was drilling passes to wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. He was cutting up the defense with shots to backup tight ends LaMark Brown and Tommy Gallarda.
It was a dizzying passing display that drew raucous roars from the crowd on the hill and caused White to contend that it was the best practice in the past three seasons.
?I feel good,? Ryan said. ?I?ve worked hard this offseason. I feel like I?m in good shape and I felt really good out there during OTAs and minicamp. There is still some time before training camp. There is still time to work hard, to improve ourselves, and I think that everybody has got that mindset.?
Despite tight end Tony Gonzalez missing minicamp because of a death in his family, Ryan felt the offseason workouts were very important in order to help Jones continue to develop.
Jones was all over the field catching passes on the run, putting his hand down on grass to balance himself at times, while still running near top speed.
?He?s had an opportunity to work with our receivers coach Terry Robiskie without the stress of a week during the season and without a game plan,? Ryan said. ?He can really just work on technique. Work on route-running and try to understand our offense a little more in depth.?
White has witnessed the give-and-take between Koetter and Ryan and believes that the relationship is headed in the right direction.
?Dirk has made it easy,? White said. ?He has things that he?d like to do. We have some things that we like to do, and he just put it together and we?re rolling. Everybody has brought into the system. We are going to just keep rolling.?
.............................................................
Falcons 8-8
From what I see so far after the first mini camp the Falcons really havnt changed that much.
They can say Matty Ice has got bigger and is stronger through weight training etc. I don't see it. He still has the same issues with not being able to thread the needle when he has to. He also is affected by the bright lights of big games and the playoffs. Matty ice :shrug:
The Falcons still have to showcase the Burner Turner who has lost two steps, is over 30 , and gets arm tackled way too much. It seems like he gets stopped for loss 70% of the time. And Turner is still the Falcons feature back to get a first down or score at the goal line ? I think not.
Granted Julio Jones is a monster and Roddy White is still solid but older. Harry Douglas is a good third receiver and will compete for the punt return job.
Replacing Weems who did so much in running punts, kickoffs, and was a top tackler on special teams is going to be hard to replace.
Tony Gonzalez in his retirement year. Thats a joke and the Falcons have no other choice but to play him. He can still catch balls over the middle occasionally but he is a detriment to the overall offense.
The defense should pick up with Asanti Samual as he is a high octane guy. But that aint going to help when the Falcons still have no pass rush.
Dunta Robinson is forced to the middle and he says he is happy about it, but I guarantee he was miffed. Its a ego thing basically saying he is not capable to cover the best receivers in the NFL.
This was a terrible free agent pick for the Falcons as he gets burned way too much. It continued in the mini camp with Jones and White running over him roughshod. And they still owe Dunta millions and are stuck with him.
Speaking of the pass rush the Falcons keeping Abraham who is old was all they could do. He rarely gets in the backfield for sacks and never is in the right place to tackle a running back or the QB for that matter.
Edwards another free agent who was supposedly hurt when the Falcons got him has not shown he is anywhere near worth what he got.
The Falcons still have Snelling who is a solid back up and tested the free agent market and no one wanted him. And second year Rodgers who may be too small to ever make it big in the NFL . Even though he was young and learning, Rodgers is not that fast and was tackled pretty easy when he tried to dish and dash through the line for gains.
I watch all the Falcons games and probably have the best understanding of this NFL team and what they are trying to do on both sides of the ball during the season.
For me when Vick left I lost some wins betting for and against the Falcons as he was so predictable.
Here is another downer for the Falcons. Their schedule this year is brutal. There are no cupcakes in this years schedule.
I wouldnt be surprised if the Saints with all their problems have a better record than the Falcons when all is said and done.
I think the team to watch in this Division is the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton
Unlike the Falcons the Panthers made some solid picks in the draft and got better. With Newton throwing over 4 K yds as a rookie he will improve those numbers this year.
The Falcons did not play well in either game vs the Panthers and I think this year they might lose both. Or at least the away game.
Go Falcons
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