Consistency is the Falcons' biggest concern on offense in 2024

The Falcons celebrate their second win of the season after a terrible game against their bitterest rival, the New Orleans Saints. While it's a good feeling for the Falcons to be sitting at .500 heading into their important game on Thursday night against the Buccaneers, many of us aren't as happy with the team's current performance, particularly the offense.

The offense has a hard time capitalizing on good field position through defensive stops, ends possessions with field goals (9) more often than touchdowns (5), and can't seem to establish a coherent passing scheme. Sometimes it seems like this team operates like a well-oiled machine, and other times I can't help but scratch my head at the rules and decisions I witness. It's frustrating to say the least. Last Sunday, the Falcons scored no offensive touchdowns and still won the game. Normally after a game like this a team could say “a win is a win” no matter how ugly it might be, but after a string of unstable performances in the first month of the season, I'm not feeling all that confident in this team at the moment. Too often I walk away from a game thinking, “Is this a good team or not?”

We have seen that they have the ability to run and pass effectively. So what's stopping them from doing this consistently?

Offensive play instructions

So far I feel like Zac Robinson has done a good job on offense. As a first-year offensive coordinator, there are bound to be imperfections in every game, and those likely won't be fixed until he has a lot more play calling under his belt. However, the route combinations designed seem to help our receivers separate themselves from defenders and allow Kirk Cousins ​​to lead pass catchers into open space for easy yardage after the catch. We've seen players like Ray-Ray McCloud III take advantage of these passing strategies. Running the ball has been effective for the most part and while Tyler Allgeier hasn't benefited from the volume that Bijan Robinson gets, he still thrives in this offense with the carries he does get.

It's clear that Zac Robinson has had a big influence on Sean McVay's offensive strategies during his time in Los Angeles, including trying to get his best guys involved through scripts on a regular basis. As the Rams' passing game coordinator over the last two seasons, he implemented a strong screen attack that was a significant part of that offense that earned them 10th in passing yards per game in 2022. Applying this strategy to the Falcons sounds good in theory, but his heavy reliance on this formula is hindering this offense.

We saw him run multiple wide receiver screen plays on the same drive, each more predictable than the last, with Darnell Mooney having very little wiggle room. Aside from the screen pass to Bijan Robinson, which would have scored had it not been for a holding penalty against Jake Matthews, these screens were not executed effectively and I think that is primarily because these players are inexperienced in this scheme and offense . Against New Orleans, Darnell Mooney had to field a screen pass on third down with a four-yard gain midway through the third quarter that was quickly rejected due to poor blocking. Another call was later made, this time to Ray Ray McCloud on our final drive with a minute to go and no timeout remaining.

The fact that the Falcons are willing to risk precious seconds to tick off the clock on a potentially game-winning drive in hopes of breaking a script for big yards is unacceptable. Without proper execution, these types of calls actively hinder the skills of our players as most of them are familiar with the north-south style of movement rather than sideways movement. Consistently calling high percentage plays will help this offense.

Quarterback game

After two games this season, it's safe to say that Cousins' quarterback play has been somewhat disappointing. In the past, we've seen him be more careful and careful when throwing the ball, making the check when nothing else was open and shooting it deep when he was almost certain his receiver would either end up with the ball or could prevent the defender from forcing a turnover.

This year we haven't seen him rely too much on check downs, and while that could be a good thing, he's also not as calculated when it comes to putting the ball in tight areas. We've seen him showcase veteran skills throughout the season as he commanded the offense on multiple drives with accurate passes, and at times you can sense how unsure he is before making his decisions. The accuracy suffers as a result.

He's tried to throw the hero ball more times than I'd like. On the final drive against New Orleans alone, he attempted to get deep to Mooney three times in a row on the same route, with one pass looking better as if it would hit Kyle Pitts outside left field to get the Falcons closer to field goal range . Many of his deep shots feel unnecessary and forced, and even with proven deep threats like Mooney and Drake London employing these concepts, it's better to set up your shooting game by running the short-to-intermediate game first.

The pass protection was pretty decent for the most part, especially considering the injury to starting tackle Kaleb McGary. Still, over the course of his career, Cousins ​​has been pretty good at getting into the pocket and delivering accurate passes while the defensive lineman is pressing him. That's something he did particularly well when he found Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, and I thought that skill would translate well here, but so far he's seemed almost unsettled.

Despite all the time in the world, his throws seem rushed and off balance. This is even more true considering his recent Achilles tendon injury, the after-effects of which he may still be dealing with. He has always been a pure pocket passer, which has become rare in the NFL these days, but his lack of confidence in throwing and making decisions is contributing to his pocket presence declining. Getting him into a better rhythm and making better decisions is key to this offense finding consistency.

Every game the Falcons have played has been decided by one possession. A few moments in each game seem to have a big impact on the outcome of the entire game. It's honestly a surprise that Atlanta is at .500 and has a chance to move to the top of the division on Thursday if they can get a win over the Bucs.

In order for this to happen, they must become more targeted in their offensive plans and develop a clear idea of ​​what type of offense they want to run, and players must become more consistent and precise in executing that offense. It feels like the Falcons are struggling and shaking their way through every game, and it's not even halfway through the year yet. Now is the time to eliminate these mistakes and achieve well-organized victories so that this team can reach its true potential.