Falcons look to correct offensive problems. Article Per: SI.com

[JKH5785]

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) - Coach Mike Smith and his staff are trying to correct the problems that plagued Atlanta's offense in the Falcons' season opener.
And there are a lot of problems to correct after Sunday's overtime loss at Pittsburgh.
Michael Turner couldn't run the ball. Matt Ryan struggled to throw downfield. Tony Gonzalez caught just two passes.
It's no surprise the Atlanta Falcons scored only nine points.
"I think you'll see, throughout the league, the most improvement usually comes between Week 1 and Week 2,'' Smith said Monday. "Fortunately for us, we have a lot of things we can improve on.''
Of the Falcons' top four playmakers, only receiver Roddy White, with 13 catches for 111 yards, measured up to high standards.
Turner ran 19 times for a 2.2 average. Ryan had a 67.6 passer rating. Gonzalez, the NFL's career-leading tight end, finished with 35 yards receiving.
"Our objective has to be to get back to work and improve,'' Ryan said. "We have to do everything we can next week to get a win.
Atlanta (0-1), which hosts Arizona (1-0) this week, suffered perhaps its biggest letdown with Turner's lack of production and deficient blocking in the running game.
Over the last several months, Turner spoke at length about his renewed sense of commitment and improved conditioning.
Whatever improvements Turner made, however, were nullified by the Steelers. His longest gain was seven yards against a defense that has ranked among the NFL's top three units against the run since the start of 2004.
Turner credits Pittsburgh with shutting down his running lanes with strong gap control, but he believes the offense was close a few times to breaking free into the secondary.
"We just have come back and clean some things up and just go from there,'' Turner said. "Everything was not clean out there, but it's not going to be clean out there every time. We still have to make some plays.''
An ankle injury last year hurt Turner's production during the final two months and contributed to Atlanta's fall from No. 2 in 2008 rushing to No. 15 last year.
Turner still believes the offensive line, which returns all five starters for the third straight year, is one of the league's best.
"Guys are full of pride on this team,'' Turner said, "so I have faith in those guys, including myself, that we are going to get the job done next week.''
After watching film of a rushing attack that managed 58 yards on 25 carries, Smith saw some major flaws.
"We need to block better,'' Smith said Monday. "We've got to sustain our blocks in the running game. I think was evident yesterday.''
The line's problems extended to protection. Though Ryan was only sacked twice, he wasn't afforded the time needed to make accurate reads and throws.
Smith was pleased that Ryan adapted to Pittsburgh's success against Gonzalez by shifting focus to Nos. 2 and 3 receivers Harry Douglas and Eric Weems, who were targeted a combined seven times and caught seven passes for 75 yards.
Douglas' 23-yard catch late in the second quarter moved Atlanta to the Steelers' 49 before the drive fizzled three plays later.
"I think for the most part in the passing game, except for some errant throws (because of) pressure that we did a pretty good job,'' Smith said. "I thought Matt threw the ball pretty well with a 61 percent completion.''

Link

[Knight of God]

Good read. Thanks.

[ChrisD]

I still feel as though next week will be the week that we see whether or not Turner has gone down hill in terms of his playing ability. Even with Dockett on the line for the Cardinals, the Falcons offensive line should have no problem creating the holes Turner needs, and if he performs as poorly as he did against the Steelers, then I may start getting worried.

[Knight of God]

(09-14-2010 02:25 PM)ChrisD Wrote:  I still feel as though next week will be the week that we see whether or not Turner has gone down hill in terms of his playing ability. Even with Dockett on the line for the Cardinals, the Falcons offensive line should have no problem creating the holes Turner needs, and if he performs as poorly as he did against the Steelers, then I may start getting worried.

The defense may be a little more talented than Pittsburgh but in all honesty we are basically facing the same team for all intents and purposes.

[ChrisD]

I really don't think that the Cardinals defense is anywhere near the Steelers in terms of stopping the run. They have a really solid Defensive line. Their linebackers are good, but not anything spectacular in the run game. But I will say that I expect the passing game to struggle again.

[JKH5785]

Unless we utilize our players to their strengths, it's really not going to matter who we play. We will have some games that we look good and some we look bad, but to be truly efficient and consistent, we need to use our players to their strengths.

The Saints use Reggie to his strengths, and use his strengths to create mismatches, use those mismatches to convert key downs and move the ball down the field

[Knight of God]

(09-14-2010 03:03 PM)ChrisD Wrote:  I really don't think that the Cardinals defense is anywhere near the Steelers in terms of stopping the run. They have a really solid Defensive line. Their linebackers are good, but not anything spectacular in the run game. But I will say that I expect the passing game to struggle again.

I don't know man. That DL is pretty stout. How did they fair this last week on the ground?

[ChrisD]

They did pretty well against the run, but it was against the Rams. 22 carries, 81 yards. Sure, Jackson is amazing, but anyone can stop Jackson with a line like the Rams.

[Knight of God]

(09-14-2010 03:12 PM)ChrisD Wrote:  They did pretty well against the run, but it was against the Rams. 22 carries, 81 yards. Sure, Jackson is amazing, but anyone can stop Jackson with a line like the Rams.

Isn't our OL kinda similar?

[ChrisD]

I don't think so. Then again, I didn't watch the whole game just saw clips and was looking at stats and such, so maybe the Rams took some steps in the off season. If the Rams line is the same as last season, then I stick with my original comment.