(08-21-2012 08:05 AM)Peyton Wrote:  Last year when the Falcons were supposedly a "run first" team, Atlanta finished 17th in rushing.

New Orleans broke the NFL record for passing yards, but finished 6th in rushing, and they outrushed Atlanta by about 300 yards.

(08-21-2012 09:01 AM)Beef Wrote:  That's very misleading. The saints time of possession was greater than ours and when your team is up by 27 points you're going to be running the ball the entire 4th quarter.

The obscene passing and blowout scoring allowed them to run more. But they scored less rushing TDs and had a lower YPC than us.

(08-21-2012 08:05 AM)Peyton Wrote:  Last year when the Falcons were supposedly a "run first" team, Atlanta finished 17th in rushing.

New Orleans broke the NFL record for passing yards, but finished 6th in rushing, and they outrushed Atlanta by about 300 yards.

(08-21-2012 09:36 AM)ggp Wrote:  All the more reason to want us to work on the passing game. The Saints' rush offense benefits greatly from the threat Brees poses in the passing game. IF the Falcons can truly threaten teams with a potent pass offense, their rush offense will benefit greatly.

This is the opposite from what old timers (like myself) are accustomed. It used to be that a team needed to run, in order to set up the passing game. Now, the reverse is true.

(08-21-2012 09:54 AM)Peyton Wrote:  If the Falcons had a settled offensive line, Koetter's approach would make sense to me. But since the Falcons do not, I don't understand it.

(08-21-2012 12:19 PM)ATLBound Wrote:  Makes plenty of sense if we follow along with what ggp is eluding to. We are gearing up to use the run to set up the pass. So you work on the O-line's pass blocking to get stout at that and with the defense spread out the run blocking becomes a lot easier to maintain.

And the basis of having a potent passing attack is not to outgun brees and rodgers. Its having a passing attack that can keep up with them along with a defense that can hold them down long enough for you to succeed.

Look at how the Giants beat the Packers. A strong enough passing attack and a opportunistic defense along with a few Packer wr drops.

And the 49ers didnt beat the Saints with a running or passing game. They won with a stout defense regardless of the stats and timely playcalling. The 49ers offense had so many 3 and outs it was crazy. We have the potential for a great defense and we have the potential for a very potent passing attack and selective running attack to take advantage of spread out defenses concerned about our offense. This is what you need these days and what we are working towards.

The Saints offense isnt run heavy like ggp eluded to. They have a very strong passing attack that allows the run game to have an edge. They are not dependent on it. This is what we are changing to.