Atlanta Falcons: 3 Things To Watch vs. Tennessee Titans
By Sunny Minhas
Jul 31, 2015; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) passes during practice during training camp at Flowery Branch Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive System
Kyle Shanahan has installed a west coast offense featuring plenty of roll-outs, sprints and bootlegs. Matt Ryan has experience of this in the past with his first offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey but it was mostly phased out when Dirk Koetter arrived. We will surely see Ryan on the move against the Titans and it will be interesting to find out his comfort levels playing like that again.
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Shanahan’s offense relies on deception and route combinations to get secondary receivers open while the No. 1 wideout, in this case Julio Jones, is asked to beat his man fair and square. Judging from his past, he likes to use all different sorts of receivers depending on the situation.
It won’t be as fixed as the Falcons have been in the past with the same set of receivers regardless of the situation so hopefully we’ll get to see a variety of weapons for Ryan. 2nd and short at the 50 may see Devin Hester on the field for a potential deep bomb, while a 3rd and short may see Justin Hardy instead as opposed to it always being Harry Douglas.
The zone blocking scheme represents a major change to the gap blocking the Falcons have largely done the last good few years. How the offensive line can respond will have ramifications for the rest of the team. A team that can run the ball makes things much easier for the passing game. The pass blocking becomes better and the coverage also becomes looser as teams hesitate a touch longer keeping 1 eye on the running back.
The first game of preseason, we’re not expecting perfect results. However, we can get a good grasp of the style of the offense and how far along the team is.
Next: Offensive Line