Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons made some smart and efficient moves this offseason filing in the gaps on both sides of the ball. Most importantly, Atlanta now has all the missing pieces they need in order to make it to playoffs with a total of 11 former first-rounders starting on offense.
The star of the show, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan joined Atlanta’s sports radio station 680 The Fan to break down the Falcons’ new offense.
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Julio Jones is Ryan’s No. 1 Option
Ryan discussed the various ways Atlanta can put pressure on opponents and shared some insight on where he’d go with the ball.
Julio has been Matt’s right-hand man for quite some time not and things haven’t really changed there and won’t unless Jones is injured. Ryan used the “Gun Triple Right” formation in which Julio is considered the X receiver and that’s where he’s looking first in single coverage.
“If he’s on the left side of the field himself, the first thing we’re doing is saying ‘Is it one-on-one?’,” Ryan said. “If it is, forget about it. We don’t need to worry about anything else going on. We’re gonna throw him the ball, we’re going to move the chains.
However, a lot of the times Julio is double teamed and Ryan has to look elsewhere.
Ryan Has A Lot More Reliable Options This Year
Ryan knows this year that he’s getting a lot more help in the passing and run game which has been hard to find these past two seasons. With Calvin Ridley entering his breakout year, Todd Gurley’s efficiency in the backfield, and Hayden Hurst’s speed, Ryan is set.
Ryan added, “If it’s not, which a lot of the times we’re going to have two people on top of him trying to take him out of whatever he wants to do. Then we look on the three-man side and we say okay, ‘Is it zone coverage?’
“If it’s zone coverage we have a certain way we want to read it. If it’s man coverage, we’re going to want something whether it’s outside. Whether it’s ‘Who’s our best matchup?’ Calvin is our Z. If he’s outside and it’s one-on-one we’re going to take him. If it’s Hayden inside and he is on a linebacker that we don’t think can cover, we’re going to take him. Then you add a back out of the backfield like Todd who can catch the ball really effectively.”
Falcons’ Pick Your Poison Offense
When ex-Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst joined the Falcons back in March, he told the local media that the first thing he could think out was being a part of a “pick your poison offense.”
With Jones and Ridley drawing the most attention from the opposing defense, Hurst will be used a lot more this year than he was over in Baltimore. Then there’s Gurley who is being doubted across the map and ready to take on the season. There’s going to be a lot of double team going on and opponents will have to choose which “poison” they want to stop.
“We are just looking for who has the best chance to wear somebody out on their side of the ball and we’ve got a lot of weapons to do that which is fun,” Ryan said.
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