Atlanta's offense isn't one that should try to be emulated

[t96]

This showed big time in the second half last game. Of course there are a ton of factors and Ryan choking but this in my opinion was the biggest reason... They could not sustain drives. Even during the season. They put up big time points because of a lot of huge huge plays as shown by Ryan's absurd yards per attempt. Their running backs were extremely dangerous but that was because both were threats to go for 80 yards on any given play. They just couldn't grind out the chunk yards needed to sustain drives and stay on the field and keep your defense off the field while making the opposing defense the one getting tired.

I think Rivera's offensive philosophy is 100% the way to go, the problem of course is executing it and I don't think Shula is able to do that and Ron is just being too loyal which is his biggest flaw. I have a tiny bit of hope about all the talk of stopping relying on Cam to be our run game and the talk of changing up the offense. 2013 in Shula's first year our offense was very good at sustaining drives and controlling ToP for the most part so I still think it's possible we can get back to that and be even better with more talent on offense. 

So how do we achieve this? In my opinion there are 5 things that need to happen.

1. Shula adjusting and changing the offense fairly significantly.

This seems unlikely based on what we know about Shula but Rivera's comments about changing the offense and how you can't have Cam be the team's leading rushing threat leads me to believe this is a possibility.

2. Get a top blocking FB.

This in my opinion is the easiest thing that we can do to improve the offense significantly. FBs don't cost a lot at all and this year there happens to be multiple options set to be available in free agency. @Jeremy Igo has made his opinion known on this and I think this will be the year we finally get what he's been seeking. Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick DiMarco and James Develin are all top FBs in the league hitting free agency and would be massive additions for little money compared to the on field impact. Would improve the run game significantly (finally no more seeing Tolbert block his own offensive linemen on running plays, essentially making it a 9 on 11) and the pass game to a lesser degree (we didn't have Tolbert in pass protection very much unless Stew wasn't on the field). If DG wants to go a cheaper route, Jerome Felton is an older vet who is available as well. While he offers nothing other than blocking, he's one of the best at that and that's what we need most from the FB position. Was a huge reason for the Bills' dominant run game this past year.

3. Get a top 20-25 all around TE to pair with Olsen.

This will be crucial in Shula's type of offense to help sustain drives. We need a second TE to block and run routes to complement Olsen and to give Cam more time with these long developing routes and more importantly another check down option kicking out after chipping a guy. In the past year it's been clear as day we've been looking for this behind Olsen. I'm not so sure we get it for this year but we may get one in the draft to develop for down the road. Not a great group of FAs. Martellus Bennett (don't think he'd fit in the locker room and will get paid a lot) is the only really great TE set to hit the market. Some options could be Jordan Cameron on a prove it deal after injuries have kind of derailed his career, Jared Cook who we wanted last year but will likely re-sign with Green Bay, Jacob Tamme from the Falcons who's hardly anything to write home about but could offer a veteran upgrade in the blocking department over Dickson, and Luke Willson from the Seahawks who is a very solid blocker and can offer a bit of a receiving threat with sure hands but once again would be pretty lower tier. Targeting a TE for the future at one of our 3rd rounders is very possible and would be exciting to have behind Greg.

4. Get a franchise LT.

This is easily the most difficult thing to do and likely won't happen this year but it is still very important. If Oher could come back I think he'd be fine enough for the time being but I would not count on him at all and would look at anything he could contribute going forward as a bonus. Unlikely we target one in the first round of the draft but there are a couple I could see in the second who could be developed at the position. No free agents likely to hit the market that would fit the bill. Whitworth would be a massive upgrade as a stopgap solution but would be just that, likely lasting only another year or two. Some could be available through trade like Joe Staley or Joe Thomas, but I think it's unlikely and would likely take a 1st or more and they have huge contracts.

5. Get a dedicated slot receiver.

We need sure hands, quickness and route running out of the slot for 3rd down conversions and quicker passes. I like Philly but don't see him in this role. KB strictly outside and Ginn not dependable. Funchess had been hyped as being able to run outside and out of the slot but I've seen no evidence of the latter yet in his first two years. Would love for him to breakout but, like with Ealy, it can't be counted on right now. We've really been missing Cotchery. Fortunately DG has touched upon how great of a draft this is for these types of receivers and Rivera has said that it's what we are looking for. Pierre Garcon could be an option in FA, not much else out there that I see us targeting though.

 

All in all I'm actually pretty excited about what our offense could do in the future. I notably left out RB for a reason too. I think it's very likely we get one in the first two days of this draft and very possible we land Fournette at 8, but I think these 5 things are much more crucial to offensive success than a top running back. Stew is injury prone obviously but otherwise can still run the ball well. And I think we would have offensive success even with a JAG like CAP running the ball if we do some of these 5 things. Having a guy like Fournette or whoever we likely get in the draft would just be a bonus.

[ecu88]

Good points.

I am in the wait in see mode to see what direction we go to address the issues that are currently plaguing us. 

[d-dave]

If we had played our game plan against Denver, we would have won.  The old saying that defense and running the ball wins championships is absolutely true.  You don't have to be great at it, but you have to keep at it.  Or at least use it to surprise people.

I'd love to see the Panthers get healthy on the Oline first.  That would go a long way.  Adding a younger RB, adding some speed/instant offense kind of player would help open things up considerably.

What can we really do about coaching?  Just two years ago, he had the number 1 offense in the NFL and a MVP QB.  Maybe we can add some pieces this off season.  I think we really need an instant offense type of player.  Someone who can take a short pass or run and break it off for a TD.  We haven't had a guy who can do that in a while.  While we all love Fozzy, I think we can upgrade that.

[General_Purr]

We have a running back who has never played a full season, we don't plan for OL injuries, teams stack the box because our WRs are not dangerous whatsoever. We won't draft OJ Howard who's going to be a franchise TE. Our center isn't getting any younger.

[ecu88]

2 minutes ago, d-dave said:

If we had played our game plan against Denver, we would have won.  The old saying that defense and running the ball wins championships is absolutely true.  You don't have to be great at it, but you have to keep at it.  Or at least use it to surprise people.

I'd love to see the Panthers get healthy on the Oline first.  That would go a long way.  Adding a younger RB, adding some speed/instant offense kind of player would help open things up considerably.

What can we really do about coaching?  Just two years ago, he had the number 1 offense in the NFL and a MVP QB.  Maybe we can add some pieces this off season.  I think we really need an instant offense type of player.  Someone who can take a short pass or run and break it off for a TD.  We haven't had a guy who can do that in a while.  While we all love Fozzy, I think we can upgrade that.

I have little hope but if Byrd workouts this preseason, I hope he can be the spark that bis missing.  I love Zay Jones, maybe someone like him. DJax idk, would love to have him but will be a long term solution. We need a spark player like you suggest.

[gorillamilitia13]

I do see where Ron comes from, if you can efficiently run the ball consistently that will keep your defense on the sidelines, allowing them to rest up. The Falcons have a great offense but they score so quickly which leaves their defense out on the field for longer than they would like too. The thing is Ron's philosophy is hard to emulate in today's game. Players are quicker, faster, and stronger now than ever which has made running the ball more difficult. 

[CatMan72]

Finesse team couldn't grind it out when they had the game won. 

[pstall]

I would say emulate adaptability.  Falcons did whatever they wanted but when the Pats adjusted, they didn't counter properly. 

They got greedy in the 4th when they should have ran the ball.

[TheRed]

It isn't like their offense was that complicated. Talents running backs, receivers that actually get open, catch the ball, and are capable of racking up YAC for their QB.

[t96]

9 minutes ago, d-dave said:

If we had played our game plan against Denver, we would have won.

Well we couldn't really run our gameplan against them when Stew went out. He and Cam with the read option was our entire run game. Tolbert and Fozzy couldn't run the read option and we couldn't generate a run game with them because that's not our our ridiculous child offense has been setup the past two years. Tolbert's two fumbles when we had momentum as well didn't help either.

[t96]

4 minutes ago, gorillamilitia13 said:

I do see where Ron comes from, if you can efficiently run the ball consistently that will keep your defense on the sidelines, allowing them to rest up. The Falcons have a great offense but they score so quickly which leaves their defense out on the field for longer than they would like too. The thing is Ron's philosophy is hard to emulate in today's game. Players are quicker, faster, and stronger now than ever which has made running the ball more difficult. 

That's true on both sides of the ball though. Teams who have committed to setting up dominant run games are able to do it. Building the defense up is harder in my opinion, but we're in pretty good position to do that now I think. 

[KSpan]

Run, run, run, FG (even a miss) likely wins them the game on that final drive. Chuckle.

[PantherPhann89]

28 minutes ago, thomas96 said:

This showed big time in the second half last game. Of course there are a ton of factors and Ryan choking but this in my opinion was the biggest reason... They could not sustain drives. Even during the season. They put up big time points because of a lot of huge huge plays as shown by Ryan's absurd yards per attempt. Their running backs were extremely dangerous but that was because both were threats to go for 80 yards on any given play. They just couldn't grind out the chunk yards needed to sustain drives and stay on the field and keep your defense off the field while making the opposing defense the one getting tired.

I think Rivera's offensive philosophy is 100% the way to go, the problem of course is executing it and I don't think Shula is able to do that and Ron is just being too loyal which is his biggest flaw. I have a tiny bit of hope about all the talk of stopping relying on Cam to be our run game and the talk of changing up the offense. 2013 in Shula's first year our offense was very good at sustaining drives and controlling ToP for the most part so I still think it's possible we can get back to that and be even better with more talent on offense. 

So how do we achieve this? In my opinion there are 5 things that need to happen.

1. Shula adjusting and changing the offense fairly significantly.

This seems unlikely based on what we know about Shula but Rivera's comments about changing the offense and how you can't have Cam be the team's leading rushing threat leads me to believe this is a possibility.

2. Get a top blocking FB.

This in my opinion is the easiest thing that we can do to improve the offense significantly. FBs don't cost a lot at all and this year there happens to be multiple options set to be available in free agency. @Jeremy Igo has made his opinion known on this and I think this will be the year we finally get what he's been seeking. Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick DiMarco and James Develin are all top FBs in the league hitting free agency and would be massive additions for little money compared to the on field impact. Would improve the run game significantly (finally no more seeing Tolbert block his own offensive linemen on running plays, essentially making it a 9 on 11) and the pass game to a lesser degree (we didn't have Tolbert in pass protection very much unless Stew wasn't on the field). If DG wants to go a cheaper route, Jerome Felton is an older vet who is available as well. While he offers nothing other than blocking, he's one of the best at that and that's what we need most from the FB position. Was a huge reason for the Bills' dominant run game this past year.

3. Get a top 20-25 all around TE to pair with Olsen.

This will be crucial in Shula's type of offense to help sustain drives. We need a second TE to block and run routes to complement Olsen and to give Cam more time with these long developing routes and more importantly another check down option kicking out after chipping a guy. In the past year it's been clear as day we've been looking for this behind Olsen. I'm not so sure we get it for this year but we may get one in the draft to develop for down the road. Not a great group of FAs. Martellus Bennett (don't think he'd fit in the locker room and will get paid a lot) is the only really great TE set to hit the market. Some options could be Jordan Cameron on a prove it deal after injuries have kind of derailed his career, Jared Cook who we wanted last year but will likely re-sign with Green Bay, Jacob Tamme from the Falcons who's hardly anything to write home about but could offer a veteran upgrade in the blocking department over Dickson, and Luke Willson from the Seahawks who is a very solid blocker and can offer a bit of a receiving threat with sure hands but once again would be pretty lower tier. Targeting a TE for the future at one of our 3rd rounders is very possible and would be exciting to have behind Greg.

4. Get a franchise LT.

This is easily the most difficult thing to do and likely won't happen this year but it is still very important. If Oher could come back I think he'd be fine enough for the time being but I would not count on him at all and would look at anything he could contribute going forward as a bonus. Unlikely we target one in the first round of the draft but there are a couple I could see in the second who could be developed at the position. No free agents likely to hit the market that would fit the bill. Whitworth would be a massive upgrade as a stopgap solution but would be just that, likely lasting only another year or two. Some could be available through trade like Joe Staley or Joe Thomas, but I think it's unlikely and would likely take a 1st or more and they have huge contracts.

5. Get a dedicated slot receiver.

We need sure hands, quickness and route running out of the slot for 3rd down conversions and quicker passes. I like Philly but don't see him in this role. KB strictly outside and Ginn not dependable. Funchess had been hyped as being able to run outside and out of the slot but I've seen no evidence of the latter yet in his first two years. Would love for him to breakout but, like with Ealy, it can't be counted on right now. We've really been missing Cotchery. Fortunately DG has touched upon how great of a draft this is for these types of receivers and Rivera has said that it's what we are looking for. Pierre Garcon could be an option in FA, not much else out there that I see us targeting though.

 

All in all I'm actually pretty excited about what our offense could do in the future. I notably left out RB for a reason too. I think it's very likely we get one in the first two days of this draft and very possible we land Fournette at 8, but I think these 5 things are much more crucial to offensive success than a top running back. Stew is injury prone obviously but otherwise can still run the ball well. And I think we would have offensive success even with a JAG like CAP running the ball if we do some of these 5 things. Having a guy like Fournette or whoever we likely get in the draft would just be a bonus.

Sounds like a plan, I agree wholeheartedly...

[GoobyPls]

Rivera's milk the clock offense is as stupid as last nights Falcons hyper aggressive offense.

This offense relies to much on Cam's brilliance so any time he's off no one can take pressure off him. 

Keep blaming Shula but the front office has only drafted 3 starters since 2011.