Why the Atlanta Falcons will not make the playoffs
Something is missing on the Atlanta Falcons’ offense
Oct 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Leonard Hankerson (85) runs past Houston Texans defensive back Rahim Moore (26) for a long catch and run in the third quarter of their game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
It’s simple, something is missing, but I’m not exactly sure what it is. When you look at the stats, they look great. The Falcons have a top-10 offense, and Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones are both leading the NFL in yards in their respective categories.
On top of Freeman and Jones, the Falcons have Matt Ryan, a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, who has led the Falcons to several come-from-behind wins in 2015, and has all the tools to lead the team. However, what they are missing is a solid core of receivers to help complement Jones and Freeman.
Jacob Tamme is the Falcons’ No.2 wide receiver when it comes to receiving yards and Freeman is the Falcons’ No. 3 wide receiver. Both of those players are good, but they aren’t wide receivers. They are check-down, crossing route-types of receivers rather than deep threats.
Roddy White has 17 receptions on the year for 230 yards and one touchdown. At this point, he’s a decoy more than anything. Ryan isn’t throwing him the ball. He isn’t even giving him a chance to make a play for the offense and I’m not really sure why that is. It’s very confusing, seeing that White is the Falcons’ all-time leading receiver.
The Falcons’ true No. 2 receiver in 2015 is Leonard Hankerson, who has 22 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns, but he has missed back-to-back games due to a hamstring injury. Even when Hankerson has played, he has dropped nearly half of the balls thrown his way. Hankerson has seven drops on the year, which is near the top of the league.
Rookie wide receiver Justin Hardy was supposed to come in right away and help the Falcons in the receiving game, but that hasn’t been the case. Hardy has played in just two games and hasn’t been all that involved. I’d like to see him worked into the offense more and see how he does with a heavy dose of snaps.
When the Falcons run the ball successfully with Freeman, you can’t tell just how bad the Falcons’ receiving corps is. But, when the run game gets shut down, the offense looks terrible. The loss to the 49ers is the prime example of that.
I’m not so sure that the Falcons can fix what their problems are on offense without drafting a wide receiver in next year’s draft, and either signing or drafting a center to help the offensive line. It’s all going to come down to how good Freeman can do in the remaining seven games. If he is successful, and Hankerson gets healthy, this offense can move the ball fairly easily, but if Freeman gets shut down like he did last week, expect the offense to look extremely stagnant.