Atlanta Falcons: Checklist to fix issues in bye week

Finally.

The past four weeks has featured a number of key injuries, questionable play calling, poor game decisions, as well as a few flaws. If you stir all that up, what is before you is a 6-3 team that is still in the playoff picture but also has a cloud of doubt hanging above them.

To sum it all up, this bye week is absolutely the most critical point of the season. We can see two results from Atlanta: The mistakes are cleaned up and the team plays to it’s potential, or we can see a continued downfall resulting in a disappointing end to the season. I present to you the bye week checklist for the Atlanta Falcons.

Establish a “comfort zone” on offense

So far on the season, we’ve seen an offense reveal a new playmaker (Devonta Freeman), an established talent giving defenses headaches (Julio Jones) and a quarterback who is having a season with mixed reviews (Matt Ryan).

The presence of Freeman and rookie Tevin Coleman has given Atlanta a running game we haven’t seen since the days of Michael ‘Burner’ Turner. Even with the league’s No. 2 rusher in Freeman and a third round pick in Tevin Coleman, Matt Ryan has had at least 34 pass attempts in eight of the nine games this year.

I understand the talented duo in Ryan and Jones. I understand the ranking of fifth in NFL for passing offense. I understand game flow, however Free has three of his seven starts with 14 or less carries and Coleman has 13 carries combined in the last five games. Translation? Let’s crank up the running just a little bit.

Put the pieces together for Matty Ice

I’m not quite sure what’s wrong with Matt Ryan. Is he hurt? Is age catching up? Is it the new scheme? So many questions are swirling around the overall play of Ryan. He looks off, to be truly honest. He doesn’t look himself.

It could be a combination of talent and scheme; Kyle Shanahan’s offense doesn’t quite call for complex throws. The intermediate throws that we’ve seen Ryan overthrow, under throw, or miss completely due to timing are ones he’s hit over and over again throughout his career.

Another issue to iron out is Ryan has locked in on the uber-talented Julio Jones. Too often we have seen attempts to Julio in double or triple coverage. It will be beneficial to get some usage out of rookie Justin Hardy as well as Roddy White, as those two will be key if Atlanta makes the playoffs.

Extra focus on the pass rush

If near sacks were important statistically, Atlanta would be one of the league’s best. In nine games, the Falcons have a grand total of ten sacks. In the offseason, a key point of emphasis was to inject life into the defensive line.

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The drafting of Vic Beasley, the free agent acquisitions of Adrian Clayborn and O’Brien Schofield, and ultimately the hiring of Dan Quinn was enough to spark the unit at the very least. Consider that mission incomplete at this point.

Light a fire

Unless you haven’t been paying attention, the Carolina Panthers are the talk of the league. With that talk comes an identity of aggressiveness. In order for Atlanta to get a win over Carolina and the rest of the schedule, they have to reach a higher level of aggressiveness.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman has stated that he looks forward to playing the Falcons. Read in between the lines and teams have used the Falcons as a punching bag. With Dan Quinn, it’s time to turn the tables.

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