Why Did Falcons Struggle In 4th Quarter In 2016?
The Atlanta Falcons had problems closing games in 2016. What was the cause and how do they fix that problem moving into 2017?
The Atlanta Falcons, for all of their success in 2016, had an Achilles heel–surrendering or nearly surrendering leads in the fourth quarter, something that famously caught up with them in Super Bowl LI.
How do they fix that problem in 2017?
First, a quick review:
In Week 4, Atlanta had a 34-10 lead over the Panthers in the final quarter. They proceeded to allow 23 points (to Derek Anderson at quarterback by the way, not Cam Newton) to Carolina before eventually pulling out the 48-33 victory.
In Week 5, they led the Broncos 23-6 in the fourth and then gave up 10 points, but won 23-16.
In Week 6, after falling behind 17-3, the Falcons took a 24-17 lead and then gave up the last nine points of the game to lose to Seattle 26-24.
In Week 7, Atlanta had the Chargers down by as much as 27-10 before the half. They were then outscored 23-3 the rest of the way to lose 33-30.
In Week 8, they were leading 26-24 over Green Bay as the fourth quarter started. They had to come from behind to win the game 33-32.
In Week 9, the Falcons had a 15-13 lead over the Eagles going in to the fourth quarter, only to lose 24-15.
Even in the 38-32 win over the Saints in Week 17, Atlanta still was outscored 19-0 in the final frame.
I don’t really need to talk about the Super Bowl, do I?
So what was the issue? Why did the Falcons consistently fail to put away opponents when they had them down? Was it coaching? Offensively (queue the rants against Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling in the Super Bowl)? Defensively?
Once a comfortable lead was in hand was there a philosophical shift to go from what had been working all game long to going “prevent” D (or O, for that matter)?
Was it talent? There’s no questioning how effective Atlanta’s offense was all year long, but the defense had been a week spot for the entire season.
Even after they started improving over the final six weeks of the regular season and in to the playoffs, nobody was going to confuse that unit with the ’85 Bears.
Was it conditioning? To point to the defense once again, this was a very young team.
It had four rookie “starters” — middle linebacker Deion Jones, weak side linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, strong safety Keanu Neal and nickel back Brian Poole; and four second-year starters in defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, strong side linebacker Vic Beasley, Jr., cornerback Jalen Collins and free safety Ricardo Allen (a third-year player, but in only his second year starting).
Were these youngsters hitting a wall as the games wore on? They emphatically denied it, but it was pretty clear they were getting gassed at the end of the Super Bowl, as the Patriots would eventually wind up running 93 offensive plays and dominate time of possession 40:31 to 23:27.
Will new offensive and defensive coaches bring better results in 2017? Will the team be better conditioned? Will the returns of Desmond Trufant, Adrian Clayborn and Derrick Shelby provide the necessary boost?
Next: Top 20 Games In Atlanta Falcons History
Will the additions of Dontari Poe, Jack Crawford, and Andre Roberts in free agency and a new draft class be enough?