Julio Jones backs his offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones backs offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Many Atlanta Falcons fans have pointed blame at Offensive Coordinator Steve Sarkisian for a myriad of woes in 2017.

Failing to utilize Wide Receiver Julio Jones, capitalizing on the run game, along with not taking advantage of the talents of WR Taylor Gabriel are among the criticisms Sarkisian faced from the Atlanta faithful.

Despite outside criticism, this week Sarkisian received support from his elite receiver.

Jones was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to announce his ownership of a few car dealerships and spoke on Sarkisian’s efforts in the 2017 season.

Jones played under Nick Saban for three years at Alabama and Sarkisian was Alabama’s offensive analyst/coordinator in the 2016 season.

Despite blame being placed upon Sarkisian, Jones praised his efforts in his first season in Atlanta.

"“Sark was good,” said Jones. “Sark was really good for us. A lot of people — they didn’t believe in Sark. They’d say, ‘He messed up. He’s not doing this and not doing that.’ I love Sark. He did a great job for us.” – (AL.com)"

There is also optimism from Falcons fans for Sarkisian’s second year as this situation was similar to that of former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

In Shanahan’s first year in Atlanta in 2015, he did not live up to expectations but in year two (2016), he helped the Falcons offense dominate in every category.

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That offense led the team to a Super Bowl appearance and was a force to be reckoned with as they averaged 34 points per game.

Jones also believes that in Sarkisian’s second year, he will become more experienced with Atlanta’s offense. He also believes Sarkisian will learn from his mistakes.

"“This is his first year in the offense, first year working with us,” said Jones. “It just takes time. The more and more time he gets with us the better he will be play-calling and things like that and we will gel more — not only together as a team but just also with Sark.” – Julio Jones"

In 2017, the Falcons failed to execute in situations that they excelled in in 2016.

This year’s Falcons had challenges executing with the deep ball and utilizing the running game in the red zone.

Sarkisian will look to correct these mistakes as he attempts to garner the same second-year success that former Falcons coordinator Kyle Shanahan had in Atlanta.

Next: Could Taven Bryan be the Atlanta Falcons’ First Round Pick?

Will Sarkisian be able to utilize his offensive weaponry even more so next season? We will find out in September.