Atlanta Falcons offensive line affecting team progress
To say the Atlanta Falcons offensive has been a major disappointment so far would be a massive understatement, but it should have been expected.
Week one against the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons offensive line made NFL history when they started five former first-round picks. The assumption by most was that they would be good and Matt Ryan would not have to worry and would finally be protected.
That is not how football works.
Unless you have played the game or coached the game beyond high school, it is hard to understand just how much chemistry the offensive line needs in order to be good. Much like quarterbacks and receivers, the offensive line needs time to gel and the Atlanta Falcons offensive line is proof.
The Atlanta Falcons replaced 60 percent of the starting offensive line from a year ago and there is no such thing as plug-n-play when it comes to fat boys upfront. Chemistry and communication mean just as much to that group as any in sports.
Offensive lines are the heartbeat of any offense and they take precision, communication, trust, and chemistry to operate effectively and efficiently.
In addition to replacing three starters, the Atlanta Falcons also changed offensive coordinators and their blocking schemes. We assume that at this level of football that the change is easy for the hogs, but it isn’t and we are seeing that play out on the field. When you add in the fact that they have already faced two injuries among two of the newcomers, it makes this task even harder
Pro Football Focus has the Falcons offensive line ranked at 27 after three weeks. Much lower than they have been in recent years. Through the first three games, Matt Ryan has been hit a whopping 30 times. The group up front is too talented for this problem to keep happening. There is no doubt that the play of the offensive line is affecting Matt Ryan’s play as well. It has too.
Next. Despite 6 interceptions, Matt Ryan still respected nationally. dark
Coming out of the week nine bye-week, we should see a much different Atlanta Falcons offensive line; one that looks like we expected them to look in 2019, stout, opening up massive running lanes and keeping Matt Ryan clean.