Atlanta Falcons offense needs to incorporate much more pre-snap motion

The Atlanta Falcons ranked 31st in the league in 2019 in pre-snap motion.

This is quite the glaring stat and speaks volumes as to the Atlanta Falcons production or lack thereof. Imagine the Atlanta Falcons with a prolific, up-tempo, and high octane offense that is scoring at a record pace, even more so than the 2016 Falcons offense.

The only way this will come to fruition is for offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to incorporate a lot more pre-snap motion.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has had an unbelievable career and is a shoo-in Hall of Famer. He has performed at his best when using the no-huddle and play-action. For whatever reason, Koetter does not allow him the necessary freedom to do much of either, which is sad but true.

Matt Ryan runs the no-huddle offense to perfection. This puts him in attack mode which makes the offense look flawless. Incorporating more pre-snap motion will help Ryan and company keep opposing offenses on their heels. Once and for all, he needs to be given the keys to the car and cut him loose.

Ryan has earned the right to call audibles at the line of scrimmage at his own discretion. His success and pedigree have earned him the right to basically call whatever plays he sees fit. By installing and incorporating more pre-snap motion, this will at the very least add some confusion, hesitation, and doubt in the opposing defense.

Out of the bottom ten teams in pre-snap motion in 2019, only one of those teams made the playoffs. This stat really speaks volumes. Everybody knows an NFL game is like a chess match. When defenses guess right as to what the offense does, it is a defensive showcase.

When defenses guess wrong, it becomes an offensive showcase. The best way for the offense to be productive and prolific is to not be predictive. The Atlanta Falcons offense cannot afford to be predictive in 2020. They have way too much firepower with the likes of Todd Gurley, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Hayden Hurst.

The Atlanta Falcons offense in 2020 really needs to become much more creative.

They will need to mix it up with runs, play action, outside passes, middle passes deep passes, and screens. Adding some trickery to this offense will help as well. Dan Quinn and Dirk Koetter need a major dose of reality. The offense needs to break the predictability of its play calling.

By mixing in more no-huddle and pre-snap motion, this will force opposing defenses to line up quicker and guess, as they don’t have the time to get in the proper alignment and even making adjustments.

There is so much more to offensive success in today’s game than just lining up on offense and beating your man. While this still does sometimes work, all of the top offenses in the NFL have offensive play-calling with ingenuity and creativity.

If your average Atlanta Falcons fan can determine this, then why can’t the coaching staff? The time has come for the Falcons to rank in the top ten in this area in 2020.