4 Atlanta Falcons that must find a way to step up in week two
By Nick Halden
3. Marcus Mariota
Often lost in the mess that was the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff on Sunday is the fact that Mariota put the ball on the turf in a drive that would have prevented the Saints from ever coming back. Mariota was great early for Atlanta but missed multiple open receivers and failed to get a key first down late for Atlanta. While it was a good debut for a player that hasn’t started a season in three years there was obvious rust and mistakes that can be cleaned up in week two.
Mariota’s willingness to push the ball down the field was obvious during pre-season but after missing a couple of early shots against New Orleans and taking the lead Marcus stopped pushing the ball down the field. Part of this is the playcalling, however, for this team to have a chance they need to consistently be pushing big plays with Patterson, Olamide, London, and Pitts all as legitimate deep threat options.
Atlanta needs a huge game from Mariota and that means continuing to use his legs as he did in week one while pushing the ball down the field.