What's With The Falcons?
Sumpin' ain't right. The Birds are off-center. A 30-0 loss last week, to an 0-2 team no less. The Falcons looked clueless throughout the game , especially on offense. And that refrain you hear is that the Birds have "so much talent" on offense. Maybe. Mind you, much of that talent is still housed in the area marked "potential ". Yes, Kyle Pitts was productive five years ago. Yes, Drake London had a strong 2024. Yes, the Falcons have a first round draft pick in QB Michael Penix- who has played only six games and has been all over the map.
The one player that have that everyone agrees is a proven racehorse is Bijan Robinson. So I will ask– why isn't this man the CENTERPIECE of the offense? THE centerpiece? Make the other team worry about him on every play. EVERY play.
If tbe Birds will do that, many of the remaining issues will abate. With Bijan Robinson in the backfield, let Penix profit off of play-action passing. To do that, Robinson should be out there every snap. EVERY snap. And when he's out there, USE him!
An old story from the world of baseball might apply here. Legend has it that New York Yankees' manager Joe McCarthy was asked if his star center fielder Joe Dimaggio could bunt.
" I don't know," said McCarthy, " And I have no intention of ever finding out", he added.
He was making the obvious allusion to the fact that having Dimaggio try to bunt would deny Joltin' Joe the chance to use his massive talents in more significant ways to help the club win.
How does that apply, you ask?Well, sub in this question. Is Bijan Robinson a good lead blocker? I'm asking that question of the Falcons' braintrust– hoping that they give the McCarthy - like answer.
Ok, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. Apples and oranges. Different sport, different players, different era, different levels of experience , etc.
But the lesson holds. After the team wide display of overt ineptitude that we saw last week– penalties , turnovers, delay penalties AFTER a time out, missed field goals, dropped passes ( not to mention poor qb footwork??!), anything will be better. ANYTHING.
Put the offensive coordinator up in the box, down on the sideline, in a blimp, or working remotely--whatever.
Just please keep Bijan in the game , and use him frequently and creatively. Make the other guys have to worry about him on every play. The Falcons will benefit. The opponents will suffer.
One final thought..unrelated...what was the reason the Birds called a timeout in the waning seconds of last week's beatdown. What could it be? Just one more example that this franchise cannot get out of its own way.
Patrick Conarro. RamblinSports