What's still wrong with the Falcons' offense? Atlanta started the 2018 NFL season almost exactly how it ended the 2017 playoffs: losing a frustratingly low-scoring game in Philadelphia, with Matt Ryan unable to hit Julio Jones with the game on the line in the final seconds.
The divisional round went to the Eagles 15-10. Week 1 on Thursday night went to the Eagles 18-12.
In a game full of accepted penalties and the questionable, inconsistent officiating that has become synonymous with the NFL no matter how much it changes its rules, the ugliest part was how Atlanta blew plenty of opportunities in a critical early game for the NFC playoff race.
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Ryan, fresh off signing a mega-contract extension in the offseason that briefly made him the league's highest-paid quarterback, didn't play well. The final numbers (21-of-43 passing, 251 yards, one interception, four sacks, 57.4 rating) were further removed from his 2016 MVP form than anything seen from him in a down 2017 season.
He struggled with his arm strength, footwork and accuracy while making a lot of unforced errant throws. Without a monster effort (10 catches, 169 yards receiving, 11 yards rushing) from his go-to wide receiver Jones — in every place except the red zone — Ryan would have looked worse. Consider that Ryan and Jones couldn't connect on nine other targets in the game.
Still, it would be silly to put all the blame on Ryan for the offense's rough night against a tough Eagles defense in a hostile environment or say it was mostly tied to rust from the first-string offense not getting enough reps together in the preseason.
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The troubling thing for the Falcons, whose expectations are as high as displacing the Eagles as Super Bowl champions this season, is that two of the things that kept them from returning to the Super Bowl last season — shaky play-calling and a shocking lack of execution — haven't changed.
When Ryan was the best player in the league, they had the No. 1 scoring offense and the No. 2 yardage offense. Last year, they plummeted to No. 15 in points, which was poor in relation to their No. 8 ranking in yards.
There was hope that Year 2 of Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator would be a carbon copy of Year 2 with Kyle Shanahan. Heck, with the Falcons' defense much improved from 2016 and the only reason they even had a chance to win in Philadelphia (twice) last season, being a notch or two better than last season would suffice. There's no reason now to believe that Sarkisian will suddenly change his uninspiring ways or that Ryan will operate at a level that comes close to matching his elite play with Shanahan.
The Falcons used a luxury first-round pick on Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley to provide a needed complementary threat behind Jones and skilled slot receiver Mohamed Sanu, but Ridley, who went catchless on two targets in his NFL debut, played only 41 of the team's 65 offensive snaps. Although Jones saw the ball come his way while in scoring position at the end, the fact the Falcons didn't use him inside the 10 during an empty four-down trip early in the game was inexplicable.
Sarkisian doesn't have the same sense of balance, creativity and personnel use that Shanahan did. Given the tightness of Thursday's game, it was ridiculous that Ryan dropped back 47 times and the backfield duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, with a top-notch run-blocking line in front of them, getting only 15 combined carries.
Coleman scored Atlanta's only touchdown and, not surprisingly, it came out of a non-predictable rushing formation in the red zone. That was too little and very late from Sarkisian.
As good as Ryan has proved he can be, he falls into the category of very good "dependent" passer, which keeps him on tier below Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Drew Brees. That is, Ryan isn't built to fling it and have success in an unbalanced situation — mostly, throwing to Jones. He needs to be spreading the ball around on short, intermediate and deep routes and throwing efficiently based on success in the running game.
There offense's identity was versatile and multiple with Shanahan, who's now giving Jimmy Garoppolo that advantage in San Francisco. Ryan, meanwhile, is stuck in a choppy attack that offers him none of the rhythm he needs to perform at his best.
Before Shanahan, Ryan had strong seasons under Dirk Koetter and Mike Mularkey. Now, the Falcons are missing the stability and spark. With Ryan signed until 2023, he's not going anywhere. That leaves coach Dan Quinn with only one move: moving on from Sarkisian.
Quinn's decision to install Marquand Manuel as defensive coordinator after the Patriots' epic Super Bowl comeback vs. Richard Smith's reeling unit was the right call. The offense is reaching the same level of disaster that dictates a change.
The time needs to be soon because the Falcons are staring at an 0-2 start with the Saints coming to Atlanta next week. In Week 4, the Falcons will face off with the Steelers' offensive machine in Pittsburgh. They need to move the ball well and score a lot more points to win those games, or else they'll be 1-3 at best with the beatable Bengals at home in between.
Too soon? Nope. There's little margin for error in a top-heavy conference where playoff seeding will be important. They've already fallen behind the Eagles, and it's a good bet the Saints, Vikings, Rams, Packers and Panthers will all get a jump on them in Week 1.
The Falcons have too much talent on offense to accept this weak production. They don't have the luxury of waiting for Ryan to click with Sarkisian and rediscover his red-zone mojo on his own. Relying on the underpaid Jones to bail them out isn't getting it done. Not putting Sanu, Ridley, Freeman, Coleman and tight end Austin Hooper to better use, given the attention Jones receives, is ludicrous.
One would think that the Falcons, with a healthier, deeper offense, shouldn't still be experiencing these problems after having an entire offseason to solve them. If Sarkisian doesn't change fast, they will fade just as fast and further waste a championship-caliber defense.
