Falcons’ Offense Shutout by Giants? That’s Mularkey!

MIKE MULARKEY

Sure the New York Giants have a pretty good defense but there is no way the Atlanta Falcons should have been shutout during their Wild Card playoff game against the Giants with all of the offensive weapons they possess.

Seriously, if the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator could take the league’s 27^th ranked passer and put up 30 points of offense against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ number-one ranked defense then there is really no excuse for the game called by Falcons’ offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey on Sunday.  

What happened to the imaginative, offensive-guru the Falcons thought they were hiring back in 2008? Mularkey somehow developed a reputation as a creative game-planner with a physical philosophy during his previous stops as a coordinator and head coach but that’s not what we have seen from Atlanta during his four-year stint running the offense.

Atlanta’s slow, plodding offense is probably one of the most predictable offenses in the league. On top of that Atlanta’s offense never seems to look crisp, it never seems to have a consistent flow to it. It’s almost as if the Falcons literally take things one play at a time meaning they can look like world-beaters on one play then look like the offensively-challenged Jacksonville Jaguars the very next play.

Even the no-huddle offense that Mularkey installed is predictable. Mularkey implemented a no-huddle package to give the Falcons the ability to put more pressure on opposing defenses but Atlanta’s no-huddle is slow and methodical as opposed to how other teams run it.

Most teams run the no-huddle by quickly getting to the line of scrimmage and snapping the ball before the defense can get set or figure out what the offense is doing. The whole purpose is to keep a defense from being able to change their defensive personnel to match what the offense is doing and to also wear down defensive players who are forced to play more consecutive snaps since they can’t get off the field.

BRIAN VAN GORDER

Mularkey’s no-huddle works under the ignorant premise that if you sit there and bark out a long cadence, the defense will reveal to you what it is trying to do. Stupid when you think about it because most defenses have audible packages too and most defenses are designed to disguise their coverages. If you give them time to view your formations and see what you are doing, they have time to get themselves in position to stop your play.  

Atlanta has the weapons to be an explosive, attacking offense but they will never achieve their potential with Mularkey at the helm. Truthfully though, this collapse has been in the works for a long time now.

Atlanta’s lack of offense was the biggest letdown in this game but their defense hasn’t played up to its potential either over the past four years. The hiring of defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder was just as horrible of a personnel decision as hiring Mularkey but one that Atlanta no longer has to deal with. Van Gorder announced he was leaving to take the defensive coordinator job at Auburn on Monday.

The Falcons have the talent to be an explosive play-making defense also but Van Gorder’s game-calling was just as conservative as Mularkey’s. Atlanta has been one of the worst teams at allowing the big play especially on third down and they have to gang tackle people because there are few good individual tacklers on the team.

The individual tackling issue could be resolved with good coaching though so hopefully Atlanta’s next defensive coordinator will make that a priority. In the meanwhile, if any Falcon defender wants to see what sure tackling looks like all they have to do is watch the game tape of their game against the Giants.

New York’s defensive backs kept Atlanta’s receivers in front of them all game and were right there to bring a receiver down once the catch was made. They took proper angles (which is a part of tackling that many people fail at) and were well prepared for what the Falcons wanted to do.

DIMITROFF AND SMITH

New York’s front seven was just as prepared and disciplined in their approach to stopping Michael Turner. They didn’t over-pursue when rushing Ryan and stayed with their gap assignments not giving Turner an opening to run through.

But let’s be honest, who is the real culprit behind the Falcons’ postseason failures? That honor has to be shared by both Head Coach Mike Smith and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff.

Now I’m not advocating for the Falcons to get rid of either Smith or Dimitroff. Smith has done a great job of coaching this team and making sure the Falcons are in position to win week after week. The Falcons have been one of the least penalized teams during his tenure as coach and despite their collapses on the big stage; this team has made improvement each year.

Now I understand a coach’s desire to work with people you are familiar with but Van Gorder was not the right choice for defensive coordinator. Van Gorder was a linebackers coach in Jacksonville when Smith was defensive coordinator there but he didn't have the ability to get Atlanta’s defense to consistently play at a high level the way Smith did when he was coaching the Jaguars’ defense.

Familiarity is not a bad thing though, especially if there is someone out there with a proven record that you know will help. The firing of Jack Del Rio who Smith worked with in Jacksonville and in Baltimore may be an option.

Dimitroff has also done a good job, bringing talented players in to play for Atlanta. He was a talent scout for many years with the New England Patriots and the talent level in Atlanta is the best this franchise has ever assembled.

Bringing talent in is one thing but player development is quite another and the Falcons don’t do a very good job here. Not just in terms of developing players they draft but the team Dimitroff came from was also good at finding players off of other teams’ rosters that they could develop and incorporate into their system.

All is not lost though. This team has a great nucleus that they will continue to build off of in upcoming years and have brought a winning tradition to a franchise that has never been known for winning. Continuing to bring in players who can help the Falcons win is important but where the Falcons can really help themselves going forward is with better coaching and a stronger overall philosophy.

For that to happen though Smith and Dimitroff have got to bring in someone who can get more out of their defense and they can’t be afraid to part ways with Mularkey. If not then you can probably expect Smith and Dimitroff to be on the hot seat when the Falcons lose in next year’s playoffs.

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and also writes for both The Penalty Flag and Outside The Redzone. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @Sportmentalist.