by Team Del Genio
Thursday, Sep 19, 2024The Atlanta Falcons ranked 26th in the league last season by averaging only 18.9 points per game despite having an offensive head coach in Arthur Smith. The conclusion that general manager Terry Fontenot made was that Desmond Ridder was not the answer at quarterback and that Smith’s run-first approach was not the best way to utilize the Falcons' talent on offense.
While Fontenot hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris (who had previously been the defensive coordinator in Atlanta) as the new head coach, he tapped into Sean McVay's coaching tree with Morris bringing along the Rams quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Zac Robinson to be the new offensive coordinator. Fontenot then signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year $180 million free agent deal to be the team’s starting quarterback, and then he drafted Michael Penix with the eighth pick in the first round of the NFL draft. Problem solved, right? Finally, recent first-round picks running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, and tight end Kyle Pitts would be unlocked with better offensive schemes and high-end talent at quarterback.
Cousins did not play in the preseason as he continued to recover from his Achilles injury that ended his season prematurely last year. Yet in his first game back last week, Cousins looked old and ineffective in the Falcons’ 18-10 upset loss at home to Pittsburgh despite being a 4-point favorite. Cousins only completed 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards. He threw two interceptions. Perhaps it was just rust that the 36-year-old needed to work off. He was getting accustomed to a new system.
Unfortunately, there appeared to be deeper concerns. Cousins barely moved in the pocket. He may not be back to 100% from his leg injury. Or maybe he has lost even more mobility? He was never known for his agility in the pocket. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt had his way with him all game. Yet Robinson’s schemes did not seem to be helping matters. He had Cousins in the shotgun formation for all but one of his snaps. They did not utilize a play-action pass even once, despite that being a staple in McVay’s offenses. He did not throw a pass of 20 or more yards in the air.
Perhaps Cousins could flip the switch in his second start for the Falcons for his Monday night game against Philadelphia, despite his notorious record in prime-time games. He had lost ten of his thirteen starts on Monday Night Football with fourteen interceptions. He has thrown at least one pick in nine of those thirteen games for Monday Night Football.
Maybe Robinson had Cousins in shotgun in week one to hide his limited mobility? Either way, the Falcon offense did not look much better from the previous seasons under Smith and Ridder at quarterback. Perhaps Penix is the answer, but Morris can not move to him this early in the season with $100 million of his new contract guaranteed. They need more evidence that Cousins cannot work things out.
It was fascinating to then see Cousins back under center right away against the Eagles on Monday. Was the reliance on shotgun the previous week an experiment? Was it a short-term tactical diversion? Was it a game-specific adjustment to playing against Watt? Maybe time will tell.
Cousins' final numbers look encouraging after expertly leading the Falcons down the field to score the winning touchdown with less than two minutes to go without any timeouts left. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Yet did anyone watching the game think Cousins was playing very well before that final winning? Atlanta only scored six points in the 1st Half, and they only had nine points late in the third quarter. Tight end Kyle Pitts is not being featured in the offense. If not for that final drive when Cousins completed 5 of 6 passes for 70 yards, his stat line looks much different.
It took some questionable game management decisions by Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni and a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley which would have iced the game and stopped Cousins from even getting the opportunity to get one final opportunity to lead the offense. The post-game narrative would be much different if the Falcons were now 0-2 coming off a game where Cousins completed 15 of 23 passes for 171 yards with only one touchdown pass and scoring just 15 points.
If not for the controversial decision by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to not blitz Cousins on that final drive and just play prevent defense, Atlanta may not have scored that winning touchdown. Being gifted that opportunity allowed the Falcons to score seven of the 32 points that have scored this season, representing 21.8% of their scoring production.
Cousins deserves full credit for taking advantage of the soft coverage to orchestrate that final winning drive. He looked more comfortable operating the two-minute offense that involves the team’s base plays that he did earlier in the game as he continues to learn a new system. Perhaps he will continue to operate the offense as he did in the second half as he gets more comfortable with these schemes and back into game shape after missing so much time.
Yet bettors who only look to his final stat line without accounting for the “eye test” regarding how he looked earlier in the game may be coming to a hasty conclusion regarding how good the Atlanta will be with him under center this season.
Good luck - TDG.
While Fontenot hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris (who had previously been the defensive coordinator in Atlanta) as the new head coach, he tapped into Sean McVay's coaching tree with Morris bringing along the Rams quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Zac Robinson to be the new offensive coordinator. Fontenot then signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year $180 million free agent deal to be the team’s starting quarterback, and then he drafted Michael Penix with the eighth pick in the first round of the NFL draft. Problem solved, right? Finally, recent first-round picks running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, and tight end Kyle Pitts would be unlocked with better offensive schemes and high-end talent at quarterback.
Cousins did not play in the preseason as he continued to recover from his Achilles injury that ended his season prematurely last year. Yet in his first game back last week, Cousins looked old and ineffective in the Falcons’ 18-10 upset loss at home to Pittsburgh despite being a 4-point favorite. Cousins only completed 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards. He threw two interceptions. Perhaps it was just rust that the 36-year-old needed to work off. He was getting accustomed to a new system.
Unfortunately, there appeared to be deeper concerns. Cousins barely moved in the pocket. He may not be back to 100% from his leg injury. Or maybe he has lost even more mobility? He was never known for his agility in the pocket. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt had his way with him all game. Yet Robinson’s schemes did not seem to be helping matters. He had Cousins in the shotgun formation for all but one of his snaps. They did not utilize a play-action pass even once, despite that being a staple in McVay’s offenses. He did not throw a pass of 20 or more yards in the air.
Perhaps Cousins could flip the switch in his second start for the Falcons for his Monday night game against Philadelphia, despite his notorious record in prime-time games. He had lost ten of his thirteen starts on Monday Night Football with fourteen interceptions. He has thrown at least one pick in nine of those thirteen games for Monday Night Football.
Maybe Robinson had Cousins in shotgun in week one to hide his limited mobility? Either way, the Falcon offense did not look much better from the previous seasons under Smith and Ridder at quarterback. Perhaps Penix is the answer, but Morris can not move to him this early in the season with $100 million of his new contract guaranteed. They need more evidence that Cousins cannot work things out.
It was fascinating to then see Cousins back under center right away against the Eagles on Monday. Was the reliance on shotgun the previous week an experiment? Was it a short-term tactical diversion? Was it a game-specific adjustment to playing against Watt? Maybe time will tell.
Cousins' final numbers look encouraging after expertly leading the Falcons down the field to score the winning touchdown with less than two minutes to go without any timeouts left. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Yet did anyone watching the game think Cousins was playing very well before that final winning? Atlanta only scored six points in the 1st Half, and they only had nine points late in the third quarter. Tight end Kyle Pitts is not being featured in the offense. If not for that final drive when Cousins completed 5 of 6 passes for 70 yards, his stat line looks much different.
It took some questionable game management decisions by Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni and a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley which would have iced the game and stopped Cousins from even getting the opportunity to get one final opportunity to lead the offense. The post-game narrative would be much different if the Falcons were now 0-2 coming off a game where Cousins completed 15 of 23 passes for 171 yards with only one touchdown pass and scoring just 15 points.
If not for the controversial decision by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to not blitz Cousins on that final drive and just play prevent defense, Atlanta may not have scored that winning touchdown. Being gifted that opportunity allowed the Falcons to score seven of the 32 points that have scored this season, representing 21.8% of their scoring production.
Cousins deserves full credit for taking advantage of the soft coverage to orchestrate that final winning drive. He looked more comfortable operating the two-minute offense that involves the team’s base plays that he did earlier in the game as he continues to learn a new system. Perhaps he will continue to operate the offense as he did in the second half as he gets more comfortable with these schemes and back into game shape after missing so much time.
Yet bettors who only look to his final stat line without accounting for the “eye test” regarding how he looked earlier in the game may be coming to a hasty conclusion regarding how good the Atlanta will be with him under center this season.
Good luck - TDG.
