mixed in things the Falcons hadn't seen before -- or, at the very least, since high school. After getting the speedy, young Falcons to flow to the play side, Pederson dialed up something out of the single-wing to get Nelson Agholor free on a counter for a crucial 23-yard run on third-and-3. As underdogs, they played like a team that needed to take risks, going for it on fourth-and-1 at the end of the same drive and scoring their only touchdown on a LeGarrette Blount plunge.
Contrast that to the Falcons, who rued the departed Kyle Shanahan in a game in which their offense simply didn't do enough to win. New offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian took much of the blame as Atlanta's offense failed to live up to the lofty heights of 2016 throughout the season, and he -- alongside coach Dan Quinn -- certainly didn't have his best game as a coordinator. The Falcons seemed to decide to go for it on fourth-and-2 at midfield in the second quarter, only to somehow end up not getting set and running a play just after the play clock expired. The play wouldn't have worked, but while the Falcons caught a break, the whole episode just spoke to how flummoxing their offense seemed to be at times on Saturday.
Sarkisian's playcalls on the final series also came in for plenty of criticism. A first-down fade to Julio Jones failed. On second down, he called for a shovel pass to Terron Ward, who didn't seem ready for the ball. Third down was a slant to Jones short of the end zone, before fourth down saw the Falcons motion fullback Derrick Coleman out as a wide receiver before running a sprint-out for Jones, who slipped and never got open on a play the Eagles saw coming as the Falcons broke the huddle. The playcalls certainly didn't work, but they weren't as bad as the picture I presented above. The fade to Jones is entirely defensible given that he was matched up one-on-one against the shorter Ronald Darby. Ryan's throw was bad. I don't understand why it wasn't to Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman, but the shovel pass has been an effective play near the goal line this season, with the Chiefs scoring repeatedly with the tactic. The Patriots also scored on a shovel pass on Saturday. As for the fourth-down call, the fullback motioning out to the weak side is a tactic the vast http://www.authenticwarriorstore.com/Javale_Mcgee_Jersey majority of teams (including the Patriots) will use to both identify coverage and take a defender out of the play. The Eagles called the sprint-out, but the Saints used a similar play as their regular two-point/fourth-down play for years, while the Raiders ran the same sort of sprint-out and throw to the pylon for a game-winning score against the Chiefs in Week http://www.nflbillsofficialauthentic.com/Nike-Thurman-Thomas-Jersey.html 7. It's a natural follow-up when teams are expecting a fade, but Jones slipped. I don't think it was a great playcall, but it's not an inherently stupid choice. Atlanta fans' frustration with Sarkisian is also Vincent Rey Womens Jersey overstated and a product of regression toward the mean. The Falcons were dominant under Shanahan last season. They led the league in points scored, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Their five offensive linemen started all 16 games, the Pete Rose Jersey only team in the league to do so. Atlanta sported the most productive first-down offense in the history of football. Even if the Falcons planted Shanahan on the sidelines and didn't allow him to take a single call from another team, Atlanta's offense was going to decline in 2017. And to be honest, it didn't decline very much. The Falcons had the league's third-best first-down offense. They were the best team in the league converting third http://www.officialrockiestore.com/Ian_Desmond_Jersey downs. Atlanta finished ninth in offensive DVOA and seventh in points per drive. Their raw numbers went down because the Falcons ran a league-low 157 meaningful drives on offense, 24 fewer than Christian Covington Authentic Jersey the league average and 38 fewer than the league-leading Cardinals. That's a product of their own offense generating long drives and their defense struggling to get off the field. No team faced more plays per drive than the Falcons' defense, which had the second-longest average time of possession per drive on defense. As a result, the Falcons' offense struggled to get on the field and had the league's second-worst average starting field position. If you want to ignore that, it's your call. The easy, reactionary thing to do would be to fire Sarkisian. Never mind that some Falcons fans wanted to fire Shanahan after his first year in town, when Atlanta ranked 23rd in offensive DVOA and looked disjointed all year, which would suggest that continuity might be the smarter move.There just isn't much in the way of better options out there. Consider that the Seahawks are hiring Brian Schottenheimer -- who has been run out of his past three coordinating jobs with the Jets, Rams and at Georgia -- because they were concerned that he wouldn't last much longer on the market. Who are you hiring who represents a clear upgrade on Sarkisian? I asked Falcons fans on Twitter and heard Gary Kubiak as the most frequent response, but Texans fans were sick of what they considered to be an antiquated Kubiak offense when he was pushed out in Houston. And after Kubiak ranked ninth in offensive DVOA during his lone season in Baltimore, http://www.authenticblackhawksite.com/cm-punk-jersey_c-465.html his offenses ranked 25th and 28th in two seasons with the Authentic Chad Bettis Jersey Broncos. Darrell Bevell was just fired so the Seahawks could hire Schottenheimer. Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo was 27th in DVOA during his lone season as an offensive coordinator with the Browns in 2015. This just isn't a great market for offensive minds. cheap jerseys elitenhl jerseys cheapwholesale nhl jerseysnhl hockey jerseyscheap hockey jerseyscheap jerseys onlinecheap nfl jerseys chinacheap jerseys for sale