Lost in all the talk about the Falcons' "new" offense this season is that it isn't really that new.
Repeatedly the Falcons have said many of the elements seen in the Dirk Koetter's offense for the Falcons are holdovers from the offense of the last four seasons. With so much experience already in place, Koetter felt it was best to minimize requiring everyone to learn a completely new concept.
Things have been mixed and matched and so far to great success. The players seem to thrive in the new system and clearly enjoy playing in it. Right tackle Tyson Clabo thinks much of the offense has been simplified as well, keeping the things that work and throwing out all the extra ingredients that don't add much flavor.
"I think it's been a little bit of addition by subtraction," Clabo said on Thursday. "There's a little less window dressing and just more line up and play football."
The Falcons have been using the no-huddle offense on a greater number of snaps this season. It's a portion of the offense that quarterback Matt Ryan has executed with great success in the past four seasons.
Clabo thinks in the past the "line up and play football" aspect of their game was most notable when they operated out of the no-huddle. He thinks the coaching staff has noticed that and that's why it's such a big part of what they're doing this season.
"When you look at it, that's what we did in the no-huddle, when we were so successful in the past," he said. "We just lined up and played football. I think that they looked at that and said we're pretty successful just lining up and playing ball and so they just incorporated that into our huddle calls."
The idea in the no huddle isn't always about playing quickly to tire out a defense. Instead, it's about creating an opportunity to recognize what's happening on defense and adjust on the fly at the line of scrimmage into a more suitable play based on matchups that are presented by the D.
That's what happens in the no huddle and now the Falcons are applying the principles of it to what they do in or out of the huddle. So far this season, scoring 31 points per game, it appears to be working.
