FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has publicly called the run game the lifeline of the offense multiple times this past week. He said it twice last Sunday after the Falcons' lost to the Miami Dolphins. He said it four times Monday recapping film of the Week 8 loss.
There have been three instances this season where the Falcons' lifeline cut out. All of them have contributed to losses.
The most recent was against the Dolphins, when the Falcons totaled a season-low 45 rushing yards. It previously happened in Week 7 when the Falcons lost to the San Francisco 49ers and totaled 62 rushing yards. And then it also occurred in Week 3 when the Falcons lost to the Carolina Panthers and totaled 69 rushing yards. Atlanta never scored more than 10 points in any of those games.
Still, out of those three, the Panther and Dolphins losses were the most out of hand. The Panthers won by 30 points, and the Dolphins won by 24. The 49ers snuck by with a 10-point win.
"The only similarities (between Carolina and Miami) really that I talked about today with the owner, matter of fact, was we didn't play well up front," Morris said Monday. "And if we don't play well up front, those games can get ugly and that's how it'll look."
Morris said he and Falcons owner Arthur Blank speak weekly. Topics include an after-action report and a pre-game report. The former this time focused heavily on the offensive line's performance.
A lot of the blame for offensive struggles seems to have fallen on that unit in the aftermath. Asked about this, right guard Chris Lindstrom said it is "deservingly so."
"We didn't do our job, and when we can't do that, we can't give anybody opportunities," Lindstrom said. "It starts up front, and that has meaning. We just need to be better."
The Falcons' rushing offense was ranked first in the NFL just three weeks ago, averaging 151.2 yards per game. It then dropped to fourth with a 136.3 average. It now ranks 11th with a 123.3 average.
Atlanta holds a 3-4 record. It averaged 185.3 rushing yards in the three wins and 76.8 rushing yards in the four losses.
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson addressed the run game Wednesday. He and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford spoke on the phone for 30 minutes postgame last Sunday, already trying to decipherer what has been the common problem in recent weeks. Robinson labeled it as an identification issue — and explained in detail what he means by that.
"In the run game, obviously, we want to account for everybody that's down in the box," Robinson said. "When you don't identify those players correctly, or you don't get the right calls correctly, then that's where you can have some free hitters and things like that. Ultimately that's our job to make sure that everybody is on the same page with what the right calls are, making sure we're getting the right looks. A lot of those things (from the Dolphins) were anticipated looks. So, we'll get to the bottom of it, but it's just making sure that we account for the bodies that we're supposed to be going to, obviously, otherwise you have negative plays in the run game and negative plays in the run game can kill you."
Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews was asked how much the identification process changes after the offense breaks from its huddle.
"It's always evolving," he said. "You can break the huddle. You've got two plays called. They can show you something. We shift. They move. It's always evolving and changing, and that's what's challenging and fun about it. It's just making sure that we're on top of it as well and we're not just off a little bit right here where someone's able to run through and get in the backfield — just in a broad sense, stuff like that. It's something we need to improve."
That comes down to better communication.
"100% player-to-player," Lindstrom said. "The staff's preparation for us, there wasn't a look that the Dolphins presented that we didn't see, that we didn't know and that I couldn't draw out. We just need to communicate it for ourselves, and we take ownership for that loss."
The Falcons' next chance to prove their run game is still strong will be Sunday against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots' run defense is ranked third in the NFL, allowing only 76 rushing yards per game. It's the perfect opportunity to test the Falcons' lifeline.
It has been strong before. They need it to be again.
"We haven't forgot how to play," Robinson said. "We still have good players. We have good coaches. It's just getting back to that and just maintaining a level of consistency."
