How Arthur Smith’s 2020 TItans offense ranked against the Falcons and the rest of the NFL

The Falcons will be hoping Arthur Smith will eventually coach the Falcons well enough to bring them back into the playoff table and possibly a Lombardi Trophy. They wouldn’t have hired him if they didn’t think he could do it, but if he could Actually doing this is really an open question.

Much will depend on whether Smith’s offensive insight translates into the Falcons. It’s a league where a big offense can take you far, and the Falcons have been mired in mediocrity for extended periods of time over the past three seasons, with that problem becoming more acute under Dirk Koetter. It’s no exaggeration to say that Smith’s main job is to get this thing back on track, and one of the main reasons he was hired is because of his work with the Titans in this regard during the last two seasons, when he took the solid from Matt LaFleur. but an unspectacular attack in 2018 and turned her into one of the strongest in the league in 2019 and 2020.

Keep in mind that staff adjustments are coming for Atlanta, because while Smith is as adaptable as he claims, the team has some holes that he’ll be struggling to work on. Still, I thought a closer look at Smith’s TItans offensive standings against the Falcons over the past two years might help give us some idea of ​​what Atlanta is hoping for with the rental.

2020

Last year, Tennessee was one of the NFL’s most effective offenses. They were in the middle of the league in games and relied heavily on efficient ground play which meant Tannehill didn’t have to broadcast it all day every day unlike an attack by the Falcons with a running game. claptrap and a volume pass attack. Tennessee was miles more efficient in the red zone, had fewer third tries and converted them to a better clip, and did the same on fourth tries. A balanced and talented offense resulting in an offense that was both impressive from a volume stat standpoint compared to the rest of the league. and did not get bogged down in critical situations.

If Smith is calling games – there have been mixed reports in this regard, but Adam Caplan reported that Dave Ragone is set to join Smith’s staff in more of a planning and strategy role with Smith calling for games. games – the upgrade from Koetter is likely to be immediate and substantial regardless of staff changes. Smith wasn’t my first choice for the head coach, but as one of Koetter’s most vocal and frequent critics, I’m certainly excited for the trade. The main question with Smith is how well things will translate.

The Falcons likely won’t turn Qadree Ollison into Derrick Henry, but it’s worth noting that Henry flourished with Smith in a way he just didn’t in previous offenses. Maybe part of it was just timing and confidence, but it’s still remarkable, and it bodes well for the rookie or free agent pick who comes to reprise the lead role.

The Falcons also won’t have a quarterback with Ryan Tannehill’s mobility if they keep Matt Ryan, but the appealing element of Smith’s training sense to analysts like For The Win’s Charles McDonald is that ‘he was able to bring players like Tannehill, Henry, Jonnu. Smith and AJ Brown and get the most out of them. This should – or at least hopefully – mean that Atlanta doesn’t need to revisit their entire offensive line and playmakers aside from Calvin Ridley to be a more effective and efficient attacker in 2021.

There are so many unknowns with the hiring of Smith and the immediate future of this Falcons team that it probably makes no sense to feel so confident about everything. That said, I’m pretty confident that simply replacing Dirk Koetter with Arthur Smith is going to lead to better results for this Falcons attack as long as they invest wisely in the running back, and I hope a lot will come out of that. the.