Falcons seek big strides on offense

In second year as coordinator, Sarkisian knows what’s at stake.







NFL FALCONSFLOWERYBRANCH-Fal cons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian had a chance to reflect on what went wrong last season.There was much to ponder. The Fal cons offense dropped from first to 15th in scoring last season, Sarkisian's first on the job.The season essentially ended on the 2-yard line in Phil ad el phi a after some questionable play calling in the divisional round of the play offs.While fans, Twitter general managers and sports talk radio hosts screamed for Sarkisian to be fired, Fal cons coach Dan Quinn stood by his man.To name a few issues:■ The offense averaged 33.8 points under coordinator Kyle Sha nah an in 2016 and dropped to 22.1 last season, nearly out of the top half of the league.■ The Fal cons fell off drastically inside the opposition's 20-yard line, the red zone. They had a 64.5 percent success rate in 2016, which ranked eighth in the NFL. Under Sarkisian, they were at 49.1 percent and ranked 23rd.■ The Fal cons had 19 explosive-play touchdowns from outside of the red zone in 2016 and only seven last season."At the end of the day it was executing in the red area," Sarkisian said Wednesday, the last day of organized team activities."When you get those opportunities, seven points is a big difference than three points. It's not really a big difference in the overall stat and where you rank, but it's a big difference in-game and how games go. That's a big focus for us."In addition to improving in the red zone, the Fal cons want to score more on their big-gain plays."We were third in the league in explosive plays,Sarkisian said. "But we were in the middle of the pack in the league of touchdowns of 25 yards or more. We have to find away to turn those explosive plays into touchdown explosive plays. Those two things will be a big factor for us."The Fal cons selected wide receiver Cal vin Ridley in the first round of the draft to replace Taylor Gab riel.They are counting on Ridley, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, to provide some of that big play scoring punch.Sarkisian, who hadn't spoke to the media since the week before the play off game against the Eagles, admitted there were other issues that led to the lack of continuity on offense."There's a lot there," Sarkisian said. "There's scheme.There's play-calling.There's execution. There's continuity.There are a host of areas where we have to focus on and try to improve."Sarkisian has to pull it all together in 2018."Continuity is one of those things, but at the end of the day the end result is the end result," Sarkisian said. "To be good in this league, you want to score points. It's not always about the yards or the third-down conversions or the explosive plays, it's the final score that is the final stat that matters the most.We need to do our part to make that factor go up."Sarkisian believes working with quarterback Matt Ryan for a second season will provide growth."There is a huge trust factor," Sarkisian said. "It's Matt trusting the information that he's getting. With( new quarterbacks coach) Greg Knapp walking in the room, there's instant credibility with Matt.He's done it."Sarkisian said he has no problem leaning on Knapp, a former offensive coordinator in the league and with the Falcons."Philosophically, Greg and I are very similar, if not identical,Sarkisian said. "Greg being an extension of me through Matt is very consistent for Matt. He's hearing the same thing whether if it's from two different people.It reinforces a lot of things we talk about."Sarkisian is not fretting that All-Pro receiver Julio Jones was not with the team for OTA s. Jones was an unknown going into the season for Sarkisian because he ran just a handful of plays in the exhibition season after rehabbing afoot injury."I didn't really know Julio quite yet," Sarkisian said."He only played three or four plays in the offense. For us as an offense, him being healthy going into training camp is going to be awesome for everybody. Also, having my experience with him for a year of just understanding him more and the type of player that he is, adds to that comfort level thatI was talking about."Knapp, who was the offensive coordinator under Jim Mor a in his previous stint with the Falcons, knows the pressure Sarkisian is under."We live in a fish bowl,Knapp said. "You guys are assessing everything that we do. There's a need for a bit of a trust factor built in between coaches and coaches and players."You are going to have tough times during the season when there are setbacks.You want to have the ability to lean on another person knowing that 'OK, I'm taking some hits right now, but Iknow the guy next to me is going to help me through these tough times.'"Sarkisian said the addition of Knapp will allow him to focus on the big picture."It takes a little bit off (my plate)," Sarkisian said. "I know when Greg goes into that quarterback room, what is getting taught is exactly what needs to get taught from week-in to week-out, from game to game. Ican continue to stay focused on the big picture of all 11 players per snap. There's a huge value in it."