D.J. Shockley is a former Atlanta Falcon and Georgia Bulldog quarterback who now works as a football analyst.
He broke down Arthur Smith’s offense and how it might fit with the Falcons.
“Atlanta Falcons new head coach Arthur Smith does such a great job of creating formations that fit the personnel,” said Shockley.
Shockley breaks down plays that shows several different options that includes a run and how simple motion can overload a defense.
Shockley highlights one of the pass plays that includes a jumbo set with two tight ends, two running backs and only one receiver to isolate the single receiver after play action.
Matt Ryan has often run a naked bootleg, only to find the defensive end or weakside linebacker in his face right away because defenses didn’t respect the running game.
“With Arthur Smith’s offense, so many things are predicated off of the run,” said Shockley.
Watching Shockley break down the play action pass, it’s easy to picture Calvin Ridley or Julio Jones being isolated against single coverage and the damage they can wreak on an offense.
There’s no doubt the Falcons still have potent weapons on the offensive side of the ball, and Shockley does an excellent job of pointing out how dangerous Atlanta’s playmakers can be in an Arthur Smith offense.
I’m a big fan of using the tight end and play action pass. For a while, the tight end was being phased out of the NFL, and I never understood it. Jumbo athletes loose in the secondary is a good thing.