Catching Up with the OC
Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey doesn’t have the same concerns as his defensive counterpart.
Brian VanGorder is looking to replace five starters from the Falcons 2008 defense. Mularkey has every starter from the league’s sixth-best offense returning for 2009.
That includes a pair of Pro Bowlers (Michael Turner and Roddy White) and a quarterback that, though in just his second year, gathers heaping amounts of praise like Atlanta asphalt collects heat.
Throw in the acquisition of 10-time Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez and Mularkey sleeps even easier.
I sat down with the veteran offensive coordinator and former NFL head coach Thursday afternoon to get some sound bytes for July. There are some stories in my head that just wouldn’t flow without a few thoughts from the offense’s chief architect.
We talked about every position group but some of the more eyebrow-raising discussions centered around Gonzalez and quarterback Matt Ryan.
No surprise Mularkey is pleased with his team’s success in 2008 and that, in the second year of the system, thinks every player will do better.
But some of the long-term goals were exceeded from the first week of the season.
“You would think (we held things back) and maybe that was the plan when we initially got here before we knew what we had but we were fortunate enough to be around a lot of players that are football intelligent,” Mularkey said. “When you have that, then you can expand and not handcuff yourself into doing some things.
“We went into the Detroit game with Matt and we had more checks than I had with any quarterback prior to that game. We were that comfortable and confident in him. We screwed some things up, we really did, but it didn’t make us want to cut back. We felt like we had the personnel to do some of the things we did and now we think it’s even greater in what we can put out there on the field.”
No wonder Ryan’s teammates say his continued improvement is “scary.”
Mularkey went on to talk about Ryan’s leadership ability and his knack to get players of all levels to follow him on and off the field.
In short, the coach admires the quarterback’s thirst to get better at what he already does well.
While Gonzalez isn’t really a reward for Ryan’s hard work — more an extra dimension for an already proven offense — he will make finding targets easier for the quarterback.
Ryan threw 11 interceptions on the year and saw some of his numbers dip toward the end of the season. Undoubtedly, defenses started to throw a few curve balls in November and December.
The Falcons finished 11-5 and went to the playoffs but Gonzalez could bring exponential increases in production.
Note his game-by-game numbers compared to other Falcons tight ends in 2008:
“Tony will help our offense in a number of ways,” Mularkey said. “One thing he’s going to do is that he’s a productive blocker and that’s important in our offense… As successful as he’s been as a receiver, he’s a good blocker too and he really doesn’t get the credit that he should.
Gonzalez finished with 96 catches for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns last season — his sixth-straight year with at least 900 receiving yards.
Ryan spent the offseason working on accuracy and reading defenses, which will be vital in finding the tight end over the middle of the field and getting it into his receivers’ hands in the red zone.
“I think the No. 1 thing for me going into the offseason was to improve decision-making,” the 2008 Rookie of the Year said. “I’ve watched a ton of film just trying to get better and sharpen up for next season. I’m going to continue to do that for the next two or three months before we open up with our first game.”
Mularkey didn’t go into detail about his plans to change up the play book or add new looks.
Honestly, I didn’t expect him to reveal any secrets.
But you can’t start talking about the addition of a Pro Bowl tight end, the return of stars at receiver and running back, a rising star at quarterback and countless other playmakers without asking the question.
Defensive coordinators having nightmares?
“It’s going to be interesting to see how people match up with us and we’ll try to create some mismatches with where we put people,” Mularkey said. “That’s kind of the offense anyway, even before Tony got here. We’re trying to create mismatches and create problems for defenses. That’s not going to change. That’s our philosophy.”
Spoken like a coach who doesn’t want to tip his hand.
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My advice for OC Mike Mularkey regarding our opponents for next season is – NO MERCY.
The one thing I would like to tell the OC is you’ve got to get Norwood more involved.He needs ten, to fifteen carriers a game;And also six,to ten pass catches.My logic is you’ve got to use your most explosive player no matter what.Everything thing will open up on offense!
YEA NO MERCY IS THE BEST THING TO SAY FOR HIM
That is are new team motto”RUTHLESS”(FALCONS)!Were gonna pwn the nfl!!!
I can’t wait until our opener against Miami. I want to see what our new Defense will do with that wild cat offense. Regardless, look for Michael Turner to have an even better year because other defenses have to gear up for more pass to Gonzalez and White.
I don’t necessarily agree with getting Norwood 15 carries a game. Maybe 10. I love the guy and I think he is great for screen passes, sweeps, etc.
Go Falcons!!!!
im not worried one bit about there wildcat cat offense for 1 reason john abraham will sniff it out and make big plays trust me we have a young defense but also got some great veterans
miami caught team by suprise the wildcat got catched in the end
on the other hand the falcons were 1 bad call away from a win
the turnover for a td
the falcons will average 28 points a game and the def just has to hold thats all
Talked to the coach about Jerious but the comments really didn’t fit into this blog. More to come on that, but basically, know that there’s a lengthy plan for all the players every game. Sometimes situations just don’t allow the touches.
Man.. I jus wanna say i agree.. Norwood needs more touches.. He’s one of, if not the fastest player on our team.. Use him to his full potential and show NO MERCY!! Go FALCONS!!
I,m glad someone agrees with me on Jerious!The guy adverages five yards a carry,and ten yards a pass catch.Why not get him more involved!
f u c k the falcons go detriot
You would think after last year there would be more fans that are confident in what the team and coaches are planning. I’m about to jump out of my skin just waiting for preseason. I can’t wait to see what they can do this year. I agree that Norwood is probably our fastest player, but he’s been known to fumble at critical times. The more touches, the more chance. Hopefully his stats in that area improve. He’s one of my favorites too.
dillion cherry you just hope detriot win one game, sorry buddy your chances are very slime.FALCONS RUN THA TABLE!
comment for tha OC, so many weapons matti ice should have 4,000 plus yards with turner/norwood giving us a ground attack that can’t be touched.WORK YA MAGIC
Norwood is an outstanding athlete but he is getting better as every year goes by and other teams will notice him soon and he will be traded in the future (hopefully not) and be something amazing hes got potential. But im stoked to see this year i cant wait. Go DirtyBirds. All out!!
@gunboat
i was wondering, is thomas brown good at running football?…..what about that new RB we got from steelers..is he any good?
I agree with gunboatthat Norwood needs the ball more.Not only as a RB or receiver,he can be used as a distraction and a deep threat.I don’t think that there is a LB who can match him stride for stride.This will give “D’s” to not only spy him but to go one on one with the receivers.This will give the Falcons the edge!Falcons all the way!
In regards to falcons4life about TB and VH.They are both from UGA.These guys are usually good during clutch performances.I am an UGA fan!They will deliver when the time comes.Believe in them,or the Falcons wouldn’t have signed them.I was skeptical when they drafted KB.He made me a believer.
More than the personnel issue of getting certain people the “correct” amount of touches,because you cant always stick to a plan that you set for that. A number of things can throw that off. But I want, when we are in the lead is for us to continue to call plays as if we were down by ten. We need to be known for finishing teams off
I have to agree with Jr Bigsby… WE HAVE TO FINISH. That’s been one of our biggest problems for at least ten years… we can never seem to put teams away. Last year i think we were number 1 in first quarter points but we were near last in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Now i know teams typically slow down in the 4th quarter when they have the lead, but 7 or 10 points just isn’t all that comfortable when there’s still 14 minutes left on the clock. And punting the ball away with 3 or 4 minutes left when we need a score to tie just isn’t advisable when you have one of the worst secondary squads in the league. Please tell me we signed some legitimate help at corner or safety… seemed like Chris Houston was the only corner playing last year… don’t get me wrong, he’s looking good (incredible speed and strength: supposed 400 lb bench presser) but he still needs some work to cover high-caliber recievers ie: Steve Smith. And it seemed like the safeties got lost out there all season… and don’t get me started on the linebackers. Brooking, we all love ya man…but all those years of carrying our defense on your back have obviously taken a toll…..for God’s sake both LBs but on the play-action on a 3rd and 18 or 19 and got beat over the middle to knock us outta the playoffs. We obviously went primarily defensive in this years draft but how many potential starters did we really get… Our offense better score those 28 points, cwltank, cuz our defense gives up at least that many almost every game…
But as for our offense… I think everyone knows we have the whole package now. We lost a great OL in the offseason but i think we’ll be okay. We’ve got phenominal RBs, a great FB, good, solid WRs, though both White and Jenkins could still use some improvement with their hands, and now a serious threat as well as a great blocker in Tony Gonzalez. I think he’ll be a great security blanket when Matty Ice is under pressure…not to mention he obviously still has the skills to be a top-tier receiver in the NFL. And then there’s the wonder boy himself: Matt Ryan. Now i know there’s still some sceptics out there screaming “BEGINNER’S LUCK”, and i agree that the second year is even tougher for QBs, but is there anyone who doesn’t recognize the football brains this guy has?? His best games came when the coaches unleashed him and let him check off at will. He always knows where everyone is supposed to be and he seems to have Peyton Manning-like awareness on the field, not to mention that laser-accurate arm. Ryan had a few plays as a rookie when the pressure and the excitement got the best of him and he threw the ball at White or Jenkins in desperation when he should’ve just thrown it away and let Koening do his job, but that’s to be expected with a young QB. I think he very seldom made the same mistake twice…which means he did something in his first year that Vick couldn’t do in 6: LEARN. Ryan really is mature beyond his years and as long as we can keep blocking like we did last year and keep the sacks to a minimum, i think he will be the franchise quarterback we’ve all been waiting for.