Q&A: Mike Mularkey discusses plans for the offense
110801 Flowery Branch - Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey signals to the offense while players run through the first padded practice at training camp in Flowery Branch on Monday, August 1, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, gave us his early training camp state of the offense address.
He talked about how he survived during the lockout, throwing more deep passes and rookie wide receiver Julio Jones.
Q: What did you do with the extra time during the lockout?
A: A lot of planning because of what you had to do basically was plan like it was going to be a normal offseason. Then as dates expired you had to anticipate what could happen next. We had to plan for that next thing, which was a lot of planning. All at the same time, we were kind of looking at ourselves. We always do that every year. We self-scout ourselves. What do we do good? What do we do bad? Why did we do it good? Was it the scheme? Was it the players? Was it the defense we were against? We went through the whole 2010 season and then we’ll try to make some improvements. If there are some things that maybe we don’t have the players to do, we throw it out.”
Q: What’s the plan getting rookie Julio Jones ready to play?
A: Fortunately, with the time period we had after the draft we had a chance to get him the book. At least, he has the beginning stages of the offseason. . . He’s going to always be ahead of the other rookies and he always has a chance to look ahead because he’s already had something previously. The coaches have done a great job with the others guys who didn’t get that book. They have caught them up rather quickly with the way they’ve coached them.
Q: How’s your depth at wide receiver after not re-signing Brian Finneran and releasing Michael Jenkins?
A: Obviously, with Kerry [Meier] being out with an injury last year, he still learned a lot from being in meetings. I think Harry [Douglas] got stronger. I thought he played better as the year went on and then we had the addition of Julio. We’ve got some guys. We have guys that we can move all over. They are not specifically outside. We can move them all over because they are smart enough. In our offense, we do a lot of things and you have to have the ability to play in different places. We have that ability with our guys.
Q: Were you relieved to see two of the three starting offensive linemen re-signed?
A: You’ve got some guys that have been there for the three years that we’ve been here. They will be great examples of how we do things. It’s easy for me to show tape of what’s expected of them from techniques to finishing. I think it will all come together the more we walk through. . .it will come together.
Q: What goes into scheming and creating more explosive plays (gains of 20 yards or more)? Is it just a matter of throwing more deep passes?
A: That’s part of it. It’s protecting better to get explosives plays. It’s defenses allowing us to get explosive plays. It’s players creating explosive plays by breaking a tackle or making a guy miss. There are a lot of things that go into creating explosive plays. We all have to manage that and see if we can get some explosive plays.
Q: What’s the status of the no-huddle attack?
A: Obviously, it’s a part of our offense and we’re very confident in it.
Q: What are the keys to Matt Ryan’s continued development?
A: The field, he’s seeing things. It’s getting bigger to him. He can see things that I can see from upstairs, he can already see. Before we can even have a conversation, I know that he’s going to see some things as we go forward. He’s already advanced in our protection scheme, just in the little time we’ve been together. I know Matt, he’s told me, that he spent a lot of time in the offseason studying himself, studying the offense, and studying defenses. I know that will help him this year.
Q: How’s rookie running back Jacquizz Rodgers looking?
A: He has shown some explosiveness out here. Now, he is a little behind the eight ball because he didn’t get a book as Julio did. When he’s had his opportunities, he has gotten some ‘wows’ based on some of the things he’s done. But he’s still got a ways to go, especially with the protections.
Q: What are your thoughts on the new practice rules? (Fewer padded practices, required days off and no two-a-day practices).
A: The one thing I think that Coach [Mike] Smith does, we’re always prepared for what is going to happen. I think our players know that. Nothing . . . It’s just a like a game. Nothing changes. It’s been that way for our team the last three years and more specifically about our offense, we don’t flinch. We just adjust and do whatever we have to do to it the right way. I think the rules are the rules and we’re going to abide by them. We’ve done that every year from the get-go. We’ve got team leaders. We’ve got great chemistry on this team. we all work together well. I think that’s why we have success.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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103 comments Add your comment
Seattle Falcons Fan
August 3rd, 2011
11:50 am
1. Packers
2. Eagles
3. Falcons
4. Rams
W. Saints
W. Bucs
JONESBORO SLIM
August 3rd, 2011
11:58 am
DOL or anyone
Whats going on with the re-signing of Snelling?
darren harper
August 3rd, 2011
12:05 pm
D, why don’t you actually ask the questions everyone wants to know instead of dancing around it? Why don’t we ever run screen passes? Do we have any plays for Weemes? Are we ever going to run a slant pass? Does Harry Douglas have any plays where the ball is intended to come his way? Are we going to squander Roger’s gifts like we did with Norwood’s? Give the keys to Rtan and get your old Dan Reaves want to be out of the way. Great job of building an offensive but it needs more than you can give at this point. Please move aside and don’t slow down The Falcon Express.
Peter
August 3rd, 2011
12:09 pm
Would have liked to hear his feeling about our RB situation and whether the other 2 no-names will be able to add anything.
Good interview though
Sam
August 3rd, 2011
12:21 pm
I think the Falcons have a good plan and were ready to go from the end of the lockout. If you were watching NFL Network team cams. You saw a lot of standing around on other teams and the Falcons already looking like a regular training camp. Also most people said Falcons players had the most organized workout sessions during the lockout. Hopefully, that means we get off to a good start.
mountain_jim
August 3rd, 2011
12:25 pm
Excellent comments darren harper and others. The office was too conservative, un-imaginative, and predictable last year. That’s on Mularkey, and this year wiith these weapons he better fix his schemes and play-calling so that we and they don’t already know what’s coming down after down, and screens, slants, and bombs are a part of that.
Mr. Falcon
August 3rd, 2011
12:26 pm
Why are my posts not showing up! You must be doing some serious censoring?
dean
August 3rd, 2011
12:30 pm
Please, coach, lose that out pattern that everybody knows is coming in critical situations.
Mr. Falcon
August 3rd, 2011
12:31 pm
FINALLY.
The Falcons are going to have a tough row to hoe this season.
Maybe they will have the same kind of luck they did last season.
I feel pretty good about this season so far.
PlanB
August 3rd, 2011
12:55 pm
GB threw at will against Chris Owens after Brian Williams went down with an injury. Williams was doing a pretty good job but we got rid of him and kept Owens. Age difference of course but still a major skill difference in the two. That means we will be weaker at that position unless Owens drastically improves. With that being said, how can we possibly let Grimes get away. If this happens and we don’t get Samuels, I’ll be very disappointed. I know be thinking we have weakened our team for every game I watch just for a few dollars. TD has done very well to this point (except for drafting injury proned players) so I hope he makes the deal with Grimes but if he doesn’t, I’m not a happy camper.
just sayin'
August 3rd, 2011
12:56 pm
looks like MM is giving the ‘i surrender’ signal…wishing for more explosiveness in his offense..
good old joe
August 3rd, 2011
1:15 pm
I THINK ATLANTA THE,SANT’S CAN WIN THE N FC SOUTH , BUT TAMPA IS GOING TO BE TOUGHT TO . LESS HOPE ATLANTA STAY’S HEALTHY………..
ctfalconfan
August 3rd, 2011
1:49 pm
The bottom line is we should have fired Mularkey last year. Our offense SHOULD BE HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE!!!!!
We reached 13-3 inspite of Mularkey not because of him.
- Look at last year’s Pro Bowl I think we had 5-6 Falcons on the field when the NFC offense played!!
- Our offense under performed last year and we can’t have Mularkey’s predictable play calling..
- Last in the NFL in explosive plays last season – that’s terrible!!!
I was at the PITT game last year and we kept running and running even though the Steelers were stacking the box. we kept running and as a result we scored 0 TD’s and lost the game!
Sid
August 3rd, 2011
2:13 pm
I have read where some biological scientists note that Brees may not be able to ever fully recover from his torn MCL. Who is their 2nd string QB?
Sid
August 3rd, 2011
2:16 pm
I just wonder if all that dampness in Seattle caused more pain in Brees knee than he could tolerate.
Sunshine21
August 3rd, 2011
3:05 pm
MARIO JORDAN:
She IS crazy because she can’t control her emotions and express them with anything other than 4 letter words. She is an embarrassment to her husband, child, and the entire team. She should know better than to act like she did yesterday. Can u imagine Peyton Manning’s wife acting like that? People who have class and self respect know better. She obviously does not.
Miko
August 3rd, 2011
3:24 pm
You might take me out da hood but da hood you aint never taking outta me!
I runs my man!
joe white
August 3rd, 2011
3:30 pm
Rey we dont fear either of those teams period, falcons ready we just need to sign grimes which is done as of friday and snelling
rudy
August 3rd, 2011
3:46 pm
the falcons schedule is brutal….this will tell alot about our team
Von
August 3rd, 2011
4:49 pm
The birds will be highly disappointed….Why? because they’re trying to fix something that ain’t broke. Their offense. They won 13 games last year. They were the best ball control team in the NFL. Now…as Gonzalez describes the offense as a “Ferrari”! Are you kidding me. You can’t just decide you want to be like the Packers and Saints after you were tops in all the NFC last year. These guys just don’t get it…DEFENSE wins championships! When the Saints won the Superbowl it wasn’t the offense that won the game, their defense did. It wasn’t the Packers great offense but the defense who slowed the Steelers. C’mon man. Do what you do best and stick to it. Look what the Eagles and Saints did, they bulked up their defense like crazy. Sorry man but the birds will get plucked this season. It just makes no sense.
Greg Mendel
August 3rd, 2011
4:51 pm
This Falcons season IS brutal. As much as like the changes, I’m not making any predictions — except that we’re going to see a bunch of entertaining games. This season we’re playing four tough teams in the first seven games, with a chance to stumble against one of the other three if we aren’t careful. The second half isn’t much better. But those are the kinds of teams we have to beat to consistently be in the playoffs and win.
Von
August 3rd, 2011
5:04 pm
Gaining one rookie receiver and a good but not great DE won’t get it done chief. You need depth at all the crucial positions. You got one proven receiver in White and one rookie. You got two DEnds, one just ok and the other injury prone. And then you got the biggest problem…1 running back in Turner. Who’s behind these people? Saint’s, Buc’s, Falcons and Panthers. Saint’s win division and Bucs make playoffs. Falcons 9-7 and miss playoffs. There’s your NFC South.
hiramsaint
August 3rd, 2011
5:08 pm
that was almost my exact post but d-led is mad at the truth and keeps blocking me . well good because it appears everyone already knows the truth-some of us just can’t accept it can we d-led
GT GRAD
August 3rd, 2011
5:19 pm
How many 20+ yard plays did Turner have last season?
How many 20+ yard plays did the average NFL RB have last season? Also, how many 20+ yard plays would the average NFL RB have given the same number of carries/touches Turner had in 2011?
Does the fact that opposing defenses do not have to worry about screen passes or running plays outside of the tackle when Turner is in the game have ANYTHING to do with the fact that we did not have very many 20+ yard plays?????????
Last point………..How many 20+ yard plays would the Falcons have accomplished IF Adrian Peterson was the RB for every play that Turner was the RB for Atlanta……….this question makes my point rather difficult to ignore (does ot not?).
I sincerely think we would have had a significantly higher number of 20+ yard plays last season IF we had a more versatile and faster RB than Turner……….I think the team was more balanced tougher to defend when Snelling was playing RB!!!!!
GT GRAD
August 3rd, 2011
5:26 pm
I think the birds will be signing a veteran CB that has been cut from another team (maybe even Kelvin Hayden from the Colts) and let Dante, Grimes and the unknown veteran player compete for #1, #2 and the nickle spot. I REALLY hope so anyway.
I also hope they plan to sign Snelling. If not Snelling, let’s all hope they wait for a team to cut a solid veteran RB and then sign the veteran RB to motivate Turner.
Greg Mendel
August 3rd, 2011
5:27 pm
Prob’ly shouldn’t play the games, then. August 3rd, and the season’s been decided. All that Lockout anxiety for nothing. Maybe there’ll be a League press release tomorrow.
Dang!
Hey, D-Led! Who won Super Bowl XLVI? Who was the Most Valuable Pixel?
Paddy
August 3rd, 2011
5:38 pm
Von……you are wrong. You have heard that old saying for so many years; “defense wins championships”, you start to believe it is gospel. No they don’t. You must, of course, have a good defense. But great offense wins championships at every level of football.
SeenThisB4
August 3rd, 2011
5:41 pm
Sid: I was reading where Mularkey questions Ryan’s capacity to comprehend the playbook.
SeenThisB4
August 3rd, 2011
5:48 pm
Paddy: The NFL has skewed the deck in favor of the offenses, that’s a fact. But a great defense can still stalmate a great offense. The falcan’ts have neither.
hiramsaint
August 3rd, 2011
5:56 pm
looking forward to watching the grand wizard of the offensive playbook stymie all opposing defensive coordinators this year LOL LOL. don’t y’all call for his head after every other game?. i think he and smitty will be job searching in jan. after failing to address the D in the draft this year. reminds me of what happened to ditka following the ricky williams mistake
falcon
August 3rd, 2011
6:08 pm
Would you please ask Coach Mularkey why he never calls for any screen passes? This is a great tool to use to slow down an opponent’s pass rush and the Falcons never, ever throw any screens.
hiramsaint
August 3rd, 2011
6:29 pm
who are they gonna throw them to and who’s gonna block downfield for it. it’s simply a product of a one dimensional O. Maybe with quizz but thats a lot of responsibility to put on a rookie who can get hurt if no one knows how to block for the screen.
Matt
August 3rd, 2011
6:43 pm
Seriously, can you please report on the full answers/interveiw? Some of the answers seem out of context with the question — or 100% off-the-topic.
whodat sisterz
August 3rd, 2011
7:40 pm
Why don’t y’all just give it up this season because the Saints have owned your sorry team for the last 5 years and now that you haven’t fixed your pitiful 16th ranked defence , we will continue to own you. Kiss the ring!
Sid
August 3rd, 2011
7:44 pm
The falcan’ts don’t use the screen play because Ryan can’t make that pitch. He’s got a depth perception problem.
whodat sisterz
August 3rd, 2011
8:17 pm
And Mularkey has a play calling problem…problem is , he doesn’t know how to do it!
Greg Mendel
August 3rd, 2011
8:32 pm
It’s true. The Falcons defense is not what it should be. I reckon we’ll have to put in the Seattle defense (and offense) for the Saints games.
Sorry, guys. A rebuilding team losing to the Green Bay Super Bowl champs is understandable. Losing to Seattle is inexcusable for a team that won a Super Bowl once B4. And (quoth the Raven) nevermore.
You can win a Blog Bowl, though. (Garrrghhh Saints!)
PS: I like the Saints, btw. And New Orleans.
Greg Mendel
August 3rd, 2011
8:39 pm
RIP — Bubba Smith has died at age 66.
rash
August 3rd, 2011
8:40 pm
@seenthisb4 !! wrong answer the correct answer is b… the falcons
Lord Stanley
August 3rd, 2011
9:15 pm
RIP Bubba
Lord Stanley
August 3rd, 2011
9:17 pm
Hopefuly those “Falcons Fans” that showed up for the last Eagles game stay in their own hood.
Saints fan need to stick to something they are good at. Like pickin up the trash on Borbon St
Hobbler
August 3rd, 2011
9:46 pm
All we needed to get was a DE and a Nickel Back and to keep our FAs to win a Super Bowl. Well, as of today, we still have some unfinished business.
Saints Fan
August 3rd, 2011
10:59 pm
Falcons are one injury away from disaster. Sorry not this year folks!
hiramsaint
August 3rd, 2011
11:25 pm
always 1 player away from a superbowl! same old story , new year. with that mentality – you ain’t never gettin’ a trophy.
WHO DAT BLACK
August 4th, 2011
12:05 am
Filthy birds,
You will never be rewarded with the title because you fail to realize the truth. You can’t outscore anyone!!!! Just run the ball, run play action and be predictable. Here is your sorry season.
ATL 17 vs. CHI 21
PHI 41 vs. ATL 27
ATL 21 vs. TB 14
ATL 10 vs. SEA 34
GB 48 vs. ATL 31
CAR 13 vs. ATL 21
ATL 28 vs. DET 25
ATL 19 vs. IND 30
NO 21 vs. ATL 17
TEN 13 vs. ATL 20
MIN 3 vs. ATL 24
ATL 27 vs. HOU 21
ATL 14 vs. CAR 17
JAC 0 vs. ATL 23
ATL 21 vs. NO 42
TB 17 vs. ATL 19
8-8. Field goal here and there, 9-7. Break a wing!!!
WHO DAT BLACK
August 4th, 2011
12:08 am
Oh yeah, CAR game week 14, TB game week 3 and DET game week 7 will be OT games.
Break a wing!!!!
Chris
August 4th, 2011
1:24 am
FIRE LEDBETTER
Dirty Bird Nation
August 4th, 2011
4:14 am
After that GB game, both coordinators should have been FIRED! Mularkey will never win a superbowl with his play calling. Where did the defensive coordinator come from? Troy Aikman said it best last season doing the GB lost. The defensive coordinator had NO CLUE how to DEFEND GB offense!
Mookie
August 4th, 2011
9:25 am
Every year it’s been the same trash talk from Falclowns fans like they don’t wanna understand that since Drew Brees and Sean Payton came to the Saints in 06′ they are 8-2 vs the Dirty turds. All you have to do is go to nfl.com, Go to schedule for either the Saints or Falcons, and look at the scores of our games from 06, 07, 08, 09, 10. We have been owning you !!!!!
toloberto
August 4th, 2011
12:18 pm
I for one also think Mularkys play calling could be alot more imaginative, but the truth of the matter last yr was that our offense was clearly the strength of our team.
Matt Ryan and company had to be sure that they didn’t allow the Falcons defense to be on the field too much. Because of this our offense specifically tried to play keep away and aid our defense all season. I feel that without our offense possessing the ball the majority of each game our defense would certainly have been exposed well before the playoff loss to GB.