Mike Mularkey: Falcons won’t force deep passes
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) fires a pass against the Chicago Bears in the second half. He's been ordered not to force the deep ball. AP
FLOWERY BRANCH — Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson, in a column on foxsports.com, called for the Falcons to open up their offensive attack.
“I don’t think the Falcons can keep throwing the ball underneath like they did against the Bears and expect to win in the long run,” Johnson wrote. “They have to find a way to get Roddy White deep and find more ways to create something big.”
The Falcons also made a big 5-for-1 draft-day trade to move up 21 spots to draft the fleet Julio Jones with the hopes of adding more explosive plays to the offense. In the 30-12 defeat against the Chicago Bears, the Falcons did not challenge the Bears
Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.
cover-two zone defense deep down the field.
The tried to attack by throwing underneath. The Falcons were hoping their receivers could take the short passes and then beat defenders up the field. The Bears did a good job of tackling and keeping the Falcons in front of them.
Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey defended his attack. He clearly doesn’t want quarterback Matt Ryan forcing the ball into coverage.
Falcons offensive coordiantor Mike Mularkey and quarterback Matt Ryan opened the game against the Bears in the no-huddle attack. (CURTIS COMPTON/AJC).
“I don’t know what that means,” Mularkey said when asked if the offense could be more aggressive. “When they’ve got guys down there and they are taking away the deep ball; you throw it underneath. You can force it down there and turn the ball over more possibly; which we obviously don’t want to do.”
Mularkey did say he was surprised about the number of check-down passes that Ryan threw.
“There were a number of times where we tried to get the ball deep, but that’s Tampa-2,” Mularkey said. “That’s the scheme of things and that’s probably the most check downs that I can remember that I’ve ever been involved with.”
Mularkey thought running back Michael Turner, who caught three passes for 40 yards did a job when he was the check-down receiver.
The Falcons are going to remain selective when throwing deep passes.
“We are trying to get them down there, but we are not going to force the issue,” Mularkey said.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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174 comments Add your comment
Shady
September 14th, 2011
10:08 am
@JSS & I think I think
YEP!!! I was screaming check-down Joey from soldier field….We never tried to throw a vertical pass, it was pathetic quarterback play.
Gatorzone
September 14th, 2011
10:09 am
Why not line up 3 WR, keep 1 back in and send at least one WR deep? Who says you have to go 5 wide to go deep?
Season Ticker Holder
September 14th, 2011
10:09 am
Everybody chant with me! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY! FIRE MIKE MULARKEY!
Season Ticker Holder
September 14th, 2011
10:12 am
Mike Mularkey is coaching Matt Ryan on how not to lose a game. Playing not to lose is not Playing TO WIN!
Season Ticker Holder
September 14th, 2011
10:13 am
Mike Mularkey, the only thing that beats failure is not trying!
ctfalconsfan
September 14th, 2011
10:16 am
Nice comment Gumbo, completely agree with the Dean Smith and corvette analogy…
Last year our offense struggled as well so this is nothing new and should have been corrected in the offseason by firing Mularkey.
If you are TD and Smitty how do you agree to trade all these picks to get Jones when you are just installing him in this pro-wishbone style offense we have?? It’ s a waste of talent and a waste of 5 picks! Maybe draft a fullback or TE with the first pick as those seem to be the play makers in this offense..
We need a Mike Martz type of OC to install a fresh and creative offense. With all the talent we have we should score 24++ points per game, every game..
JR
September 14th, 2011
10:18 am
chris: some features allow comments while others don’t what’s up with that?
Milt Olsen
September 14th, 2011
10:22 am
Remember that old guy the Redskins found at a nursing home to call plays when Zorn was their HC. He would be an upgrade over Mike.
honest_abe
September 14th, 2011
10:22 am
the atl fan base takes the cake for being the most ignorant bunch in the nfl. you should’ve known better than to buy into the hype. the falcons are what i always said they were. slightly better than avg. just look at the talent. the coaching is subpar yes but just switching offensive coordinators isn’t going to transform matt ryan into aaron rodgers. give me a break. the falcons were built in a certain manner. run the ball, control the clock and bend but don’t break on d. they needed to keep harvey dahl, they needed desperately to add a pass rusher, they needed to improve their secondary, they needed to upgrade at te… dimitroff needs to go.
Vinny Diamonds
September 14th, 2011
10:24 am
There is a saying in life, if u do not take chances u will be stuck in the same place. Matt Ryan needs to get that killer instinct in him like Tom Brady. The other day Brady stated that he loves to score points while Ryan loves to check down to Snelling. I guess we gave up the house for Julio Jones to be a decoy.
Th
September 14th, 2011
10:25 am
Even HS coaches know that once a quarter or so, on a throw-away down, you call a GO on the outside. The QB takes a short drop, finds the deep defender and throws it just beyond his reach. If your guy gets there, great. If not, no harm done and you remind the safety not to come up too close to the line of scrimmage. Even Paul Johnson knows to call that play and he runs the wishbone.
Kyle
September 14th, 2011
10:26 am
Coming out and saying you going to keep a “wimpy” offense going after last week with these check down passes is so brilliant. Mike needs to go join June Jones at SMU because he would fit right in with that run and shoot garbage that went for 50 yards East/West but where it counted you gained about 2 yards North/South.
The Real Falcon
September 14th, 2011
10:26 am
Yeah that idea worked wonders with the pick he threw anyway
Shady
September 14th, 2011
10:27 am
MM & Ryan are easy targets of our outrage but let’s not forget that we can’t block or tackle either and the head coach thought he had his team ready?
U MAN
September 14th, 2011
10:29 am
Does anybody realize that Mularkey was The Defensive coordinator when the Steelers won the Super Bowl with the Steelers?……he just needs to go back to his Inspector Gadget mode thast why they are big on Meier they see him as a budding HINES ward esque player
U MAN
September 14th, 2011
10:29 am
OFFENSIVE co I MEAN
J_ATL
September 14th, 2011
10:31 am
Enter your comments here
U MAN
September 14th, 2011
10:36 am
Enter your comments here
Say It Aint So
September 14th, 2011
10:38 am
Unbelieveable, with the mindset of Murlarkey and BVD, the Falcons are in trouble. We don’t have any hidden geniuses as coordinators for sure. We’re in trouble.
JSS
September 14th, 2011
10:39 am
U MAN
September 14th, 2011
10:29 am
“Does anybody realize that Mularkey was The Defensive coordinator when the Steelers won the Super Bowl with the Steelers?……he just needs to go back to his Inspector Gadget mode thast why they are big on Meier they see him as a budding HINES ward esque player”
Mularkey was not the offensive coordinator on the 1995, 2006, or the 2009 Steelers Super Bowl championship teams…
J.J.M.
September 14th, 2011
10:40 am
Well keep being a boring team then. this is why they only get one monday night game…and I guess this team doesnt think roddy white is a superstar and wont get a pass inteference on the defense smh. you have to take chances falcons. I want to be able to stand up out my seat as I see a “deep” ball go down the fied
Get real!
September 14th, 2011
10:42 am
“It would not shock me to see the Atlanta Falcons 0-16 this season. Mike Smith needs to step it up and take control of their game planning . Watchout because here comes Carolina!”
Hahahaha …This has got to be the best comment i’ve read in days! … Following your logic, then I’ll take the Falcons, Steelers, Dolphins and Chiefs going 0-16 this week because they all lost in a horrible way (actually, KC would fit in that category)
J_ATL
September 14th, 2011
10:45 am
If you listen to the the Steelers head coach, he owns their loss and didn’t make excuses for not winning the game and was clearly upset during his post game interview. The one thing you don’t hear is them saying “It’s one game”. We know it’s one game and not only did we lose, we got smacked in the mouth. What concerns me is that it sounds like our staff has accepted the fact that a particular scheme on defense will take away everything that we try to do on offense, and without the ability to adjust during the game we will see more games like this in the weeks ahead. I find it hard to believe that no other team will test the tampa 2 defense because they are afraid to get picked off. If we continue to have that mentality, then this season is lost already. It’s funny to me how if a player doesn’t perform well, then he’s cut. If our coaches don’t perform well, we keep him, give him more weapons, and still have the same outcome….smh
ctfalconsfan
September 14th, 2011
10:53 am
Honest Abe, I would disagree with you regarding our talent on offense. We have a lot of weapons!
Just go back to last year’s Pro Bowl when half the offensive huddle were Falcons! Add Julio Jones and we should take off. Except we have good old Mike Mularkey holding us back..
- To Mike Smith! History could repeat itself fairly quickly as Mora should have replaced Gregg Knapp as OC but he stood with him and was fired for putting a 9-7, then 7-9 season together after high expectations after a great 2004 season. We had a great 2008 and 10′ but Mr. Black wants to take the next step and you going 8-8, 9-7 this season ain’t going to get it done!!!
duronimo
September 14th, 2011
11:01 am
Matt seems to have been affected by the cumulative beatings he has absorbed. He does look more tentative. Even his throwing motion seems different. Not many quarterbacks can work effectively under constant pressure. Chandler was the best of the ones that come to mind.
honest_abe
September 14th, 2011
11:02 am
blah blah blah. some were pro bowl alternates. you can’t argue with me that tyson clabo is an elite right tackle because he isn’t. nobody on that offensive line is. they are solid with mclure and dahl, not so much without them. tony g gets the nod based on his past. roddy is the man. but other than him who? burner turner? 4.4 speed? maybe two years ago. matt ryan? he’s good. he’d dedicated. he studies. but he’s not one of the elite and he never will be.
mountain_jim
September 14th, 2011
11:09 am
Mularkey just proved why he needs to be FIRED.
His route-design, lack of screens, and totally predictable scheme and play-calling kills the chance of getting one-on-one coverage deep, or long gains on underneath throws.
HE JUST DOES NOT GET THE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN HIM AND AN IMAGINATIVE OC and had NO CLUE of how to exploit the GB or Chi defenses.
HARRY FALCON
September 14th, 2011
11:09 am
CHECK DOWN CHARLIE, MATTY ICE MY ASS MIKE MULARKEY WILL KILL THIS KIDS CAREER HE DID THE SAME THING IN PITTSBURG WHAT A FREAKING JOKE SCARED MONEY DOESNT MAKE MONEY YOU HAVE TO TAKE CHANCES DOWN FIELD I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH FALCONS GO 7-9 THIS YEARS AND THE GRUMBLING ABOUT MALARKEY WILL GET HIM OUT OF HERE………WHO’S NEXT IN LINE TO OFFENSIVE CORRDINATOR
Say It Aint So
September 14th, 2011
11:10 am
Carolina and Detroit will be tough games for everyone. These youg teams are getting better.
Birdthethird
September 14th, 2011
11:20 am
Ryan has no confidence in his deep pass. He needs to just throw the damn ball deep and if he gets a turnover eat and move on. He’s not accurate deep and he knows it. We could have kept those draft picks and just picked up one of those stray wide receivers and gotten just as much out of them if Ryan can’t get it deep. I’m beginning to think Moss would been a good pickup (at least he can grab it in the vincinity). This choir boy teams lacks attitude! I can say that but you can’t. LOVE MY FALCONS!!
butter bean
September 14th, 2011
11:25 am
hmmmmm. can’t throw the deep ball against the bears because of their cover two…. isnt this the same bears cover two defense that – a couple of years ago – ryan threw a 20+ yard down and out to jenkins – to set up the game winning field goal?….just a thought!…… Am I remembering it wrong – because I swear I remember Ryan throwing 20+ yard balls regularly during his rookie season!
E's Dirty Birds
September 14th, 2011
11:26 am
Falcons Fans are the biggest WHINERS in the world. We lose 1 game and we all want to jump ship. Atlanta should be ashamed of itself… MOST PATHETIC SPORTS CITY IN THE COUNTRY!
Hey Coach!
September 14th, 2011
11:29 am
Dude…you’re ALREADY turning the ball over!
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
September 14th, 2011
11:31 am
When UGA fires BooBoo, the Falcons will hire him.
JR
September 14th, 2011
11:36 am
i guess that i should have asked my question of orlando. why do some features allow for comments while others do not?
thanks
PMC
September 14th, 2011
11:41 am
I don’t need to see them throw it up for the sake of throwing it up, I need to see if Matt Ryan can or is willing to throw the ball into a tight window 25 yards down the field like the best QB’s in the league can. We need to find out whether he can put the team on his back or not.
PMC
September 14th, 2011
11:42 am
E. clearly you’ve never been to Miami. This state in general not too good for sports fandom. We have nothing on Miami.
Rod Paradise
September 14th, 2011
11:44 am
Does anyone here remember a guy that did not have the world’s strongest deep throws, but found a way to win? Yes his name was Joe Montana. Gimme a flipping break this guy (Mularkey) needs to go. You HAVE to throw it every now then to keep the defense honest. Thus a cut back route or a bootleg may then work for a cut up and additional yardage.
Also throw it deep, and use Julio and Roddey to go up and get the ball. Use Eric Weems more, he can run reverses, use him on some slants. As an offense you CANNOT allow the other team to out scheme you, not in the NFL. It may also be important to note, tell the guys out there hey man we are down by 10, let if fly. You can lose by one point or 18 points and a loss is a loss. No BS bowl picking in the NFL win or lose thats is the name of the game.
PMC
September 14th, 2011
11:47 am
One thing is certain, the offense has been very effective in the no huddle with Ryan working on the fly. He knows how to get them in the right plays. I hope they do this more often.
George Bailey
September 14th, 2011
11:51 am
Mr. Blank should put the people on this blog in charge of the Falcons. We’d go undefeated and win the super bowl every year!
Jersey Falcon
September 14th, 2011
11:52 am
Don’t force the deep-ball. Fine. But, maybe try a little harder to create favorable situations so you can throw the deep-ball. This league is about matchups. Mularkey needs to CREATE them. That’s why coaches watch so much tape. It’s not because they’re figuring out new innovative offensive schemes. The league runs most of the same offensive plays. The real genius comes in when you figure out how to create favorable matchups.
Ivan
September 14th, 2011
12:00 pm
What happened when Ryan tried to force the pass to Gonzalez?
hint: It involved Urlacher
BUCKO
September 14th, 2011
12:11 pm
We falcons fans do not have to worry to much about the OF it is the D that is stinking it up
Blank Stare
September 14th, 2011
12:15 pm
So let me get this straight. Mike Mularkey will not force deep passes and not force passes in coverage but rolling out and forcing a 5 yard pass in coverage is okay? As long as the interception is made on a short pass is okay. That explains it. Thanks for giving away draft picks for nothing.
Bird E
September 14th, 2011
12:30 pm
Oh Mikey boy best get this team up on running screesn, flats, and drags across the middle – something he stinks at putting in.
ctfalconsfan
September 14th, 2011
12:32 pm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…
Against overly agressive defenses like CHI , Aints and Philly we need to run draw plays, screen passes and a reverse to keep the defense honest..
This run turner into a pile on first down and then a throw a 3 yard pass or incomplete pass on 2nd setting up 3rd and long situations was old in the 80’s and is certainly unimaginative now..
Also is Robinson just plain bad as a CB or is it over soft man, zone coverage we like to use?
Speaking of DB’s why is Christopher Owen still on the team?
Ivan
September 14th, 2011
12:36 pm
So everyone on here thinks Ryan should just heave the ball away, regardless if it’s intercepted or not. Forget there’s double coverage on your #1 and #2 and someone is wide open 10 yards away. Just throw it deep!
How’s the water in Atlanta these days?
Pete
September 14th, 2011
12:53 pm
The Falcons should change their name to the Atlanta Vanilla.
They are Vanilla in their attitude, their approach to the game, their level of intensity, their coaching schemes………….virtually EVERYTHING is Vanilla.
Sunday night they play the most un-vanilla team in the NFL.
It will be an absolute blowout bloodbath.
A complete embarrassment.
honest_abe
September 14th, 2011
1:01 pm
ugh. all these calls for screens. have you seen the personnel? turner isn’t much a receiver out of the backfield.
KEEPING IT REAL
September 14th, 2011
1:09 pm
Lets be honest, the real reason for not going deep is Ryan can throw a good deep ball. We waisted all of those draft picks to throw underneath… thats BS