Atlanta Falcons: Koetter on struggling run game: ‘Mike Turner . . . had no chance’
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons offense coordinator Dirk Koetter, in his first interview since the offense repeatedly failed in short yardage situations against the New Orleans Saints, acknowledged that the short yardage offense is a major problem for his unit.
Also, unsolicited, he noted that on a majority of Michael Turner’s 13 runs that he “had no chance” because “we had free runners at the point of attack.” Turner finished with 15 yards and was stuffed on key third-and-goal from the Saints’ 1-yard line.
The question was if Jacquizz Rodgers had earned himself more carries.
Here are the highlights from Koetter’s interview session:
ON THE SHORT YARDAGE OFFENSE: “We’ve got to do better. It’s highly unusual that you have a higher percentage on the season , 60 percent and third and 4 to 5; and we’re 50 percent on third and 1 to 3. That’s very unusual. To be third or whatever we are in the NFL in third down conversions and be only 50 percent on third and one is not what you’re shooting for. But we’ve got to do a better job. On a couple of them you have to give them credit for what they did on defense. Coaching-wise we’ve got to have a better plan.”
WHAT MAKES THOSE SITUATIONS SO CHALLENGING?: “They are challenging because you need one yard and everybody knows you need one yard. That’s what makes it challenging. It’s like you’re trying to make one yard and they’re trying to defend one yard. Maybe we ought to just pretend its third and 10 and we might be better off.”
HOW IS IT SUPPOSED TO ALL WORK TOGETHER?: “There’s always multiple parts. Sometimes we have checks on. WE are checking for different looks. The very first one the other day, we just didn’t block it right. We blocked the look wrong. We either didn’t prepare them good enough or they didn’t recognize it good enough. The second one we threw a pass and they ran an all-out blitz on one side, so we had some protection issues. The second time we threw a pass and I’d call that play in a heart beat. We didn’t execute it that time. Any single play out there, you can never just say it’s this guy’s fault or this group’s fault. There is always multiple reasons.”
IS THIS A BAD THING?: “Yeah, it’s a bad thing. If you had a magic wand and could wave it, then it would be easy to fix everything if you had that magic wand. Again, that’s one part of the game. We came up short in that part and eventually that added up to us coming up short on the score board. Your goal is on offense, you break it down into different segments. You want to be good on first down. You want to be good on third down. You want to be good in the red zone. You want to be good in short yardage. You want to be good on goal line. You want to protect the passer. You want to run the ball good. It’s hard to do all of those well all of the time. We definitely came up short in that area.
HAS JACQUIZZ EARNED HIMSELF SOME MORE CARRIES OR WILL THE SPLIT STAY THE SAME: “We never go into a game. We only ran the ball 18 times. We need to run the ball more efficiently as a team. It doesn’t matter who the runner is. When you look at the tape on the majority of Mike Turner’s runs in the game the other day, he had no chance. We had free runners at the point of attack. Jacquizz did a good job when he was in there. He touched the ball, but some of that could be luck of the draw. We’ll see how it plays out. Touches on this team are always going to be an issue because we have so many good skill guys. One guys increase in touches is going to come at the expense of another guy. Who is that? That’s the million dollar question.”
HOW DID RODGERS 18-YARD RUN LOOK ON FILM: “That was a nice run. He did a nice job. That was a pretty play. We needed one more. We needed one more of those.”
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186 comments Add your comment
Armchair Observer
November 14th, 2012
8:35 am
I always thought Turner was more suited to be a fullback than a featured runner.
Jim Nazium
November 14th, 2012
8:46 am
Turner runs like he has cement cleats on…pitiful. Heck I am 48 years old and I could not have done any worse than he did. Kick him to the curb and get a real running back. Geeeeeeeeesh.
old man
November 14th, 2012
8:53 am
D. Orlando Ledbetter: Any chance we might see some touches by guys like Snelling or Antone Smith, just as a change of pace?
Dirk Koetter: Who’s Antone Smith?
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Jimmy Crack
November 14th, 2012
9:04 am
Interviewing coaches is like raking leaves in a windstorm.
A complete waste of time.
You might as well interview a politician about how well he has done his own job.
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GregKennesaw
November 14th, 2012
9:18 am
I do blame Turner
papadawg
November 14th, 2012
9:23 am
I’m not just blaming Turner. I’m blaming the whole Danged offense for not be able to push for ONE YARD on FOUR TRIES
Say It Aint So
November 14th, 2012
9:26 am
Anybody ever thought about going over the top for a short yardage 1st down? Do we not have a back that can jump over the pile? And please not Tippy Toe. Whats shocking was there was a false start penality and the play would have been a toss to Turner, I actually fell out of my chair. Thank God the play was stopped.
jackie
November 14th, 2012
9:33 am
EVERY ONE HAS EXCUSES. THE :O: LINE, NOT US. THE RUNNING BACK, NOT ME. PLAY CALLING, DONT LOOK HERE. COACHES, NOT US. PLAYERS, NO CREDIT TO N.O. I HAVE THE ANSWER: IT IS THE BALLS FAULT: NO AIR.
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November 14th, 2012
9:38 am
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Marone
November 14th, 2012
9:41 am
no big deal—the ATL will finish 14-2 and beat SF for the nfc title—book it. These falcons are for real!
JoeFann
November 14th, 2012
9:42 am
My two cents. He’s right, it’s never just one thing. However, I’d look at the 50 percent we failed on and look at the formations for commonalities. With 2 TEs and a FB, you bunch the entire defense so that your front seven are blocking eight or nine–not good odds. That’s why Mike Johnson was so wide open, the defense was stacked to the middle and no one played him. If you want to run for one yard inside, spread the field with four wide and take wider splits. Make the defense cover outside slants so the OLBs have to lean outside instead of inside. Give the ball to ‘Quizz to hit a crease instead of Turner, who needs a hole. Vary the calls, run-pass, from the same formation. Keep ‘em guessing. OK, so that’s three cents worth. My bad.
Adam
November 14th, 2012
9:47 am
What I can’t understand from watching the Falcons games is, when presented with the opportunity to take the lead late in the game and potentially win the game, the offense coordinator calls running plays between the tackles and pass plays from the 1-yard line. It is clear that if running plays would have been called to run toward the outside corning of the end zones, there is a very high probability that falcons would still be undefeated. I blame this on play calling and nothing else. Just sayin’……
Ray
November 14th, 2012
9:49 am
I know I won’t forgive Turner, but I will say this.
Michael Turner has helped us get to being relevant before we’d get joked on for never having back-to-back winning seasons, and other things.
To his credit he was here when we were 11-5, 9-7,13-3, and even last year helped us out a ton, but with all that said it’s still time for him to go.
I noticed this earlier this season basically around game 4 I felted like Turner had lost a step or two maybe even three, and that even though Quizz Rodgers looked like he didn’t know what he was doing or where to go. He was going to be getting better, and sure enough these past couple of games he finally got a handle on being a RB in the NFL so as this season keeps going it feels like M.Turner days are numbered because Quizz is only going to get better.
So to sum that all up glad for M.Turner service here, but right now either you put him on the bench at 2nd or 3rd string, or cut him loose like Ray Edwards.
james
November 14th, 2012
9:52 am
true we really miss big Harvey
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November 14th, 2012
9:53 am
[...] Falcons offense coordinator Dirk Koetter suggested that a lot of RB Michael Turner’s struggling this season has been because the offensive line isn’t opening holes for him. [...]
observer
November 14th, 2012
9:58 am
The Falcons run up the middle in short yardage because they don’t have a back with the speed to go outside. All of their RB’s are slow.
loel
November 14th, 2012
10:08 am
In these days of large screens HD television, slow replay and even slower replay, we fans can see whats wrong over and over. For those who say Turner had no chance, then why call the play anyway. When the falcons get in that “I” formation with Turner in it you can see the defense already leaning forward knowing what’s coming… So why call the stupid play in the first place. I had rather see Antione Smith or Jaquizz lose a yard than Turner,,,, at least we have some hope.
DC Dirty Bird
November 14th, 2012
10:13 am
JoeFann has an excellent point. We don’t have to necessarily get into a pass formation, but we do need to spread the field more. Its time to line up and call plays based on personnel not philosophy. Blalock is having an off year, Baker is a better pass blocker than run blocker (chew on that for a sec), Clabo has regressed, Konz is a rookie, and fullback play is nominal at best.
Run from 21 personnel packages, play Snelling, play Quizz.
ricocarty21
November 14th, 2012
10:15 am
Pass and run blocking needs improvement big time. It seems that MT is going down to easy on tackles. Even small db’s are bringing him down in the backfield. That was something you never witnessed in his first 2 years in Atlanta. It also seems in the last 2 games the D has lost some intensity and focus. Playing too loose and blowing pass assignments.We have have problems if we can not make 3rd and one going forward.
After living through Randy Johnson, Bob Berry, Junior Coffee,Etc. I was hoping to finally see an undefeated season. Well, I hope I live long enough to see a chance again. Its a rarity in the NFL. It takes commitment,luck and tremendous focus to accomplish this feat and that is why you go in the record books when you do it.
I hope the Falcs can find their selves and implement corrective action.
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old timer
November 14th, 2012
10:34 am
I say we give Quizz more touches and maybe we”ll get “lucky” more often then.
The Man
November 14th, 2012
10:35 am
Stats don’t lie. MT’s production is going down, his age, weight and salary are going up. Other backs are running behind the same line, different results. What am I missing?
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Mike is Back
November 14th, 2012
10:42 am
DLed, I like what Koetter brings to the BIRDS, I know he will get this fixed…here’s novel idea…why not go with some type of formation with Turner and Rogers on those plays…then since you know guys are going to be flying in from the end to catch Turner before he gets his momentum going…fake it to Turner, and flip it to Rogers…after a couple of fake flips to Rogers…the defense will have to make an adjustment…at the very lease…it could give Turner a little more to hit the hole.
RISE UP TURNER…LET’S GO…LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike is Back
November 14th, 2012
10:46 am
Dang, I beat that up…so much for playing Wed morning OC.lol
RISE UP BIRDS…LET’S GO…LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
shesoleo
November 14th, 2012
10:47 am
I know some of the blame should fall on the Oline but,what I don’t understand is why? if you look at other teams running backs they don’t always have the holes to run thru but they make the holes and get positive yardage. The bottom half of MT body is made like a Mack truck and you mean to tell me he can’t push/run over a Pinto????? C’Mon Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bad Bird
November 14th, 2012
10:48 am
Horse Sh… first of all he is slow, lose some weight. For go ahead score on 2 and 1 in the 4th he walks to the hole and trips. This is all on MT with some responsibility on behalf of the O line.
Sean
November 14th, 2012
10:49 am
Start giving Quizz more touches and see how productful he is, then we can find out if Turner is to blame. The running game has nothing to lose at this point….switch it up and get it going. It’s really not a hard decision at all. Try it out for a game or 2 and see what happens…
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November 14th, 2012
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Dennis
November 14th, 2012
10:56 am
Buddy Landel
November 14th, 2012
6:49 am
Bullsh!+ alert!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bite me. You taking over for Jeanne Dixon?
monty
November 14th, 2012
11:10 am
You can get away with being unbalanced until you get to the playoffs and are facing the better defenses who are tuning their game up a notch. THen you had better be able to pick up some short yardage when you need it via the run. 3rd and 1 barring everyone up on the line you ought to be able to convert 7 out of 10. (Have we stopped anyone 3rd and 1 all year?) If they bring everyone up then Roddy or Julio have to make a play.
JBSenoia
November 14th, 2012
11:18 am
It makes no difference who we put in the backfield boys WE DON”T HAVE A RUNNING BACK!!!!! The games turner had that were good you could have driven a truck thru those holes, anyone can run thru those but when it counts it takes turner and those thighs 30 seconds to get going and by then the whole DL is on him. Edwards isn’t the only person that needed to be let go of but time is on our side and i have all the faith in Blank and we willget to the point that this team will be coplete in all phases, But it won’t be this year 2ND Round of playoffs……..GONE
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QuizzRocks
November 14th, 2012
11:44 am
Quizz running the ball is not “luck of the draw” its because he is fast as hell and knows how to MOVE, and you should not dismiss that talent as LUCK. If he’s the only one in there doing any running you can’t say its luck, thats called SKILL. So you needed another 18 yard run, then why didn’t you give him the ball you misguided old mule?
JSS
November 14th, 2012
11:46 am
Hilarious to the ninth power!!! The poor investors are complaining about their return on the Wily E. Coyote schemes can mask any deficiency attitude! Enjoy!!!
Hawk
November 14th, 2012
11:46 am
should we take a chance on Maybin.
Marcus
November 14th, 2012
11:47 am
I was hankering for us to snag RB Doug Martin in this years’ draft. I know TB grabbed him way before our 2nd round selection came around, but man ….
next year, depending on FA (Br. Grimes and what we do with Abe), and assuming we will be drafting late in the round (due to a really good 2012 reg. season record), we might have to look at unheralded guys in 2nd or 3rd round, like Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor, Michigan States Le’veon Bell. Some other guys have potential (I really like Oregon’s Kenjon Barner and Clemson’s Andre Ellington) but may be too slight of build to be an every down NFL RB. ND’s Cierre Wood could be a possibility, too.
JSS
November 14th, 2012
11:48 am
To the A. Smith is a cure all blogger, go look up how many weeks he was on the DL or inactive list… Enjoy!!!
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November 14th, 2012
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alex
November 14th, 2012
12:02 pm
for excitement matter we have to deal with some weaknesses. turner and run definitely weakness. if not that, close the season and give super ball to falcons already. on serious note hope they fix, otherwise could be again one and out.
Paul
November 14th, 2012
12:05 pm
Run the ball more? If you had McCoy, I would run the ball more. With the Falcons tandem? PASS THE BALL. Jeez, why does all Georgia football look the same. This is the first year the Falcons are actually playing modern football, and being successful. And now people want to revert to the non-working old-man “hard nosed” football? Give me a break, that just doesn’t work unless you are da bears or have a great defense.
cdog
November 14th, 2012
12:06 pm
michael turner is to blame. for some reason he thinks he”s barry sanders or o.j. simpson.if he sticks it up in the hole hard everytime instead of dancing, he”s should average 4 to 5 yards a pop.he”s not a speedy guy like sanders or simpson.he tries to dance or run sideways too much.at 265lbs you should be a truck.he wants to be a finese back which he is not