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
Ordinary Fan
November 14th, 2012
12:08 pm
It’s interesting that everybody on the team wants to tell us what the problem is NOT. “It’s not just the O-Line.” “It’s not just the running back.” “It’s not any one thing, it’s a lot of things.” Please. I am just an ordinary fan, but I am not interested in what it’s NOT. This is football, not rocket science. Tell me in simple, declarative sentences what the problem IS, and how you plan to correct it. Coach, if that’s too complicated for you, then maybe we’ve found the underlying problem.
David
November 14th, 2012
12:14 pm
Enough of the excuses – We need a runner that will bust it up in the line – if a hole is here they can run at will – if a hole is not there they can still move the pile and gain yardage – I cannot stand to see Michael “dance” up to the line again. . . .
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Mike Franklin
November 14th, 2012
12:34 pm
There are times when running for one single yard up the middle works… and times when it doesn’t. This isn’t the first time this short yardage bug has bitten us with these very S.aints. When this happens, we need to grow some stones and think outside the pro-plan box… like with toss-sweeps and end-bootlegs and option formations to give the D something NEW to look at.
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Falconeer
November 14th, 2012
12:50 pm
On the 3rd and shorts the Falcons seem to be stuck on Turner up the middle. The defense and the fans know it’s coming. With the defense plugging up the middle there has to be a opening someplace. An occasional change might work. Turner up the middle sure is not working.
ATL/UGA #1 fan
November 14th, 2012
1:05 pm
Oh my goodness Coach…after reading your “excuses” for Turner …I am convenced you have NO Idea how to correct the short yard situation… DOnt Blame Turner…LOL! Ya know…Sunday watching your play calling on the one yard play at the goal…you are the living in a fantasy if you think you shouldnt be playing rogers and Snelling more..heck, even Cox would pound up in there harder than ole “Tulip” #33…Hey…Turner the Tulip!
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ATL/UGA #1 fan
November 14th, 2012
1:08 pm
hmmm lets give Turner some nick names…Tiny Turner? Tulip Turner?, Turner the Tulip?,
Michael “Burnt” turner, just cant believe ole Dirk cant see the lack of power with ole Tulip!
Tippy Toes Tuner!
Tuggle58
November 14th, 2012
1:09 pm
What I see is we are trying to run from that “jumbo” package, and it doesn’t work! Let’s spread the defense out with 3-4 wide receivers, then run out of that formation. Our line is not a bunch of road graders. They are athletic, so play to their strengths, not their weakness.
ATL/UGA #1 fan
November 14th, 2012
1:11 pm
ya know Dirt koeter….please do go the goal line like it is 3rd and 10 we have a far more better change to score, if ya aint gonna see tulip aint getting it done..not just there on the goal, but hardly anywhere this yr…Seriously, Turner, I am on your side, but, you aint showing me nothing on the field bro! Come on Man!????????????????????????
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pb
November 14th, 2012
2:01 pm
Coach Dirk Koetter answers were so bad, he should have said nothing. Appears he has no idea how to correct the running game problem. Yes, I know they are still 8-1, but a problem like this, lack of short running game, will haunt them through rest of season, and playoffs. Better figure it out !
Old Violin
November 14th, 2012
2:06 pm
The bottom line ! Turner does not finish up his runs ! Rogers does and Snelling does ! You can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear…..Michael Turner is a Sows Ear (used to be a silk purse] and if he stays in the line up, then our bacon is as good as cooked already ! How many times does it take the run and drop running of MT to convince Dimwitreoff and Welcome back Koetter that a change is needed ? Oh wel ! What do I know….I’m just an Old Violin……
Sean
November 14th, 2012
2:08 pm
MmmmM….baacoooon
But yea, nicknames for Turner…I kinda like “Twinkle Toes Turner.”
FOOTBALL RUNNERS » Atlanta Falcons: Koetter on struggling run game: ‘Mike Turner . . . had no chance’
November 14th, 2012
2:10 pm
[...] one yard. Maybe we ought to just pretend its third and 10 and we might be better off.”" Click here for full article Share on Facebook [...]
Coach
November 14th, 2012
2:49 pm
Turner has been a disappointment for a couple of years now with only glimpses of success. Most of the time he’s slow, has no lateral moves, and just runs at the nearest defender as if that’s all he needs to do. He lines up way in the backfield and doesn’t hit the line with any zip at all and most of the time goes no where. It’s a vague memory now but at one time he was tough to bring down. Now? Ha. If you’re out of position seems he’ll run at you as if he’s looking for an excuse to fall. He’s no longer good enough to be the feature back of an outstanding NFL team such as the Falcons. He’s not contributing and anyone who watches the games can see this as I’m sure the coaches do. Stop making excuses for him and sit him on the bench. Anyone else on the roster with a RB next to their name can perform better. Our passing game is fantastic but we can’t pass all the time and when we get close to the goal line and the field compresses then we have to be able to run the ball.
Greg M
November 14th, 2012
2:52 pm
I like Dirk. I have 3 suggestions when we are on goal line again:
1. Move Turner back from the QB a little. Give him time to get his speed up. His percentage is better on edge than up middle.
2. Switch it up…have Turner as the Fullback and Snelling as the RB on these goal line situation.
3. Run Naked bootleg, with the option of throwing from bootleg…also tire Ds with hurry offense.
Other than that, excellent job Dirk.
BigGTMike
November 14th, 2012
3:24 pm
CPJ recommends the QB follow.
WhoDat4Eva
November 14th, 2012
3:28 pm
What does a Falcon fan do when they win the Super Bowl?
He shuts off his Xbox and goes to bed.
biscuteater
November 14th, 2012
4:56 pm
I don’t think Kotter has a clue about smash mouth offense..just like Nolan has no clue about smash mouth defense,,would someone hurry back from the land of oz with those magic wands!
Smitty..you looked wise beyond your years when you cussed out Samuel & the other guy on the sideline after the “celebration”..Samuel just laughed in your face..he thought it was funny as hell!
Why pay big bucks to Kotter & Nolan?? Smitty runs the show anyway..Just let him do it all by himself!
David
November 14th, 2012
5:44 pm
No team every wants to lose a game but in my opinion this loss was the best thing that could happen to us. Having that 16-0 pressure on us going into the most important part of the season would be poison and now that pressure has been lifted. We could have won the N.O. game without a doubt and knowing that is good enough for me. Go Falcons!!!
Athens Tider
November 14th, 2012
7:43 pm
Julio over the top. He was a champion high jumper and long jumper. Don’t understand why teams don’t do this as much anymore.
shesoleo
November 14th, 2012
8:14 pm
Tell me….. how are they going to fix the problem? when they don’t feel they have one Michael Turner yeh!!!!!!!!!!!! that would be you.
Atlanta Falcons: Ghosts of past short-yardage failures still haunt | Atlanta Falcons
November 15th, 2012
9:49 am
[...] Koetter said Turner “had no chance” on most of his runs because there were defenders running free at the point of attack. He said the Falcons have to run the ball more efficiency regardless of which running back is carrying the ball. [...]
mark
November 15th, 2012
1:32 pm
I knew they would run up the middle and then try to pass when they shouldn’t have. I quit watching the falcons when they used to run up the middle 6 times in a row in the old days. The play calling has been much better the past few years. We CANT run up the middle, not with Turner!!!! Have you ever heard of running outside!!! Come on MAN!!! I blame that loss on the offensive coordinator soley.
hiramsaint
November 15th, 2012
3:04 pm
” no chance” against the worst run D in the league ? pathetic !
PlanB
November 15th, 2012
7:54 pm
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is not smart. I’m still good with DK’s abilities but on this running problem we need a change. We’re pretty much stuck with our OL so isn’t it time to try different running backs. If Snelling, Quizz and Smith only average 1 or 2 y/c then we haven’t lost a thing. If you have a problem, change things. If it’s the OL we will a least be able to analyze the problem and possibly correct it in next years draft or FA. At least with the other 3 RB’s we have more versatility. I think these coaches get in the highest salary has to start syndrome.