The Falcons have a playoff-caliber team on paper, but there are several factors that will determine what kind of season Atlanta will have.
Kirk Cousins is one of them. The veteran signal caller has completely changed the expectations for the organization. With terrible quarterback play, the postseason has been a pipe dream for Falcons fans. With Cousins, it’s the bare minimum.
However, Cousins has notoriously struggled in primetime games, and the Falcons have several of them this season, a nice change of pace from past years. Cousins will have a dramatic impact on how far the Falcons go this year.
More than anything though, the Falcons will be relying on a brand new coaching staff. Raheem Morris doesn’t have the luxury of easing into things like most first-year head coaches. The expectation is that Morris immediately gets Atlanta to the playoffs.
Additionally, Morris has brought on two first-time NFL coordinators with him — Jimmy Lake and Zac Robinson. Both are unproven in their current roles, a factor that not many have considered when talking about what the Falcons can do this season.
If you ask ESPN, they believe Morris and Atlanta’s coaching staff are below average, ranked 21st.
I really didn’t know where to put the Falcons. They’re ranked far above all the other totally new staffs, which feels correct because Morris is not totally new. Finally granted a second chance at the head gig after an ill-fated opportunity with the 2009 Buccaneers (that was 15 years ago!), I’m thrilled to see what he does. He’s as well-traveled a coach as I can think of, both from a schematic and leadership perspective: He was originally a Monte Kiffin Tampa-2 disciple, then spent time under Dan Quinn — the godfather of Seattle Cover 3 — before hopping to Los Angeles to run the Vic Fangio scraps that Brandon Staley had left behind. What a medley of influences!
Morris is clearly a great leader and personality and is defensively trilingual, so I’m confident he’ll be good for the Falcons. Robinson is a much bigger unknown, though these guys who spend years in the Shanahan/McVay incubator tend to turn out pretty good (see; McDaniel, Mike, and O’Connell, Kevin). The fact Robinson gets to coach Kirk Cousins, the absolute poster child for the Sean McVay offense, should actually help him grow as a coach in Year 1, as Cousins (36) teaches the kid Robinson (37) a few things.
Lake was a Cover 3/Cover 1 guy when he coached defenses for the Washington Huskies — he was there from 2014 to 2021 — but I’m not reading too much into his defensive background as a schematic hint for the direction Morris is taking this defense. Lake was Morris’ defensive backs coach during Morris’ first stint as a coach, and Morris is using his second chance to give Lake a second chance at coaching after things at Washington didn’t go well at the end. Never doubt an NFL coaches’ willingness to go to bat for their guys.
Morris has already won Falcons fans over this offseason, accomplishing more in just a few months than Arthur Smith was able to do over three years, building a real culture where players want to come.
The recent acquisitions of Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons exemplify that more than anything. However, winning the offseason is much different than winning in the regular season. There’s a lot to prove if you’re Raheem Morris.
Zac Robinson was the hottest offensive coordinator candidate of the hiring cycle. Every team with an opening was vying for his services, but Morris was able to bring him with him from Los Angeles. Robinson is a product from the McVay/Shanahan coaching tree, setting sky-high expectations.
Unlike his counterpart, Lake is more of an unknown. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that scheme is more important on offense and talent is more important on defense. Jimmy Lake has plenty of that on his side of the ball.
Depending on how this season goes, this could be a coaching staff that could experience a massive leap in these kinds of rankings.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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