Matt Ryan Hopes To Take Advantage Of More Shots Down The Field

[theProf]

Matt Ryan hopes to take advantage of more shots down the field

Nov 19 7:45PM ET

By Vaughn McClure | ESPN.com

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan admitted the offense has missed on opportunities to throw the ball down the field, an aspect Ryan hopes changes when his team faces the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

"I think it's a couple things: We've got to hit them when they're there," Ryan said. "We've had opportunities to take some shots down the field. We just haven't hit as many as we would like. And then from a schematic standpoint, we've got to figure out ways to maybe take another shot here or there. And that's something that we've talked about in our rooms.

"But from a player's perspective, I think when it's there, we've got to be opportunistic. That's something that, I think we've talked about the last couple of weeks. We've done a decent job of it, but we still need to do a better job."

[+] Enlarge

Grant Halverson/Getty ImagesJulio Jones hasn't scored a touchdown in seven games, the longest drought of his career.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Ryan's passes have traveled an average of 7.8 yards downfield, which ranks 20th in the league among quarterbacks with six or more games played. Cleveland's Brian Hoyer leads all regular starters with a 10.35-yard average.

Ryan has thrown six of his eight interceptions on passes traveling at least 15 yards downfield. Sunday, he'll be up against a Browns defense that is tied for third in the league with 14 interceptions, led by league-leader Tashaun Gipson with six.

The Falcons' top deep threat, Julio Jones, leads the team with 67 catches for 912 yards and three touchdowns. But Jones has just two catches of 30-plus yards through 10 games. Last year he had three catches of 45-plus yards in just five games before breaking his foot. And Jones hasn't scored a touchdown in his last seven games, which is the longest drought of his career.

Jones draws his share of added defenders, of course, which affects the downfield shots. You also have to factor in the offensive line changes when talking about Ryan's ability to connect deep with Jones or anyone else. The Falcons have lost five linemen to season-ending injuries, including three players that started games this season. Rookie left tackle Jake Matthews has struggled through a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 1, which has allowed added pressure on Ryan.

Despite being under duress at times, Ryan said the deep ball has been there.

"There's been some chances, I think so," he said. "There's been some chances and just a little bit off across the board on making those plays. When they present themselves, we've got to make them."

The Falcons often have opted for so many wide receiver screen plays rather than attempting to go downfield. Such was the case in last Sunday's win over Carolina, as the Panthers appeared to sniff out the wide receiver screens.

Ryan was asked why those screens haven't been so effective.

"They've been successful for us," Ryan said. "We've made a lot of big plays on those, even this year. We've had a lot of success on those this year. Last week [vs. Carolina], you've got to give those guys some credit. I mean, Carolina did a good job of defending them. And so, they're hit or miss. Those kind of plays are hit or miss, and we know that going into it. We're going stick with it. That's part of who we are. And we're going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers -- both running backs and wide receivers -- in space."

Ryan has had four screen passes gain 20-plus yards this season. Only Washington's Kirk Cousins has more such passes, with five.

[Tribal Chief]

**** the screen, go deep. Who the **** has a guy with elite speed in their offense and doesn't go deep more often. Not gonna get all but somewhere down the line you're gonna connect. Matt waits too **** long to throw sometimes too. Perfect example, the second game against Tampa Bay. Julio had the guy beat by at least 6 yards but the ball stayed in the air a second too long.

[toadfishtom]

More deep balls yes! No more bubble screens ,give it a rest ,too obvious

[Tribal Chief]

Run that fake screen play more often like they did against the lions(I believe).

[theProf]

More deep balls yes! No more bubble screens ,give it a rest ,too obvious

I agree. The Falcons have used the bubble screen so much that opposing teams are very much aware of it and are making necessary adjustments to stop it. Also a big part of Atlanta's success with the bubble screen this year was due to Antone Smith, who is now on IR.

[Gold4425]

Speedy Reedy PLEASE!!! Come on MS and WR Coach TR the guy has SPEED! He can stretch the field. Ok he is not perfect and some on here like to crucify the kid. He started off on fire and showed he could get behind people. Then as some on this Board love to point out he slowed down. But with so many of our WR's hobbling if Mike would just give the kid a few snaps (especially since our home run hitter A. Smith is out) he can help. Even if it is just stretching the field so Roddy and Julio can get free. IMHO we need to at least look at Reedy and Amsterdam because our WR's are either injured or near 30 year's old. We are going to have to draft a young WR but if we give those guys a few snaps we can determine how high we will have to draft a WR. BUT MS is not a guy who give chances even though he wants AB and the fan base to give him a chance. Oh well business as usual. But just what if one of those guys Reedy, Starr, Amsterdam, Smith gave us a lift. You gotta be near perfect for this FO to give you a meaningful chance.

[toadfishtom]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Gold4425" data-cid="8967647" data-time="1416486609">

Speedy Reedy PLEASE!!! Come on MS and WR Coach TR the guy has SPEED! He can stretch the field. Ok he is not perfect and some on here like to crucify the kid. He started off on fire and showed he could get behind people. Then as some on this Board love to point out he slowed down. But with so many of our WR's hobbling if Mike would just give the kid a few snaps (especially since our home run hitter A. Smith is out) he can help. Even if it is just stretching the field so Roddy and Julio can get free. IMHO we need to at least look at Reedy and Amsterdam because our WR's are either injured or near 30 year's old. We are going to have to draft a young WR but if we give those guys a few snaps we can determine how high we will have to draft a WR. BUT MS is not a guy who give chances even though he wants AB and the fan base to give him a chance. Oh well business as usual. But just what if one of those guys Reedy, Starr, Amsterdam, Smith gave us a lift. You gotta be near perfect for this FO to give you a meaningful chance.

I would love to see Reedy but it won't happen......Mike Smith took 5 years to play Antone Smith, Reedy will never see the field unfortunately

[Dharma Initiative]

Run that fake screen play more often like they did against the lions(I believe).

That will fake out everyone for sure after we've run the actual screen 500 times

[zekeyboy1]

Yawn......

[FalconFanSince1970]

There are at least five reasons the bubble screen has been ineffective lately

1. Julio dropped a couple passes

2. Ryan overthrew a couple passes

3. Kutty tried to get too cute with delayed screens

4. We stopped faking the bubble

5. Defenses have gotten better with their reads

[Shaggy 2.0]

Speedy Reedy PLEASE!!! Come on MS and WR Coach TR the guy has SPEED! He can stretch the field. Ok he is not perfect and some on here like to crucify the kid. He started off on fire and showed he could get behind people. Then as some on this Board love to point out he slowed down. But with so many of our WR's hobbling if Mike would just give the kid a few snaps (especially since our home run hitter A. Smith is out) he can help. Even if it is just stretching the field so Roddy and Julio can get free. IMHO we need to at least look at Reedy and Amsterdam because our WR's are either injured or near 30 year's old. We are going to have to draft a young WR but if we give those guys a few snaps we can determine how high we will have to draft a WR. BUT MS is not a guy who give chances even though he wants AB and the fan base to give him a chance. Oh well business as usual. But just what if one of those guys Reedy, Starr, Amsterdam, Smith gave us a lift. You gotta be near perfect for this FO to give you a meaningful chance.

This. Outside of JJ we don't have anyone who can stretch the field. I love Roddy but he can't sprint over a long distance like he use too. Douglas is quick not fast. Maybe send Hester long from the slot when sending JJ is also going long off of some play action will cause a one on one between the two of them. Eh I dunno we just need a blazer to go with Julio. So the safety doesn't just key in on Julio.

[Mid-Nite-Toker]

"They've been successful for us," Ryan said. "We've made a lot of big plays on those, even this year. We've had a lot of success on those this year. Last week [vs. Carolina], you've got to give those guys some credit. I mean, Carolina did a good job of defending them. And so, they're hit or miss. Those kind of plays are hit or miss, and we know that going into it. We're going stick with it. That's part of who we are. And we're going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers -- both running backs and wide receivers -- in space."

Face it folks, its the "O" that Ryan wants...period end of story.

[#1ATLFALCONSFAN]

The main excuse I am hearing from coaches/players is that teams are schematically taking the deep ball away. No, our complacent play calling has allowed teams to schematically take the deep ball away. Julio has been getting double-teamed his entire career but that has not stopped us from throwing deep to him in the past.

The Falcons often have opted for so many wide receiver screen plays rather than attempting to go downfield. Such was the case in last Sunday's win over Carolina, as the Panthers appeared to sniff out the wide receiver screens.
Ryan was asked why those screens haven't been so effective.

"We're going to stick with it. That's part of who we are. And we're going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers -- both running backs and wide receivers -- in space."

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

Clearly, our best option for screens is Antone Smith. The wide receiver screens, which we practically always throw to Julio, do not play to the strengths of our wide receivers. It has been well-documented throughout his career that Julio is a down-field threat. He is at his best when he is allowed to stretch the field and utilize his combination of speed, size, and strength to make plays over the top of DB's. Screens are intended for more quick, agile players like Desean Jackson or Antonio Brown who are exceptional at making defenders miss in space.

Edited November 20, 2014 by #1ATLFALCONSFAN

[Bundini Brown]

So our play calling is predictable AND Matt just announced he wants to throw the deep ball more we're screwed.

[Precyse]

Does someone from the team read these boards?

[Tribal Chief]

Does someone from the team read these boards?

Jay Adams. Not on the team but he is connected and

[falconidae]

"They've been successful for us," Ryan said. "We've made a lot of big plays on those, even this year. We've had a lot of success on those this year. Last week [vs. Carolina], you've got to give those guys some credit. I mean, Carolina did a good job of defending them. And so, they're hit or miss. Those kind of plays are hit or miss, and we know that going into it. We're going stick with it. That's part of who we are. And we're going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers -- both running backs and wide receivers -- in space."

Face it folks, its the "O" that Ryan wants...period end of story.

Or, he hates this offense, but realizes, like we do, that there's nothing to be done until Smith & Co are gone.

[Andre5000]

The bubble screen is getting our WR corps beat the **** up . They are probably so bruised up from getting tackled by 300 LB lineman in traffic they don't have deep speed left

[Mid-Nite-Toker]

Or, he hates this offense, but realizes, like we do, that there's nothing to be done until Smith & Co are gone.

I remember when DK came to Atl that MR was given a lot of input into what he liked to run...just saying.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/nfl/2013-01-02/atlanta-falcons-offensive-coordinator-dirk-koetter-signs-extension

When he arrived in Atlanta, Koetter wanted to earn the trust of his new players quickly so he went out of his way to keep his playbook simple.

“I think one of the biggest things that helped throughout the situation was him adapting to the terminology and a lot of the concepts that we had used and kind of the one guy changing for the mass as opposed to the mass changing for one guy,” Ryan said. “I think guys respected that and really appreciated that.”

[Mega Flare]

Matt Ryan Hopes To Take Advantage Of More Shots of Whiskey

[Statick]

Hope.

Yeah, we call can hope, but will it happen?

Probably not.

[TheFatboi]

**** the screen, go deep. Who the **** has a guy with elite speed in their offense and doesn't go deep more often. Not gonna get all but somewhere down the line you're gonna connect. Matt waits too **** long to throw sometimes too. Perfect example, the second game against Tampa Bay. Julio had the guy beat by at least 6 yards but the ball stayed in the air a second too long.

I said a little while ago either he's hurt or he just keeps missing Julio. He threw the ball late against cincy too and gave the db a chance to recoup and break the play up. Maybe he's a little gun shy and is looking for shorter routes first. I say maybe he's hurt because many of his deep balls are falling short as well. But I also notice he hasn't been stepping into his deep throws line he usually does so it could be a little mechanics as well. All I know is he's done well this season but he's not playing like the Matt Ryan I know and I'm very observant to even the tiniest nuances of a players game. I hope he comes out of his shell this week and hits some deep ones. In stride. Too much Julio has to slow down and wait on the ball.

[Falcons_own_nfc_south]

I said a little while ago either he's hurt or he just keeps missing Julio. He threw the ball late against cincy too and gave the db a chance to recoup and break the play up. Maybe he's a little gun shy and is looking for shorter routes first. I say maybe he's hurt because many of his deep balls are falling short as well. But I also notice he hasn't been stepping into his deep throws line he usually does so it could be a little mechanics as well. All I know is he's done well this season but he's not playing like the Matt Ryan I know and I'm very observant to even the tiniest nuances of a players game. I hope he comes out of his shell this week and hits some deep ones. In stride. Too much Julio has to slow down and wait on the ball.

Running for your life or getting hit takes toll on your body sooner or later. I'd say that he's hurt plus being little gun shy (Coach Smith says no more turnover Matt no more)

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

The main excuse I am hearing from coaches/players is that teams are schematically taking the deep ball away. No, our complacent play calling has allowed teams to schematically take the deep ball away. Julio has been getting double-teamed his entire career but that has not stopped us from throwing deep to him in the past.

The Falcons often have opted for so many wide receiver screen plays rather than attempting to go downfield. Such was the case in last Sunday's win over Carolina, as the Panthers appeared to sniff out the wide receiver screens.

Ryan was asked why those screens haven't been so effective.

"We're going to stick with it. That's part of who we are. And we're going to find ways to get the ball to our playmakers -- both running backs and wide receivers -- in space."

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

Clearly, our best option for screens is Antone Smith. The wide receiver screens, which we practically always throw to Julio, do not play to the strengths of our wide receivers. It has been well-documented throughout his career that Julio is a down-field threat. He is at his best when he is allowed to stretch the field and utilize his combination of speed, size, and strength to make plays over the top of DB's. Screens are intended for more quick, agile players like Desean Jackson or Antonio Brown who are exceptional at making defenders miss in space.

1) That's not an Einsten quote

2) That's not the definition of "insanity"

3) Julio isn't strictly a downfield threat....hes an elite YAC receiver

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

There is nothing wrong with using screens in this offense....they HAVE been successful and HAVE been an important part of the offense.

The issue is the situations in which they are employed. When we've dialed them back, they've worked really well. When we use them in a predictable manner, they don't work so well.