Potential–the one word that could describe the Atlanta Falcons of the 2020 season. The squad is headlined with stars by Matt Ryan’s names, the 2016 NFL most valuable player, Julio Jones, widely believed to be the best receiver in the league, and the brand new signing of Georgia’s own, running back Todd Gurley. On paper, they match up to be one of the better teams in the league, which begs the question, why did they start the season 0-5? The answer isn’t so simple, but it all boiled down to the head coach, Dan Quinn. After the infamous Super Bowl 51 loss, it was clear to fans that he was never really able to recover in his performance after reaching football’s holy grail. After five games, Coach Quinn and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff were let go. In weeks 2, 3, and 5, they lost three games by a combined 11 points. In two of those games, they blew leads to lose in the final seconds, which has become a team stereotype in recent years. A reason for the 0-5 start could be partially due to the defensive struggles. Being a top ten defense only three seasons ago, the Falcons found themselves 31st in the league allowing 32 points per game. One of the biggest disappointments had been the performance of Todd Gurley. Gurley, a former offensive player of the year, was coming off of knee surgery and had to share time in the backfield with Ito Smith and Brian Hill due to poor performance. The team also released former 1st round pick, Takkarist McKinley after failing to hit his stride in three seasons.
In the wake of the 0-5 start, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was promoted to interim head coach, and in the next game, the Falcons picked up their first win of the season over the Vikings. In Morris’ first 6 games, the Falcons were able to pick up 4 wins, with their best performance of the season in a Week 12 win over the Raiders. The offense erupted for 40 points while the defense forced five turnovers, only allowing the Raiders to a total of 6 points. The defensive line also flourished with 5 sacks on quarterback Derek Carr. After winning 4 of 6, the dirty birds lost their last five, while in the process blowing a late 4th quarter lead to the 13-1 Chiefs, to finish the season 4-12.
After the season, the search for the next head coach was underway. It seemed in the beginning that they were leaning towards a defensive coach, but at the end, they found their new head coach in Arthur Smith. Under Smith last season, the Titans offense ranked fifth in the league in total yards per game and second overall in rushing yards per game. They were also third in the league in scoring, putting up 30 points per game. All new coordinators were also hired in Dave Ragone as offensive coordinator, Dean Pees as defensive coordinator, and Marquice Williams as special teams coordinator. When I asked Wheeler senior Rohan Shiknis what he thought about the new hires and what success it would bring to the team, he had this to say “Arthur Smith is an offensive genius who was able to transform the Titans into a top offense with a revitalized Ryan Tannehill at QB and Derrick Henry at RB. He runs an offense similar to that of former OC Kyle Shanahan, which will translate to Matt Ryan’s success and allow him to be a system QB with great weapons like Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Dean Pees at DC brings in a great 3-4 scheme similar to one we had success with back in 2017.”
Uncertainty still looms. With the Falcons holding the third overall pick in this years’ NFL Draft, many aren’t sure what the team really needs. Nonetheless, with the revitalized coaching staff, the dirty birds look to achieve past success levels and beyond in 2021.