Atlanta Falcons: Cause for Concern with RB Injuries?

The Atlanta Falcons have had a very positive offseason thus far in the first year of the Dan Quinn Era in Flowery Branch.  However, a recent plethora of hamstring injuries to the running back corps could have the offensive staff worried.

When Dan Quinn took over as Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he preached that his teams would play a fast and physical brand of football.  While it seems to work wonderfully with most positional groups, especially on defense, maybe the running group isn’t adjusting to Quinn’s frenetic pace as easily.

-= Atlanta Falcons Showoff Early Against the Titans =-

In the last several days, three Atlanta Falcons running backs have succumbed to hamstring injuries.  Though it could stand as merely coincidental, it’s odd to see Atlanta’s first through third string tailbacks all suffer from the same health issue.

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Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman pulled their hamstrings on consecutive days in training camp up in Flowery Branch.  Both young players are likely one or two on the Atlanta Falcons RB depth chart.  Freeman and Coleman did not play in the team’s first preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.

After scoring a touchdown on a dive towards the pylon, third string tailback Antone Smith suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of the rest of the preseason game.  Smith had missed time last year after breaking his leg against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

That injury left rookie RB Terron Ward out of Oregon State and veteran Jerome Smith as the two primary backs for the Atlanta Falcons for the remainder of Friday night’s preseason affair with Tennessee.  Though Atlanta came away victorious in their first preseason game 31-24, Coach Quinn and Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan need to get their running backs healthy if they want the highly discussed zone blocking scheme to work.

-= Sean Renfree: Pushing TJ Yates for Second String QB =-

In the post-game press conference Friday night, Dan Quinn hoped that either Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman could play in their next preseason game against the New York Jets.  Atlanta will need to run the football effectively in 2015 if the Dirty Birds want to get back into the playoff mix.  A more balanced offensive attack will bring out the very best in the 2015 Atlanta Falcons offense.

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Though Matt Ryan will throw the ball like a Top 10 passer regardless of the contributions coming from the running game, the lack of in-game experience in the Shanahan ZBS for Atlanta’s featured backs is alarming.  Neither Freeman, Coleman, or even Smith can feel uneasy about Shanahan’s system entering Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

While I don’t want the training staff to rush back any of the tailbacks, I do need to see Freeman and Coleman have at least a few in-game snaps in the ZBS for me to feel okay about where the Atlanta Falcons’ rushing attack is at heading into the 2015 Regular Season.

Next: Vic Beasley: Dynamic Pass Rusher as a Rookie?

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