Atlanta Falcons offensive woes not all on Steve Sarkisian, but most are
The Atlanta Falcons turned in one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory in the Super Bowl LI rematch against the New England Patriots, and Steve Sarkisian needs to answer for it.
Check the pulse of the Atlanta Falcons nation today. If you think things were bad after “28-3” and the outcry against then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, it’s now become downright ugly in the city too busy to hate.
Too busy to hate, unless your name is Steve Sarkisian, that is.
Sarkisian, if you weren’t aware, is Atlanta’s first-year offensive coordinator who the Falcons front office snagged right out of Alabama’s nest – promptly after the Crimson Tide lost their national championship game to Clemson.
It was a head-scratching hire of which fans were willing to give the benefit of the doubt for a while.
Well, welcome to all the doubt.
In the midst of the giant egg the Falcons were laying against New England in foggy ol’ Gillette Stadium Sunday night, fans were busy making their thoughts on Sarkisian very clear, with the hashtag #FireSark trending throughout the evening, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Fire the guy after just six games? How about some points in defense of the beleaguered Falcons offensive guru?
Hey, it’s the guy’s first year on the job.
Okay, that’s enough of that. List over.
Atlanta Falcons
Being a newbie in the Falcons office is about the only excuse Sarkisian has for his part in transforming a Ferrari into a Ford Pinto which had just been rear-ended. When it comes to the Atlanta Falcons offense, the buck has to stop with him.
There will be fingers pointing at players for not executing, not running crisp routes, not blocking properly – you name it – and all of that is absolutely true. The problem is this…
These are the same exact players who were executing to perfection, running routes which left defenders sneakers on the turf, and blocking their way to a record-setting offensive season in 2016, including quarterback Matt Ryan winning the league MVP.
If the same players aren’t performing to the same level, given what they went through in February and what they could have possibly (and, honestly, still could) play for this winter, then it all points back to coaching.
Sarkisian is the offensive coordinator, and his responsibility goes well beyond just calling inexplicable wide receiver sweeps on the one-foot line when a team has two of the best running backs in the game on the roster. He’s the one heading up how these players are coached, and based on what fans have seen this year, they aren’t being coached very well.
Is it fair to lay all the blame on a guy in his first year on the job? When the results are this bad and this drastically different from the prior year with the same personnel, you’re darn tootin’ it’s fair.
That brings about the next problem. Head coach Dan Quinn, who in his post-game press conference gave his unhesitant vote of confidence to Sarkisian, adding “He has a very good knowledge of what we’re doing and how to feature the guys. There hasn’t been a time where I’ve felt we need to change this or that, although the results are not what we want them to be.”
Is Quinn watching the same games the rest of us are? Because changing how to approach goal-to-go situations might be something he and Sark should discuss – just for starters.
Sarkisian is Quinn’s hire, so it’s not surprising he would defend his choice, but floating around the river of denial isn’t going to get the 3-3 Falcons back on track to a possible playoff spot.
Other than moving from the sideline to the booth, Sarkisian has made little if any adjustments on how he approaches each game and calls the plays, regardless of the opponent’s defensive strengths (see; Bills, Buffalo) and weaknesses (see; Patriots, New England), and that’s a problem.
Next: Sarkisian Excuse Train Already Rolling
No one should call for a coach to be fired. Certainly none of us wants people yelling for us to lose our jobs when we underperform, but some changes need to happen. The Falcons’ offensive players are better than this. Everyone has seen it. The question remains as to whether Steve Sarkisian is up to the task of coaching them.