Grading Falcons Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson through Week 5

Zac Robinson had never been an offensive coordinator or called plays in the NFL before the Atlanta Falcons hired him.

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has made great strides in his first season calling plays. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons woke up this morning in first-place in the NFC South. They own the tie breaker on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New Orleans Saints dropped to 2-3, and are in free-fall mode, after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

After an offensive outburst where quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for a team-record 509 yards, the team looks forward to the other two-thirds-plus of the season with a renewed attitude. 

First-time offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, in his first year in Atlanta, has energized the offense, allowing the group to move the ball with vigor and energy. As a result, the team looks more fluid than it ever did during the clunky Arthur Smith regime, one that disappointed and appeared lost and outdated.

With that, Robinson still needs to tighten a few things up. So, let's look at both sides of the coin.

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Catching Fire Lately

Despite sitting 17th in scoring offense, that stat does not truly detail what Atlanta starts to accomplish. During their first two games, the team averaged a measly sixteen points per contest. Now, look at the last three games. The average jumps 26.3 per game, which would be good for No. 7 in the NFL.  

It took a few games for the team to get acclimated to a professional quarterback on the team and for Cousins to get acclimated to a repaired Achilles, new city, new offensive coordinator, and new set of weapons.

In Kirk Cousins, the team fields a good passer that not only hits the open man, but will take vertical chances while still maintaining control. 

Atlanta relies heavily upon Cousins within the construct of the offense. He's fifth in the NFL in yards, attempts and touchdowns after five games. However, the most important stat that signifies Cousins' role in the offense is yards-per-attempt. 7.0 yards-per-attempt remains the league average. Cousins enjoys a healthy 7.8. 

Ironically, that number is his highest since 2020. Despite a whopping 58 attempts in a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cousins still averaged 8.8 yards-per-attempt en route to a franchise record 508 yards.

The veteran quarterback throws an easily catchable ball with the opportunity to rack up yards after catch. On top of that, the percentage of Cousins's bad throws plummeted to 8.8. He puts the ball in prime position for his teammates. 

Robinson Touches

Granted, Bijan Robinson blocks well in pass protection, but Atlanta did not spend a first-round pick on him to block. He needs more touches. Tyler Allgeier performs well as a backup, but the offensive coordinator needs to feed the starting running back a little more.

Now, don't horse him, but thirteen rushes a game doesn't seem like maximizing potential. Plus, Robinson catches ninety-four percent of his targets. Additionally, providing more attention to your lead back will pay dividends down the road.

Lastly, the types of run plays featuring Robinson matter. For example, the fourth-and-one against Kansas City. To keep the final drive alive, Atlanta needed just one yard. Why send him east-west when the team just required one yard to continue the potential game-winning drive. Asking a back to veer half his body away from the line of scrimmage to gain a yard. The crime of overly cute approaches will hurt.

Early in the season, defenses have opted to take the run away from Atlanta. The Buccaneers did it. They only allowed 73 rushing yards in what had been a relatively weak rushing defense. They sold out to stop the run, and Cousins made them pay in a big way.

Expect more room to run for Robinson and Allgeier after Cousins torched the Buccaneers secondary.

Overview

In essence the team sitting in first place, although early, requires celebration. Despite the talk of the league's easiest schedule, the Falcons have actually faced the sixth-hardest schedule in the NFL according to the analytics site TeamRankings.

However, with twelve games remaining, Zac Robinson still needs to tinker with a bit of things. Yes, the offense, of late, scores in bunches, but what happens when you need to convert a third-and-short in hostile environments? 

Before the Week 12 bye week, four of the next six games take place away from home, including three crucial divisional tilts that will start to tell the story of the 2024 Atlanta Falcons.

Zac Robinson earned a solid round of applause, so far. Yet, at the same time, he needs to keep working to fix the hiccups along the way.