Rams Coach Sean McVay Has 'Tremendous Respect' for Falcons QB Marcus Mariota
While the Atlanta Falcons kicked off the second season of the Arthur Smith coaching era in last weekend's loss to the New Orleans Saints, the team's offensive identity is completely different from last year.
The root cause of the conceptual change is the newfound mobility at the quarterback position; 14-year franchise staple Matt Ryan is out, eighth-year pro and former No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota is in.
The difference in Atlanta's offensive foundation was obvious. After working almost entirely inside the pocket with Ryan, Smith put an emphasis on shifting throwing platforms for Mariota early and often. Whether it was running bootlegs or merely sliding the pocket, Mariota was on the move seemingly more often than not.
Even though Atlanta fell 27-26 to New Orleans, the game provided a clear glimpse into the potential creativity on the way for the Falcons' offense. As a result of Mariota's presence, defenses suddenly have to account for an additional factor that wasn't there last year.
Heading into Week 2, Mariota will be looking to build off his respectable - but rocky - Falcons debut, which featured nearly 300 yards of total offense but a pair of game-changing fumbles.
His opponent is the reigning Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams, fresh off a 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills last Thursday. While Mariota's skillset is new to Atlanta, it's certainly not to the rest of the NFL. Still, Rams head coach Sean McVay views Mariota as a challenging player to defend, and believes the Falcons are doing a good job of maximizing his talents.
"I think he can certainly play quarterback from the pocket, be able to read and progress, but they're also taking advantage of his athleticism," McVay revealed. "Whether that's him being activated as a runner, some of the RPOs, the boot game, some of the play actions. So his ability to be able to put pressure on you, with some of the on-schedule, but also off-schedule, whether it's beating you with his arm or his legs."
The former Heisman Trophy winner had several "off-schedule" runs as McVay alluded to, where either the pocket collapsed, or receivers couldn't get open. The ability to extend plays that don't progress as planned is part of what makes Mariota a dangerous player and has led to what McVay determined early-season success.
"He's a guy that I thought played really well last week," McVay said. "I thought he played really well throughout the preseason. A guy that I have tremendous respect for.”
Mariota played just four drives during the preseason, but the Falcons scored on three of them, including a pair of touchdowns. In his regular season debut with Atlanta, Mariota went 20 of 33 for 215 yards through the air and added 72 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Mariota, looking to continue his strong start but add a number to the win column, will get his next opportunity at 4 p.m. Sunday in SoFi Stadium.
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