How Falcons Offense Went from Week 1 Disaster to One of NFL's Best

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has engineered the unit's strong season, finding balance in evolution.

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is the mastermind behind one of the NFL's most efficient offensive units. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Zac Robinson still remembers the drive home from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It was Sept. 8, and Robinson was left to ponder the few highs and extensive lows of his first game as the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator -- an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"It was a tough ride, I'll tell you that," Robinson said. "Knowing what we left out on the field and just the feeling that it had after that game, knowing it could have been so much cleaner from my part, from everything that went into it.

"Of course, you leave that sick about any loss you have, but that one especially was tough."

But Robinson didn't go through his struggles alone.

Regardless of the game's result, Robinson said other coaches around the NFL often reach out. After Week 1, such conversations may have meant more.

Some asked questions about the process behind specific play calls. Others told Robinson he had a good plan -- to stick with it and trust the process.

He has. Atlanta's offense has flourished as a result.

"That feels like it was two years ago," Robinson said.

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The week after Atlanta's loss to Pittsburgh, Robinson had more time than usual to think. The Falcons played the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, elongating an already long, question-filled week.

Robinson capitalized on the opportunity.

He identified false tells from training camp, which can arise from playing the same defense each day. He realized which personnel packages best fit Atlanta's offense. He saw the skill set of receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III and knew the Falcons couldn't take him off the field. He gave quarterback Kirk Cousins snaps under center after just one against the Steelers.

McCloud's ascension is central to Robinson's evolution. The Falcons signed veteran tight end Charlie Woerner with a defined vision to run 12 personnel -- one running back, two tight ends -- with Woerner and Kyle Pitts.

Then, Robinson saw McCloud catch four passes for a team-high 52 yards against the Steelers. McCloud went from playing 54% of the snaps in Week 1 to not leaving the field in Week 2.

"You're saying, 'Okay, how can we get Ray-Ray as another passing threat on the field at all times?'" Robinson said. "We have a quarterback that can dish it around to anybody. So that was one of the bigger takeaways. We knew we felt good about Ray-Ray and his ability.

"But after seeing the way he played in that moment, you're saying, 'Man, we can't keep this guy off the field if we want to have all the pass threats at our disposal, each down.' So that's where it started."

Robinson and the rest of Atlanta's staff had an idea during training camp of how the offense may evolve throughout the season. However, things change quickly in the NFL, especially once games begin and a new-look offense finds itself.

Adjustments happen naturally -- but rapidly -- as teams learn their players, learn their personnel and develop game plans. In some aspects, the Falcons' offense now is almost unrecognizable to what it was at the end of training camp entering the regular season.

"There's definitely been a lot of evolution," Robinson said. "Things we're lining up formationally that if we would have said in August, 'Hey, this is how we're calling this play now or we're lining up,' people (would) have been looking at you like, 'What are you talking about?'

"So that's part of our job as coaches, make sure we're trying to stay ahead on things. And luckily we have smart players that were able to adjust and adapt on the fly."

During training camp, the Falcons' offense faced only their own defense. Cousins said it helped them get better at one way of executing, but Atlanta had to play different defenses and face different looks to see what its offense should look like in various settings.

Part of that is learning how to craft game plans and attack opponents. Another aspect is learning the players in game settings. Robinson had never worked with any of the players on his offense, making the summer integral in building chemistry.

But one can't replicate time on task in a game setting. Teams try, but it's not the same. Robinson had to learn what receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney do exceptionally well. He had to understand the nuances of Cousins's game.

Yet it's also a two-way street.

“I think more than Zac evolving, it's more us as players, better understanding through experience what Zac wants us to look like and what he's expecting from us," Cousins said. "That time on task together, I think helps us all get on the same page.

"And probably him to us, but also us players to him of hearing what we want or what we like, or him being able to just observe."

The goal, Cousins said, is to be able to finish each other's sentences, a sign of continuity and mastery of scheme, skill set and approach. It's also when "it gets really fun playing together," Cousins said.

Cousins is innately familiar with the process of building relationships and forming chemistry with offensive coordinators. He's had nine play-callers during his 13-year NFL career, and five were in the position for the first time.

Each have been capable, Cousins said. The challenge comes in finding the balance between being innovative and having an identity. Some only want to innovate, while others may find an identity but have nothing else outside of it.

When play-callers have both, Cousins said success follows.

"I think it starts with, 'Are they a good football mind? Are they creative? Do they communicate well?'" Cousins said. "And I think Zac has all that in spades."

Robinson blends quality listening skills with direct statements. Cousins said there's little mystery in where anyone stands with Robinson.

"I think his communication with me has been very sound in terms of letting me know, 'You need to do this better, or you did that well,'" Cousins said. "It's very direct and clear, and that's important for me. I try to give him feedback when I can. 'Hey, I like this. Can we get more of this?'

"Or 'Hey, I didn't feel as comfortable there. Why was that?' Or 'If I'm uncomfortable with that, should we take it out?' And that communication back and forth is important."

Cousins noted there are times where a lack of comfort stems from his own misunderstanding, and he's learned just because he fails to grasp something doesn't mean his alternative way is correct.

Such a lesson has taught Cousins the need to get on the same page as his offensive coordinator, prompting questions driven toward adding to his knowledge bank and aiding future execution. The plays work, Cousins said, and good things can happen as continuity grows.

Cousins enjoys the grind of forming such continuity together. When playing under a veteran coordinator, the opportunity to build isn't often present -- it's their show, and it's up to the players to execute.

But working with first-year play-callers allows freedom and the chance to leave an imprint. Cousins experienced a similar situation when he was on the then-Washington Redskins in 2015, watching as now-Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay took over the reins of the offense.

Cousins not only watched McVay build the offense, but felt he was apart of it. Now nearly a decade later, he's witnessing the situation play out again with one of McVay's proteges in Robinson.

"It's a fun deal to be a part of, especially when you feel like you have someone who has a high ceiling as a play caller -- and that's certainly true with Zac," Cousins said.

Robinson spent five years working as an offensive assistant on McVay's staff in Los Angeles, spending time primarily with quarterbacks and receivers.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton dubbed Robinson a "McVay disciple" before Atlanta's Week 12 game in Denver. The statement came in reference to the Falcons' wide-zone rushing attack, but Cousins feels there are more similarities.

Cousins said there are moments where he or Robinson will use certain words or phrases and the other knows it initially came from McVay. Yet beyond vernacular, Cousins thinks Robinson shares many traits with McVay, who's one of the NFL's best coaches.

"Just the football mind, the ability to innovate, be creative, and the ability to kind of understand how you're trying to build something and be organized, but at the same time, be innovative -- I think they both have," Cousins said.

Innovation goes beyond bigger-picture settings. Robinson noted teams have staple concepts but have to get to them in different ways so they're not giving the defense any tips.

This leads to minute changes, sometimes even in the flow of games. Robinson pointed to Atlanta's Week 9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, during which Dallas aligned much differently than the Falcons anticipated.

Thus, Atlanta adjusted. It changed the cuts from its receivers and altered approaches in the running game.

Perhaps nothing underscores evolution better. Robinson said it's about keeping up with his own offense first and then worrying about the scheme that awaits.

Robinson didn't find comfort in it all until Philadelphia. He felt spurts of it against the Steelers, where small rhythm developed, but he saw everything click in Week 2. Atlanta's run game took a step forward. It blended true passing plays with screen passes. The Falcons marched 70 yards on just six plays to score a game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.

From the flight back to Atlanta onward, Robinson saw the Falcons take off. Meanwhile, so did he.

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson said he saw Zac Robinson's confidence grow immensely early in the season - even after a challenging Week 4 in which the Falcons failed to score an offensive touchdown in a 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Atlanta was still trying to find itself. Zac Robinson was still trying to fully immerse himself in the role of offensive coordinator, which the trip to Philadelphia helped significantly.

Yet as questions surrounding his offense's capabilities grew louder, Robinson never wavered.

"He never let adversity hit," Bijan Robinson said. "Whenever it did, he always kept pushing forward. Even in the team meetings, sometimes he'd be like, 'It's on me. I've got to be better.' Especially the beginning of the season. Just us hearing that from him, gained so much respect for him.

"From that point on, I think we've been doing some great stuff on offense on both segments, run and pass. It's just been fun playing for a guy like that and he's just so intelligent with football."

Atlanta's offense enters Week 12 ranked No. 5 league-wide in total offense (375.1 yards per game) and passing yards (250.4 per game). The Falcons are 12th in rushing, averaging 124.7 yards per game on the ground, and 13th in scoring at 23.8 points per game.

Within the unit's collective success, Zac Robinson has found balance.

London and Mooney are the only teammates in the league each over 600 receiving yards. McCloud has already set a career-high with 335 receiving yards this season. Pitts has matched his touchdown output from last season while averaging over nine more yards per game. Bijan Robinson has five straight games over 100 scrimmage yards, the longest streak in the NFL.

The Falcons have a wealth of playmakers -- and they not only boast a veteran quarterback capable of maximizing each of them, but also an offensive coordinator with a bright mind rooted in evolution.

And by all accounts, after an uninspiring Week 1, Atlanta's offense is soaring at the level once promised.

"Everybody just wants to win," Zac Robinson said. "If you have a bunch of unselfish guys that are willing to do whatever it takes, and they're smart, they're tough, they love it, good things can happen. That's exactly what we have with these guys."