Atlanta Falcons OL Must Improve vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The play calling was wildly predictable, Kirk Cousins was rusty, but the Atlanta Falcons offensive line still needs to step it up against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Atlanta Falcons offensive line was put in a poor position by the play calling against the Steelers, but they still must play better against the Philadelphia Eagles. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons head to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on Monday night. The Eagles, back from a successful trip to Brazil. Atlanta, fresh off a humbling home loss at the hands of Pittsburgh, must improve in one crucial area. 

Blocking, or lack thereof, needs to rapidly improve or the game will go completely off the rails, and the Falcons leave the City of Brotherly Love, falling to 0-2. While the loss against Pittsburgh fell wholly on the entire team, the offensive line struggles seemed to be the problem.

Unimaginative

Facing a defense that pinned its collective ears back, Pittsburgh attacked the line. Equally, the Eagles will do the exact same thing. The predictable nature of the offense helps any opposing defense. For example, according to ESPN Stats Info, Atlanta ran their offense from either the shotgun or pistol in 96% of their snaps. 

Also, the 22 shotgun snaps featured zero run plays. On top of that, the 26 plays from the pistol saw Atlanta run the ball 81% of the time. That level of unimaginative nonsense needed to remain in the Arthur Smith Era and not seep into what Raheem Morris tries to establish. In the NFL, that level of predictability will definitely make games more difficult, almost impossible to win.

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Interior Situation

The Eagles prefer an inside-out approach to defense. Meaning, the interior of the Eagles defensive line starts the beginning of their defensive approach. Tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis crush the pocket with a blend of brute force and jaw-dropping speed. 

Both players will attempt to mix the first step in with quick hands. Without exaggeration, the Falcons will need to not give any ground and fight brutality with brutality. Too often, Pittsburgh bullied Atlanta at the line of scrimmage. Yes, Kirk Cousins played a wretched game but when you have defenders in your face all game, finding an offensive rhythm is difficult. 

Not to say that the Falcons can ignore Milton Williams, the Philly defensive end, the third man on the line, but paying more attention to Davis and Carter would give the Falcons a better chance at moving the ball. 

Slow Feet, Don't Eat

The offensive line accomplished a rare but depressing feat against Pittsburgh. The unit looked slow, indoors, on turf. The hilarity of the previous sentence does not overshadow the poor performance. Philadelphia will send pressure in waves at Kirk Cousins. Move. Your. Feet. 

Being stuck in oatmeal after the snap regardless of run or pass will make Sunday a very long afternoon. Now, the Falcons enjoy a massive size discrepancy against the Philly edge rushers, and they should. With that said, the tackles need to maul them at the line of scrimmage, Kaleb McGary's strength. That requires agility to beat them to the contact point. 

From Snap to Whistle

The offensive line of the Falcons needs to play better, goes without saying. However, in order to make consistently positive offensive plays, those five players need to execute. You can blame the play calling, but the onus resides with the blocking. If the offensive line plays better, the rest of the Falcons offense will follow suit.