Falcons Scouted Themselves on Bye Week. Here's What They Learned

Hoping to put themselves in position to play "championship football," the Atlanta Falcons spent their bye week searching for answers.

The Atlanta Falcons' offense slid backwards into the bye week, but head coach Raheem Morris thinks the unit found answers. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons entered their bye week searching for answers after losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, capped by a 32-point drubbing from the Denver Broncos on Nov. 17.

When the Falcons landed home in Atlanta that night, they went to work. Led by head coach Raheem Morris, the staff assembled packets with rundowns for each player.

In Morris's eyes, the Falcons effectively had two bye weeks this season -- the other came after a Thursday Night Football victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. Atlanta took a similar approach with packets and analysis then as it did during its actual bye week.

The Falcons separated and spent time with their families. They looked at film on their own and reached their own conclusions. Assistant coaches specifically detailed their areas, but also looked outside their specific groups to have stronger group conversations.

Such discussions followed when Atlanta's coaches returned to the office Monday. Some even happened before then, be it through phone calls or Zoom chats.

Yet regardless of when or where, Morris found immense value in speaking with his staff on the good, the bad and everything in between from Atlanta's self-scouting process over the bye week.

"That was really nice to be able to come back and talk about those things as far as things you can do, things you did well, things you could do better, and how you make some of those improvements moving forward," Morris said.

What were the contents of those discussions? Where will the Falcons differ post-bye week?

Here are the answers ...

***

When the Falcons did their first self-scout during the mini-bye week, they saw steady improvement from their offense -- which started with a dismal Week 1 performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers and ended with 36 points and 550 total yards of offense against Tampa Bay.

From Weeks 6-11, Morris and staff saw the offense become what they long thought it could be -- and continued to grow. Atlanta currently ranks No. 5 in passing offense at 243.6 yards per game and No. 8 in total offense with 361.5 yards per game.

The Falcons' rushing offense stands No. 14, averaging 117.9 yards per game on the ground, but only No. 17 in scoring, posting 22.2 points per contest.

In essence, Atlanta's ability to move the ball hasn't been an issue. Morris noted others can look at the Falcons' yardage in most of their losses -- such as Week 10 to the New Orleans Saints, when Atlanta outgained New Orleans by 103 yards -- and realize his team didn't clearly lose the game.

Yards aren't problematic. Finishing drives, however, has been.

"At the end of the day, it's all about, 'How do you close out those drives to get the points to allow your defense to play with those leads?'" Morris said. "Then, there's some decision-making stuff in that, too. You don't always put it on the players, right?

"Take the ball last game, maybe you score first, and the whole result is different, right? Who knows?"

So, how do the Falcons do that? Morris said it starts with eliminating penalties and other self-inflicted.

"And that's the lack of control, lack of discipline, you can clean up -- not getting a hold in the red zone that keeps you off the 1, not jumping off sides when you get a catch that puts you on the 1-yard line," Morris said. "I think those are the things that kind of stop us from reaching the point where you want to be at all costs."

Identifying the aforementioned penalties and self-inflicted wounds is the first step in fixing them, Morris said. But losing consciousness of such miscues when the lights brighten on gamedays is just as important.

If unconsciousness is increased, Morris said, players become freer in those moments and don't revert to unncessary holding calls.

Yet for as vital as the mental aspect is, some of the solutions are tangible and can be coached.

"Some of it's technique stuff, getting up too early, getting too fast, timing, things of that nature," Morris said. "Eliminate some of the excitement. The discipline that's required in order not to get penalties is another part that's really important to it."

Despite citing lack of control as a problem, Morris added the Falcons haven't experienced it too much. They saw it on special teams against Denver, when outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone pulled a Bronco out of a pile, but to Morris, that differs from intentionally hitting an opponent in the face.

Few instances of losing self-control excites Morris. So does the upside of Atlanta's offense if it can solidify his other two qualms.

"If we can find a way to control the discipline and the concentration effort that it requires to score touchdowns and go out there and not hurt yourself, we can be a really good offense," Morris said. "And we have been and we can be so much better.

"We've got so much left out there that we can really go and attack the second half or whatever you want to call this part of the season."

Beyond fixing their self-inflicted wounds, the Falcons will also be making changes to their balance of specific play calls.

Atlanta ranks last in the NFL in play action passes, as it runs such plays on just 8% of its total snaps. Among their drop-back pass attempts, the Falcons call play action only 14% of the time, which is tied for a league-low.

Morris acknowledged the Falcons have neglected play action passes a little bit thus far, but it's something they want to increase and implement more into their game plans after the bye week -- especially considering the success quarterback Kirk Cousins has historically had in play action situations.

"It's just what happened," Morris said. "We have had some success in so many different areas on offense when it came to passing the football. It's been our drop back game, our quick game, or even running the football in any particular game that really necessarily didn't get to some of those calls

"We have them. We've got them. They've always been in our program. They always will be a part of our program."

Still, Morris said it's valid that Atlanta, headlined by offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, hasn't shown much of its play action concepts this season. And whether it be that or the penalties, Morris pointed the finger at himself.

"Some of the decisions I can help on, I can help those guys with and allowing those guys to be able to fix some of their problems and then collaborating together and going out there and doing it," Morris said.

Those collaborations are fun, Morris said, when they're about football -- the things Atlanta wants to do and how it wants to do them.

Morris, with over two decades of NFL experience, has been in situations where the office conversations are much different. He's grateful his talks over the past week have centered around progress with the playoffs in mind.

"How do we improve to get ourselves in a better position to finish this thing off, what we started, to keep ourselves going right where we’re going and keep looking forward and not backwards?" Morris said.

The Falcons hope they found the correct answers over the bye week. Whether they're correct on the last question -- finishing what they started -- may not be clear until the end of a crucial six-game sprint to the finish.

***

After the first five weeks, Atlanta's run defense was amongst the league's worst. The Falcons allowed 148.4 rushing yards per game and four scores. The Kansas City Chiefs' 128 yards on the ground in Week 3 was the fewest Atlanta allowed during the span.

But following their mini-bye week corrections, the Falcons have made considerable strides defending the run. From Weeks 6-11, opponents are averaging 109.5 rushing yards per contest and have totaled two rushing touchdowns.

For the season, the Falcons rank No. 19 league-wide in run defense, allowing 127.2 yards per game. But in a vacuum, their progress is noticeable. In a season-wide picture, Atlanta's 148.4 rushing yards allowed would currently rank No. 30. Meanwhile, its 109.5-yard average would place No. 10.

In essence, the Falcons split the difference -- but their pass rush remains subpar.

Atlanta is last in the NFL in sacks with 10. All but two teams have at least double the Falcons’ sacks, while 11 have at least triple. The next closest team is the Carolina Panthers with 17.

Morris didn't shy away from noting the Falcons' progress in run defense didn't translate to better pass rush production. Yet while Atlanta's struggles getting after opposing quarterbacks remains concerning, it's also a central focus for Morris and staff exiting the bye week.

"So, what can we do different in this next ending phase of football, and how we want to end that thing in order to get better," Morris said. "Because in order to get to where you want to go, ultimately, you want to be able to improve those things."

The brief synopsis of run stopping versus pass rushing is a small sample size of Morris's bye week work on the team's defense. He noted the unit's issues, at least partially, go deeper than execution, which linebacker Kaden Elliss told reporters Nov. 18.

"That's a great answer for players when you got to talk to the media and you don't really want to say anything," Morris said. "But that's always the truth and that's always the case. Execution is always going to be in the way of getting better.

"But I always give you a little more than I probably should just because that's who I am. This is my couch. I like to talk to you like I'm on my couch right now."

Still, Morris said there's validity to Elliss's claim. Take a glance at some of the league's best teams, and each executes at a high level. Morris pointed to the Detroit Lions, who he said embody toughness, execution and all the other buzzwords often brought up as winning ingredients.

The Falcons want to build toward what the Lions have created. Morris thinks it starts with execution.

"Definitely execution when it comes to what we want to do from a player standpoint," Morris said. "But there's always people that's involved. There's coaches that can help them. There's things that you've done well and repeating those things. There's things that you didn't do well that you can take out.

"There's always the learning curve."

Atlanta will play its final six games hoping to turn the corner on its season-long pass rush-related curve.

***

The Falcons have been on the receiving end of something that feels statistically improbable: Opposing kickers are 25-of-25 on field goals and 25-of-26 on extra points, with the lone miss coming from the Chiefs' Harrison Butker.

Atlanta, meanwhile, has watched kicker Younghoe Koo ride the rollercoaster of a challenging 2024 season. Koo started the year a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals, capped by a game-winning career-long 58-yarder against the Saints in Week 4 that led to him winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

But in the seven games thereafter, Koo went just 10-of-17. He kicked field goals in six of those games, and he missed at least one in four of them. Koo missed three field goals in the Falcons' 20-17 loss to the Saints in Week 10, the first time in his career he's had such a game.

Koo entered the bye week with a 2-of-2 performance against the Broncos, giving him positive momentum entering the final six games.

Yet that's not the only good news for Morris on his special teams unit.

The Falcons have made a handful of key plays in the game's third phase, from recovering a muffed punt against the Saints in Week 4 to stopping a fake against the Buccaneers in Week 8. In both instances, Atlanta won the game. This isn't a coincidence to Morris.

"We go out and make some plays on special teams, we win football games," Morris said. "You block a punt, tip it, muff it, you make field goals to end the game, you tackle the returner, you stop people from getting fakes on you, you win the game.

"And we've done it over this year where we've gone out there and made plays that have been significant impacts on our game, and we've got to find ways to do that in special teams as well."

Doing it more often -- and helping Koo return to his prior form -- will be key for special teams coordinator Marquice Williams and the rest of the unit.

***

Morris went on a brief vacation at the start of his bye week and came back to what he described as Olympics-esque, playing basketball, football and pickleball with his family.

[RELATED: Falcons Coach Raheem Morris's 6-Year-Old Son Gave Perspective on Bye]

But when he wasn't being a husband and father-of-three, Morris was in the film room finding ways to help the Falcons snap their six-year playoff drought. He emphasized capitalizing on the opportunity to not only get better through health, but also through schematic improvements.

After all, it's now or never for Atlanta's coaching staff.

"At the end of the day, you've got to come back and realize you want to be relevant at this time of year," Morris said. "And when you're improving these things with the growth mindset of getting better throughout the process, you find yourself in a position to go out there and battle."

The Falcons (6-5) enter their Week 12 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) seeking to right the ship. Atlanta started its bye week searching for answers. It started Chargers week hoping it found the correct ones.

Only time will tell whether Morris and staff were correct -- and the clock starts at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"I think where we all want to go in this room," Morris said, "and what everybody wants to do -- the people that are relevant right now are talking about, 'How do you get over the edge to get in those positions to find yourself in championship football?'"