Eagles DC Jim Schwartz says Falcons run “schoolyard” routes

The Falcons haven’t had opponents giving them much in the way of bulletin board material this year, and they certainly haven’t needed it. Jim Schwartz, the Eagles’ well-respected defensive coordinator, may have come through.

"The Falcons use a lot of [what] I would call 'individual routes,'" Schwartz told reporters in Philadelphia,via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "They try to spread the field. It’s a little bit basketballesque, I'd say, in trying to get some isolations.

"They're a very disciplined offense when it comes to routes. There's some -- I don’t want to say schoolyard -- but some schoolyard, backyard-type concepts to their routes: some 'get-open type concepts. Some of those aren't exactly quick passes; some of those take a little bit [of time to develop]."

If you read that as a little bit of a shot at Kyle Shanahan...well, I did, too. Considering he was also quick to praise Julio Jones’ talent, you can read this as saying the Falcons are talented at receiver and Shanny isn’t doing anything particularly fancy or worthy of praise. I’m certain that the Falcons won’t miss this particular statement, which is the one of the closest things to shade we’ve seen this year since the Falcons started dominating offensively in, oh, Week 2.

If the Falcons destroy Philadelphia through the air, which seems reasonably likely, Schwartz may want to eat these words. We’ll see if his defense can make the Falcons look like they’re running a simple, easy-to-figure-out scheme, because it would be one of the first time this years.