Atlanta Falcons talk: What would you ask Steve Sarkisian to change?

There was not exactly a font of patience waiting for Kyle Shanahan during his first year as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. He was a genius for four or five games, then a universally reviled pariah, and by the end of the season many fans were openly talking about firing him. Then the 2016 season happened, and while fans still wanted him gone thanks to some very notable mistakes in the Super Bowl, I think we all recognize that he did incredible work with this offense.

Steve Sarkisian is Kyle Shanahan in 2015, minus the excellent early season results. Sark’s Falcons have had two pretty solid games on offense against the Packers and Lions, and three pretty forgettable ones against the Bears, Bills, and now Dolphins. The Falcons scored as much in that Packers game as they’ve scored in their last two games combined, which I think tells a pretty compelling story about how much this offense is scuffling.

So it’s evident something’s wrong, and simply getting a healthy Mohamed Sanu back probably isn’t going to fix it. So here’s the question, if you can put your torches and pitchforks down for a bit: What would you ask Steve Sarkisian to change?

For my part, I’m looking for Sarkisian to offer up a bigger commitment to the ground game in the weeks ahead, and to not look to kick those runs outside quite as often when Devonta Freeman in particular is perfectly capable of powering through the middle of opposing lines. I’m also looking for him to find more ways to get his most explosive players the ball in space, from Julio Jones to Taylor Gabriel to Tevin Coleman. The lack of Coleman through the air against a Dolphins defense that really didn’t have an answer for his speed was frankly baffling.

Let’s hear from you.