Dan Quinn thinks a retooled offense will improve red zone efficiency

The annual Owners Meeting, happening now, includes a media breakfast where coaches do their best to give the least interesting answer to reporter questions. Woah, breakfast? Hey Dan Quinn, us Falcoholic writers bloggers love breakfast foods, but none of us wake up before 10am. For hash browns, I could be up by 9:45.

For reference on this breakfast, this nonanswer is the most interesting thing I’ve seen all morning.

Dan Quinn did give up some good info on the Atlanta Falcons, but as you might expect, it’s a lot about adding good players and getting better results from players. We are grateful for that, because Mike Smith barely talked about any specific players.

D. Orlando Ledbetter had some great info from today’s breakfast.

I think the overall theme of Quinn’s talking points is the team realizes the offense did not produce as expected, and they plan to make changes to make it work. Adapting is a surprisingly rare concept to many NFL coaches, and I think Quinn will not sit back and accept failure.

Red zone efficiency was a big problem in 2015 as well, and things certainly improved from there. Jones has never been a big red zone threat, so do not expect that to change much in 2018.

The offense felt pretty choppy all season. We might have seen some offensive improvements, but consistency was the biggest problem. Atlanta could move the ball at will on one drive, then follow it up with multiple three-and-outs. With that said, the Falcons went from 2nd in third down conversions in 2016 to 1st in 2017. It feels like a lie but Quinn is correct here. Offensive problems feel fixable, and a major reason the offense could bounce back in 2018.

The Falcons spent major parts of the offseason without Julio Jones, Taylor Gabriel, and Devonta Freeman. As much as coaches do not want to admit it, offenses are so complex that the lack of practice will negatively impact timing. With everyone healthy, we should see a more polished offense.

It is easy to forget that Ryan Schraeder had a bit of a down year with Atlanta’s problems at right guard. Wes Schweitzer flashed the ability to be a starting guard, but quickly and dramatically wore down into a major liability the last half of the season. It was rough.

Austin Hooper did not have the big step forward in his sophomore year as we hoped, but it was definitely optimistic to expect him to be a top tight end in his second year. Looking at other tight ends across the league, it is safe to say players start figuring out the position after two to three years. He has a great chance to turn into the unquestioned starter, even if we hope they add another tight end at some point this offseason.