Over the years and regardless of the Falcons team, we’ve heard cries for more play action in the Falcons offense. This year, Steve Sarkisian has heeded those cries.
Let’s take a little trip down memory lane with the help of our friends at Football Outsiders. In 2016, the Falcons were simply the NFL’s best play action team with Kyle Shanahan at the helm, running those plays 27% of their total offensive snaps, picking up an average of 10.3 yards per attempt, and generally wreaking havoc as the best overall offense in the NFL. In 2017 during Steve Sarkisian’s rookie year, the Falcons dropped to 13th in the NFL in play action percentage (22%) and managed just 8.