The Falcoholic
You know a team is feeling the heat and the weight of poor results when they start making changes. These Atlanta Falcons have already jettisoned their longtime kicker, and now they’re moving offensive coordinator Zac Robinson from the coaches’ box to the field.
Why? On one hand, this is what many would derisively refer to as “shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic,” “refilling the drinks on the Hindenburg,” or “doing the Steve Sarkisian thing again.” Teams moving coaches from up high to down low and back again is one of the time-honored face-saving moves to convince the fanbase you are Doing Something, right up there with adding and removing ping pong tables from the locker room, depending on whether your roster needs more camaraderie or less tomfoolery.
On the other hand, it’s also about the state of the offense, and the change could be very slightly meaningful in that regard. When you’re on the sideline, you are closer to the action and can have face-to-face conversations with players, and can likely see most of what you’d view in the box from tablets down there. Given that plays are coming in late, Michael Penix Jr. has been struggling a bit running the offense, and things look disjointed and sad thus far—the Falcons have scored just 42 points, their lowest total through three games since 2007—this has a chance to smooth communications a bit.
Why? Penix can now sit with Robinson in between series, Robinson can check in with the likes of Darnell Mooney when the frustration is evident, and this offense can see their coach on the sideline and at least communicate via hand waving during a play. I wouldn’t expect a miraculous turnaround, given that this is a move borne of some desperation, but there’s at least a chance it makes things slightly better if it gets those play calls in a little faster and plays flow from one another a bit more smoothly.
After all, the 2018 season saw Sark return to the field and coax a near-MVP quality season out of Matt Ryan again after a shaky 2017, so perhaps Robinson and Penix can at least get something workable on the field starting in Week 4. If not, the next step the team takes will probably be less pleasant for Robinson.
