Over the last few seasons, the Atlanta Falcons offense has been built around Michael Turner and the running game. But with the arrivals of tight end Tony Gonzalez and then wideout Julio Jones to pair with Roddy White, giving the Falconsthe top receiver duo in the NFL, the Falcons are built to throw the football.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith discussed the evolution of his team's offensive identity with the "NFL AM" crew Monday on NFL Network.
"I really think that in the National Football League, when you have to run the football, there's going to be times that it happens in the season, you're going to have to be able to do it," Smith said. "That's why we've got Michael Turner, but it is a spacing game now."
"And when we say a spacing game, it is about throwing the football and being able to move the ball through the air. You've got to have the weapons, so our identity is we want to be as explosive as we can, both running and throwing the football. But when it's time to run, you've got to be able to run. You never know when it's going to happen, it could be a weather game late in the season, could be a four-minute drive that you've got to finish the game off, you have got to be able to do both."
In other words, Turner shouldn't worry about fewer carries, just that his will come at different times of the game than he's been used to over the past four seasons.
