By: Andy Davies

When Arthur Smith was hired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he came into the role with a great reputation for improving players after a two-season spell as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.

One player he helped improve was quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The former first-round pick arrived after a mixed spell with the Miami Dolphins. Tannehill improved massively, earning the award for Comeback Player of the Year after his first season with the franchise despite starting the season as the backup to Marcus Mariota. When Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator, he only got better.

Smith was predicted by many to help Matt Ryan get back to his former MVP self after what he did for Tannehill. Ryan has not improved or regressed in 2021. Instead, it has been Cordarrelle Patterson that has been the biggest improver under Smith. 

Here is why Patterson is Smith’s new Tannehill. 

Overcoming Expectation

The Falcons experimented with the idea of bringing Todd Gurley back to his best in 2020 but this only lasted one season. Instead of giving Gurley a new deal, they went for the versatile Patterson in Free Agency who signed a one-year $3 million deal. 

Patterson has been seen as somewhat of a journeyman during his NFL career, with the Falcons his fifth organisation since being drafted 29^th overall in 2013. For a while, he was seen as a great return specialist at best, with the occasional snaps as a running back or wide receiver.

He is a Super Bowl champion, earning a ring with the New England Patriots after their 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53. However, he had just two rushing attempts for 7 yards and two receptions for 14 yards as well as a 38-yard kick return. He did not exactly have a big role in the game, in what is the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history. 

Patterson has started eight games this season. This is tied for the most games he has started, alongside his 2016 campaign with the Minnesota Vikings. The growth of Patterson and improvement made under Smith can be seen when you compare these two seasons.

In 2016, he recorded 43 rushing yards from 7 attempts and 453 yards from 52 receptions. In 2021, he has so far recorded 489 rushing yards from 106 carries and 518 receiving yards from 44 catches. He is having the best season of his career by some distance. 

The Falcons need to make sure he is at the franchise for more than one season. Giving him a new contract should be number one on the list of priorities for this team. He has been a brilliant addition to the Falcons offense. Kyle Pitts leads the team in receiving yards this season (770), but Calvin Ridley announced midseason that he would take a break from the sport for personal reasons. With the offseason departure of Julio Jones, Patterson’s rise in form has come at the perfect time. They currently sit at 6-7 with a chance of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.

Smith’s Influence

The aforementioned Tannehill spoke about Smith during the 2021 offseason.

“He’s a great coach. Everything you look for in a coach and a leader and a great offensive mind.”

It is not just Tannehill that saw massive improvement under Smith. Running back Derrick Henry was seen as just a good running back during his first three seasons but saw his best two seasons alongside Smith. He recorded 2,293 rushing yards across his first three seasons in the NFL. His next two (2019 and 2020) saw him combine for 3,567 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns, becoming just the eighth player in NFL history to record over 2,000 rushing yards in a single season when he had 2,027 in 2019. 

Smith clearly knows how to work with running backs, as can be seen with Henry. The same is happening again with Patterson. After their 21-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in November, Smith was in high praise of Patterson.

“He’s a warrior. He’s a big physical presence that can do a lot for us.”

This was proved when he was listed as a back safety earlier this month.  It is a sign of a good coach when they can get the best out of a player and see their potential. Not even the greatest head coach of all time in Bill Belichick realised Patterson’s potential. Smith has taken a player seemingly on the wrong end of his career, to now being one of the best players this season. Some are even viewing him as an outside MVP candidate.

Patterson has a lot to thank Smith for. 

The post Is Cordarrelle Patterson Arthur Smith’s New Ryan Tannehill? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Cody Molla

There are a few big name free agents left unsigned after the 2021 NFL Draft. Teams will be looking to add veterans to their team moving forward. One of those big names is Le’Veon Bell. Bell is a few years removed from posting elite numbers which made him the best back in the league from 2013-2017.

The Atlanta Falcons will need to replace 89% of their running back touches from the 2020 season. After being ranked 27^th in rushing yards per game last year with nearly 96 yards per game and only 13 rushing touchdowns the Falcons are letting go of Todd Gurley, Ito Smith, and Brian Hill.

An addition of Bell to the Falcons would help the running back group currently with the Falcons as well as give Bell a chance to prove he’s still got the talent to make plays and be productive.

At age 29 Bell is likely not the feature back he once was. As the NFL has moved to a multi-back system this is beneficial for Bell. He can be productive as a compliment. Bell has only played 26 games since 2017. He’s eclipsed over 1000 rushing yards in that span with five rushing touchdowns and chipped in a touchdown on 600 yards receiving.

Bell signed with the Chiefs midway through the season last year. At the time the Chiefs were Super Bowl favorites and the addition of Bell sent the league into fury. Bell struggled in his nine games as a Chief. It is with this recent play that leaves the jury undecided on his NFL future.

Earlier this week Falcons running back coach Desmond Kitchings reported that it’s an open competition for snaps going into the off season workouts. Kitchings is making his NFL coaching debut this season. He is joining the staff of new head coach Arthur Smith after coaching in the NCAA ranks since 2004.

Kitchings has been a running backs coach for most of his career. When coaching at NC State from 2016-2018 he had three straight 1000 yard rushers. One of those being Nyheim Hines who has been productive in his NFL career thus far. Earlier in his career, he worked with Zac Stacy at Vanderbilt. Stacy nearly rushed for 1000 yards in a season in his rookie year at the NFL level. Kitchings also lead a heavy run attack at Air Force in 2011, which averaged over 300 rushing yards per game.

Arthur Smith is coming from a team with a heavy run game led by bulldozer Derrick Henry. Smith is likely going to want to establish the run to set up plays for Matt Ryan and a talented group of pass catchers including Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and top draft pick Kyle Pitts.

The Falcons current running back situation is not glamorous. They added Mike Davis and Cordarrelle Patterson via free agency. After not drafting a running back in the draft they signed undrafted players Javien Hawkins and Caleb Huntley. They also added Tony Brooks-James who has bounced around practice squads since 2019. The only returning Falcon in the running back room is Qadree Ollison who played 13 snaps in 2020.

Mike Davis is the favorite to be lead back in the offense. Davis is coming off a career year in which he filled in for McCaffrey for most of the season. Davis excelled in 2020. Davis surpassed 1000 all-purpose yards last season. Watching Davis last year the thing that stood out to me was the ability to extend plays and run through tackles. Davis can catch passes and make plays versus linebackers in the receiving game too. Even though Davis is likely to be the lead back he is not a feature back in the NFL.

The pairing of Bell and Davis could be a solid group for the Falcons. Both have similar abilities. This would add depth to the position and allow for the offense to be run all the time with no predictability pending the personnel.

The addition of Cordarrelle Patterson doesn’t impress or really add a true running back to the offense. Adding Bell would make him the lead complement back. Pattersons role is likely to be a return guy and see a handful of plays designed for him throughout the game. Patterson is still working on his transition from receiver to running back. Patterson has unique talent with size and speed that can produce homerun plays.

The other guys in the room will likely be on the outside looking in. The Falcons hope one can emerge similar to James Robinson for the Jaguars last year. A sleeper player and dark horse candidate to get offensive touches in the backfield is Avery Williams. Williams is a rookie CB drafted out of Boise St. Unknown to many Williams tied the NCAA record for return touchdowns in a career last season, with nine total. Six of those have come via punt including the record tying one.

The Falcons running back situation isn’t ideal and there is a need for another back. There is no way the Falcons go into the season with Patterson being the ideal running back two. Le’Veon Bell is a bit of a wildcard right now but his history has proven he is capable to be a playmaker and boost an offense. The ability to be patient and make guys miss in tight windows combined with his receiving skills makes him a fit for the Atlanta Falcons.

It would be wise for Bell to join the falcons as they have a lot of talent on offense. Teams will have a lot to cover and scheme for against a talented offense that can provide an opportunity to produce. The open competition means Bell could also win a starting job and see ample touches as the lead in a multi-back system. These opportunities combined with a staff that has shown the ability to generate a run game with many different players is a good fit for Bell. He can be acquired for a team friendly price and if he proves he still has it can set up the later part of his career in the NFL.  

The post Why The Falcons should sign RB Le’Veon Bell appeared first on Pro Football Mania.