What I’m seeing from the Atlanta Falcons: Everybody loves Kirk Cousins and other observations (2024)

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — No team ran more offensive plays out of 11 personnel in the 2024 preseason than the Atlanta Falcons.

This is what we all expected when the Falcons hired Raheem Morris out of Los Angeles as their head coach and Morris hired Zac Robinson away from the Rams as his offensive coordinator: a virtual imitation of the L.A. offense, which used a three-wide-receiver formation on an NFL-high 89.6 percent of snaps the last three seasons.

The preseason would seem to confirm that. The Falcons used 11 personnel on 97.2 percent of their snaps in the three games, according to TruMedia, topping even the Rams, who were second in the preseason in 11 personnel.

However, there’s a chance this is a smokescreen. There are two reasons I say this. The first is that the formations used in the portions of practice visible to the media during training camp showed a lot more diversity than we’ve seen in the preseason. The second is Charlie Woerner.

The free-agent tight end out of San Francisco has 11 catches in four professional seasons, but I think he will play a lot for Atlanta. Woerner, as his stat line would suggest, was signed mainly to be a blocker in the run game, and that seems to be going very well so far.

When offensive tackle Kaleb McGary was asked how he liked having Woerner involved in the run blocking, McGary said: “I (bleeping) love it. I dig it. I dig it. I like Charlie a lot.”

Woerner also has gotten a handful of targets in the passing game. He’s not in any danger of taking Kyle Pitts’ role, but he could be used along with Pitts, which would mean 12 personnel for the Falcons. (Personnel units are designated by the number of running backs on the field in the first number and the number of tight ends on the field in the second number so 12 personnel is one back, two tight ends.)

Quarterback Kirk Cousins suggested it could take the Falcons the first month of the season to figure out exactly what looks will work best for them.

“I think identity is a big deal, that you know what you do well and that you can do it against any look,” Cousins said. “I think that’s part of our challenge, we’re still figuring out, ‘What is our identity and what does it look like?’ It takes some of the season to get there, but the good teams have one, and we’ve got to get one soon here as we get into the season.”

Here are eight more things that have stood out in Atlanta this preseason:

Confidence in the quarterback

The feeling that Cousins gives Atlanta’s returning offensive players has been the most notable difference between these Falcons and last year’s Falcons. There are a lot of ways this comes across and there’s not one single anecdote that encapsulates it, but it’s obvious on a daily basis how the quarterback has affected his teammates. Mostly, it comes down to those players answering questions with a note of actual optimism instead of talking as if they are trying to speak things into existence.

From an outside-the-building perspective, the gap in the expected level of quarterback play in Atlanta can be illustrated by the fact that the Falcons gave Cousins a guaranteed $100 million and the Arizona Cardinals just cut last year’s Atlanta starter, Desmond Ridder, from their 53-man roster after acquiring Ridder via trade.)

Second cornerback not settled

Clark Phillips III has made more splash plays this preseason than any other Falcons defender, including Mike Hughes, but Hughes kept rolling out with the No. 1 defense at cornerback opposite A.J. Terrell throughout the preseason practices open to the media. That suggests Hughes has been more assignment-sound day to day and that he needs to be looking over his shoulder.

What’s the opposite of a youth movement?

There’s been a ton of attention on Atlanta’s young offensive talent, but the truth is much of the Falcons’ turnaround hopes in 2024 hinge on the old guys on this roster. The new coaching staff inherited left tackle Jake Matthews (32) and defensive tackles Grady Jarrett (31) and David Onyemata (31), then gave them plenty of company for the early bird special seating in the team cafeteria. Among the newcomers who will be counted on heavily are Cousins (36), outside linebacker Matthew Judon (32), safety Justin Simmons (30) and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (30).

It’s basically the opposite approach Atlanta had the previous three seasons. Under former head coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons preached patience and were hesitant to give up future resources at the expense of long-term stability. That’s one of the reasons Atlanta gambled on Ridder, a third-round draft pick, at quarterback.

The plan changed when Smith was fired. Team CEO Rich McKay said that day that the Falcons believed they were ready to compete “at the highest level.” Team owner Arthur Blank backed that up by cutting a big check to Cousins and OKing the deals to acquire Judon and Simmons. (Goldman wasn’t an expensive acquisition.)

The plan has made Atlanta potentially much more competitive entering this season, but it also means the Falcons’ competitive window might be short. That sense of urgency is apparent in the building.

“We’ve had six years where our record is not what we wanted it to be,” Blank said. “There have been reasons for it. We have to deal with those reasons and make sure we eliminate them, and I think we have done some of that. I look back on where we are and in those 22 years, I’m incredibly proud of the winning we have done in that period of time. The last six years have not been up to my standards.”

The buy-in feels real (really)

Every team at every level of football says the same thing after every coaching change: “This is great. These guys are awesome.” The Falcons are no exception, but it does feel like Morris’ high-energy, relentlessly positive approach has been the perfect tonic for a team that lost seven of its last 10 games last season and was embarrassed 48-17 by the Saints its last time on the field.

“There’s a 180 out here with the coaching staff and the game play and everybody here,” wide receiver Drake London said. “It’s just different.”

If there’s a downside to Morris’ positivity, it’s that sometimes it comes too early in the morning. One day during training camp, Morris FaceTimed general manager Terry Fontenot at 4:30 a.m.

“I’m in the bed, you don’t FaceTime me,” Fontenot said with a laugh. “It’s just normal for him to do that.”

Deep shots incoming

The increased speed in the wide receivers room is evident on the practice field, and Atlanta threw down the field a lot in the preseason. That speed took a hit when Rondale Moore (4.29 40-yard dash) was lost for the season, but Darnell Mooney (4.38 40) can fly as well.

Cousins’ curious habit

Cousins, a self-described nerd, loves to make power rankings for all sorts of random topics.

“I did a top-10 power ranking of people who tore their Achilles,” he said. “Al Gore tore his Achilles, Judi Dench tore her Achilles when she was in ‘Cats.’ You’ve got Kobe (Bryant) obviously, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant. I think Tiger Woods tore his Achilles. I took a lot of hope that a lot of people came back and led really successful lives after tearing their Achilles. Al Gore became vice president, so there is hope for me.”

Possible pass rush options

New defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is not a read-and-react guy. He’s hoping to dictate terms to offenses, and it looks like one way he might try to do that is more pass rush from the inside linebacker position than is typical. Kaden Elliss foreshadowed that when he talked about the “mug” look in which one or both inside linebackers pressure (or at least fake pressure) up the middle.

“It’s hard finding a team that won’t use that on third down some because it makes it so hard on the offensive line,” Elliss said. “It makes it hard on the quarterback to call the protection. It’s one of the few ways you can truly control what can be called and what can’t be called. If you can start taking some things out of the playbook and start putting some angst on them, that’s what that double mug look does.”

Play callers have to prove it

On the subject of Lake, it’s worth remembering that both Atlanta coordinators will be calling games in the NFL for the first time this season. Both have gotten plenty of practice calling plays against each other in practice, but the game environment will be completely different. Add that to the fact that many of the most important players on offense and defense are new, it’s tough to imagine this team hitting the ground without any hiccups.

(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

Josh Kendall , a Georgia native, has been following the Falcons since Jeff Van Note was the richly bearded face of the franchise. For 20 years before joining The Athletic NFL staff, he covered football in the SEC. He also covers golf for The Athletic. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshTheAthletic