re: tOfficial Falcons Season Thread (0-0) @ Minnesota 1:00 PM FOX

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That's debatable. That was one of the best offenses in league history. Freeman was still healthy and in his peak and Coleman was a perfect complement. Mack was also in his prime and was the primary reason for the jump from 2015 to 2016. I also believe Shanahan is a better play caller than Koetter. After the bye week, that offense was a fricking machine that steamrolled everything in its path.

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I see where you are coming from. But, it should be noted the Falcons offense the first year he was there (and really the first 2-3 games in '16) was pretty horrific.

Koetter had the Bucs as a top-10 offense with worse talent across the board. I think the familiarity with Ryan will help avoid a "gelling" period. I think his scheme is just as good as Shannahan. However, you're correct in noting that Shanny is a better play caller. That dude mashed the right buttons all the time.

As far as RB goes; I don't think people are giving Ito Smith enough credit. The man is a great compliment to Freeman. Coleman gets wayyyy to much credit in regards to his performance as a Falcon. He was a great 2nd string guy, but he was inconsistent across games as "the man" filling in for Devonta Freeman.

As for Mack and the offensive line, well, it is the crux of our season. If they can get a running game established, our team will be a monster. We were what we hated and laughed at for so long as a team last year-- the 7-9 Saints dynasty. We put up points and yards, but were too pass happy and didn't do a great job of churning clock-crunching drives. Our already broken defense was gassed, and we continued to lose shoot-out after shootout.

Here's hoping everything clicks. A Super Bowl parade down Peachtree would be insane.