According to wide receiver Roddy White, the offense won’t be as reliant as throwing the ball as they were last season. The Falcons were third in the league with 39.5 attempts per game last season and White expects that number to drop significantly in 2015.
“We’re not going to be passing 35-40 times a game,” White said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
That may well be the plan, but the Falcons are going to have to be a lot more effective running the ball than they were last year if they are going to cut down on the size of the roles that White, Julio Jones and Matt Ryan play in the offense.
Color us doubtful. In seven seasons as an offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan's offenses have thrown the ball on average 34.8 times per game, and he's never at a quarterback of the caliber of Matt Ryan. We currently project the Falcons for 37.3 passing attempts per game.