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It's early, I understand, but I have a question. Aside of Asante, we basically have the same team as last year. Is it safe to say that Mularkey really did hold this offense back, or is it a case of Ryan, Jones, etc. maturing?

had this exact same discussion yesterday while watching the game.

IMO, Mularkey DID coach Ryan to 'play scared'. But this could have came from Smitty.

Which leads me to this proposition: Methinks Smitty is loosening the reigns on Matty. Now: some of this could be because Turner struggled early on. But I saw Quizz being used: and Douglas had a good day in the slot because Jones and White had them occupied. I saw alot more passing, saw Ryan making decisions like he did in 2008. Standing in the pocket, getting the ball out and running for a first down and for a TD.

( Btw, for about half the first qtr, the game was out in the ATL. So we listened to the radio and watched the Red Zone, and during this time they showed Vick sliding head first trying for the first down! I mean, for pete's sake, he STILL hasn't learned that YET? Didn't we bring in Brian Jordan to teach him how to do this years ago?)

But to your point: Matt reminds me of him in 2008: only a little chunkier and a little wiser. I do think Mularkey held him back....

Matt looked great yesterday, sharp and crisp. The OLine looked good, and the receivers played well.

I'd also say this is one game, and we were playing a depleted KC Defense, so it's wise to temper the thoughts. We should have a better idea after the San Diego game just how "open" this offense is, and how much Mularky held it back.

It's not an easy question to answer. Did Mularkey hold back Ryan and the offense? Yes, and No.

It'll be interesting to see what gameplan the Falcons adopt this week vs. Denver. IMO, that will be a truer test to see how much has changed in Atlanta. I know certainly if it was Mularkey calling the shots this week, you'd see this team definitely adopt a ball-control game plan to keep Manning off the field and cover up for the depletion in our secondy.

It'll be interesting to see if Koetter goes down the same route, or does he continue to operate with an open pass-first attack.

If the Falcons want to win in the playoffs, they're going to have to go balls to the wall on offense. We can't play conservative all year and expect to be able to beat the high power teams in the playoffs.

Mularkey most certainly held Ryan and the offense back. Perhaps Smith was doing so as well. Without having an inside seat, I can't say for sure who is most responsible for holding us back.