ESPN's Dan Orlovsky Rips Falcons Offense, Zac Robinson... Again

"Predictable is the word, I have a massive issue with the pistol with them," Orlovsky began, "and I think it hurts their play-action. I think it hurts their run, even though it's a good run offense, it could be elite, and then I think it hurts Michael Penix in his movement."

Orlovsky went on to break down three plays: one of the few play-action passes the Falcons have run, a stretch run from Bijan Robinson, and Penix's interception that was returned for a touchdown vs. the Panthers.

He highlights the eight-yard depth of the running back, the slow development of the plays, and the lack of decision-making the Falcons are putting on the defensive line.

"Because they're in the shotgun so much, because they're in the pistol so much, Michael Penix is almost made to be a statue," Orlovsky said while breaking down Penix's first interception on Sunday. "There are so many clips where he doesn't even move his feet, because they promote that style of play."

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Marcus Spears jumped in and broke down the running play from his point of view. He said the Falcons are doing the defense a favor by lining Robinson up so deep.

"He's never supposed to make that play on a back like this," Spears said of the Panthers' A'Shawn Robinson. "But it takes so long to develop that he can be out of his technique and still make a play. Please line him up eight yards in the backfield; we'll be fine all day," Spears said of his days playing against running backs."

Even if the formation itself isn't the problem, the Falcons' predictability is. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), the Atlanta runs the ball 70% of the time when they're in the pistol, and they throw the ball 93% of the time when they're in the shotgun.

They're also running the fourth-fewest play-action pass plays in the NFL. The Falcons have an outstanding running game, and they're ignoring one of their biggest weapons by failing to use the play-action pass.

That level of predictability makes the results, well, predictable.

This isn't the first time Orlovsky has taken issue with Zac Robinson and the Falcons game plan. In Robinson's first game as the Atlanta's play caller, he had another bizzare outing with Kirk Cousins under center where nearly every play from the pistol was a run and every play from the shotgun was a pass.

The Falcons kept the Steelers out of the end zone but were shut out in the second half and lost a very winnable game 18-10.

"Scheme-wise, a complete and total joke," Orlovsky said last year after Robinson's first game. "You're taking the play-action-pass king Kirk Cousins, you didn't do any play action. You were in the pistol it felt like every snap, pistol and/or gun. I don't think they took but 1 or 2 snaps from underneath the center. There's no play-action pass. Pittsburgh's defense knew exactly where they were. Kirk Cousins would not and could not move. Completely unexpected out of the Atlanta Falcons."

For his part, Robinson remains committed to the pistol formation, which in itself isn't a problem. It's the run-pass mix that has to get better.

"Last week you guys didn't bring it up and we ran for 218 yards," Robinson said on Wednesday when asked about the formation. "I know it's a convenient narrative each week. The ‘back starts in the exact same location underneath the center and the pistol, just so we all know that here. Our run game has so many different snap points and things that we activate with some of our tight ends, some of our receivers, that it does give us a ton of versatility.

"Defensive coordinators that I talked to in the offseason tell us how difficult that is to defend just in terms of the versatility that there is out of it. So we'll always go off of what the defense thinks as opposed to, no offense, anything out there.”

The Falcons' failure against the Panthers went beyond the formation. However, the two easiest fixes for the Falcons heading into their game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday are things that can be done pre-snap.

First, get the play into the huddle before the play clock is under 15 seconds, and second, a better balance of run-pass selection based on formation.

Snapping the ball as the play clock is expiring when the defense knows what's coming is a recipe for disaster. And the Robinson and the Falcons cooked up a disaster against the Panthers.