Falcons OC Zac Robinson on Dangerous Move to Sidelines: 'I Got Smoked'

After the debacle that was the 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons knew they had to shake things up a bit to save their season. One of the subtle changes was to move offensive coordinator Zac Robinson from the booth to the sidelines, in order to expedite play calls and improve communication between him and quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

The early returns were good as the Falcons posted their highest point (34) and yardage (435) totals of the young season. The move didn't come without some dangers, though. Robinson admitted he got run over during the game.

“Oh yeah, I got smoked," Robinson said this week. "my awareness level needed to pick up for sure. I was – typically, you stay away from the defense, and I got myself caught where I was kind of right in the middle of – almost by the first-down marker. It was one of these scramble plays that they hit on our sideline.

"I think I was talking to somebody over the headset, and I kind of looked over, and Billy Bowman, of course, he's scrapping with one of their players. Next thing I know, I get completely flipped over. So, awareness level is definitely heightened now, and I’ve got to stay the heck away from where the defense is at.

"So, it was a good learning op for everybody.” 

Everyone got a good laugh at Robinson's expense, but it could have been a lot worse for him.

"I barely got my feet out of the way. Otherwise, we could have been talking ACL or something, so I got lucky," Robinson said.

That's not to say the team was going to let him get away without at least some emotional damage.

"’Rah’ [Raheem Morris] fortunately, did not show it (in film review).  But everybody in their own individual meetings, they were, of course, killing me,” Robinson said with a laugh. 

On a more serious note, Robinson initially wasn't sure how much difference the change would make, considering the success the Falcons had last year while he was in the booth, but he was pleased with the results.

“Yeah, I thought it was good, and the communication from last year, obviously, being up in the booth and the first three games, we've always been able to communicate well as a staff. But, obviously, getting down there, being with the guys, feeling their energy throughout the game. I thought it was all positive," Robinson said.

Robinson is humble enough to acknowledge that there were more factors in the Falcons' success than just his move to the sidelines.

"I don't know if it would have made a difference in that game whether I was up or down, honestly, because our guys were so juiced up and ready to kind of flush the previous game out," Robinson admitted. "But I'll continue to be on the field.

"The only thing I thought afterwards, I was like, man, I'm kicking myself because maybe I should have just started the season down there. But, again, glad we kind of addressed it when we did. It was fun being down there with the guys. It's obviously a different vantage point, but I was used to that in L.A. I was down on the field for five years, so it felt very similar to those.

"I thought it was positive, and we'll keep going in that direction.” 

Atlanta's offense is headed in the right direction with Monday's game against the Buffalo Bills looming, and Robinson learned another valuable lesson -- Don't turn your back on the field.