FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — As good as the Falcons offense was last season — ranking 8th in yards per game and 7th in scoring — the expectations are that it will be even better in 2013.
The reason is simple. Even as the Falcons advanced to the NFC title game last season, the offense was going through something of a transition year, as Dirk Koetter entered his first season as offensive coordinator. The Falcons changed from a ground-and-pound style to more of an aerial attack.
One of the pieces most ill-suited to that transformation was running back Michael Turner. He entered last season with 51 career receptions, and while he added to that with 19 in 2012, attempting to catch the ball out of the backfield often proved to be a struggle.
Enter Steven Jackson, one of the Falcons' bumper crop of free agents. As Atlanta coaches are fond of saying, Jackson once totaled 90 receptions in a season (never mind that it was seven years ago).
With Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and Julio Jones, the Falcons don't need Jackson to catch 90 balls. They need him to stay in games and keep defenses guessing.
"He gives us a lot of flexibility in our personnel groupings in terms of whether we’re putting out a run group or a pass grouping," Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. "They're" — the defense — "not going to be able to tell."
Smith never likes to say anything bad about one of his former players; essentially though, in passing situations last year, the Falcons often substituted Turner for Jacquizz Rodgers or Jason Snelling. Or both.
With Jackson, they won’t have to do that.
"It's something they're going to have to concern themselves with their game-planning," Smith said of opposing defenses.
Running backs coach Gerald Brown thinks it will make the Falcons' attack more deceptive.
"I think so," Brown said. "(Jackson) can run. He can get involved in the passing game and maybe that plays a part for us."
For now, as the Falcons complete their second OTA sessions, Jackson's head has been swimming somewhat. On Wednesday, he was asked what it's like to work with QB Matt Ryan, in his sixth season as Atlanta's starter.
Jackson hasn’t worked with an incumbent quarterback for that length of time since Marc Bulger's final season in St. Louis in 2009.
"Matt has been in this offense for quite a numbers years so we tend to kind of skip ahead and he’s so advanced in this offense," Jackson said. "He’s the king. I’m still having my training wheels on right now, trying to learn the verbiage. But it’s really helping me to stay on top of my playbook and make sure I’m studying once I’m home and I’m away from the facility. It’s all coming along good, though."
Jackson's slow learning curve isn’t much of a concern to the Falcons. As Brown said, Jackson has likely done most of what the Falcons are asking him to do in his time in St. Louis. Most likely, it was just called something different and that is the adjustment that Jackson is having to make. But that is what OTAs are for.
Koetter said this is just one iteration of the installation of the team's offense and Jackson will go through the process again once training camp starts. But he said the Falcons like the fast pace, thinking players learn better that way. He also pointed out that making a mistake isn't critical, as there's no hitting and no chance for a teammate to get hurt because of a missed assignment.
As a result, that mental aspect surely will come in time. However, one thing Falcons fans are interested in knowing is whether Jackson has hit the down side of his career. In his introductory press conference after he was signed, Jackson was adamant that he has not.
Nonetheless, he has 2,395 carries under his belt, including 519 over the last two seasons. Turner, who slammed into a noticeable wall last season, had only 1,639 for his career including 523 the last two seasons.
One factor that differentiates the two might be how Jackson has taken care of himself. After an injury-riddled and subpar 2009 season, Turner returned the next year and admitted he was overweight in ’09.
"A lot of people talk about the life expectancy of a running back," Brown said. "I think (Jackson)’s done a good job over his career of balancing his carries. Where he gets the other part of it is in the passing game so if his carries are low, his catches are up. The other thing about Steven is he’s a physical specimen.
"So I think you’ve got to look into account how well he takes care of his body and I think that may have something to do with it, as well."
To further illustrate Brown’s point, Turner rushed the ball 301 times in 2011 and caught 17 passes for 318 total touches. Jackson ran the ball 260 times and caught 42 passes for 302 touches.
Brown said receptions can be easier on a running back’s body – and Turner embodied a bruising style — than receptions are. Jackson had 41 fewer carries that season, almost two games' worth, than Turner in ’11, the last season he was at his most productive.
"Running, a lot of it happens inside those tackles and there’s some grown men in the box now," said Brown, who called Jackson business-like and a high-energy player. "It's still a physical game whether it’s the passing game or the run game but you don’t have to deal with as many physical people, I’m sure."
Jackson looks forward to how the Falcons will use him — as a power back or pass-catcher.
"Well, that's a big part of this offense," he said. "They want to be able to use me in multi-faceted ways. Allow me not only to run between the tackles but show my receiving capabilities. So creating mismatches, continue to take opportunities given to us. But guys (defensive backs) want to double on the outside so I have to make plays."
Wide receiver Julio Jones is one player who could benefit greatly from the deception of having Jackson on the field at all times.
"He’ll open it up for us," Jones said.
That is the plan.
