Tori McElhaney answers your questions.

Tori McElhaney

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. Nearly 24 hours after the Falcons lost 34-10 to an (at the time) one-win Miami Dolphins team,I sent out a tweet to my followers. I didn't really have as many questions submitted for Tuesday's mailbag as I would have liked. So, I called upon the Twittersphere to help. I don't know if that was a good idea, or bad idea.

An hour later, I had 60-plus responses to my call for questions. By 5 p.m., the responses were in triple digits. As you can imagine, a lot of the questions posed are ones I cannot as a team employee answer.

Questions including but not limited to:

• "Why does our organization move so slow when obvious firings need to happen? Why does this organization prioritize friendships & feel good stories over putting a winning product on the field?"
• "What is Arthur Blank's plan? Terry Fontenot stated he would bring "a culture of sustained winning" and that hasn't come to fruition. Was this retread with Raheem Morris a mistake? Zac Robinson? No explanation needed. Is Blank going to be looking for a new GM and head coach in 2026?"
• "When can we finally make a change at the offensive coordinator position?"
• "Given the poor red zone percentage, ridiculous overcommitment to the pistol and refusal to utilize play action, how is Zac Robinson still employed? This offense on paper should not be capable of such misses and wild inconsistencies."
• "How does the organization not see what everyone else does?"

I am not at liberty to speak on coaching changes, personnel issues or ownership decisions. It is not my place. I can report on them if they happen. Therefore, a vast majority of your questions I simply cannot answer. And for that I do apologize.

Still, there are some questions I can touch. So, let's get into those.

From @bison626 on X/Twitter

What is our offensive concept?

The Falcons have made it no secret that their bread and butter, the engine of which makes them go is running the football, particularly with Bijan Robinson.

We have seen Robinson do some crazy things this year that has helped Atlanta to a win. When the Falcons get that part of their game taken away, though, they have yet to find a consistent counter-punch.

The Falcons are 3-4 right now. In their three wins, Robinson's averages are as followed: 19 carries, roughly 130 rushing yards with 6.6 yards per carry. In their four losses, his averages are much, much lower: 12 carries, 40 rushing yards with 3.3 yards per carry.

Obviously, this isn't on Robinson. I use his stats because his numbers are a microcosm of where the offense is and the up-and-down nature of it. It seems like a formula for teams to follow: Take the Falcons' run out of the game and you give yourself the best chance to win the game.

Tampa Bay gave teams a blueprint in Week 1. It is Week 9 and the same plan prevails.

"The plan from the onset was to have a pack mentality on the runner, that it wasn't going to be one player that was going to have 45 tacklers to stop him. It was going to have to be a lot of population around the ball and a lot of strain because a small window or shortcoming in your run fit and they make a living on the explosives and having those big gains," Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday. "Trying to keep them one-dimensional was a priority, regardless of the quarterback, just based on the offense they have."

And that was a Miami defense that was ranked in the bottom quartile of the league in run defense. Right now, the Patriots' run defense sits in the top five in the league. They're one of the best run-stoppers. So, their game plan will absolutely be to take away the run, and they have made it so in 2025 that they can do so often. The Falcons need a response if and in a way, when that happens. They need to develop an offensive counter-punch.

From @FalconsFormula on X/Twitter

Who is next in line to call offensive plays, if and when Zac Robinson is let go?

I normally try not to answer questions regarding coaches and coaching plan should something like this happen. But considering the amount of questions I was asked about the coaching staff I felt this answer I could get into.

I believe it would be TJ Yates. He actually called plays for Atlanta for one game in the preseason to get some reps. However, just because you change a play caller doesn't mean that fundamentally changes what the offense is doing/how it is executing. They have installed their playbook and play style for 2025. There is no fundamentally changing of that. Now, perhaps some small tweaks can be made here and there, but the play calls and routes and run fits probably wouldn't be that different. Firing a single coach does not bring about major change in-season. I have never thought that way. But that wasn't your question. Your question is who would call plays if not Robinson. I believe it would be Yates, with offensive line/run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford continuing to have a say in run concepts.

That is just my own personal speculation, though. At this time, there is no evidence to support the Falcons are going to make any changes in play calling. In fact, Raheem Morris was asked this verbatim Monday. He said no.

From @OttoRocket63 on X/Twitter

How can we salvage this season to compete for the division crown?

By stringing wins together and with a little bit of luck.

The Falcons have 10 games left on their schedule. There is a part of me that truly believes they need to win at least seven of those 10 in order to be at the top of their division and/or in a wild card conversation. And even then, an 0-2 start to NFC South play makes that even more difficult.

Because let's be real, the Falcons have to win their next divisional games after their trip to Germany. Right now, the ranking of the division is as follows:

The Falcons have ground to make up and they need the Buccaneers, in particular, to start losing meaningful games. At this point, this is Tampa Bay's division to secure. They need to start faltering as the Falcons stack wins for this thing to turn in Atlanta's favor. The good news for Atlanta is they still have the bulk of their division games left to play. The bad news is that the Falcons haven't stacked enough wins yet to feel confident they can get on a significant roll in order to get to the top.

From @uppatown86 on X/Twitter

Would we have won if Micheal Penix Jr. and Drake London played?

Perhaps it would have been a closer game, but the same issues for this offense have prevailed regardless of who is actually playing.

The lack of offensive production by this offense against the Dolphins isn't new. It has been brewing since the second half of the team's win against Buffalo. In fact, I thought 9.29's Mike Conti actually posted some key stats and info that depict this:

• The Falcons have scored one touchdown in the last 130:09 of game play.
• Of the Falcons 22 offensive series since halftime of the Buffalo game nine ended in punts (six 3-and-outs), five ended in turnovers, three ended in field goals, two ended in kneel downs, one ended with a blocked field goal, one ended by penalty and one ended with a touchdown.

As much as it would be easier to just say, "Oh, the Falcons offense only struggled because Penix and London weren't there," that would be disingenuous. The Falcons offense has struggled to score regardless. They have the 30th scoring offense in the league. That doesn't happen because you don't score much in one game. That's a unit stat that spans games.

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