Whereas the Atlanta Falcons have been victorious over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, head coach Arthur Smith earned some warmth for the way the passing sport utilized tight finish Kyle Pitts and huge receiver Drake London.

Since Pitts solely had 356 yards and two touchdowns in 10 video games with Marcus Mariota at quarterback earlier than getting injured in Week 11 final season, some NFL followers have questioned if the 2021 fourth-overall choose wasn’t being correctly used within the passing sport.

There are many causes you can give for the tight finish’s 2022, starting from the quantities of instances that Pitts bought focused and was missed by Mariota to the truth that the Falcons unlocked a run-heavy offense in 2022 to make up for the passing woes. Nevertheless, the fantasy soccer group particularly was in uproar over Pitts particularly.

Nicely, these critiques didn’t quiet down on Sunday because the Falcons solely threw the ball to London, the eighth-overall choose in 2022, as soon as for an unsuccessful try, and solely bought Pitts two catches for 44 yards (even when one in every of them was a game-altering play).

Welcome again, @kylepitts__!

📺: FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/QSHCTmUJUi

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 10, 2023

It bought to the purpose that former NFL huge receiver Dez Bryant was lobbying Atlanta to commerce Pitts to his former group, the Dallas Cowboys, on Tuesday.

Get @kylepitts__ to Dallas please!!!

That is unacceptable!!!

He deserves higher ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/0AS2ON7Xcy

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) September 13, 2023

On that play from Bryant’s screenshot, quarterback Desmond Ridder was underneath strain and needed to discover a method to get the ball out earlier than getting sacked for a serious loss.

Nicely, Smith was requested concerning the seeming lack of targets after Sunday’s win, and he gave a reasonably blunt reply about his concern concerning the subject.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith, advised that Drake London had one fewer reception than Desmond Ridder in right now’s win: “Let the fantasy guys fear about that. We have got to wash some issues up … We do not care. Drake London does not care. All we care about is 1-0.”

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 10, 2023

Nevertheless, Smith gave a way more nuanced reply concerning the passing sport woes on an Atlanta radio present on Wednesday that helps the concept this previous Sunday’s Falcons sport was extra of a statistical anomaly than a glimpse of the long run.

“Each sport’s totally different; that was a uncommon NFL sport,” Smith advised 92.9 The Recreation’s Dukes and Bell. “Within the subsequent couple of years, I doubt any sport will ever go like that.”

Smith chalked it as much as the group’s battle with permitting penalties and inflicting self-made errors that stunted the passing sport’s potential. He additionally gave credit score to the Panthers’ protection that options stars like Brian Burns and Derrick Brown.

#Falcons HC Arthur Smith joined @DukesandBell929 and speaks on lack of touches for Drake London and Kyle Pitts. pic.twitter.com/MGt9uwmYbb

— 92.9 The Recreation (@929TheGame) September 13, 2023

Smith additionally mentioned that the felt that there’s proof that the Falcons can get their high targets concerned within the passing assault, particularly mentioning London.

“No one’s anxious about Drake London,” Smith shared. “Go have a look at a variety of the movie final season… Everyone desires to dwell within the prisoner of the second. The final word aim is to win, and when you will have the best guys, they usually perceive that, and there’s belief constructed forwards and backwards.”

Smith is correct that the outcomes are there. London had 866 yards on 117 targets throughout his 2022 rookie 12 months, and 333 of these yards got here with Ridder underneath heart for the ultimate 4 video games of the season. Pitts hauled in a historic 1,026 yards on 110 targets throughout his Professional Bowl rookie season in 2021 with Matt Ryan beginning at quarterback. They’re undoubtedly the principle two choices within the passing sport for the Falcons, and that in all probability gained’t change.

Historical past exhibits that whereas neither participant has been overtly prolific within the pink zone, the Falcons have gotten them the ball aplenty since they’ve gotten to Atlanta. Pitts’ injury-plagued 2022 and Mariota’s inconsistent play hampered the tight finish’s sophomore marketing campaign, whereas London had a productive rookie season and has solely performed in a single lackluster sport of his sophomore season.

Whereas the Falcons won’t be capable to assist your fantasy soccer groups with a run-heavy strategy within the pink zone, the group has loads of proof within the pudding of getting the ball into Pitts’ and London’s arms. As soon as Ridder will get extra settled because the group’s starter, count on the yardage to go up for each. The group is qualifying Sunday’s passing output as a bizarre fluke.