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Special features are what make Atlanta's running game so potent

Sporting News, The, Oct 14, 2005 by Brian Baldinger

The Falcons' "DVD" combination of Dunn, Vick and Duckett is the centerpiece of the league's most lethal running game. But it's the special features that make this DVD terrific.

Perhaps no one is more critical to Atlanta's attack than fullback Justin Griffith. He's the best lead back in the NFL. A tailback who was moved to fullback in college, Griffith blocks as though he has the ball in his hands. He has great vision, and he looks for the hole the same way Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick do. When Griffith hits the hole, he seeks the most dangerous defender and takes him on. Whether it's Vick on a bootleg or Dunn off tackle or T.J. Duckett up the middle, Griffith is essential to opening the hole.

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Griffith is to Atlanta's running game what Howard Griffith was to Terrell Davis and the Denver running game when the Broncos won two Super Bowls. Not coincidentally, Alex Gibbs was Denver's offensive line coach then, and he's the architect of Atlanta's current running game.

Though Gibbs works only part time as a consultant to the Falcons these days, this is his system, and it's a joy to watch. The Falcons' linemen all step together, moving in unison. If the field beneath their feet were a piano, they'd be hitting the notes in harmony. And if I were building a new franchise today, the first coach I would hire is Gibbs.

Gibbs' system is so good, it works even when Vick is out. Vick left the game Sunday in the second quarter, and Matt Schaub came in and rushed for 56 yards, only two fewer than Vick. The most exciting player in football missed more than half the game, yet the Falcons didn't change a thing in the game plan and finished with 285 yards rushing in a 30-10 win over Minnesota. Amazing.

Any team that thinks it can play the Falcons straight up and shut down the running game had better think again. That's what the Vikings thought--hey, it's just the 180-pound Dunn and the smallest line in the league, right?--but they got steamrolled.

The Falcons, who led the league in rushing a year ago, are on pace to shatter the NFL record for rushing yards in a season. With a run scheme that's as explosive as most passing games, they'll probably do it.

Brian Baldinger, an offensive lineman for 12 NFL seasons, can be heard on Sporting News Radio and seen on FOX Sports. Listen online at radio.sportingnews.com.

Special features are what make Atlanta's running game so potent

Sporting News, The, Oct 14, 2005 by Brian Baldinger

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