Bryan S. from Asheville, N.C.
“The running attack has been good over the last two games, especially Bijan Robinson. In terms of design, why don’t the Falcons ever have both Tyler Allgeier and Bijan on the field at the same time? At the very least, it seems this approach would make it hard for defenses to lock in on just one back every play.”
Thanks for writing in, Bryan, I thought the run game looked much better against the Vikings and should hopefully remain that way moving forward. I like where your head is at with this question, and I have some good news: The Falcons are right there with you!
It can be easy to overlook — which is part of the reason I watch the games multiple times — but Robinson and Allgeier have shared the field six times so far this year. Now, that may not sound like much, but they only broke the huddle together 33 times in 2024. So, they are already one-fifth of the way to reaching that total with 15 games to go!
As for the specifics of how they’ve fared with those two players on the field together, the results have been mixed. Going back to watch those six plays, I really like the way they are pairing Allgeier and Robinson between the lines. On five of the six plays, Robinson is lined out wide; on one goal-line play he’s in the backfield in a flexbone look. On five of the six plays, Allgeier is the player lined up behind Michael Penix Jr.; he lined up out wide on the Falcons’ first offensive snap of the season.
Your thinking that this approach would keep defenders from keying on only one Atlanta back is spot on, and likely the reason the Falcons have deployed it. I wanted to spotlight one play in particular the illustrates this.
It occurred with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter of the Falcons’ season opener. Robinson started lined up as the outside receiver in a trips look that involved an in-line tight end.