Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
In Week 1, we saw some good, some bad, and some ugly. It's important not to overreact to just one set of games. As the season progresses, the true identity of these teams will much better reveal itself.
However, the opening week did show us that two contending teams already have reason to re-evaluate their offensive approach. The Atlanta Falcons look different - and not in a good way - without Kyle Shanahan, and the Tennessee Titans are getting away from their strengths.
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago has a much better defense than many realize, especially its front seven. But the Falcons were rather fortunate to escape The Windy City with a victory - and if it weren't for two dropped balls at the end of the game, the Bears might have pulled off the upset.
The Falcons had the NFL's best offense a year ago, but now that Steve Sarkisian is running the show instead of Shanahan, there were obvious differences in how Atlanta played on this side of the ball Sunday. Here's the biggest cause for concern: This unit wasn't nearly as aggressive as it was in 2016. They did hit on a big play to Austin Hooper, but that was a fluke due of a coverage bust rather than planned or scripted.
Atlanta needs to open it up more. We saw less pre-snap motion with Sarkisian running the show and therefore, fewer advantageous one-on-one matchups for Matt Ryan to exploit. The Falcons were also more predictable on this side of the ball, which no one would have said about them with Shanahan in charge.
Not only did the Falcons have fewer tactical advantages than we're used to seeing them enjoy, but their right guard, Wes Schweitzer, was constantly abused in this matchup - and the Falcons don't have much in the way of offensive line depth to challenge him.
This is especially worrisome with Green Bay up next. Ryan was already under far too much pressure in Week 1 and the offense overall struggled in the red zone, unlike last year. In Week 2, Mike Daniels could single-handedly wreck the Falcons' plans on offense.
It's also alarming that Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman combined for just 20 carries Sunday, gaining a measly 55 yards on those opportunities even though the Bears played a high percentage of snaps with two high safeties.
The foundation of this offense is its outside zone run scheme. If Atlanta can establish the run and force the defense out of its two-high-safety look, the Falcons can isolate their big, athletic receivers on the outside in one-on-one matchups and become more aggressive in the passing game. Play action helps in that regard as well.
Also, the Falcons didn't get the kind of fullback blocking they had a year ago with Patrick DiMarco, another important component of this scheme, now in Buffalo. Julio Jones had just one catch after halftime. That won't do.
Tennessee Titans
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The Titans mustered just 16 points at home in Week 1 against an Oakland defense with all sorts of question marks, and it's not clear why they didn't put themselves in a better position to succeed.
Over the offseason, Tennessee wisely upgraded its receiving corps to help further Marcus Mariota's development. Even last year, though, the Titans were almost operating two separate offenses. Most people realize they had a very successful downhill running game. But Tennessee also utilized a more spread-oriented approach with multiple receivers on the field - somewhat reminiscent of what Mariota executed so well at the college level.
The former approach was much more effective, so Tennessee acquired weapons like Corey Davis and Eric Decker to pose a more legitimate passing-game threat. Last week, though, Tennessee needed to feature more of its proven ground attack to bludgeon the Raiders' suspect defense and keep Derek Carr off the field.
In a game that was never out of reach, the Titans called 41 passes to just 18 combined carries for DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, even though Mariota was clearly not at his best in the second half. It was the opposite of the approach they should have taken, as it seemed apparent on paper that Tennessee should make their running game the foundation of their offensive approach against Oakland.
Next week the Titans travel to Jacksonville and face a defense that racked up 10 sacks in Week 1. The Titans' offensive line collectively didn't play well in the preseason, and Jack Conklin had all sorts of problems in protection against Khalil Mack last week.
The Titans would be best served by doing what they do best and attacking Jacksonville's much-improved defense with their downhill power running game. That should have been their strategy Sunday too.
