FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman had a bumpy rookie season, but is being counted on to help improve the rushing attack in 2016.
Devonta Freeman had a breakthrough season after taking over for Coleman, who opened the season as the starter.
“We certainly expect the running back to develop even more,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Certainly, Coleman was humbled. He had some fumbles and still averaged over four yards a carry. The injuries were a factor.”
The Falcons averaged 100.4 yards rushing per game last season, which ranked 19th in the league. However, they also averaged just 3.82 yards per rush, which ranked 25th in the league. The Buffalo Bills led the league with 152 yards rushing per game and at 4.78 yards per carry.
“I feel like what we did last year was like scratching the surface,” Freeman said.
Coleman was selected in the third-round (73rd overall) of the 2015 draft out of Indiana. He got off to a promising start before suffering fractured ribs in the second game of the season. While out, Freeman took over the position and turned in a Pro Bowl campaign.
Despite Freeman’s success, the Falcons still have high hopes for Coleman, who was electrifying in the open field. However, he also had ball security issues.
Coleman played in 12 games and made three starts. He rushed for 392 yards on 87 carries (4.5 yards per carry) and scored one touchdown. He had just two catches for 14 yards and was credited with three fumbles.
Coleman also received some work as a returner this week as the Falcons were mostly working on their blocking schemes and how to attack two- and three-man blocking wedges.
“Possibly as a kickoff returner,” Quinn said. “One cut is very similar to playing running back. If he can add another value to the team, that’s certainly something that we’ll look at.”
The Falcons are waiting for returner Devin Hester to return from offseason foot and toe surgery. He said he’s about 75 percent recovered.
–The Falcons worked extensively on their end-of-the-half offense during OTAs.
Quarterbacks Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub and Matt Simms took turns trying to score with under 1:00 to play in the second quarter.
“We made a big emphasis today on the end of the half,” Quinn said Thursday. “We did everything under a minute. It was an area where we want to just keep working on.”
In the coach’s end of season review, the situation came up repeatedly.
“It happened almost 30 times in terms of two-minutes at the end of the half or at the end of the games,” Quinn said. “We are going to continue to nail that and keep working. We do it a lot.”
The Falcons looked back at their games against Dallas and San Francisco last season.
Against Dallas, Freeman score on a 2-yard run with 2:18 left in the second quarter to make it 21-14 Dallas. But the Cowboys answered with a 1-yard Joseph Randle touchdown run with 40 seconds left to make it 28-14. The Falcons answered with a Matt Bryant 32-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer.
Against San Francisco, the 49ers scored on a Blaine Gabbert to Garrett Celek 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-6 with 1:16 left in the second quarter. The Falcons answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Freeman with 13 seconds left to make it 17-13 at the half.
“We showed some other teams as well,” Quinn said. “When we created the ones today, it came up great with no timeouts and had to work on our what we call ‘sliders’ and we had to work must-out-of-bounds plays. Those are some of the most competitive parts of practice.”
NOTES: RG Chris Chester (shoulder), C James Stone (knee) and DT Grady Jarrett (tendonitis knee) did not participate. DE Adrian Clayborn (strained pectoral) and WR Devin Fuller (hamstring) were limited. … WLB DeVondre Campbell lined up with the first-team defense at OTAs on
Tuesday, and the fourth-round pick is in a highly competitive situation. Campbell lined up at weak-side linebacker with the first-team defense during 11-on-11 drills. He flowed well to the ball and also covered a running back down-the-field on a defense.