“I think the most glaring thing is probably not the answer you’re looking for,” Smith said. “It’s the consistency, the work habits and getting better at it day to day. It’s a lot of the mundane. There’s no special pill, no certain exercise, it’s just creating those habits, working, understanding and guys getting better day after day. That’s really what it’s been.”
That approach has produced a pair of 200-yard games in five tries, with four games exceeding 150. They’re doing that without an elite back, executing well as a unit to create a steady, efficient ground game not seen in Atlanta for some time.
“It’s about the everyday preparation for the guys up front,” Ledford said. “When it comes to the run game, it’s a grind. It’s hard work and being good at it takes the right mindset. You have to know it’s going to be hard. You know you have to strain. And you have to be working well together. And that includes the tight ends and receivers and the fullback. Everybody has to be right to make the run work.
“When everybody’s synced up, it looks really good. When one or two guys aren’t synced up, you’ll see the hiccups. When you see a successful run play, it’s the culmination of a week’s worth of hard work. These guys work hard, extremely hard.”
Ledford is in his second season as Falcons offensive line coach, and recalls keeping a watchful eye on his team’s work ethic early in Year 1. He didn’t know if he’d need to institute some tough changes or really motivate his linemen to give maximum effort.
That wasn’t the case. Those guys were ready to put in the work, do what was required to get better outside the spotlight.
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