When the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons roll into the Mile High City this Sunday to take on the unblemished Denver Broncos, there will be a familiar face calling the plays for the visiting offense.
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan spent a total of four seasons as an assistant coach under Kubiak while he was the head honcho for the Houston Texans. Shanahan served in multiple roles that included wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator.
The coaches’ relationship dates back way before Shanahan ever became an employee under Kubiak, though. Shanahan grew up around the Bronco facilities as a kid while Kubiak served as offensive coordinator under Kyle’s dad, Mike Shanahan.
Come this Sunday, Shanahan will lead the most explosive offensive unit in the entire league to Sports Authority Field to challenge the vaunted defensive unit of the Denver Broncos. In the Black & Red will be superstar wide receiver Julio Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan, both of whom are coming off career performances this past weekend against the Carolina Panthers.
Head coach Gary Kubiak is well aware of who is responsible for the ingenuity behind Atlanta’s high-powered offensive juggernaut.
“Kyle is as sharp a guy as I have ever worked with,” he said of Shanahan. “He’s exceptional at attacking defenses and knowing what he wants to get done. We all know how he grew up and being around ball all the time. He’s great with players and knows how to get guys the ball. You see what he did yesterday. Obviously, they’re off to a hot start. The quarterback is playing extremely well.”
Falcons’ gunslinger Matt Ryan is, of course, the quarterback Kubiak was alluding to. Ryan leads the NFL in both passing yards (1,473) and touchdown passes (11) through the first quarter of the 2016 season.
Kubiak added more to his notice of the Falcons’ spectacular offensive output against divisional foe and reigning NFC champion Carolina this past weekend.
“I know they’re really good. I know some guy had 300 yards catching yesterday, he’s pretty good,” Kubiak said about Atlanta star wideout Julio Jones. “We have our hands full. Kyle is doing a great job with them. They’re exceptional right now, top of the league. We understand all that.”
Starting cornerback Aqib Talib is no stranger to matchups with big receivers, having faced A.J. Green and Mike Evans already this season.
“You ask me all of the time, we play these big receivers and they’re in the same category,” Talib uttered of Jones. “They’re big, they’re fast and they have great quarterbacks throwing them the ball so it will be a great task.”
While history has proven that great defenses usually come out on top more often than not when facing a supercharged offensive team (see past two Super Bowls Denver has participated in), the Broncos will certainly have their hands full this Sunday.
