FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Sometimes an offense has to take a couple of steps back before making a giant leap forward. Literally.

The NFL’s hottest playcaller, Kyle Shanahan, used the play-action pass Thursday as an example of how he and the NFL’s hottest quarterback, Matt Ryan, have learned to mesh so well in their second year together with the Atlanta Falcons.

“When I first got here, Matt wasn’t as comfortable with his back to the defense. He hadn’t done a ton of play-action in his career. And I get that,” Shanahan said. “[So Ryan was] like, ‘Hey Kyle, why do we have to do that with the play fake? I can just stand back and throw that the same.’ I’m like, ‘You’re right, you can. And I know it’s harder for you with your back to the defense. But if you keep doing that, it might slow down the protection. You might get the D-line to play the run instead of just teeing off on you. Now your O-line might get a little better.’

“I think Matt’s always believed it. But as he’s continued to get more comfortable with it, he is comfortable with his back to the defense now. Not because he’s just trusted me or taken my word for it, but because he’s done it for two years. Now it’s not a big deal to him.

“It’s about reps and time. It’s not just about understanding. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to pick up everything.”

That second-year surge has happened across the board for Atlanta’s offense this season, from Ryan and superstar receiver Julio Jones to the revamped offensive line to the devastating running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to a wide receiver corps that was rejuvenated by the additions of Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel.

The Falcons led the NFL by a wide margin this season in points per game (33.8) and yards per play (6.7). Ryan became the first NFL quarterback to throw TD passes to 13 different players in a season -- and he has a great chance of winning his first MVP award.

No, it didn’t happen overnight for the Falcons' offense, but it was worth the wait. Former receiver Roddy White was frustrated by Shanahan’s system last season. Even Shanahan and Ryan admitted they had to work to get on the same page this past offseason, though Ryan told NFL.com it was nothing that couldn’t be solved over a few beers.

Unfortunately, things have worked out so well that Ryan apparently will have to adjust to another new offensive coordinator; Shanahan appears poised to become the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Nothing with the 49ers can become official until the Falcons’ season ends, either with Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the visiting Green Bay Packers or in Super Bowl LI.

The 49ers surely recognize that the 37-year-old Shanahan has taken a couple of steps back during his nine years as a wunderkind offensive coordinator with the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Falcons -- but a lot of giant leaps forward as well.

“I think Kyle Shanahan is one of the best offensive game planners in the NFL right now. And you can make a case this year he’s up there with Sean Payton, who I think is the best playcaller in the NFL,” said Matt Bowen, an ESPN analyst and former NFL safety.

Shanahan has proven to be much more than just the son of a famous NFL-coaching father, Mike Shanahan. Kyle has coached six offenses (two in Houston, two in Washington, two in Atlanta) that ranked in the top nine in the NFL in yardage during those nine seasons.

“I think he’s evolved a lot, but he’s always catered to his personnel. Go back to when he was with Washington, when RG III had that monster season,” Bowen said, referencing Robert Griffin's rookie year in 2012. Bowen said he recognized a lot of the concepts in that offense when it came to receivers’ routes and run-pass options -- just with “a little different window dressing.”

“So I think he’s an outside-the-box thinker in terms of his play sheet. But he also meshes that play sheet with the guys he has on the field,” said Bowen, who paid Shanahan and the Falcons the ultimate compliment by comparing them to the “Greatest Show on Turf” teams that Bowen played on with the St. Louis Rams, as well as Payton’s offense during the Saints’ peak from 2009-11.

“I think it’s a combination that starts up front with the offensive line. Now you take a top-tier guy like Matt Ryan with protection, and the weapons he has around him, and the fast turf that they play on -- hey,” Bowen said. “How much different is this than the '99-2000 Rams?”

Ryan said he thinks Shanahan will make an “excellent head coach” whenever he gets the opportunity. The quarterback also noted that what makes Shanahan special is “putting people in positions to succeed and playing to guys’ strengths.”

“We’ve got a lot of different moving parts, a lot of guys who can make plays, and I think he’s kind of orchestrated it and balanced that really well throughout the year,” Ryan said. “He’s done a great job.”

Veteran Falcons defensive end Dwight Freeney knows a little something about all-time great NFL offenses -- he was Peyton Manning’s former teammate with the Indianapolis Colts. Freeney echoed both Bowen and Ryan when talking about how many different ways Atlanta’s offense can hurt the opposition.

“The thing is, he uses everybody if you think about it," Freeney said. "I mean, how many guys are part of the offense here? You’ve got two running backs, the tight ends just seem like they keep coming, the receivers seem like they keep coming."

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, a former defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, recognized the same thing when he went out looking for someone to run his offense two years ago.

The main reason Quinn targeted Shanahan? He hated to coach against him.

“The first thing that drew me to that system and to him, specifically, was how difficult it can be to defend when you have to defend the entire field,” Quinn said. “And playing against him and competing against that scheme, I always kind of had in the back of my mind, ‘All right, if I had an opportunity to become a head coach … that’s hard [to face].’ And I wanted an offense that had real balance and could run and play-action and keepers and have that style with it. So that’s how our connection began.”

Shanahan can only hope to get as lucky with his coordinator hires.