PokerSteve Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) I was not sold on Mike Smith and haven't been since he got here. His old-school devotion to 1970s grind-it-out football is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. When BVG and Mularkey moved on and we got some new blood in the senior coaching ranks, I had high hopes that the pervasive, timid, conservative culture of this team would change for the better. I had high hopes that Arthur Blank's mandate to do whatever was necessary to improve in the play-offs after the embarrassing loss to the Giants would motivate Smith to abandon his tight-azzed philosophy of football and join the rest of the NFL in the new, passer-friendly, high-scoring era.Sadly, that has NOT been the case. Yes, the team is now geared to do more passing, but as soon as the team gets even the smallest lead, Smith hits the brakes and goes into grind-it-out mode again. We should be scoring 35 to 45 points per game, but every week we seem to be stuck on about 27. He is so obsessed with maintaining his impressive, yet meaningless, regular season win record he can't seem to conquer the deep-rooted ghosts of this team's past characteristics: timidity, passivity, uncertainty and total lack of confidence against top-tier teams. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win apparently WILL WORK during the regular season against mediocre teams if you have the talented offensive skill players Smith has had his whole tenure.But it can not and will never win in the play-offs. Not in this day and age. You have to break out of your comfort zone, become unpredictable, go against your own tendencies, out-think and out-physical your opponents in big games. I don't think Smith is up to the challenge. He doesn't even appear to be up to the challenge of making even ridiculously obvious changes on the DL, OL or at running back, much less reinventing himself and his team for a play-off push.Yes, Smith has an incredible regular season record, but I think even Arthur Blank would be quick to say that at some point, that has to translate into a deep run in the play-offs or it doesn't mean jack sheet. This year Smith had better morph into a more aggressive, creative, ballsy HC in the play-offs or the clock will start ticking down toward a new HC in Flowery Branch. I doubt Smith would get canned at the end of this season, but neither do I think Blank will continue to sit back forever and be satisfied with continued, abysmal one-and-done beatdowns in post-season. I sure as hale hope not.Fans with an intelligent opinion are encouraged to discuss; the homerclowns are also welcome to come and add some indignant insults, personal attacks and other random (accidental) doses of comedy as well. Edited November 12, 2012 by PokerSteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethos Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 In b4 insults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Homerclown here, Steve the play calling on the goal line could have been better, but Smith can not tackle ball carriers, nor can he block from the sidelines, he will get this chit fixed , or at least try ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 LOL.Geez dude, I don't think I have ever seen a post more off base than this one.You think the Falcons played too conservatively yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltstorm2 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Mike Smith had nothing to do with our inability to get in the endzone twice from the 1. If we had made either of those, I doubt you'd feel the way you do right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ7000 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 LOL.Geez dude, I don't think I have ever seen a post more off base than this one.You think the Falcons played too conservatively yesterday?yeah what he said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 And no...Mike Smith owes no explanation to you for anything. Sorry, but he just doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJmusic Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 If we call runs with Mike Turner on a 3rd and one or a 4th and one in any situation during the playoffs this year and we are one and done, then I will agree with you. I wanna see how Mike Smith and the team respond before making those types of statements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 PokerSteve, I agree with your comments in many areas above - run game and Smith being timid and trying to sit on leads.Having said that, it seems a little "sky is falling" given the timing coinciding with our first loss of the season.Mike Smith is most definitely "out of his comfort zone" with the changing coordinators and changing philosophies from last year to this year. Falcons are soooooooooo much more aggressive on both sides of the ball now versus last year. Is it perfected yet? NO.......Is Mike Smith aggressive enough yet? NO..........but Rome was not built in a day.I do agree that changes need to continue to evolve on this offense - definitely need some more tweeks - but cut the man some slack - he's changed A LOT this year and about 80% of the changes have been positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 PokerSteve, I agree with your comments in many areas above - run game and Smith being timid and trying to sit on leads.Having said that, it seems a little "sky is falling" given the timing coinciding with our first loss of the season.Mike Smith is most definitely "out of his comfort zone" with the changing coordinators and changing philosophies from last year to this year. Falcons are soooooooooo much more aggressive on both sides of the ball now versus last year. Is it perfected yet? NO.......Is Mike Smith aggressive enough yet? NO..........but Rome was not built in a day.I do agree that changes need to continue to evolve on this offense - definitely need some more tweeks - but cut the man some slack - he's changed A LOT this year and about 80% of the changes have been positive.Yesterdays loss had nothing to do with Mike Smith not being aggressive enough. I can't fathom where anybody could watch that game and come up with that analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutofyourFalconmind Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 For me the proof of Smitty's ultimate competency (and commitment to flexibility) will come when we play our first playoff game. He said during this past offseason that the Falcons obviously needed to do things differently preparation-wise once the playoffs start.Let's see if he really does shake things up or falls back to what he knows best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 One thing for sure, on 3rd and one i would much rather see us 4/5 wide than in a power set with Turner ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerSteve Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 PokerSteve, I agree with your comments in many areas above - run game and Smith being timid and trying to sit on leads.Having said that, it seems a little "sky is falling" given the timing coinciding with our first loss of the season.Mike Smith is most definitely "out of his comfort zone" with the changing coordinators and changing philosophies from last year to this year. Falcons are soooooooooo much more aggressive on both sides of the ball now versus last year. Is it perfected yet? NO.......Is Mike Smith aggressive enough yet? NO..........but Rome was not built in a day.I do agree that changes need to continue to evolve on this offense - definitely need some more tweeks - but cut the man some slack - he's changed A LOT this year and about 80% of the changes have been positive.True, he has made some important changes this year, but we're not putting up the points we should be, the personnel changes are not being made. And those futile Michael Turner runs on the goal line yesterday are still stuck in my craw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerSteve Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) LOL.Geez dude, I don't think I have ever seen a post more off base than this one.You think the Falcons played too conservatively yesterday?Not yesterday so much, as overall throughout the first half of the season. Edited November 12, 2012 by PokerSteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulioisCoolio Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 You are the biggest cry baby flip flopper I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 One thing for sure, on 3rd and one i would much rather see us 4/5 wide than in a power set with Turner ......Matt and Dirk need to study the Patriots here. When the Pats are on a critical drive, and they end up with a short yardage play, Brady will rush the Patriots up to the line no huddle in a 4 or 5 wide set, quick snap, and run the QB sneak before the defense is even set good.I've seen the Pats do it probably 20 times in the last few years and only seen it stopped once.It's a lot better percentage than what the Falcons are doing on 3rd and short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Not yesterday so much, as overall throughout the first half of the season.Ok, so your big complaint is with how the Falcons played during the 8-0 start.Got it. Sounds reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethos Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 0-3 folks. Don't forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilleniumFalcon Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) I don't think the playcalling was conservative except on the goal line which was scripted and you knew what was coming. However, he was conservative on settling for a FG instead of going for it on 4th down and also not going for 2 to make it 25-28 instead of 24-28. Edited November 12, 2012 by MilleniumFalcon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerSteve Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Ok, so your big complaint is with how the Falcons played during the 8-0 start.Got it. Sounds reasonable.Good. I was hoping it was apparent that even though we were squeaking by some pretty average teams scoring 20-something ppg, Smith has yet to abandon his conservative philosophy or been willing to step in and make personnel changes to see if the abysmal pass rush, run defense, running game, etc., that have been in evidence for the past 20 games or more could be fixed. Edited November 12, 2012 by PokerSteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerSteve Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 You are the biggest cry baby flip flopper I've ever seen.Yawn. That all you got? Next! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
since68andcounting Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I was not sold on Mike Smith and haven't been since he got here. His old-school devotion to 1970s grind-it-out football is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. When BVG and Mularkey moved on and we got some new blood in the senior coaching ranks, I had high hopes that the pervasive, timid, conservative culture of this team would change for the better. I had high hopes that Arthur Blank's mandate to do whatever was necessary to improve in the play-offs after the embarrassing loss to the Giants would motivate Smith to abandon his tight-azzed philosophy of football and join the rest of the NFL in the new, passer-friendly, high-scoring era. Sadly, that has NOT been the case. Yes, the team is now geared to do more passing, but as soon as the team gets even the smallest lead, Smith hits the brakes and goes into grind-it-out mode again. We should be scoring 35 to 45 points per game, but every week we seem to be stuck on about 27. He is so obsessed with maintaining his impressive, yet meaningless, regular season win record he can't seem to conquer the deep-rooted ghosts of this team's past characteristics: timidity, passivity, uncertainty and total lack of confidence against top-tier teams. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win apparently WILL WORK during the regular season against mediocre teams if you have the talented offensive skill players Smith has had his whole tenure. But it can not and will never win in the play-offs. Not in this day and age. You have to break out of your comfort zone, become unpredictable, go against your own tendencies, out-think and out-physical your opponents in big games. I don't think Smith is up to the challenge. He doesn't even appear to be up to the challenge of making even ridiculously obvious changes on the DL, OL or at running back, much less reinventing himself and his team for a play-off push. Yes, Smith has an incredible regular season record, but I think even Arthur Blank would be quick to say that at some point, that has to translate into a deep run in the play-offs or it doesn't mean jack sheet. This year Smith had better morph into a more aggressive, creative, ballsy HC in the play-offs or the clock will start ticking down toward a new HC in Flowery Branch. I doubt Smith would get canned at the end of this season, but neither do I think Blank will continue to sit back forever and be satisfied with continued, abysmal one-and-done beatdowns in post-season. I sure as hale hope not.Fans with an intelligent opinion are encouraged to discuss; the homerclowns are also welcome to come and add some indignant insults, personal attacks and other random (accidental) doses of comedy as well.Look, you're entitled to your opinion. But I'd tend to give Smitty the benefit of the doubt for right now considering he has over 50 wins in 4 1/2 years and in the top 2-3 win percentages of any active coach. Plus, he HAS shown the ability to adjust. They said we wanted to "open it up" more on offense 2 years ago, and we have.We've got a couple serious problems to solve. But Smitty ain't one of them. Not yet. NO FREAKING WAY am I going to agree that the best coach this franchise has ever had (BY FAR) is the primary reason for any failure. NO WAY DUDE.Now, in 5 years if we still haven't gone to a Super Bowl, you're welcome to bump this thread and we'll discuss. But for now, why don't you CLAM IT??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulioisCoolio Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Yawn. That all you got? Next!It's all that's needed. You're a whiny little girl begging for attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethos Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Over/Under b4 someone pulls out the consecutive winning seasons card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Yesterdays loss had nothing to do with Mike Smith not being aggressive enough. I can't fathom where anybody could watch that game and come up with that analysis.did not say that was the case - i was more speakin to PokerSteve's overall take on Mike Smith philosophy - since that was the bent of this thread - not specifically yesterday's loss.......as a matter of fact, I have defended the 13 rush attempts by Turner(in another thread) saying "even if its not working, still have to rush the ball" to keep defenses honest......geesh, you always are lookin' for something to pick apart....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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