Arthur Blank's thoughts on the off-season

[FentayeJones]

Quote

Q: Given that, how closely have you been involved in this Falcons’ offseason?

A: I would say that probably hasn’t changed because both Dan (Quinn) and Thomas (Dimitroff) still report directly to me. Dan is in his second year and he has more clarity about what takes place during an offseason and his role and responsibility. I was in meetings initially when they went through player evaluations to understand the context of our existing roster. I was in meetings listening to their evaluations of draft picks, going through free agency, our options and who our targets would be. So I’m aware of the process and understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

Q: How do you feel about post-draft angst, whether from fans or media outlets giving out draft grades?

A: NFL.com grades our draft an A. (Pro Football Focus) grades our draft a D. You really have to wait two or three years to look back on a draft class to see if it was successful or not. The one thing I would say that’s different for me this year: Dan, of all the coaches I’ve worked with, which is more than I would like, is the most specific in terms of exactly the prototype of player he wants for a certain position. To me, he makes Thomas’s job and Scott’s (Pioli) job and everybody’s job in personnel easier because he was real specific about what he wanted. We had some opportunities to go for some more name players, guys who fans were more familiar with. But Dan would say, “Great player. But he’s not going to be the best fit for this system.”

Q: Overall, how comfortable have you been with this offseason?

A: I’m very comfortable. The addition of Alex Mack is big. Football is not unlike baseball – you have to be strong up the middle. You have to be able to run and pass and Alex will help give Matt (Ryan) those assurances. He’ll help the people around him. I like the re-signing of (Adrian) Clayborn, the signing of (Derrick) Shelby, the signing of (Mohamed) Sanu, who I think will take some pressure off of Julio. I like the signing of (Courtney) Upshaw, who’s a proven tough guy who can play the run well. And I like some of the subsequent draft picks – the tight end (Austin Hooper) from Stanford. We really haven’t had that target at tight end since Tony Gonzalez left, although I thought Jacob Tamme played very well.

 

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/football/arthur-blank-on-health-falcons-moves-playoff-hopes/nrGMp/#dc82c734.3828699.736087

Edited May 3, 2016 by FentayeJones

[A Pimp Named Slickback™]

Good read. I'm just ready to see the team in action. Power rankings, Draft grades, and SoS arguments don't matter much to me without at least seeing the team in regular season action.

Edited May 3, 2016 by A Pimp Named Slickback™

[ATLFalcon36]

Love ABs passion for our team and city.

[citsalp]

Thanks for posting.

[gazoo]

Some of us have been saying Smitty didn't give TD clear cut directions on what type of players to draft and target in FA and it had a negative impact on the roster. 

It was crystal clear from the start that Quinn knew exactly what he wanted in each player at each position and communicated that to TD, and TD has done what appears at this point to be a magnificent job of finding those scheme specific players. TD and DQ really work well together it appears and we'll know a lot more mid season.

[Da_Truth]

8 minutes ago, gazoo said:

Some of us have been saying Smitty didn't give TD clear cut directions on what type of players to draft and target in FA and it had a negative impact on the roster. 

It was crystal clear from the start that Quinn knew exactly what he wanted in each player at each position and communicated that to TD, and TD has done what appears at this point to be a magnificent job of finding those scheme specific players. TD and DQ really work well together it appears and we'll know a lot more mid season.

Exactly.  Smitty did not have a vision that he could convey exactly what type of player he wanted on offense/defense to TD.  Seems to be the reason for so many draft/FA misses.

[jidady]

I have a couple of takeaways from this. The first is that Blank obsesses over the draft grades as much as the rest of us. The other is that it's a *really* good sign that Quinn knows precisely what he wants from a player. Generally, those guys have the deepest knowledge of football. It's a beautiful mind kind of thing.

[falcndave]

Paraphrasing Quinn: ...Great player, but not great in our scheme... Interesting. Who wuddah thunk it?

On the down side. Quinn better work out and he better be right (I have questions, but I'm still supportive). Otherwise we are going to have a collection of specialist who may be of little value to the next scheme/coach.

[Jerry Maguire]

13 minutes ago, jidady said:

I have a couple of takeaways from this. The first is that Blank obsesses over the draft grades as much as the rest of us. The other is that it's a *really* good sign that Quinn knows precisely what he wants from a player. Generally, those guys have the deepest knowledge of football. It's a beautiful mind kind of thing.

Sometimes Belicheck adds players that make you wonder... but it's at the point that you understand that he knows what he is doing.  Not saying Quinn is Belicheck, but both dont really care what you think about their choice.  

[capologist]

14 minutes ago, Da_Truth said:

Exactly.  Smitty did not have a vision that he could convey exactly what type of player he wanted on offense/defense to TD.  Seems to be the reason for so many draft/FA misses.

What was clear to me the last two seasons is there wasn't a plan, just a made scramble for a trophy.  One day you'd hear, oh we're going to go to a 3-4 scheme and then not do it.  That's a nightmare for a GM as it leaves far too much doubt as to the type of player they need to get  which makes stacking a draft board impossible.

One of the reasons I wanted us to hire DQ is I knew how "vision oriented" he was/is.  He was that way at UF and Seattle. Pete Carroll mentioned it several times in interviews.

No guarantees of success, of course, but I am of the belief that the more clarity you have on the shopping list, the better the recipe will turn out...

[jidady]

I actually think a lot of coaches and personnel people have that sort of arrogance. The difference is in results. The Patriots have struggled with drafting over the past five years, but nobody's noticed since they're still winning on the field.

[Jerry Maguire]

Good point.  I haven't paid as much attention to the NE drafts.  But I did read in War Room that he went against the scouts when picking Maroney and Jackson.

[Shuswap]

I remember when the seahawks took Bruce Irvin at 15 and I thought that was a bit of a reach.   Then they went on to draft Wagner and Wilson the next two rounds.    Who knows maybe these ******** know what they are doing.   

[FalconBlood]

I am THRILLED our owner pays attention and isn't clueless. We are lucky to have Blank.

[Da_Truth]

2 minutes ago, capologist said:

What was clear to me the last two seasons is there wasn't a plan, just a made scramble for a trophy.  One day you'd hear, oh we're going to go to a 3-4 scheme and then not do it.  That's a nightmare for a GM as it leaves far too much doubt as to the type of player they need to get  which makes stacking a draft board impossible.

One of the reasons I wanted us to hire DQ is I knew how "vision oriented" he was/is.  He was that way at UF and Seattle. Pete Carroll mentioned it several times in interviews.

No guarantees of success, of course, but I am of the belief that the more clarity you have on the shopping list, the better the recipe will turn out...

Without a clear vision, you're just like rudderless boat...all over the place.  Feel better that Quinn knows exactly what he wants.  

[Sponge]

No one should fault TD for 2015 or 2016 draft picks. You heard it straight from AB himself- Quinn is the decision maker for roster players. TD should keep his job for 2 more seasons (2018) to see if Quinn and his grand plan works out. If it doesn't, it might be time to have a fresh GM & coach to step in. But I do like Quinns plan, and the fact he actually has a plan. 

[takeitdown]

This is the scenario that makes sense re: Quinn.

On the plus side, you know exactly what athletes work for your scheme, and that makes it easier.

On the minus side, that means you have a smaller pool to choose from (because a lot don't fit your scheme), which makes "reaches" nearly inevitable.

It also doesn't allow as much room for "this guy doesn't fit our scheme, but he's such a good player, we can adjust the D a little to fit his strengths and we'll be better overall"

Feel like they do a pretty good job of looking at strengths and how to incorporate them once someone is on the team, but they may not be able to do that yet for a draft.

[gazoo]

49 minutes ago, capologist said:

What was clear to me the last two seasons is there wasn't a plan, just a made scramble for a trophy.  One day you'd hear, oh we're going to go to a 3-4 scheme and then not do it.  That's a nightmare for a GM as it leaves far too much doubt as to the type of player they need to get  which makes stacking a draft board impossible.

One of the reasons I wanted us to hire DQ is I knew how "vision oriented" he was/is.  He was that way at UF and Seattle. Pete Carroll mentioned it several times in interviews.

No guarantees of success, of course, but I am of the belief that the more clarity you have on the shopping list, the better the recipe will turn out...

You and I had that very conversation shortly after Quinn got here. We were discussing how Quinn seemed to know exCtly what he wanted to do here and what a contrast that was from the past. 

[krammmit]

Blank did a really good job explaining the draft picks. 

"We had some opportunities to go for some more name players, guys who fans were more familiar with. But Dan would say, “Great player. But he’s not going to be the best fit for this system.”

 

[capologist]

3 minutes ago, gazoo said:

You and I had that very conversation shortly after Quinn got here. We were discussing how Quinn seemed to know exCtly what he wanted to do here and what a contrast that was from the past. 

Yep, remember that thread very well.  I was amazed at how many thought that was just throwing Mike Smith under the bus...

[Porkins]

16 minutes ago, takeitdown said:

This is the scenario that makes sense re: Quinn.

On the plus side, you know exactly what athletes work for your scheme, and that makes it easier.

On the minus side, that means you have a smaller pool to choose from (because a lot don't fit your scheme), which makes "reaches" nearly inevitable.

It also doesn't allow as much room for "this guy doesn't fit our scheme, but he's such a good player, we can adjust the D a little to fit his strengths and we'll be better overall"

Feel like they do a pretty good job of looking at strengths and how to incorporate them once someone is on the team, but they may not be able to do that yet for a draft.

Agreed. The Clay Matthews bypass comes to mind regarding "doesn't fit the system."

Even still, as a fan I'm hopeful. It is nice to feel like our FO has a definite plan in place that they're  actively working on. I never really got that sense with our most recent coaching staffs. 

[Monolith2001]

Mr. Blank and I are on the same page.  As I said in another thread (or a post I decided not to post), we didn't pick up any players I was dying for either in FA or the draft BUT Quinn's handprints are all over each and every defensive guy while our offensive picks at least partially filled our biggest holes.  We will see how it goes...let's get OTAs going.

[falconidae]

1 hour ago, Shuswap said:

I remember when the seahawks took Bruce Irvin at 15 and I thought that was a bit of a reach.   Then they went on to draft Wagner and Wilson the next two rounds.    Who knows maybe these ******** know what they are doing.   

Yeah, but if they'd really known how good Wilson was going to be, they'd have taken him with their 1st pick.

[Spts1]

In other words.........like i said in my thread i posted. Quinn ran the draft, Dimitroff just signed off on it.........

[Spts1]

6 minutes ago, falconidae said:

Yeah, but if they'd really known how good Wilson was going to be, they'd have taken him with their 1st pick.

did you REALLY type that???? lmao