This team is not well coached. Offensive or Defensive

[basscass]

I know what you homers will say, but we have not talent, we have no money, blah blah blah.   This is the NFL they all have talent.  True some more than others but they are all talented athletes.   To say that we dont have enough talent  to win the games we have lost this year is crazy.   We have been in most if not all.   Look at the coaching when the game is on the line its very poor.   Offensive play calling is just plain bad.  The best example of this is starting a QB that could not and would not start on any other NFL team, **** he could not even play in the CFL.  Time management is also another concern.  I will give AS credit where it is due for the run game finally being above average.  But thats where the praise has to end.  His play calling is just plain bad.  When you dont utilize the talents of the players on the team how in the world can you call him a good coach.  See Kyle Pitts and Drake London.  I said it before and I will say it again.   AS is not a good coach.  He is in way over his head.  TF has to take some of the blame, going into the season with Mariota as QB was not a good decision.  I understand letting Ridder sit is a good thing for his future but not having a QB that can actually throw a pass is unacceptable.  Some of you keep giving them a pass and making excuse after excuse but this is the NFL not the CFL or the other silly league.  The city and the fans deserve more from this organization.  The draft was fair some decent talent but way to many reaches.  Malone, Ridder, and Troy Anderson were all reaches in my opinion.  They may turn out to be good but better talent could have been had with those pics that could have made an impact now rather than later.

Defense is not as bad as I thought they would be.   Still not enough pressure and sacks, same ole story there.  But they have kept games close and made plays when they needed.  Biggest problem here is again coaching.   Example: Game against steelers.  2 min left after poor time management by AS.  Pittsburg has the ball we need a stop.  2nd and 8 and the DB is playing 10 yards off of the receiver.    Pickens then runs up field turns at 10 first down game pretty much done.  Not even gonna say anything about the play call on the last drive that ended in INT to Fitzpatrick.  Again we dont have a QB.   I just cant get on board with this staff.  Stilll root for my team.  But dang its hard to do. 
 

[DonDaLuvMaker]

The offense actually comes down to fixing the QB position. The weapons are there.

 

Also try to find a long term solution at LG. Get a RT as well because McGary could be gone.

Edited December 5, 2022 by DonDaLuvMaker

[PokerSteve]

Good rant! I give it a 9.3 and you nailed the landing by affirming your continued loyalty to the brand, despite your vexation with current events. But this year is too soon for full frontal evaluations. Even next season is a trifle premature.

We do have more talent than before, but a lot of it is still young and inexperienced, much of the rest on one-year prove-it deals. AS and TF have only had two draft classes with which to build the roster and basically no CAP money at all. That will all change dramatically next season, and it will surely help a ton.

I haven't been thrilled with the play-calling either. But, with Mariota there's no way to have much balance or inject a lot of mystery into Smith's play-calling. On defense I've been disappointed in Pees' D. But I have to concede he's greatly hampered by sketchy talent, especially the front 7, and a lack of experience by most of his players in his scheme.

It's a bend-but-don't-break defensive philosophy. Unfortunately that entails giving up tons of yards and lots of time of possession. You're basically always on the retreat. But, considering we still have little to no pass rush, his D has held up pretty well. Next year we'll know better if we need to start calling for coaching heads to roll and which ones might need to go first.

[Banana Bandit]

Coaching is literally the only reason we have been in these games. Not talent.

Bad thread.

[Herr Doktor]

2 minutes ago, Banana Bandit said:

Coaching is literally the only reason we have been in these games. Not talent.

Bad thread.

Nailed it.  We are one of the lowest teams in penalties.  That my friend is coaching.

[Lornoth]

I love how people say "Yeah our roster is terrible, but we've still been in these games!" when complaining about coaching as if that isn't the counter argument to their entire position.

[Norwood all the way!]

Why does it have to be one or the other? 

Everyone has a hand in how our season has played out. Some sure have more blame than others but to single out one variable is too narrow minded.

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Norwood all the way!

[FentayeJones]

Coaching is the main reason this team is even competitive. 

[Ghosts of Glanville]

Rather than rant and rave about Dean Pees, one should put themselves in his shoes for a minute and figure out what to do differently. 
 

This team has no 3-or 4- man pass rush.  The talent isn’t there yet and yes it matters—there is a reason Aaron Donald makes more than our entire defense.   With no way to consistently get to the QB what do you do?

Blitz?  Do that too much and you get eaten alive with slants, crosses, draws  and screens.  Press man coverage?  That went out the window when heyward went down and it was a major stretch then. 
 

Eventually a reasonable NFL DC will come to the same conclusion Pees has:  go zone, mix in some man and blitz when the opportunity is there. Slow them down and run the clock.  It’s all you can do to keep the opponent under 30 points.  It’s maddening to watch but right now it’s all we’ve got.  

[hjerry]

You can't say that talent gaps don't matter and say that Mariota sucks

Not without looking stupid anyway 

[FalconFanSince1969]

Not listening to coaching advice from someone who doesnt know what a paragraph is

 

[A Dog Named Brian]

This will be a quick lock 

[Banana Bandit]

19 minutes ago, A Dog Named Brian said:

This will be a quick lock 

[AllStarHandyMan]

How hater starts a sentence with " I know what you homers will say, but we have not talent, we have no money, blah blah blah." Writing off facts that actually matters to try and prove a point is the best example of a hater.  You are so blinded by your dislikes that you abandon all reason.

We have been competitive in every game but one this season, the least penalize team in the NFL all because of coaching. As time management goes I see nothing he has done wrong. The steelers game he did just fine with the management of the clock, why call a time out after they gain a chunk of yard. He took the odds of us stopping them and went for having the first time out be a 2 min time out. The way Smith manage the clock there was fine. 

Lets talk about why him sticking to Marcus Mariota is actually better then starting the rookie up until the Steelers game. Smith believes that the hardest part about transitioning to the NFL as a QB from college is moving around in the pocket. He spoke on this in a press conference a week or so ago. Marcus Mariota is able to help this Oline look a bit better then they are because he is able to move and get out of sacks, pressures and low snaps. So from that stand point he gives us the best chance to even throw the ball. I am sure Smith knows that Ridder can throw the ball better then Mariota, yet will Ridder have the chance to even make the throws. If he can not move in the pocket like Mariota has been doing then the answer is no. TF to blame for bring in Mariota, what was a better option? See above why Mariota was the best option for this seasons and for Ridders growth (learning from a QB that knows Smith offense)

The defense is the bottom of the league, what you mean not been as bad as you was thinking they would have been? We are ok in the redzone but ever other stat we are bottom 5 on most if not all stats. If you was expecting us to be better then 32nd then you are right.

 

[Lethal]

1 hour ago, Banana Bandit said:

Coaching is literally the only reason we have been in these games. Not talent.

Bad thread.

 

1 hour ago, Herr Doktor said:

Nailed it.  We are one of the lowest teams in penalties.  That my friend is coaching.

 

1 hour ago, Lornoth said:

I love how people say "Yeah our roster is terrible, but we've still been in these games!" when complaining about coaching as if that isn't the counter argument to their entire position.

 

1 hour ago, FentayeJones said:

Coaching is the main reason this team is even competitive. 

 

1 hour ago, hjerry said:

You can't say that talent gaps don't matter and say that Mariota sucks

Not without looking stupid anyway 

[The Falcon Jedi Knight]

Ive never seen such horrible tackling in my life.

[raumin]

Sorry don't agree.

1. AS is doing more with less.

2. We are in most games down to the end

3. We are the least penalized team

4. We've already exceeded our expected win total for a team that had the 31st best roster based on all GMs around the league. 

5. We are disciplined similar to the Mike Smith days.

I'm not saying AS is perfect, he's made his share of mistakes, but if you really want to know what bad coaching looks like go back to Quinn's last season with us. Break downs in discipline and leads across the board.

[FalconFanSince1969]

1 hour ago, Herr Doktor said:

Nailed it.  We are one of the lowest teams in penalties.  That my friend is coaching.

We are actually the best in the NFL. I think we average 4 penalties a game

[Boise Falcon Fan]

2 hours ago, Banana Bandit said:

Coaching is literally the only reason we have been in these games. Not talent.

Bad thread.

Mostly true, but stubbornly staying with Mariota is a coaching issue. 

[Boise Falcon Fan]

21 minutes ago, The Falcon Jedi Knight said:

Ive never seen such horrible tackling in my life.

Apparently you didn't watch the Pac 12 Championship. USC was horrible in the second half.

[RazorWing]

It's not coaching. The team lacks good players

[celtiksage]

2 hours ago, FalconFanSince1969 said:

Not listening to coaching advice from someone who doesnt know what a paragraph is

 

He lost me when he said play calling is just plain bad, and that the best example of that is having X QB play over Y QB. Huh? 

[Faithful Falcon]

3 hours ago, Banana Bandit said:

Coaching is literally the only reason we have been in these games. Not talent.

Bad thread.

So, are you saying the coaching is good? I think it has more to do with how bad the other teams are playing. There are plenty of situations throughout this season that debunks your theory. 

[1989Fan]

6 minutes ago, Faithful Falcon said:

So, are you saying the coaching is good? I think it has more to do with how bad the other teams are playing. There are plenty of situations throughout this season that debunks your theory. 

I think coaching is good. Half the team the Falcons are fielding would be depth on the teams they are playing on any given Sunday. This team never played this hard under Quinn and crew.

then again maybe my standards are low due to coach Franklin at Penn State. 

[Geaux_Falcons]

The simple fact that we have 5 wins with Mariota as our starting QB, tells you we are well coached at minimum.

Having the 2nd youngest roster in the entire league tells you what little talent we do have, is very young and inexperienced.

56 million in dead cap space between Matt Ryan and Julio Jones is practically 2 times more than almost every other team in the league. So we really scraped the bottom of the barrell for any vets.

Despite all of that, we've seen a strong run game and a semblance of a pass rush at times. Those are 2 areas we really have struggled with for years now since the SB run. We're technically in the middle of a division title race and shot at the playoffs.

Now the division is pretty wretched, and I don't think we'll come close to winning it, but a poorly coached team wouldn't even be in the hunt(Again, we shouldn't be, but we are). We really should be competing with Houston for the worst record in the league.