Smith mum on whether Falcons will go after Peppers
The Vince Lombardi Trophy on display at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center last Friday. (By D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)
RADIO ROW – After the Pro Football Writers of America meeting (yours truly is second vice president), I caught up with Falcons coach Mike Smith and owner Arthur Blank while they were working radio row. (Missed Thomas Dimitroff, who made his rounds on Thursday).
Smith talked with the local shows. He talked with Doc Walker and John Thompson from the D.C. station.
He spent some time with old friends in Baltimore and Jacksonville. He made several other stops. So did Blank.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Fox Sports Laura Okmin on radio row. (By D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)
Tiki Barber interviewing Snoop Dogg. (By D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)
Smith was not distracted from his interview when Snoop Dogg and his entourage passed by on their way to an interview with Tiki Barber for Yahoo! Sports. Actors/Entertainers Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Kevin James, David Spade, Usher and Jamie Foxx were some of the other celebs getting in their football fix on radio row.
In between visits, Smith, who I don’t believe is familiar with Mr. Dogg’s work, gave us some important updated medical information.
RYAN AND TURNER UPDATE: The teams’ two major offensive weapons, running back Michael Turner (high ankle sprain) and quarterback Matt Ryan (turf toe), are nursing their injuries.
“Both of those guys are spending some time with our rehab people,” Smith said. “The big thing for them is to be non-active on those body parts.“
DOUGLAS UPDATE: Wide receiver Harry Douglas, who missed last season with a knee injury, passed through radio row with his parents.
“Harry has done a very good job throughout the entire season,” Smith said. “He’s still involved in his rehabilitation. He’s getting closer to actually getting out and doing some work on the field.”
Coach Mike Smith doing an interview on radio row at the Super Bowl. (By D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)
FINNERAN UPDATE: Wide receiver Brian Finneran suffered a knee injury late last season.
“Brian Finneran’s was non-surgical,” Smith said. “It is just a matter of getting enough time off the knee so that he’ll be prepared and ready to go for mini-camp.”
NOT TALKING ABOUT PEPPERS: Smith also shared that the coaching staff has been evaluating the potential free agent class. Later in the month, they’ll switch gears to the combine.
I asked him about Carolina’s Julius Peppers and if the Falcons were interested. (I knew he couldn’t answer, but I asked anyway. Smitty didn’t want to get another fine from Commish Goodell!)
“Until free agency opens (on March 5th), we can’t talk about (other players),” Smith said.
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79 comments Add your comment
SIGNPEPPERS!!!!
February 9th, 2010
3:38 am
SIGN PEPPERS!!!!
Getaway
February 9th, 2010
8:11 am
Peppers has repeatedly said that he is not leaving Carolina to go to another NFC South team and I don’t think he would consider an AFC South team either. He wants to go to a big football market team. Getting paid big is part of it. But, he wants to be on a team that will get him Hall of Fame attention.
Let’s be realistic here.playing on the Falcons – even if they win the Super Bowl – will not garner any HOF votes. If I had to guess, his most likely spot would be Pittsburgh, possibly New York or even Dallas if this is an uncapped year.
speed racer
February 9th, 2010
9:25 am
Falcons rebuilding? The falcons have been rebuilding for 44 years and still can’t get it right.
Lil Larry
February 9th, 2010
10:00 am
If Peppers was the next coming of Reggie White I’d be all for it; but we all have seen his drop off in production the last few years. He took it to the next level this year to market himself to other teams. We can find someone younger, bigger, faster and stronger in a draft prospect. A good scout will find him.
Lil Larry
February 9th, 2010
10:06 am
Travis comparing Peppers to Reggie White is absolutely absurd. There is NO comparison.
Afraidy
February 9th, 2010
10:19 am
Would you send Freddie the Falcon to your wife for Valentine’s Day? Me Neither.
http://tinyurl.com/yggcseq
Ramblin Wrecker
February 9th, 2010
10:20 am
Sunday’s Super Bowl was the most watched SB since 1987. Coincidentally that was the last SB before the 1987 players’ strike. Do you think that the fact that it took 23 years to get the ratings back to that level is a coincidence? Or do you think it is a sobering fact that the NFL and the Union should be aware of before they dig their heels in and ruin a good thing?
Curtis Hampton
February 9th, 2010
10:29 am
You address poor pass protection 1 of 2 ways. You either beef up your pass rush so the qb has less time to find open receivers, or you get good corner backs that can cover. There is only one player in the league that had more sacks over the last 10 seasons than John Abrhams(Jason Taylor for Miami). We have a good pass rusher on 1 side. Peppers would be a great fit on the other side. The falcons then try to obtain 1 more experienced corner from free agency and they will be set for next year.
Ken Strickland
February 9th, 2010
11:51 am
BOSNIANBALLER-If you understood the nuances of rushing the passer, you’d know just having a pair of pass rushing DE’s isn’t enough. All you had to do is pay attention to Sunday’s superbowl and you would have gained an understanding of this fact. DE’s Mathis and Freeney give the Colts the NFL’s best outside pass rush. If fact, the Colts relied almost totally on their DE’s to pressure Brees, and the Saints obviously figured as much. All Brees did was go from a 5 or 7 to a7 or 9 step drop, which created more ground for their DE’s to cover. The OT’s made certain the DE’s stayed to the outside, and as soon as they got within reach of Brees, he took 2-3 steps into the pocket and made the Colts pay. What was missing from the Colts pass rush was inside pressure needed to close of collapse the pocket and prevent Brees from stepping up.
A strong outside pass rush, without a supporting inside pass rush, will only force the QB to step up into the pocket, like Brees and all other QB’s are taught to do. However, a strong inside pass rush, with no supporting outside pressure, will prevent the QB from stepping into the nonexistent pocket. If forced out of the pocket, he has to roll either right or left, which effectively cuts the field in half.
This is the very reason the Saints even made it to the SB in the 1st place. On the Vikings final play, which sealed the win for the Saints, we all saw BFarve get flushed out of the pocket because of their inside pass rush. He ended up throwing on the run, across his body and across the field, while trying to an open WR going in the opposite direction. We all know how that play sealed the victory for the Saints.
I’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN, TOO MANY OF YOU GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE AND SENSATIONALISM OF CERTAIN PLAYERS WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GETTING. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU GO FOR THE SIZZLE RATHER THAN THE STEAK. THINK, THINK, THINK!
Just look at the numbers and see if you really think Peppers in the solution.
JPEPPERS-SACKS 10.5, TACKLES 42, TOTAL SNAPS 806. He played every snap in a 3-4 DEF.
KBIERMANN-SACKS 5, TACKLES 49, TOTAL SNAPS 499. He played in a rotational DEF in which no DLineman played every snap.
If KBiermann played every snap and got the 806 snaps Peppers got, his total tackles would dwarf Peppers 42 tackles, and his sack total would also be a lot closer to the 10.5 Peppers registered. Biermann is younger and has the reputation of being a hard working none stop player. The reputation JPeppers has acquired thoughout the NFL is the complete opposite of Biermann’s.
If we spent 15+million to sign Peppers, and his snaps were reduced to the 499-500 range, which would certainly be the case in our rotational DEF system, only a total and complete moron would fail to realize the sacks and total tackles Peppers registered last yr would decrease basd on his decrease in total snaps.
SO WHY WOULD ANYONE BE STUPID ENOUGH TO SPEND AN EXTRA $15+million ON A DE THAT’S MOST LIKELY NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ANY MORE OVERALL, IF AS MUCH, AS YOUR CURRENT DE? WHAT MAKES IT AN EVEN DUMBER MOVE IS THE FACT YOU ALREADY HAVE DE JABRAHAM, WHO OUTPERFORMED PEPPERS(10.5 SACKS) WITH 16.5 SACKS THE YR BEFORE, AND HE DID IT PLAYING IN OUR ROTATIONAL DEF AND RECEIVING FAR FEWER SNAPS THE PEPPERS RECEIVED.
Don’t forget, this is the same DE JPeppers, who just 3yrs ago played every snap in 14gms and registered only 2.5 sacks and 35 tackles, and still demanded to be the NFL’s highest paid DE. By contrast, DE JAbraham had an off yr last yr and registered 5 sacks and 35 tackles. Even in yrs when he suffered serious injuries and had limited playing time, like 2000 4.5SACKS in 6gms, 2003 6SACKS in 7gms and 2006 4SACKS in 8gms, he was far more productive than Peppers.
I spent my FEMA money on superbowl tickets
February 9th, 2010
12:07 pm
ATLANTA FALCANTS SUCK!!!
WHO DAT WON THE SUPERBOWEL!!!!
cdog
February 9th, 2010
12:55 pm
the falcons need to quit worrying about money and go after the best players that will get them in the superbowl.money and being a “good” guy shouldn’t matter. thats why they sit at home every year and other teams play for the championship in the superbowl. julius peppers should be signed no matter what.
Ken Strickland
February 9th, 2010
5:30 pm
Anyone who thinks DE JPeppers in the answer to all of our DEF problems, especially our pass rush, and feel we should sign him no matter what, or at all cost, doesn’t know a lot about football and is more focused on hype and sensationalism than reality. Here’s why I say that.
(1) Peppers has registered 27.5 sacks over the last 3yrs, while JAbraham has registered 32 over the same period.
(2) In 07, Peppers played 14gms and registered a whopping 2.5 sacks, and still demanded that the Panthers make him the NFL’s highest paid DE. In Abrahams rookie yr he played in a total of 6gms and still registered 4.5 sacks. In his worst yr he played in only 8gms and still registered 4 sacks.
(3) Last yr, DE JPeppers required 806 DEF snaps in order to get his 10.5 sacks and 42 tackles. By comparison, DE KBiermann, who played in a rotational DL system and who’s 499 snaps were more than any Falcon’s DE, still registered 5 sacks and 49 tackles with 307 fewer snaps.
(4) Regardless of how much money you pay JPeppers, there’s no way he’s going to give you the same number of sacks and tackles he registered last yr with the drastic reduction in snaps he’d receive playing in our rotational DL system.
(5) DE JAbraham already gives us a better pass rushing DE than JPeppers, and KBiermann is a much, much better run stopper(7 more tackles in 307 fewer snaps). While Peppers got 10.5 sacks to Biermann’s 5, it took Peppers 307 additional snaps to register that extra 5.5 sacks.
Therefore, since Peppers won’t receive the extra 300+ snaps he needed to register his 10.5 sacks and 42 tackles if he played for us, it’s almost a guarantee his production would decrease. SO, WITH ALL OF THIS FACTORED IN, DO ALL OF YOU WHO INSIST ON BUYING INTO THE JPEPPER HYPE AND SIZZLE STILL THINK WE SHOULD SPEND $15+MILLION TO BRING IN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE? AND IF SO, PLEASE EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT WE’D BE GETTING FOR THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT?
Falcon Fan
February 9th, 2010
6:03 pm
While I like Julius Peppers for the money he makes he takes off too many plays and by giving Julius Peppers alot of money the Falcons would be creating a negative environment with Peppers and John Abraham. What the Falcons need is to find a way into the top 5 and be hopeful of landing either defensive playmaker defensive tackle Suh or safety Berry.
Ken
February 9th, 2010
6:13 pm
SIGN PEPPERS, the man can take our defense to the next level. he had 10 1/2 sacks wit 5 ff and 2 int. which counts as 7 turnovers. he changes the game. He got all these stats while being double team. Stop comparing him to a guy (KROY) who got five sack and 1 ff. Who Offensive coordinators dont even game plan against. Yall keep talkin bout how he doesnt play hard cause he had one bad season. HE HAD 51 TACKLES -14.5 SACKS – 5 FF LAST SEASON. ANOTHER 10 + SACKS THIS SEASON ALONG WIT 5 FF AND 2 INT. AND U GUYS SAY HE DOESNT PLAY HARD??? GET REAL. ………….AND MADE THE PROBOWL. AND HE’S 30 YEARS OLD….PEPPERS IS AN ATHLETE, HE PLAYED BASKETBALL FOR THE TAR HEELS. HE GOT 8 MORE YEARS IN HIM. HE MAKES ABE JOB A LOT EASIER AS WELL AS OUR SECONDARY. HOW WE GONA COMPETE WIT THE SAINTS. WITHOUT A PASS RUSH. OUR FALCONS DID A GOOD JOB DEFENDING THE RUN, HORRIBLE JOB ON THE PASS. CUZ OUR OPPONENTS QB’S HAD TOO MUCH TIME IN THE POCKET. SIGN PEPPERS.
Ken
February 9th, 2010
6:20 pm
ONE MORE THING HE FORCES TURNOVERS AS WELL GETTING SACKS, SOMETHING KROY COULDNT DO. IM NOT SAYING KROY IS BAD DE BUT QUIT COMPARING HIM TO PEPPERS, AS IF HE A BETTER RESUME AND BEEN TO THE PROBOWL, THE SUPERBOWL, SINGLE HANDILY TOO OVER A GAME IN THE PLAYOFFS. U GET MY POINT….SIGN PEPPERS
Ken Strickland
February 9th, 2010
6:49 pm
KEN-If we sign JPeppers, our rotational DL system won’t allow him the number of snaps he needs to put up the numbers he put up with the Panthers. If he’s everything you seem to think he is, why is Carolina so willing to let him go, and so unwilling to even make him an offer? QUICK ANSWER, they know better than anyone that he’s not worth the money he wants, and is no longer willing to buy the sizzle. And how hard do you think he played in 07 when he got only 2.5 sacks in 14gms? These are things that I mentioned and you failed to acknowledge or consider.
You said “SIGN PEPPERS, THE MAN CAN TAKE OUR DEFENSE TO THE NEXT LEVEL”. Well, he sure as hell hasn’t taken the Panthers DEF to the next level, has he? And what makes you think he can do it for us, especially when you know he’ll receive around 300 fewer snaps?
AGAIN, YOU’RE BUYING THE SIZZLE, NOT THE STEAK.
Ken
February 9th, 2010
7:22 pm
@Ken Strickland LOL, MAN I WENT TO STEAK AND SHAKE, AND ORDERED A HELL OF A STEAK. WHY WOULD U SIGN SOMEBODY THAT DONT WANNA PLAY FOR U,? THINK ABOUT IT. THEY DEFENSE WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO BEAT FALCONS AND SAINTS IN THERE SUPERDOME. AND THEY WERE 8TH RANK DEFENSE. HOW HARD U THINK ABE PLAYED THIS YEAR? WHATS SUP WIT THESE SNAPS? LIKE IM DEBATING AGAINST BRIAN VAN GORDER. AND WHY WOULD THE FALCONS SIGN HIM TO GOOD CONTRACT AND NOT GIVE HIM SNAPS. GET REAL, THEN HE HAD 24 SACKS – 10 FF – 2 INT IN 2 SEASON FOR A TEAM HE DIDN’T WANT TO PLAY FOR. U TRYING EAT CEREAL WITH NO MILK, LOL….THE PANTHER DEFENSE WAS 8TH RANK ONCE AGAIN
Ken
February 9th, 2010
7:26 pm
@Ken Strickland http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8164fdda&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true. THEY OFFERED HIM A CONTRACT THAT WOULDVE MADE HIM THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER AFTER THE 07 SEASON. HE REJECTED IT BECAUSE HE FELT HE DIDNT DESERVE IT.
Ken Strickland
February 10th, 2010
12:07 am
KEN-I read that article yesterday, and he sounded like a player that’s full of Sh!t and himself. He gave conflicting reasons for rejecting that 07 contract, and only offered the I WASN’T DESERVING OF THAT CONTRACT response after realizing his, IT DIDN’T SEEM LIKE THEY WERE SINCERE response was weak and made no sense. Of course you focused on the last excuse he offered because it furthered your agenda and fueled you fasination with him.
There’s an article by Mark Bradley with some compelling reasons why the Falcons shouldn’t sign Peppers. You mentioned that we needed him to get after QB DBrees. Well, in 4gms against the Saints and Falcons, he registered zero(0)sacks, and 6 of his 10.5 sacks were against the Bills, Bucs and Redskins. All 3 teams were among the NFL’s worst at protecting their QB’s, and gave up totals of 46, 33 and 46 sacks respectively.
So, if he got 6 of his 10.5 sacks in 4gms against these 3 weak pass blocking teams, that means he managed only 4.5 over the remaining 12gms. We don’t need to spend $15m+ for an inconsistent DE that’s only going to be effective against weaker teams like Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Washington. Hell, we managed to defeat all 3 teams, Tampa Bay twice, without him or a strong pass rush.
I’m surprised that someone who loves football doesn’t understand the significance of snaps. Snaps represent the number of plays a player participates in. The more snaps a player participates in the more opportunities he gets to make tackles and get sacks, fumbles, INT’s etc. So, if a player gets 49 tackles in 499 snaps, and another player gets 42 tackles in 806 snaps, the player with the most tackles in the fewest opportunities is the better player.
If a player gets 10.5 sacks in 806 snaps, and another player gets 5 sacks in 499 snaps, it means the disparity in sack totals is reflected in the disparity in the number of snaps each player participated in. Fewer snaps would mean fewer opportunities, and likely fewer sacks for Peppers, while more snaps would mean more opportunities, and likely more sacks for Biermann. THIS ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE WE’RE DEALING WITH HERE KEN.
You said “AND WHY WOULD THE FALCONS SIGN HIM TO A GOOD CONTRACT AND NOT GIVE HIM SNAPS, GET REAL. Well, the same reason DE JAbraham has been given limited snaps over the last 2yrs, even though he has a good contract as well. If the rotated JAbraham, and limited his snaps during the yr he had those 16.5 sacks, why wouldn’t they do the same for Peppers. Besides, if they have to change their rotational DL system just to accomodate Peppers, and get adequate production out of him, it’s just another reason not to bring him here.
Ken
February 10th, 2010
2:14 am
@ Ken Strickland GOOD POINT, but back to this snaps and sacks. so u are saying that KROY WILL GET MORE SACKS THAN PEPPERS if he gets 806 snaps, i dont think thats gona happen u can ask anyone. why would the panthers pay him $17 million franchise tag and not give him 806 snaps. thats a waste of a tag. we rotated abraham this season and what happen? kroy had ONE SACK against those teams u named who have weak pass blocking schemes. he had 0sacks because he was double teamed by the falcons and the saints. not to mention he had an int against the saints in which sealed the win. i said earlier he can make our D-LINE LOOK A LOT BETTER, ABE, BABS, JERRY. AND OUR SECONDARY. i do love football though……lol………… Abe is not getting paid 17 mill. the falcons better change they DL system if they wanna make the playoff and win the super bowl. TO HELL WIT A THESE SNAPS STATS. the falcons need make big step in free agency. turner, gonzo,and PEPPERS. Would u take KROY OVER PEPPERS????
Michael
February 10th, 2010
9:15 am
Kroy is good and has a great NFL future and JA has been a bust. 3 sacks in 3 years – WOW- what a DE! Lets draft a good DE- Peppers will be too much $ and we need some young legs, this will be Peppers 9th year.There are some good DE’s available in the draft this year.
marco galvan
February 10th, 2010
9:41 am
people who are saying we need a vick again is purely retarded our qb is way better than vick and peppers chances we wont get him this year injuries is the key and well kroy i would say we need him maybe less money
cwltank
February 10th, 2010
12:22 pm
abraham and peppers yes thats having your ice cream & your cake we can trade davis & anderson we dont need them anyway i say sign pepp draft a receiver and o- line man and lets beat them saints next year who dat say ? Wayne
FalcFans.com » Finneran re-signs for one year
February 11th, 2010
1:47 pm
[...] two tackles on special teams. Finneran suffered a torn PCL in his left knee this past season, but according to reports did not need surgery to repair the damage. Finneran’s had past knee issues, having missed the [...]
Birdseed: February 9, 2010
February 11th, 2010
1:49 pm
[...] Smith mum on whether Falcons will go after Peppers, Atlanta Journal-Constitution You’re not going to hear much out of the Falcons front office in regards to free agency, especially a few weeks before it starts. Also keep in mind — in an uncapped year — the amount of free agents available decreases. This will certainly monkey with market value. [...]
dirtyo11
February 11th, 2010
4:49 pm
If we don’t get Peppers….It will hunt us. Look at the D players that NO got that no one else wanted. Sharper is 60yrs old and still playing like he is 30. Falcons need to win now, stop worrying about later. Remember when the 49ers won their superbowls, they would sign old veterns for 1-3 yrs contract. If we went after better DBs or D lineman last year oh yeah and a better kicker we would’ve been in the playoffs. The aints beat us last year because the refs made a few bad calls and a our kicker missed a few FGs. GET PEPPERS BEFORE THE BUCS, OR SAINTS PICK HIM UP, TRUE FALCONS FANS DON’T FORGET THIS GUY HAS TORTUED US IN THE PAST, IF WE CAN’T BLOCK HIM….SIGN HIM
Cowboys
February 22nd, 2010
1:26 pm
The cowboys will have the most money to spend in a uncapped year we are going to buy us a ring Dallas is Back
social media
May 22nd, 2010
5:03 am
Indeed it was very interesting for me to read this post. Thank you for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.
Falcons don’t comment on Peppers | Fantasy Demon
June 18th, 2010
11:47 am
[...] coach Mike Smith would not comment if the Falcons are interested in Julius Peppers, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Smith said, "Until free agency opens (on March 5th), we cannot talk about other players."Our View: [...]