Belichick advised Dimitroff against Jones trade
Pittsburgh wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, right, makes a catch for a first down over Notre Dame cornerback Darrin Walls in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Pittsburgh won 27-22. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
FLOWERY BRANCH — Michael Holley is one of my favorite people in the sports business.
Our paths crossed in Ohio decades ago and we’ve consulted a various times during our careers. He was very helpful during the Michael Vick trial, so when he was writing the “War Room” I was pleased to help out.
My copy is waiting for me at the office, but SI’s Peter King has already read the book and shared a gracious book review on page 2 of this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback column. Here’s the link to King’s column.
In the book, “War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team” Holley writes about Belichick, Kansas City’s Scott Pioli and Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff thoughts on building that perfect team.
A couple of things in the review caught my attention.
1. After Dimitroff called Belichick “as a friend,” the mentor advised him not to make the Julio Jones trade. He felt the Falcons should have stayed at No. 27 and picked Pittsburgh’s Jonathan Baldwin. The deal was too pricey for Belichick’s blood. (Baldwin was our selection in one of my early Mocks drafts. He went to Kansas City on the 26th pick. He caught a couple balls last night in the win over San Diego.).
2. The Falcons, with their quest for players with high football I.Q.’s and good character, have the most “black dots” on their draft board in the league. Players that the team won’t consider are given black dots. Even the image conscious owner, Arthur Blank, was concerned with the number of “black dots.” In their quest to stay away from “challenged souls” are the Falcons missing out on some talent?
3. The draft room is bizarre. In the past when the local media has requested access to the draft room, they have been summarily turned down. It seems the draft room is party central full of limited partners and board members. The book notes that Dimitroff runs a pretty relaxed ship that may include Hank Aaron or Andrew Young dropping by on draft day. Pioli is much more up tight in K.C. He wants peace and quiet in his draft room.
BTW, King recommends the book highly.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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161 comments Add your comment
FALCONS SORRY
November 1st, 2011
9:57 am
AW SHET, NOW THE FLACONS THANK DAY JES GONNA WOK TOO THE SUPPER BOWEL?
HAW HAW HAW HALE NAW!!!
Mike is Back
November 1st, 2011
9:58 am
DLed, good stuff…it’s easy for Belichick to say that…he has built his dynasty…TD is trying to ours. However, I do feel this team has matured to the point where we can start checking some of these guys out.
You would think as the organization matures…there would be less need for black dots. Sometimes you have to willing take some risks…it all part of the game.
I think Jones will end up being a valued asset to the team…BESIDES…when you can draft as well as TD…you can always find a few jewels…in the lower rounds…KIND of like ole Belichick himself…hmmmmmmmmm.
Birdman
November 1st, 2011
9:58 am
When the man paying the 30 million dollars says he wants them in the room you say yes sir. Its stupid to argue that point. Did Andy Young hinder Dtroff by eating chips in the corner? This draft is scripted down to each potential transaction. Its not like all of a sudden there is something you had not considered that you need the room empty to talk to your higher power about. Bunch of doofuses who even talk about this junk. Maybe we should not even have a draft room, put Dtroff in a hyperbaric chamber with a headset and monitor, or fly him to Libya to hide in a ditch. Maybe then he wont pick Julio. Get over it please. Pioli has built himself a super power becuase his draft room is empty? Come on.
Scott
November 1st, 2011
10:05 am
well so far bb is correct. julio is injured and hasn’t done squat this year. really hope he doesn’t turn into another michael jenkins.
PMC
November 1st, 2011
10:06 am
Good to see you again Falcons Sorry, often my IBS gives me issues with the Supper Bowel too.
Samuel
November 1st, 2011
10:07 am
Julio Jones will turn out to be a valuable trade. Roddy White will not get another long term contract,Hence Julio will eventally be the guy. Being that said, they’ll draft or trade for a young wide out with speed and he’ll play opposite Jones.
Rufus1
November 1st, 2011
10:13 am
The Deep Ball Fantasy….
Most QB’s don’t throw a pass over 30yrds down field. Most big plays come on the scheme, slant or the post. If you watch Rodgers or Breeze they hit alot of slants for big plays….show me the last time they threw a pass in the air 50yrds down field…They Don’t.
I have a problem with the fact the Falcons don’t throw the slant or post more. The Falcons also need a big, fast TE to run down the middle and open up Matt’s strength(passing with touch, timing and accuracy)…I love Gonzo, but I want a game breaking TE.
BIG Plays..
Run after the catch is what causes the big plays and the Falcons offense doesn’t cater to RAC. FALCONS ARE BALL CONTROL…
Walker, Texas Ranger
November 1st, 2011
10:14 am
I like Julio but I would rather have done what the Pats did the past few years and trade down while picking up picks. Unfortunately for the Pats, they can’t pick very good. They are great at trading draft picks but horrible at pulling the trigger on the actual picks.
Malcome the falcon
November 1st, 2011
10:16 am
Drafting Julio Jones was a great pick. It brought excitement to an ordinary draft for the Falcons. Once the Falcons learn how to use him,all the better. Mentioning Belichick only brings out the naysayers.
Die Hard Falcon
November 1st, 2011
10:16 am
I think the trade and it’s value can only be assessed 1 or 2 years down the road. A large part will be determined on how we finish this year, b/c that will determine how high of a 1st rd pick we give the Browns, I believe we will finish 11-5, so depending on whether or not we can finally pick up a playoff win or hopefully a SB, we should be looking at no higher than 23 and hopefully 32! I would be comfortable with that, b/c I think Julio is the real deal, I admit I was scared the way we started off this year, the thought of giving up a top 15 was sick, not to mention the thought of taking a huge step backwards.
I love TD and what he’s brought, I know it was a risk, but I think he felt we had a sufficient amount of talent and this would be the time to make a deal like this, at this point I agree, so many late 1st rounders are busts, we knew/know that Julio isn’t. We’re going to be alright, definitely need to shore up our OL and DL, we need a solid LT and Abe is getting old, once he’s gone, we have nothing of note at DE.
CGD..
November 1st, 2011
10:19 am
“Matt’s strength(passing with touch, timing and accuracy)” Huh?
They say “crack is wack!” lol
CGD..
November 1st, 2011
10:23 am
Matt’s arm is like Vegas, its either hit or miss…..more miss than hits..24th is passing now…
Keep running Julio, run through regardless if the ball is there or not….
Einstein
November 1st, 2011
10:26 am
Falcons 36, Colts 10
Einstein
November 1st, 2011
10:28 am
Falcons are well rested, fresh, healthier than they were before the bye week..the only player that I don’t expect to play is Ovie but Snelling will do fine in his place. Maybe make us more dynamic as an offense because he can go out and catch out of the backfield more often than Ovie could…don’t get me wrong Ovie is a great FB, but he rarely ever caught the ball…well Snelling can give us that extra threat to move the chains…
Falcons should be good, and ready to go this Sunday vs. a weak Colts team…mind you, they do play better at their house…so we better play hard…but we still win going away.
GO FALCONS
Sly Ty
November 1st, 2011
10:28 am
With all due respect to Belicheck, he hasn’t won a championship since spy gate was exposed. Also, since then his defenses have been abysmal. Without cheating he is not the same Head Coach. Smitty did what he thought was right and that is that. The Patriots have stock piled picks while screwing over the Raiders, yet they still have the worst Defense in the NFL. If you don’t believe it check the stats for this season.
ATL 1
November 1st, 2011
10:29 am
Big mistake using all those picks for a wide receiver who is good, but not great. Atl had many more important needs. Dimitroff blew it
Mr. Belichick
November 1st, 2011
10:33 am
TD doesn’t listen. That is why we are glad he left NE. Show me one great pick he has made for Atlanta.
As long as he is there the Falcons will always be a GOOD team not GREAT.
Saintsfan
November 1st, 2011
10:33 am
I wish Matt Ryan was our QB. Brees is getting old and not as good anymore. We can’t beat the falcons and keep losing to basement teams. I wish we had Julio Jones
iceBIRDcold11
November 1st, 2011
10:33 am
Belichick smelly chick. Ask him if he needed Julio against Pittsburgh. They shot for AJ Green and landed on Julio. Time will only tell if this trade was pass or fail.
Mr. Belichick
November 1st, 2011
10:34 am
By the way, TD has no clue.
GT
November 1st, 2011
10:34 am
How does anyone know what this team needs. We have played arguably our best football while Juilo is recovering and beating Detroit in Detroit after they had lost one the week before is no small task. We think we can’t stretch the field because we don’t have a receiver like Jones yet maybe the truth is we don’t have the line that gives Matt time to stretch the field. They block for runs and short routes very well but not home runs. I think it is easier to find a line eventually that can hold them out than it is to find a Calvin Johnson, Jones type player. Remember it took Johnson a few years to get on the same page and it took White the same kind of adjustment here. We are contenders now and we will be even better in the future when we work Jones into the system.
R Brown
November 1st, 2011
10:35 am
ATL1 – Short. To the point and RIGHT!
schmeckdawg
November 1st, 2011
10:42 am
5 draft picks for a wide receiver? C’mon man! Only if it was Megatron or AJ Green!
R Brown
November 1st, 2011
10:42 am
GT – I don’t think most on the blog are questioning the player. Just the COST. It’s just me but I wouldn’t trade that many picks for any WR playing right now. Veterans included.
Yo Vince
November 1st, 2011
10:44 am
Belichump needs to worry about Pittsburg, not Julio being too high a price. Julio is great for the Falcons. In 2 years he will look like a bargin.
R Brown
November 1st, 2011
10:45 am
schemeckdawg – Don’t you mean , maybe if it was Jerry Rice?
CGD..
November 1st, 2011
10:47 am
“5 draft picks for a wide receiver? C’mon man! Only if it was Megatron or AJ Green!”
Doesn’t matter, this QB could not get them the rock either….A waste of 5 picks? Huh?
CGD..
November 1st, 2011
10:53 am
Falcons on the road? Its going to be a struggle..Matt and Mike (M&M) will make sure of that..
Falcons by 7…..whew…..
R Brown
November 1st, 2011
10:55 am
CGD – I agree as well. Many believe,with a gunslinger QB or a different OC, JJ, Roddy and HD would be All-Pros.
Rod "straight outta Augusta
November 1st, 2011
10:58 am
We definitely paid too much at the moment, however from a Salary Cap perspective I can understand why. Based on the new rookie scale, we received a Top 10 pick with late first round money. We gave up a 2nd and a 1st next year, which means we are off the hook for 2 nice salaries next year.
Let’s be clear, TD is a better 3rd-late round drafter. I don’t think he feels comfortable drafting in those higher rounds. Besides, we need more role players than starters. Reference: Preseason. I would not feel comfortable drafting a 2nd rounder to back up my starter, unless I knew my backup would be starting soon.
Julio is going to be something SPECIAL here in Atlanta. Look at his body of work this year so far….he is clearly outperforming Roddy. It took Roddy several years to get IT. You dont find special players like Julio often and when you are able to spot them….its best to grab them.
Am I impressed with Baldwins 1 hit performance last night?….NO. Torrey Smith?….NO. etc. We are going to be fine and I think Julio will be well worth it in the end.
coach13
November 1st, 2011
11:03 am
No player is worth what they gave up. Even if he becomes a probowler, he wasn’t worth what they gave up.
Fan
November 1st, 2011
11:08 am
Our Offensive Line injuries have hurt Atlanta explosive plays. However, the O-Line is getting nasty again and now the Falcons have faced their toughness teams with a 4-3 mark. Just think if the line was healthy what would had been. I am looking at a 12-4 mark this season and the lose might come from the Texan. I believe that Atlanta will be 5-1 in their division. Atlanta is the better team with the most talent and a team that will be much better after this bye week. D-Block will create HELL on other teams and now this Defense will come together finally. They are getting better each week and this is what my favor is right now, GB will be right for the picking in the playoff and finally this team will win more than one playoff game. Sometimes it takes time too grow and gel
cwltank
November 1st, 2011
11:11 am
Julio is far better than Jenkins. We saved money actually by dumping Jenkins contract & by not having to pay for 2 1st rd contracts. Julio has a long way to go but he has already showed flashes of an explosive WR. 4-3 and the the next game is against the Colts, I like the Falcons chances.
Max Forstag
November 1st, 2011
11:15 am
Thanks ATL, you guys made a great trade! How many draft picks did we get for JJ? We’re not exactly world beaters right now, but I think this deal will help us out immensely in next year’s draft. We weren’t gonna fix our offense with just 1 player anyway, but Phil Taylor has certainly helped bolster our D-line!
JONESBORO SLIM
November 1st, 2011
11:25 am
Ever since the league found out about the camera that Belichick was using to spy on other teams their performance has diminish….
cdog
November 1st, 2011
11:30 am
I’M GLAD HE DID IGNORE WHAT BELICHICK SAID. JULIO JONES BEFORE HE’S DONE WITH HIS CAREER, WILL BE BETTER THAN JERRY RICE, LYNN SWANN, JOHN STALWORTH AND ALL OF THE GREAT RECIEVERS THAT EVER PLAYED THE GAME.I BET YOU IF BELICHICK WAS IN THE FALCONS POSITION, HE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING.JULIO JONES ONLY COMES AROUND ON RARE OCCASSIONS. JULIO, DON’T LISTEN TO THE MEDIA. MOST ARE HATERS WHO WOULD HAVE PREFERRED YOU GO TO THE JETS OR SOME OTHER TEAM.JUST PLAY FOOTBALL TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY AND ONE DAY, YOU WILL BE IN THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN CANTON AS THE GREATEST RECIEVER TO EVER PLAY THE GAME
Saints R.E.A.M.
November 1st, 2011
11:35 am
cdog, you are dreaming. Julio will be a stud receiver but he will not reach Jerry Rice air. Keep in mind the system that Jerry Rice was in, was perfect for his skills and talents. Julio can’t have that type of success with a “3 yards and a cloud of ‘rubber’ offense”…. Julio, like all receivers also need a good QB to deliver the ball to them. Hard to be a great receiver with no QB.
Bill Belichick Advised Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff Against The Julio Jones Trade | Robert Littal Presents BlackSportsOnline
November 1st, 2011
11:36 am
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the details: In the book, “War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the [...]
honest_abe
November 1st, 2011
11:40 am
5 catches 89 yards 1 td not impressive? huh?
R Brown
November 1st, 2011
11:40 am
cdog – Refer to CGD comment @ 10:47.
Jerry Rice had Joe Montana and Steve Young
Lynn Swann had Terry Bradshaw
Stallworth had Bradshaw
Tom G
November 1st, 2011
11:41 am
Personally, I would have rather kept Harvey Dahl(paid him his veteran type money) than pay the rookie J Jones. Don’t get me wrong, Julio seems to be a real good prospect But WR seem to be hurt more often than OL. Games are generally decided by OL and DL play? Our OL nastiness has been hurt by the loss of Harvey!!
Saints R.E.A.M.
November 1st, 2011
11:43 am
At any rate a bunch of picks for any 1 guy is hard to justify. It’s a very risky play in the NFL. Especially when you consider all the things that can go wrong: Injury or off the field nonsense; Talent may not translate to NFL (I don’t think Julio will have that problem). Those draft picks usually upgrade the talent of your team all around….special teams, defense..etc. Julio wears 1 hat….receiver. And right now that hat hasn’t caught 1 deep ball or scored 1 touchdown.
To heck with the HOF….get to offensive player of the week 1st.
Falcon 228
November 1st, 2011
12:05 pm
Judge today, tomorrow, next week or whatever day you choose. You can’t judge a draft that took place 6 months ago. Predict all you want. Rule of thumb is 3 years. Say whatever but that’s it.Sure, they gave up a lot of picks but not one person, including me, can say it stupid. One of the FOX pre-game idiots actually compared it to Mike Ditka’s trade for Ricky Williams. That of course isn’t so. Ditka gave up all his picks for that year and nearly all the next. No comparison. So judge. We’ll see if your crystal balls are cracked during the 2013 season. (And don’t play math with me either simps. 2011, 2012, 2013)
badger
November 1st, 2011
12:06 pm
Everybody’s makes it sound like it’s a bad thing. He’s his own man, and followed his gut, I like that.
Greg
November 1st, 2011
12:18 pm
Concerning a couple of our past #1 picks, and since Michael Jenkins has been specifically mentioned here, let’s not forget that were weren’t able to get a DIME or even a trade for a WATERBOY from ANY NFL TEAM for either Jamaal Anderson or Jenkins. We just had to release them. The last time I looked, they were both playing; in fact, Jenkins was starting.
PMC
November 1st, 2011
12:27 pm
I tend to think given the new salary structure we will see more drafts like this as teams with relatively few holes to fill move up to take good players higher in the draft.
The salary structure is no longer a hamstring for teams and Julio Jones is already playing well.
Jimmy Crack
November 1st, 2011
12:28 pm
Belichick is a legend mainly because of Tom Brady.
Tomlin is a great coach mainly because of Dick LeBeau and Big Ben.
Payton is an offensive genius mainly because of Drew Brees.
Whoever coaches the Colts was successful ONLY because of Peyton Manning.
Glad to see Dimitroff blazing his own trail.
PMC
November 1st, 2011
12:30 pm
Why is it shocking that Jenkins and Anderson are playing elsewhere? They played here. They both are playing for bad football teams. Both have reasonable talent, they just weren’t good enough to continue playing here.
Steve-O
November 1st, 2011
12:30 pm
I will be very surprised if we see Julio this weekend. We should be able to more than handle Indy without him. Be careful with the hamstring and make sure he is 100% for the Saints on Nov 12.
zbulldawg
November 1st, 2011
12:31 pm
I have high for Juilo.Being a BIG BULLDAWG FAN I watched him through Bama and the combine “with a broke foot” out preform all wide outs. I think Atlanta got what they needed A deep treat who can block for the running game.We had drafted defense except Ryan for two drafts. And I see Peters and Merriwether starting to come on.Let’s not forget Grimes and all the new secondary players.But what’s my concern is at left tackle.That’s the one that we didn’t do so well on.Baker’s a decent OL but not a left tackle in the NFL. Like any teams you must have 6 OL that are start worthy.