Q&A: Coach Mike Smith sifts through the rubble
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees passes during the second quarter. AP
NEW ORLEANS — Falcons coach Mike Smith was caught off guard by his team’s woeful performance against the Saints.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Smith said.
Here’s what he had to say after the Saints routed the Falcons 45-16 on Monday night.
OPENING STATEMENT: We obviously are disappointed in the way that we played i the ball game tonight. We didn’t play well enough in any phase of the game to give ourselves a chance to win. We didn’t make enough plays. There were some opportunities early on and then it kind of got out of hand there at the end.
ON WHERE IT WENT SIDEWAYS: We were 0 for 3 in the red zone. We didn’t score touchdowns when we got down there. We really had a tough time in the first half stopping them on third down. They were 8 for 8 on third downs and we had some very favorable down and distances. Third-and-8, third-and-10, third-and-12, third-and-13 and we weren’t able to get them off the field. That was really the thing that happened there in the first half. I thought the special teams played well through the first 30 minutes. Then in the second half they gave up the real long kickoff return to Sproles. . . That’s kind of where it got out of hand and got out of whack. We had way too many penalties. The penalties were very lopsided in terms of penalties committed against our team. Some of them happened in the red zone and knocked up behind the sticks and early in the ball game as well.
ON TRYING TO RALLY IN THE SECOND HALF LIKE THEY DID AGAINST CAROLINA: No doubt about it. We knew we had to come out and play one play at a time. We went out there and got an interception on that first series defensively, but the offense had a three and out. Then the next drive I believe they went down and scored on an 80-yard drive. They had way too many long drives where they were moving the ball in chunks.
ON THE PASS DEFENSE: We had some opportunities to get them on the ground twice there in the first half and he was able to get out. If you don’t get the pressure and affect Drew, he’s going to make the throws. That’s what they did today. Unfortunately, we did not play very well today. I know that our guys are disappointed in the way that we performed.
ON IF THE SAINTS RAN UP THE SCORE AT THE END: Drew Brees has had an outstanding season in terms of the number of yards that he’s thrown for. My hat is off to Drew. That’s a longtime record here in the NFL. He accomplished that tonight against us.
ON THE STATE OF THE DEFENSE: I hope it’s an aberration in terms of the way that we’ve been playing defense. We had some opportunities there in the first half where the ball was thrown. We had opportunities to intercept it and we didn’t intercept it and they were able to continue and keep their drives alive. It happened twice in the first half. We were not on top of our game in any phase in terms of our football team in my mind. We just weren’t playing very consistently. It was just not the type of effort that you want to have when so much is on the line in terms of what the outcome could have meant to our football team.
ON HOW HE FELT COMING INTO THE GAME: I felt like we have a very good week of preparation. I though the guys handled Christmas Day and Christmas break that we had built into our schedule. I didn’t see this coming. We didn’t play Atlanta Falcons football and the scoreboard indicates that.
ON WHY THEY DIDN’T RUN MORE NO-HUDDLE: I think we ran a little bit more than that (six plays). Early in the game we moved the ball down the field. In the third drive, we jumped into our no huddle. We moved the ball down the field, but we weren’t able to put it in the end zone. Then in the second half we ran some of our no huddle out of our 21 personnel package. We were running it not out of our 3-wide set. We were running it out of two-back, one-tight end set.
ON REGROUPING: It’s just like any other week. We have to make corrections. We have to evaluate the film. Believe it or not, there’s going to be some positives that you’re going to be able to take out of this game.
ON THE TEAM BEING TOO HAPPY ABOUT BEING IN THE PLAYOFFS: There was a lot to play for in this ball game in terms of seeding in the post-season tournament. Believe me, our internal goals are much higher than just making the playoffs and being a participant in the playoff field. We knew what was at stake tonight. We knew that we didn’t have complete control, but we had an opportunity if we would have taken care of business there would have been a potential to move up in the seedings. . . we are disappointed. But no, I don’t think it had anything to do with us becoming a member of the playoff picture and securing a spot. We were fighting our tails off before the ball game to try to enhance and get our seeding a little bit higher.
FOLLOWUP ON IF THE SAINTS RAN UP THE SCORE TO GET BREES THE RECORD: Again, guys I’m not going to comment on that in terms of running up the score. It’s our job to go out there and stop them. I doesn’t matter if they are running the ball or throwing the ball. The job of our defense is to go out and stop them. Again, my hat is off to Drew Brees. It’s a record that’s been long-standing. He’s had a great season.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
Get instant updates on Twitter at AJCFalcons and you can join the Facebook Fan page at AJC Falcons.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
682 comments Add your comment
no1 falcon fan
December 27th, 2011
10:11 am
FALCON FANS BLOW UP THE FRONT OFFICE..WHAT AN EMBARRASMENT !FANS@FALCONS.NFL.COM..770/965/3115..ENOUGH IS ENOUGH..I HATE THE SAINTS BUT THE FALCONS LOOK UNPREPARED AFTER 11 DAYS..LET THME KNOW THAT IF THEY WANT PAYING CUSTOMERS THEN PUT SOMETHING ON THE FIELD WORTH PAYING FOR!!!
cb795
December 27th, 2011
10:12 am
Eleven days to prepare for your rival and the coach not sure why his team was not competitive! Not Falcon’s football, I disagree, It is Falcon football. Since 1966 nothing never changes.
monty
December 27th, 2011
10:13 am
I wish I had a dime for every whiffed tackle, every jump on the 1st cut, and every bite on the pump- fake Dunta has made this year. How they can continue to play the guy shows the lack of depth at CB.
Jarrell
December 27th, 2011
10:13 am
SRF – not haten on matty. Its lonely at the top. Same goes for Smitty.
icedawg
December 27th, 2011
10:14 am
This is pretty much the story of the end of last season and this season. The defensive secondary is porous. That says it all. Atlanta is not a real contender with this glaring weakness.
maurice
December 27th, 2011
10:14 am
So are fans supposed to be happy because once again they clinched a spot in the playoffs? This is getting old.
BullDogMike
December 27th, 2011
10:16 am
Well, another MNF game for Atl. Same old outcome. How about just one time guys, try to man up. You don’t just lose when you are in the spotlight (national tv) , you are hammered. How in the world did the “Aints” ever get this much better than the Falcons ? And so quickly too ! I’m really tired honestly of seeing this crap year after year with the sports teams in the state of Ga. Braves, Falcons, Hawks, even my beloved bulldogs. They love being average I guess…
DC
December 27th, 2011
10:16 am
The Falcon defense is not agressive enough to play with elite teams with great QB’s. Too much zone and not enough man on man to see who is really a player and who is not. BVG is ok for college defenses but in the NFL his defenses are not ranked too high.
Murlarkey’s offensive play-calling lacks a lot of everything.
JeanE
December 27th, 2011
10:17 am
I love Mike Smith but if he didn’t see this coming then he’s in big DENIAL. How could he no see this coming? We have a losing record against teams with winning records and we were playing a juggernaut in their home. We are a 2nd tier team, not up to the Saints, Pats, Packers, etc. I still maintain Julio Jones is a waste of picks, totally uneeded. Harry Douglas was fine, in fact, I think the offense plays better and more cohesively when Julio was out of action. The defense is a mess with a few exceptions, Grimes is awesome. Dunta is way overpaid and Ray Edwards is a bust. I like our linebackers but we need a pash rush, it is almost non existent. You win with defense, the Pats are an anomaly. We’ll lose in the 1st round since we will be playing a winning team. Smith, Dimitroff and I guess Arthur are in denial about what this team really is.
monty
December 27th, 2011
10:18 am
Before the game last night, I believe it was coach Ditka, said Falcons secondary can’t cover their receivers. They had to have a pass rush. When we did get a good push they just dumped it off on a screen and all our LB’s were 20 yards down field.
Sam Solomon
December 27th, 2011
10:19 am
Them dirty birds just got their a$$ kicked every which way but loose
Mid Town Joe
December 27th, 2011
10:20 am
The D took another night off, and so did I from watching them.
ugafan13
December 27th, 2011
10:21 am
Pathetic play on both sides of the ball. Why does it seem that ever who we play can get to our QB but our defense normally can’t get any pressure on the quality teams we play. Going to be a short playoff run. Tired of all the trash talking from Roddy and the likes. Just shut up and play. If Roddy caught the ball as good as he talks he would be a world class receiver.
Let me post!!!!
December 27th, 2011
10:22 am
Blazerfan
December 27th, 2011
10:07 am
I agree with your comments earlier, but you’ll never get some of these clueless ATL fans to realize that the great white hope ain’t Matty Moo Moo!!!! We need a more athletic, mobile, QB that can buy some time and make some plays.
monty
December 27th, 2011
10:25 am
If you are only going to be happy with your sports team if they win the SuperBowl then you are going to have alot of agonizing hours ahead. Look at the once proud Miami, Dallas, Minnesota, Giants, Oakland,Redskins, and up until just now the once mighty 49ers. Lot of lean years in there. Get real. I want a SB as mich as anybody, but the “all or nothing” attitude is a bit much.
Tony Graziani
December 27th, 2011
10:26 am
Where has Harry Douglas been? DLed, is there a chance P. Jerry does not make the team next year out of training camp? Do we take a serious hit to our cap?
Dalton Dawg
December 27th, 2011
10:26 am
If I said it once, I have said it a hundred times “Matty Ice Cold” is a very average NFL quarterback at best in the NFL. He just can’t make reads and can’t make the throws needed to really be special in this league. When you watch Brady, Bree’s and Roger’s play it’s like daylight and dark. Yes they have other issues with the team but in the NFL you win with great defense and a premier quarterback and the Falcon’s are lacking in both areas. The Falcons made a poor decision in their selection at QB to lead the franchise and will have to settle for below average performance while the rest enjoy there super bowl rings. “YES” I’m a Falcon fan for life just telling it exactly as it is and the Saints will hammer us again and Smitty will still be winless in the playoffs but there’s always next year. RIGHT!!!!
reggie
December 27th, 2011
10:27 am
defence is horrible coach smith need more tough talk he is tooo soft wake up coach to clean up all defence staff
Lemon B
December 27th, 2011
10:27 am
appropriate that another team had to lose for us to clinch a postseason berth… 1 and done will be here before you know it. a more useful article would be about what the falcons are going to do in the off season……
Chuck
December 27th, 2011
10:28 am
Now the lousy Saints are boat-racing us.
The misery never ends for an Atlanta sports fan. Even when you get a first-round bye you still manage to sneak in epic, record-setting embarassment before the season is over.
Thanks for nothing, enjoy your millions of ill-earned gains on the beautiful golf courses of Atlanta while we get to watch capable, serious football teams play in the postseason and improve in the offseason, while we wait for the league to tell us which Monday Night games we will get humiliated in next season.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.
Lemon B
December 27th, 2011
10:29 am
Marty Ice.
Goodgod
December 27th, 2011
10:29 am
remember, there is always next year.
Let me post!!!!
December 27th, 2011
10:30 am
defense you meant?
JeanE
December 27th, 2011
10:31 am
I never saw a back as big as Turner go down so easily. The Saints backs were holding 7 or more defenders and still gaining positive yards. BVG has got to go, that soft zone is the death of us on D. Mularkey, too, bye bye. We have way more talent than we’re utilizing in the best way possible. I hate being a Falcons fan, it blows.
Sparks
December 27th, 2011
10:32 am
Falcons have a lot of things to fix before the playoffs start…but these refs with the NBA mentality need to be exposed.
gateamsdonthaveit
December 27th, 2011
10:32 am
2011 Falcons = Just another mediocre team from this state that doesn’t have what it takes to win it all. They might get out of the first round if they get the Dallas/NY winner and get everyone’s hopes up.
The foreseeable future looks bleak in Atlanta. Falcons traded their future for Jones, Braves aren’t getting better, Hawks are still the Hawks, Georgia can’t hang with the big kids of the SEC, and Georgia Tech is content running a high school offense. Could be years before this city and state even sniff a championship.
Dave
December 27th, 2011
10:32 am
I’m sorry to have to say this but I did see this coming especially after they clinched early. The team had nothing (but pride) to play for and it showed. New Orleans is far superior in all aspects. Don’t think anyone could dispute that. Wouldn’t want to have to decide where to start.
Jarrell
December 27th, 2011
10:33 am
arthur needs to throw some more money at this problem
no1 falcon fan
December 27th, 2011
10:35 am
blow up the front office falcon fans!!!…FANS@FALCONS.NFL.COM…770/965/3115..LET EM KNOW THIS IS NOT ONLY EMBARRASING BUT DOWNRIGHT UNACCEPTABLE!!!
BigHittas
December 27th, 2011
10:35 am
I really like Smitty, but either he and/or the rest of the coaching staff is in deep denial about the pass defense. Even though Graham caught one over Grimes, Grimes was the only real pass defender we had back there. I’ll be glad when the DaCoupe experiment is over; the TD pass to 17 was his fault entirely. 21 should only play on special teams; he did run down Sproles. 25 did ok, but wish he could catch a ball, he evidently was in the right spots, unlike 28.
Sleepy4
December 27th, 2011
10:35 am
We got away from the run. We’re not a passing team (as someone said, we don’t have Drew Brees at QB). We already know we only have one good player on the secondary and he is not 100%. We know we don’t have a pass rush, so the only way to slow down Brees was to keep him off the field! Run the ball!! The OL seemed to be doing a better job in the first half; I think they laid down in the second.
Hardy Falcon
December 27th, 2011
10:35 am
Mr. Blank better start THINKING about how to field a professional football team in Atlanta, before he thinks about building a new stadium, because at this rate it would be an empty stadium. Mike Smith and Co. had over stayed their welcome Time to move on and take that Mum Rich Mccay also.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BigHittas
December 27th, 2011
10:36 am
I agree on the refs, poorly called game. Saints held very well.
JSS
December 27th, 2011
10:36 am
Running up the score? Buncha crybabies.
Use it as motivation in 2 weeks. Sadly, you’re just not good enough for that to matter.
BullDogMike
December 27th, 2011
10:37 am
Falcons list of shortcomings : Can’t score in red zone unless it’s a FG, Defense line puts no pressure on opposing QB, Def. Backs except Grimes can’t cover my mother. Recievers only catch ball if nobody is close to them. WAY too many penalties, I’m too tired to go on..It’s pathetic really.
Sleepy4
December 27th, 2011
10:38 am
@ Statick….lmao…good comment.
SCFalcon
December 27th, 2011
10:39 am
Smitty has to get rid of Murlarkey and VanGorder…no way we’ll make a serious run with these guys.
Casey
December 27th, 2011
10:41 am
The Lions will NOT lose to the Packers (no Rodgers, no Woodsen, etc) and the 49ers will NOT lose to the woeful Rams! We will be back in New Orleans again in two weeks.
bobby g.
December 27th, 2011
10:42 am
I win bets each year betting the Falcons to lose in the play offs. I’m betting again to win some more money!!!
'67 Falcon
December 27th, 2011
10:43 am
For forty four years, it has been the same. This ain’t something that just started. I could list three pages of bullet points outlining disappointments just like this one since the team began in Atlanta.
terrell
December 27th, 2011
10:47 am
The ONLY 2 Dimitroff picks that will be pro bowlers are Ryan(obvious pick. we didnt have a qb), Turner(FA), and Weatherspoon.That’s it! Possibly Julio and Lofton??
The rest are just avg(Moore, HD, Quizz, Biermann, Decoud, Edwards(FA), to below avg(Hawley, Reynolds, Sidbury, Dunte(FA), to God awful(Baker, Owens, Franks, etc…….) And chew on this for a minute.
TD ACTUALLY MOVED UP IN THE 1ST RD FOR BAKER). Unbelievable.
SeenThis B4
December 27th, 2011
10:49 am
So what if the Saints ran up the score? It’s also called: LEAVING…NO…DOUBT!
You guys got two weeks to get ready for another game. I say the results will be the same. The same as 10 of the last 12: Saints win.
This game will be Saturday, probably early game, cause the Mercedes Benz Superdome has to be prepped for the BCS National Championship game between LSU Tigers and that third place team from the SEC.
“Living in the Golden Age of Louisiana Football!”
FalconsinPA
December 27th, 2011
10:49 am
Your right Terrell- TD stinks- wouldn’t he the same GM that drafted almost the entire Patriots that have won how much? Get real-
Sleepy4
December 27th, 2011
10:50 am
@JSS, no one believes NO ran up the score. That’s the media.
Falcons4Eva
December 27th, 2011
10:50 am
Got a Question:
Did Mike Smith go to his standard “We played Uncharacteristic” card in describing the teams woeful performance?
Answer: Nope. Because what was “Uncharacteristic” has now become the Expected Norm.
terrell
December 27th, 2011
10:51 am
And oh yeah, I forgot about Bad Knees Peria Jerry in the 1st rd.
Jim Tavegia
December 27th, 2011
10:53 am
The Falcon’s O-line is awful, especially the right side. A new right tackle is sorely needed.
Jenny
December 27th, 2011
10:53 am
Everybody mail a letter to Mike Mularky and tell him to run the famous ‘Green Bay Right or Left’ when the Falcons need 12 inches for a 1st down. (it’s when the WHOLE team goes in the same direction to block for a runner around the tight end)
That play will suprise the defense everytime.
Q&A: Coach Mike Smith sifts through the rumble « cenalicivit
December 27th, 2011
10:54 am
[...] Source: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2011/12/27/qa-coach-mike-smith-sifts-through-the-rumble/?c... [...]
Big Al
December 27th, 2011
10:55 am
I can explain it real quick:
Falcons = Braves
Saints = Phillies
Falcons in playoffs = Braves in playoffs = 1st round elimination