Falcons are winning because they’re following Mike Smith
Mike Smith has coached only 43 games and he already ranks fourth on the Falcons' win list.
They are winning because the owner cares and spends money.
They are winning because the general manager has made moves that look smart today and project well for tomorrow.
They are winning because they have a quarterback who seems to have discovered the road map to Canton and a wide receiver who just busted through that door that reads: “Superstar.”
But mostly the Falcons are winning because of their coach. It doesn’t work without Mike Smith. The money, the structure, the decisions, the athletic wonder of Matt Ryan and Roddy White – none of that translates into a 9-2 record this season and 29-14 over two and a half years if everybody isn’t following the head coach.
“We can all have grandiose visions,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “But if the head coach is not carrying the torch, it’s all for naught.”
To this point, Smith is the NFL’s coach of the year. This week’s counterpart, Raheem Morris of Tampa Bay, is getting justifiable praise. So should Rex Ryan (New York Jets), Andy Reid (Michael Vick/Philadelphia) and maybe that guy in New England again (Bill Belichick).
But the Falcons have won a lot of games in a lot of different ways. They have beaten Baltimore and Green Bay and are tied with the Patriots and Jets for the NFL’s best record. They are getting better by the week.
In the 42 years before Smith’s arrival, this franchise had never managed consecutive winning seasons. They’re already assured of their third straight winning season under him. That’s not all talent and chemistry, it’s leadership. Smith ranks only ninth in Falcons games coached (43) but already fourth in wins (29). There’s a consistency in confidence and expectation level now that never has existed before.
Thomas Dimitroff (left) worked with one of the best in New England, Bill Belichick (right), and he believes Smith now ranks among the best.
Smith won big in his first season but so did Jim Mora. He differentiated himself in year two. Players played hard late in the season even when injuries contributed to a 6-7 start. They won their final three games. Then came this offseason’s self-analysis. Smith knew the potential perils of year three.
“Sometimes familiarity is not a good thing,” he said. “It’s natural for a staff and players to get into a routine and become comfortable with one another. It was important that we looked at all levels, starting with me, and we held ourselves to higher expectations.”
We’ve seen so many cartoons on the sideline here. From Marion Campbell to Jerry Glanville, from Mora to Bobby Petrino. How did the Falcons finally get it so right?
When Dimitroff was hired, he knew his coaching candidates were “accomplished” so he decided to focus less on Xs and Os than personality. He valued the coach-general manager relationship and wanted someone who shared the same vision on how to build a team. He had grown up in the NFL and saw how egos could fracture an organization.
“I wanted someone who would not only talk but listen,” Dimitroff said.
He interviewed Smith, Rex Ryan, Leslie Frazier, Jim Schwartz and Jason Garrett. Garrett had already decided to stay in Dallas. Dimitroff offered the job to Smith over the others.
When asked why Smith has been so successful, Dimitroff said: “He has a unique combination of levity and football street smarts. He has the ability to know when things need to be light and when to turn it on and off. He knows his players and is cognizant of the different personalities in the locker room.”
Notice how there’s nothing in there about plays or schemes?
Smith said he never wondered if he would be a good head coach. It follows that he never doubted himself.
Ask him who has had the greatest influence on him and he’ll name four coaches: Former Baltimore head coach Brian Billick “is the most organized guy I’ve ever been around.” Cincinnati coach and former Ravens’ defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis “had a knack for making everybody feel like they were a part of the game plan.” Another former Ravens assistant, Mike Nolan, had a defensive background but coached wide receivers one year in Baltimore. “We would talk in a defensive vernacular about what offensive guys were trying to do,” he said.
Finally there was Jack Del Rio, then a young Baltimore assistant and later Jacksonville’s head coach. Smith talked to him about the players’ mindset. Quoting: “I’d ask Jack, ‘What are they thinking at this time of the season? How about in March? Are they concerned about this?’”
And you wonder why Smith relates so well to players?
His keys to success are not great secrets: communication, character, team work. But getting players to buy in and watching them follow the coach — that’s a rare sight around here.
♦
Falcons head coaches ranked by wins Coach (seasons) Games W-L-T Dan Reeves (1997-03) 109 49-59-1 Leeman Bennett (1977-82) 87 46-41 Norm Van Brocklin (1968-74) 89 37-49-3 Mike Smith (2008-) 43 29-14 Jerry Glanville (1990-93) 64 27-37 Jim Mora (2004-06) 48 26-22 Dan Henning (1983-86) 64 22-41-1 June Jones (1994-96) 48 19-29 Marion Campbell (1974-76; 87-89) 68 17-51 Norb Hecker (1966-68) 31 4-26-1 Pat Peppler (1976) 9 3-6* Bobby Petrino (2007) 13 3-10 Wade Phillips (2003) 3 2-1* Emmitt Thomas (2007) 3 1-2* Jim Hanifan (1989) 4 0-4* (*Interim coach)♦
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250 comments Add your comment
Aziz
December 1st, 2010
10:54 am
JEFF: Bobby Petrino had 3 wins not 13
GIVE ME A BREAK
December 1st, 2010
10:58 am
Finally, Mr. Blank got it right. This is what a world class team looks like. No thugs, no clowns, no egos, this a team of unselfish players. Atlanta can be proud.
jj
December 1st, 2010
10:59 am
go away falcons i like it better when they lose like all the time so idiots like steak on 790 the zone freak out
GIVE ME A BREAK
December 1st, 2010
11:01 am
Petrino coached 13 games.
please
December 1st, 2010
11:02 am
CHoke or stroke – Matt’s one loss at the dome was to denver, He didn’t play last year against Philly
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
11:03 am
I’m sure others have corrected this for “Choke” but … Ryan’s only loss at home was to the Broncos. When they lost to the Eagles, Chris Redman was the QB. Ryan was out with turf toe.
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
11:05 am
Many people are talking about our lack of penalties and that is a great thing. Sam Baker for example got flagged several times early in the season but has gotten much better. OTOH we have I believe 5 personal fouls in the last 2 games. We had 3 in the first half vs. GB. This has got to stop! In these tight games one stupid “emotional” penalty can kill it for you … ask GB about that facemask penalty. So block to the whistle, tackle only to the white lines, and walk away from the chippy trash talk. GO FALCONS.
for Cryin out loud Jeffy
December 1st, 2010
11:18 am
You write a pretty darn good article for once in your life and you let some Vick Lover hijack your blog…
You just can’t win.
FrontRow
December 1st, 2010
11:21 am
The facemask penalty did not hurt GB – it more than likely helped. Weems would have gotten another 15 yards on his own and he had blockers. IMO the penalty only delayed the outcome and hurt GB only because the Falcons got the chance to run the clock.
The Falcon’s PF penalties have come at the beginning of the last 2 games and are all about attitude. Roddy White’s PF against the Rams was bogus; that type “penalty” happens on almost every play and Roddy was correct to dis the smack talk.
I don’t mind the team pushing and shoving in order to establish their domain at the beginning of a game. What I don’t want to see is another bogus PF when our secondary lays out a smurf (hello DeSean if you don’t wanna get hit get off the field).
LFP6
December 1st, 2010
11:35 am
160th?…..:)
Naturally, when the players can believe in their head coach, they’ll follow him anywhere.
I think the Falcons should take two of three from this road trip, but I am concerned about TB; with them coming off a rough loss to the Ravens, we may be in a world of hurt entering ‘The New Sombrero’ this coming Sunday. Your thoughts, Jeff?
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
11:38 am
Schultz:
Good article. The one thing that impresses me about the Falcon’s coach is he has the balls to take risks. How many coaches do you know would go for it on 4th down as much as he has? Not many. As a result, his players have bought into his confidence in them. Smith is a good coach because he was around very good coaches and paid attention. He actually reminds me of John Fox with the run oriented, don’t make a mistake, field position types of games. Playing the Saints on a regular basis probably helps too knowing that you can’t keep settling for field goals in this league.
Once again, good story. WHO DAT!!!!!
Dr. Warren
December 1st, 2010
11:44 am
Well-written, perceptive article. Good to see the Falcons are getting the local attention they deserve in the past week or so.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
11:44 am
You people remind me of a barking poodle when when a German Shepherd walks by. You are all bark, but in the end you know that Shepherd is going to rip you open
I love the dog examples by the way
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
11:45 am
2004 & COUNTING
Show me some playoff wins
for Cryin out loud Jeffy
December 1st, 2010
11:45 am
Dude you are a troll and a broken record. Get some new material or shut up already…
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
11:45 am
NorthFla:
Let’s not get too excited about the 19-1 home streak. You have to consider the first year, the Falcons came off a losing record and had a pretty easy schedule. The next year turned out to be basically the same. Yes, he has won two pretty big games this year against GB, and B-More, but I think he received a little help from the home team refs. Lol. In GB, Tony Gonzalez didn’t catch the pass on 4th and 3 which ended up extending a TD drive. In B-More, you had the pass interference on Tony Gonzalez, the “fingertip catch”, and then two non-calls on Roddy pushing off on back to back plays. One was a curl and the other was a TD. If you are going to call it tight like you did with Tony Gonzalez’s defender, you have to call it tight on Roddy too.
Can we get one of our “great blog statisticians” to place the teams that the Falcons beat at home during the 19-1 run, plus what their records were at the end of the season?
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
11:46 am
Did you know:
Mark Sanchez/Rex Ryan and Joe Flacco/John Harbaugh are the only rookie qb/coach to take their teams to the championship games in the first season.
What happened to the great CHOKE/Mike Smith
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
11:48 am
@Saints1Fan
I couldn’t have said it better myself
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
11:48 am
Choke:
Those teams also had some hellified defenses before the coach and the qb got there. The Falcons don’t have a very good or consistent defense.
Anixter
December 1st, 2010
11:56 am
Teams will always reflect there personality of their head coach. He is the one that instills the decipline etc for the team. I’ve been a Falcons fan since the beginning and have watched the inconsistant play for years before the new management took over. We have an owner that cares about having a good team and will do what it takes. The Smith’s didn’t do that, for far to long what good players we had left for greener pastures and the drafts were half ass. How many times did they draft players we didn’t need under the mentality of “They were the best player available”! The core is finally set and the mentality is “What do we need to do to improve the team”, something we never really had until now. The new management said they were going to draft to improve the defense and that’s exactly what the did not like years past when saying that they draft players that did not fill the teams need. I applaud the new Falcons owner and management because they not only want a winning team they are building and keeping a core for a winning franchise for years to come. GO FALCONS.
Ryder
December 1st, 2010
12:04 pm
What I enjoy most about having Mike Smith on this team is that he created a calming effect on the culture of this franchise. No egos (which is probably why NFL Network and ESPN hates talking about them) and a go-for-it mentality that losing franchises (Redskins) refuse to employ.
He doesn’t think that any one player is greater than the next, and relies on veterans to lead the huddle.
I think that he has learned from his mistakes in the past and will lead the Falcons to success going forward.
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
12:04 pm
Saints1Fan let’s talk about the Browns … whom the Falcons smacked up in Clevetown but who BEAT you guys IN YOUR OWN HOUSE. Brees threw 4 picks that day, how many has Ryan thrown lately?? It’s all about winning isn’t it.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
12:10 pm
CHOKE vs TEAMS IN THE DOME:
2008 SEASON:
vs Detroit (Doormat/No playoffs)
vs Kansas City (Doormat/No playoffs)
vs Bears (Horrible/No playoffs)
vs Saints (No playoffs)
vs Denver (No playoffs)
vs Carolina (Division Winner)
vs Tampa (No playoffs)
vs Rams (Doormat/No playoffs)
2009 SEASON
vs Miami (No playoffs)
vs Carolina (No playoffs)
vs Bears (No playoffs)
vs Redskins (Doormat/No playoffs)
vs Bucs (Horrible/No playoffs)
vs Saints (Division Champion)
vs Buffalo (Doormat/No playoffs)
2010 SEASON
vs Arizona (3-7)
vs San Fran (4-7)
vs Bengals (2-9)
vs Tampa (7-4)
vs Ravens (8-3)
vs Packers (7-4)
So as you can see, that is one of the WEAKEST schedule probably in league history for a 3 year span.
Of the 20 teams they have played against, only 2 of the teams even reached the playoffs and both of them were from the NFC South, so the schedulers couldn’t avoid putting those teams on the schedule.
There you have it folks, so go ahead and send him to the Hall of Fame
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
12:12 pm
North Fla:
I don’t follow your logic. First, you didn’t smack the Browns up and down. You barely won the game. Did you watch the game? Secondly, “if” Brees doesn’t throw two interceptions which were returned for TD’s, the Saints win 17-16. Did you know Brees actually threw 4 INT’s that game and had a fumble.
Let’s go back to Week 1 when the Falcons lost to Pittsburgh with a 4th string quarterback. The Saints blasted them with their starting qb. Let’s go back to Week 3 when the Saints turn the ball over 3 times (2 Ints, 1 Fumble), miss a FG and lose by 3. Do you really think that the Falcons are on the same level as the Saints? If they were, why didn’t they blow them out with all of those turnovers? Remember, the Falcons didn’t have any turnovers.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
12:13 pm
Choke:
You must have choked on something because the Falcons did not beat the Saints in 2009.
Chick Fil A on a Sunday
December 1st, 2010
12:26 pm
Is Zestos still open?
Chick Fil A on a Sunday
December 1st, 2010
12:28 pm
@ Saints1Fan…..
You’re correct. The Saints and Falcons are not on the same level. The Falcons are ABOVE the Saints by virtue of not only have a better record, but by beating the Saints outright.
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
12:30 pm
Saints1 do I think they are on the same level? Yes I do. We’ll find out on the 27th. They are actually very evenly matched. ** The Falcons lost to the Saints in 09 but again Redman was the QB. The 18-1 stat is RYAN at home not the Falcons at home.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
12:35 pm
Chick Fil A:
Lol. You probably need to change your name to Margaritaville since you have obviously been drinking. I understand you are what your records says you are. Too bad it isn’t the end of the season because if it was, you would be able to make that statement. Since its not, you won’t get a chance. Lol.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
12:40 pm
North Fla:
Where are they evenly matched? I know you said that you are a fan, but do you watch the games or do you read about them in the paper? I’m asking because if you watched the games, you would have seen that the Saints moved up and down the field on your defense at will. Take away the turnovers and the Saints blow out the Falcons. Keep the turnovers and they still lose. Add the missed field goal and the Falcons win by 3.
In the 2008 game in the GA Dome, same thing occurred. I was in the dome and I can promise you that no fan left until the clock had 0’s on the clock. Brees threw for over 300 yards in the 4th quarter alone. They are not on the same level. I think the Falcons are a good team. Mistake free, disciplined team. They are not a great team by any means.
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
12:40 pm
I agree with Chick. This is the NFL, there are no style points. “Why didn’t they blow them out?” Who cares. They won. We have more wins than you. December is going to be fun.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
1:00 pm
North Fla:
Yippie for the 1 game lead. I bet you don’t feel comfortable.
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
1:03 pm
Jeff..would you guys at the AJC please start actually showing some moderation so we can talk about the actual blog you wrote instead of it getting hijacked by the same idiots that just want attention? Yes, I understand you think this sort of thing gets you more hits, but I’d be surprised if it really does, and at the expense of running off people that actually want to talk football.
And Saintsfan1, your team lost..at home..to the falcons..and the Falcons have the better record..so any OBJECTIVE person…and there’s tons of them that do it for a living for the sports websites and networks…would say that the Falcons are currently better than the Saints.
Sheesh, I don’t get what it is with you Saints fans, you had a great year last year, won the Super Bowl…but you also had A LOT of breaks go your way. Now it pisses you off that another team is gettting some of those breaks too and you have to try to downgrade the Falcons and call them lucky. I’ve got a news flash for you, you won the Super Bowl last year, you don’t have to act like the proverbial loser anymore that gets offended anytime someone doesn’t bow before your team. Enjoy your Super Bowl win and us Falcons fans will enjoy OUR team’s great season.
Act like you’ve been there before Saints fans…you can actually say good things about another team..it doesn’t take away the Super Bowl trophy. Falcons fans on this blog are happy with our team and coach and haven’t said crap about the Saints until you come on here and start talking about them. If you think the Saints are going to beat the Birds in the next game, then great…but why do you feel the need to try to rain on others’ parade constantly…this ain’t about the aints…it’s about the Falcons.
North FLA Falcon
December 1st, 2010
1:09 pm
Actually I do feel pretty comfortable. The schedule favors us. However I see where guys like Abraham and Snelling are a little beat up. We’ve never had to have this big push before. I think the main thing is the team (and the city) BELIEVES. At Pitt and Philly we didn’t believe. Now we do. Stick to fundamentals, tweak that defense, and keep on keepin on. I respect the Saints, they are a great team, and good for them for winning the Super Bowl. See you on the 27th.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
1:10 pm
Scooter:
It’s clear that you have not read my earlier posts. If you did, you would see that I said several good things about the Falcons, the coach, and Jeff’s story. We don’t have a problem giving teams credit for what they have accomplished, so don’t be upset when we positively critique them as well. If there is room for improvement, there is room for improvement. I am a realist and I have played college, high school, and rec football. In order to say one team is better than another team, actually means the team. Not better in one game. Head to head, no turnovers, the Saints are light years ahead of the Falcons. Just like the Patriots are light years over the Bills. Does that mean the Bills don’t play teams tough? No, not at all. This is an emotional game and a game of momentum, but at the end of the day is Dallas and Minnesota sorry as their records show? No. Are the Falcons the best team in the league? No.
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
1:11 pm
And Saints1fan…if YOUR beloved Saints had a one game lead and had beaten the Falcons in their home stadium…be it by a missed chipshot field goal or not..you know damn well you’d be on here crowing about it. Again, you won the Super Bowl last year, act like it. You can give credit where credit is due and still support your team.
And you use a game from 2008 to say these teams aren’t evenly matched? Why don’t you tell us, objectively, which team played your beloved Saints the closest last year in your Super Bowl season….ohh..that’s right…the Falcons.
And stop bringing up the missed chip shot field goal in this year’s game…it makes you sound like a really sore loser. Winners win, losers make excuses and all that matters at the end of the game is the score. Real winners can give the other team credit when their team loses, real losers whine constantly. I’d think that a fan of a team that won the Super Bowl last year would want to be a real winner.
Sarah B
December 1st, 2010
1:13 pm
vs Bengals (2-9)
vs Tampa (7-4)
vs Ravens (8-3)
vs Packers (7-4)
All these teams went to the playoffs last year. Choke is only good at leaving things out…
please
December 1st, 2010
1:15 pm
to choke, I am glad Vick has got his life and game back on track, but the Vick we see now is so much better than when he was here. He won a lot while he was here based on his feet, but if the falcons did not run for 200 yds they lost. He was inmature as he has stated, and did not put the work in to be all that he could be. It is not all of his fault, I think maybe if Dan reeves would have stayed a bit longer it might have helped. But Mora, (Inmature) Hall (me first) and others did not help matters. As well as Blank , but when Vick got caught it was the best thing for him and this franchise it forced them to grow up or else. Blank messed up with Petrino , But he got it right with TD & MS they got rid of meangelo before he could destroy Roddy White which almost happened, now he is a star, got Matt Ryan aka ICE and signed TG. The falcons are in better shape now than they have ever been, and so it seems is MV.
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
1:15 pm
Lol. wow Saints1fan..it’s obvious if you’re comparing the Falcons to the Bills and the Saints to the Patriots that you are seriously deluded and not worth trying to reason with. Wow, the Saints fans really need to cut down on those hurricanes on bourbon street. They have a perfect storm season where they play great AND catch a lot of breaks and win the Super Bowl, and now they are the NFC’s version of the Patriots…lol…silly Aints fans…why don’t you go get your paper bags out?
Sarah B
December 1st, 2010
1:19 pm
Oops leaving Tampa in was wrong.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
1:26 pm
Scooter:
So I guess that the Memphis Grizzlies are better than the Lakers too. You know they beat them last night. Maybe the OKC Thunder, without Durant, is better than the Celtics. They beat them as well.
You and these other fans that keep comparing this year’s Falcons to last year’s Saints are delusional. Out of 19 games, only 7 were decided by less than double digits. You expect divisional games to be played tougher than regular games. North Fla brought up a point earlier about injuries. Last year the Saints led the NFL in players on injured reserves and won the SB. The Falcons haven’t had any significant injuries this year. Reggie Bush and Darren Sharper have missed 8 games and did not play against the Falcons. Shockey has missed 3 games and will miss another one this week. Pierre Thomas has not played since week 3. Scott Shanle missed 4 games. Malcolm Jenkins missed 2 games. Randall Gay, starting nickle back, is on injured reserve. These are starters. Not reserves. The Saints starting running back was the 5th string back in camp and two others (Ladell Betts and Julius Jones) weren’t even in camp. Finally, against Pittsburgh, the Saints started Leigh Torrence, their 5th string cornerback and Malcolm Jenkins(safety) at the other cornerback position. I won’t even go to into the lineman that have missed multiple games. Hands down, they are not on the same level.
@Sarah B:
He didn’t post the playoffs because I asked him about if they made the playoffs that year. This year is not up, and as you can see from the records, many of them will not make it this year.
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
1:36 pm
Again, more excuses and more whining from Saints1fan…it really makes you look deluded and sad…as I said several times already…act like you’ve been there before. You won the Super Bowl last year and having other teams also be good this year doesn’t take that away from you. Noone on this FALCONS blog are saying the Saints suck…yet you feel the need to come on here and make excuses and give backhanded compliments to the team that beat yours this year and is leading the division.
All I see from you is a lot of ifs and buts and whining. Grow up and realize that being a fan of your team doesn’t mean that you have to feel offended anytime fans of other teams are being fans of theirs. I bet you want to bomb the headquarters of ESPN and SI and all of the other websites and networks that have the Falcons ranked higher than the Saints huh? How dare they??
Sad thing is that I was actually pulling for the Saints in the super bowl last year and in a lot of games where they weren’t playing the Falcons..but after seeing how arrogant and whiney that win made Saints fans this year…I’ll be damned if I’ll ever pull for them again in anything.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 1st, 2010
1:44 pm
Alright, guys, alright. Time for the truth of the matter.
I admit that I am a homosexual. I also love living in the past as far as this Falcons franchise. Sigh…I just really miss looking at Vick in his tight football pants.
So, the real reason that I come on here is because I’ve been eating sour grapes about this whole “Matt Ryan” thing. You guys are right about me. I apologize for my ignorant comments.
Now, I’m off to have some personal time with my Michael Vick Bobblehead doll…
RockyMTNFalcon
December 1st, 2010
1:44 pm
Larry,
Matt “Choke” Ryan is not worth your time. He is still Pissed off because the Falcons cut vick. The more he tries to show how bad Ryan is, the more he proves how goot Mattie Ice really is.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
1:47 pm
LMBO. Scooter, you are sick. I can promise you that Coach Smith is concerned about the Saints game remaining on the schedule. I guess the commentators that said that the Atlanta Hawks weren’t that good of a team when they were 8-0 were delusional too. What’s their record now? Saints Fans critique their team whether we are winning or losing. When we won the early games this year, we let teams hang around and won close ones. We are realist. I guess we can be realist since we have a real trophy. You have to be delusional because you can only dream of one. I’ll call Tom Benson and tell him to send you a picture.
JBFALCON
December 1st, 2010
1:55 pm
This reader is off to better places, ya’ll remind me of my ex wife, just argueing to hear yourself talk.
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
1:58 pm
Poor Saints1fan…he just can’t sleep at night when he thinks about his beloved Aints losing to the Falcons in the superdome. He has nightmares of the division standings with the Falcons in first place. It burns him up so badly that he has to spend time on a FALCONS blog telling all of us deluded Falcons fans that head to head games mean nothing, that division standings and national media opinions mean nothing, that the Saints are the only team with injuries, and that if a kicker misses a gimme field goal that team should just automatically get the win. I hope if he doesn’t get help at Charter, he gets help somewhere…
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
2:01 pm
And Jeff, if it’s just too much trouble for you guys to moderate these blogs could we at least get an ignore or hide user function?
Eric C.
December 1st, 2010
2:16 pm
Obviously, it would be great for the Falcons to win out…but winning 3 of 5 could be enough for #1 seed.
The Falcons “should” beat Carolina twice. If they do that and get a big win against NO, that will be enough to clinch the division regardless of what NO does in it’s other 4 games. Beating TB and Seattle would just be icing on the cake if that happens.
Also, considering they have a two game lead over the Eagles, you have to like the Falcons chances to clinch the #1 seed with a 12-4 record, and I don’t think the Bears will win more than 3 games with their schedule.
Bottom line: The Falcons are firmly in the driver seat based on their record and based on their having two games left with the Panthers. This game at TB is not do or die.
Saints1Fan
December 1st, 2010
2:28 pm
Eric:
The only way the Falcons get the number one seed is to win the rest of their games. They will lose to NO in the Dome. Even with that loss, they win the tie breaker because of common games. The Saints lost to Arizona and Cleveland, the Falcons won those. The Saints beat Pittsburgh, the Falcons lost that one. The Saints have some tough games ahead, including this week @ Cincinnatti and @ Baltimore the week before the Falcons, but I think the Saints win their next 5.