Mike Smith acknowedges Falcons don’t seem focused
Mike Smith is trying to figure out the reason for Falcons' inconsistencies. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Over the past several weeks, the Falcons have dropped too many passed passes, committed too many penalties, missed too many blocks, allowed too many sacks, blown too many coverages, committed too many turnovers and, certainly in the case of quarterback Matt Ryan, overthrown too many receivers.
If they are not a mediocre team, they are at least playing like one.
Maybe few expected another 13-3 record this season, given a more difficult schedule. But to have largely the same core group of veterans in Year 4, possess this much talent and stand only 7-5 — which includes some relative hiccups for wins — should set off alarms.
The Falcons probably will play well at Carolina on Sunday. It’s what they do after bad losses, and last weekend’s loss to third-string quarterback T.J. Yates and the beat-up Houston Texans certainly qualifies as bad.
But any comfort level about the Falcons moving forward is long gone. So is any thought that they won’t be one-and-done in the postseason again.
There’s a focus problem. There’s a discipline problem. The aforementioned maladies – penalties, drops, turnovers – are physical mistakes that generally stem from mental lapses. Veteran teams should be past that by December. Thomas Dimitroff, the general manager, knows it. So does coach Mike Smith.
Early in the season, Smith reminded his players that they needed to play “with consistency, smart and with focus.”
Then a few weeks ago, he shuffled the order of those three things. “I said, ‘Guys, maybe I’m not coming across the right way. The first thing we have to do is have zoom focus.’”
Requiring that reminder is not a good sign.
Players love Smith. He and his coaching staff have had a lot of success in four seasons. But when players seem to drift into and out of consciousness, there are difficult questions that have to be asked. Like this one: Are they listening?
Smith doesn’t believe that’s a problem, but he agrees something is off.
“Physical and mental toughness, physical and mental preparation, they go hand in hand,” he said while sitting in office, which overlooks the Falcons’ practice fields at Flowery Branch. “The thing that we have going on right now is we have not played with focus. We have not played smart. When you don’t play with focus and you don’t play smart, you don’t play with consistency. It is a fine line between being 10-2 [the Falcons' record through 12 games last year] and being 7-5.”
Identifying the problems is the easy part. Smith can read from a sheet and go down a list of statistics that illustrate how his team has slipped in several areas this season. The most glaring: They have 74 penalties, which is tied for 13th best in the NFL. That’s already more than the 58 they had all of last season, when they were the NFL’s least-penalized team. Holding and personal fouls are way up.
Turnover differential has gone from a plus-14 in 2010 to minus-1 so far this season. There’s no official statistic on drops, but the Falcons had at least seven in Houston.
But this is kind of like going to a doctor and hearing him say, “You’re sneezing more this year.”
OK. But why?
“You can’t attribute it to the [lockout] and the offseason — everybody’s on the same playing field,” Smith said. “We’re not playing with focus and we’re not playing smart, but I can’t sit here and pinpoint why. We try to do that every week. … It’s very subjective. It’s not like you’re doing a mathematical formula where you can absolutely prove something.”
Veteran center Todd McClure said players are tuned in to Smith and his assistants. But he said the team’s mental lapses “definitely is a concern. The thing I keep thinking about though is the Green Bay Packers were in a similar situation last year, and then for some reason they started clicking. I know that’s saying a lot — Green Bay. But there’s that part that says we haven’t played our best football yet. If we do that, we can play with anybody.”
Maybe. But 7-5 doesn’t project greatness. And in the words of wide receiver Roddy White, “We better start clicking because it’s almost getting too late.”
By Jeff Schultz
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267 comments Add your comment
Mr Charlie
December 10th, 2011
6:01 pm
Laaaater…Gotta go to the Chuckie Cheese Christmas party.
JSS
December 10th, 2011
6:11 pm
Ha ha ha… Maybe Larry will teach how to get your torch to burn longer in your hut? Remember, you have to vent kerosene…. Ha ha!!!
Pigskin Zero
December 10th, 2011
6:11 pm
Cam Newton is playing really well. Matt Ryan is not. Panthers win.
JSS
December 10th, 2011
6:13 pm
Don’t forget to sneak back in (at 3AM) and try to get the last word… What kind of lies will you have for us then?
eric
December 10th, 2011
7:09 pm
I agree that this team has been somewhat disappointing but we are NOT losing to Carolina tomorrow. This team is two dropped passes away from a 9-3 record and have been in every single game this year with the possible exception of the awful bears game. All the Ryan haters must not have realized that he is actually having one of his best statistical season’s so far. QB is not our problem. Our problem is we can’t get off the field on 3rd downs on defense, we can’t cover receivers or put pressure on opposing qb’s, and we can’t catch passes. All of those issues are correctable and even with them we still have a good shot at the playoffs.
All I know is that after 40+ years of being flat out terrible, I’m not too fussed with a team that is consistently above average….
Brave-Falcon Fan
December 10th, 2011
7:44 pm
Falcons can’t run the ball well enough. Turner looks slow hitting the whole. Appears that he is running soft too often.
Sid
December 10th, 2011
7:46 pm
Seriously, teams defenses don’t have to worry about Turner that much on the inside………he usually just butts his head into one of our O lines rear ends then goes down. Turner has much more success with a pulling guard to the outside. Nothing wrong with Turner as a back except vision, and the O line ain’t exactly opening up them up like a can opener. Rodgers seems to have much more vision at creating an opening when there isn’t one there. Snelling too.
Just wondering what the drug testing policy is these days. I hear that stuff causes a lack of concentration. Do we have tunnel vision? We can’t put Meir out there and let him show Roddy and Waffle House what it’s like to actually catch a ball?
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 10th, 2011
8:12 pm
“In Commentary”
That lightning rod called Mike Vick vs CHOKE.
Although Mike Vick is the only quarterback to bring the Atlanta Falcons a playoff win
in separate seasons, he was and still is referred as a great athlete, and not as what
he truly is – a great quarterback.
Arthur Blank foolishly rushed when he pulled the trigger on replacing Jim Mora Jr.
as the head coach. He instead made some very questionable decisions base on
the wanna be clone of the New England Patriots.
I believe Blank became spoiled with the success at the Georgia Dome under
the leadership of Jim Mora & Mike Vick. The Dome was consistently filled to full
capacity – a feat that has only been accomplished a couple more times since.
Blank didn’t do his due diligence in analyzing the facts vs the hype in replacing the
old regime. It is now year 4 and this machine just doesn’t seem to be running as smoothly
as Blank had dreamed.
His haste to replace the so called bad memories left by the great Mike Vick, he ignored
a major flaw with CHOKE’s track record. A track record that included 22 interceptions
in a 5th year of college football in a suspect conference.
Somehow Blank gave way too much trust in the man with the bad hair cut, thinking he would
design a football franchise like that of the Patriots. There had to be a reason why the Patriots
didn’t really put up a fight to keep the wanna be legend in New England. The final result
can be seen each Sunday, and most noticably in the playoffs, where the team resembles the
same Boston College team in 2007.
Blank can look no further than last Sunday versus the injury ridden Texans, led by a rookie
starting for the first time, to see how badly his investment was wasted. Losing to a first game
starting rookie is as bad as it gets.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 10th, 2011
8:24 pm
hmmmm………
December 10th, 2011
4:01 pm
Trade Matt Ryan!
____________________________________________
In order for a team to trade the player must have value.
Therefore if he is traded, it will be as a 2nd or 3rd string capacity
djthescorpian
December 10th, 2011
9:08 pm
I would say that the Falcons are prone to choke this week on the road. Do you think that teams that have nothing to lose is gonna let you come in to their territory and lay down a loss for a team who may make those playoffs? I think not. This means that this game will be a shoot out. Fans can not expect anything out of this team except for them to play mistake free ball. They are talented enough on their own to win against any team. Their problem is mental. They haven’t believed in themselves enough to win, even when guys have personal issues outside the field. This is where professionalism comes in. Put out a good product and we will buy. Put out a cruddy cheap product-and don’t expect us to buy just cause yours is on sale. That’s the problem with the Hawks, Braves, etc. The owners don’t have the cahunas to demand from their coaches any accountability, productivity, or consistant direction for the Atlanta organization(s) fans pay to watch. The Falcons football teams are too weak and mentally fragile to seriously contend. Look at the Superbowl Falcons of 98 with Chris Chandler, who I think was the best throwing quarterback Atlanta has ever had. We went to the Superbowl and lost to Denver. Why? Because a player decided to stay out all night the night before and get a prostitute. The media got wind of it-and this affected the whole team from the coaches on down. Consequently, the birds lost big time in the Superbowl. The rest is history. These players need to sit down and discuss the historical context in which they will be judged in the NFL. They can make history, but they themselves have to believe in themselves and play football the way it supposed to be played. Just imagine if they can play a game where there were no flaws in their game and they were “clicking on all cylinders. Forget about N.O. It better start this Sunday.
djthescorpian
December 10th, 2011
9:11 pm
The Falcons aren’t afraid to fail; they are afraid to succeed.
T'TownDawg
December 10th, 2011
10:24 pm
Looks like our so called Veterans never came back from the lock-out….Looks like they left town with our previous punter, and expect the rookies to carry the load. As a fan the play of this team does not make me want to buy season tickets again next year. It is as if they are just going through the motions to collect the paycheck, and expecting somebody to make a play to win the game….Looks as if they now they can not beat the Packers or the Saints with this team, so the playoffs are a waste of their time….
Smitty needs to quit baby sitting and get their attention, let see if Dimitroff learned anything from Belichick…
Time to RISE UP FALCON PLAYERS, your fans are sitting down!!!
Runnin with the Dawgs
December 10th, 2011
10:32 pm
Two BIG differences in this year and last: #1 we lost Harvey Dahl — #2 we lost Bill Muschamp!
T'TownDawg
December 10th, 2011
10:35 pm
Matt Ryan – please stop studying other QB’s in the league during the off season, study yourself, be yourself, go out and play football….Throw 100 deep passes a day!!!
Joseph Allen McWhorter
December 10th, 2011
10:47 pm
Yes, the Falcons definitely need to start clicking and it needs to start Sunday against the Panthers. The Falcons are a better team and they should(with the key emphasis being on the word should) win this game easily. I would love to see the Falcons put together their most complete game of the season tomrorow in Charlotte and get “really focused.” It would really be nice to see a 44-10 blowout win or something of that nature. A true dominating performance against a team which the Falcons will be favored against could really get this team on a true hot streak. I am truly hoping it starts tomorrow.
eric
December 10th, 2011
10:58 pm
Lol choke, where’s the “great” Mike Vick this year? Moreover, where was he in 2007? Oh yeah, sitting in a jail cell while a historically cursed franchise suffered its most miserable and embarrassing season in its history. What have they done since? 3 winning seasons in a row on the way to a 4th. Yeah, truly an embarrassment (unlike your beloved Vick who has won how many games this year?)….
CGD..
December 10th, 2011
11:39 pm
Blank shooting Blanks!
This is a .500 team(Vick getting injured in the Philly game) turned a loss into a win. Playing like your 6-6..
Expect this team to get dismantled in the playoffs again..
Andrew Luck, Andrew Luck….
Keep hiring these Norv Tuner types and the lack of success in the post season will continue Mr. Blank!
CGD..
December 10th, 2011
11:42 pm
Observe how Melt will misfire on the DEEP BALLS again in the 1st qtr!..
Did you know 96% of the Known Universe is invisible and so are we Humans? Fascinating! lol
CGD..
December 10th, 2011
11:46 pm
Turner^^^
CGD..
December 10th, 2011
11:49 pm
“Turner has dominated the Panthers (4-8) to the tune of 707 yards with an average of 4.7 per carry and 11 touchdowns in the past seven meetings.
He raced for a season-high 139 yards and two scores on 27 rushes in a 31-17 win over Carolina in Week 6.”
Turner is the key this week not Ryan..Falcons win if Turner gets off. The other guy is riding his coat tails…
Andrew Luck Andrew Luck
take it from me.
December 10th, 2011
11:55 pm
IF falcons don’t win this game vs Carolina,it will be time to look at the head coach,he needs to be held accountable,along with the GM.This prosess they keep talking about,is streching in to years,and they seem to be regressing,along with the team.its time to put up,or shut up!
JSS
December 10th, 2011
11:57 pm
“while a historically cursed franchise suffered its most miserable and embarrassing season in its history.”
A season more memorable than having two players actually die? More miserable than going 3-13 and only having 8,000 people show up for the last game of the year? More miserable than having the No.1 pick rob a pizza delivery man? The 2007 and 1989 had a lot in common, both of the head coaches quit at game 12!!!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan0
December 10th, 2011
11:59 pm
eric
December 10th, 2011
10:58 pm
Lol choke, where’s the “great” Mike Vick this year?
________________________________________
You missed the message. I guess it flew right over your one dimensional little mind
Mike Vick could retire right now and have what CHOKE will N-E-V-E-R had……….
Playoff wins and I know that is BUGGING you CHOKE lickers….. ha ha ha
You can have 10 straight winning seasons but ZERO playoff wins is still a L-O-S-E-R
2004 & Counting SUCKAS
Runnin with the Dawgs
December 11th, 2011
5:52 am
First of all we need to hire a new QB coach. MR is playing worse with Bratkowski as his coach than he ever did with Muschamp!
GT
December 11th, 2011
8:32 am
They went into a game last week expecting a cakewalk over a divisional leader. They thought because the quarterback was down twice this would be gravy. Of course the press help it along with their observation that the Falcons won’t lose a game the rest of the season type stuff. I think we have done this in baseball and Georgia football, by telling them they are better than they are, and now in Falcon football. No one in this age of parity can evaluate sport’s teams anymore and certainly we missed how good Houston without a quarterback starter is.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan0
December 11th, 2011
8:38 am
AND THE WINNER OF THE 2011 HEISMAN GOES TO…………………
Sorry Mrs. Charlie it goes to another Vick style qb.
Another blow for the One Dimensional quarterback.
I know you and the one dimensional media fell in love with Luck as their savior to the dying breed
of one dimension non athletic quarterbacks
“The Running Quarterback” – The new trend of the NFL
Dictionary
December 11th, 2011
9:29 am
Is anyone ever going to fix the typo in the title of this article? Pretty sad…
Ben
December 11th, 2011
9:43 am
The problem is that even when they’re “focused” (see: New Orleans) they aren’t getting it done.
13-3 last year was apparition. This team isn’t capable of winning a Super Bowl as currently constructed.
Falcan'ts
December 11th, 2011
9:49 am
Without Brent Grimes in the secondary I’m afraid Cam Newton will solidify his status as rookie of the year. I expect Carolina to roll up a lot more yards than the Falcons, but ultimately the Falcons should win.
JSS
December 11th, 2011
10:48 am
@ MCR…
You’re doing Andrew Luck a disservice. He’s not one-dimensional. He’s more like Aaron Rodgers then the old school Peyton Manning/David Greene/John Parker Wilson fawn fest that Charlie and his ilk keep trying resurrect… It is sad that he doesn’t have anything but TEs to throw to out at Stanford. He’s big, mobile, and smart… It is up to him to how much better he becomes on the next level… Pssst, at he didn’t throw 22 INTs as he is walking off the graduation stage… If you get my drift?
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan0
December 11th, 2011
11:03 am
@JSS
I stand corrected. True he is not standing back there like the statue of liberty CHOKE *WINK WINK*
Mrs. Charlie is desperately holding on to that 1955 style of quarterback. Just like the slam dunk took the NBA to new heights, so has the mobile quarterback.
Here is another familiar stat for the Mr. Charlie Elite quarterback:
When CHOKE throws 40 or more passes he has a 3-11 record with 17 tds & 15 PICKS and a 73.0 qb rating. What does this mean?
He has a weak arm with ZERO accuracy and lack of enough INTELLIGENCE to read the defense.
Ironically, when Michael Turner runs the ball 20 or more times, the Falcons have a 26-2 record. What does this mean?
Michael Turner is the leader of this team and without him CHOKE is even more PATHETIC than normal
Sorry Mrs. Charlie but if you throw 22 PICKS leaving out the door, you aint NFL material
JSS
December 11th, 2011
11:03 am
^^^^^^^^^^
At least
JSS
December 11th, 2011
11:11 am
Been saying that Turner is the key to their fortunes… You know what they say about people who never realize strengths and weaknesses?
schultz kiss rears alot
December 11th, 2011
11:15 am
U mean Romo was never win a wildcard game if face us he win one and Matt Ryan will retire to raise goats at Boston college…and he relax and say…I guess be no Hall of fame for me!
schultz kiss rears alot
December 11th, 2011
11:23 am
Funny smith say lock out hurt find excuse also…Green bay same as any other Team they 12-0 be 13-0 after scorin 54pts vs Oakland Raiders today at 4pm on CBS…..Tebow on but due to the Birds on road first we not see it as Tim Tebow whips the Bears be seen in chicago n denver markets n states near them …Only team that will give Packers a run will be New Orleans in tha NFC Championship Game….there not been a repeat winner since denver in 1999 and 2000 wins so be Packers vs Pats in superbowl in Indianapolis…..Ought be a high scorin game for viewers to see winner be when game ends that day!
JSS
December 11th, 2011
11:35 am
Romo has already won a wildcard game as I tried to explain to chronologically challenged Charlie. They beat the Eagles in 09. Maybe if he stopped watching bad British PSAs from the 70s; then he’d remember that point… Why would you do that to poor goats?
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
11:43 am
WC game = Bye. JSS is all about style and not about results…typical MV7 fan…..all illogical hype trying to make nothing into something.
LIVE: Falcons try to get back on track (again) at Carolina | Jeff Schultz
December 11th, 2011
11:43 am
[...] My car temperature gauge said 38 degrees. So maybe the weather will wake up the Falcons. Wrote a column in today’s AJC with coach Mike Smith, whom I spent about 30 minutes with the other day. He acknowledged the Falcons’ inconsistencies [...]
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
11:47 am
Here is where it stands. I was right about MV7 and the Eagles this year.
Charlie 1 JSS 0
Matt Ryan would have a better rookie Season than Cam
Charlie 2 JSS 0
Falcons would get a playoff win this year. The Jury is still out, but I am playing with house money, so worst I can do is 2-1….
Everything else, the insults, the banter, the name calling, etc it just noise, and attempt to cover up the aforementioned FACTS.
Rob Man
December 11th, 2011
11:50 am
C’mon! There are only so many GREAT teams in the NFL and my Falcons aren’t one of them . This year, any way. The QB can only throw deep when he rolls out or had time in the pocket. Ryan does neither. The receivers can only score when they hold on to the ball. Only one of our four has been consistent (and I’m NOT pointing at the TE). We need a stronger O-line and better execution all around. But I’ve lived in Atlanta a loooong time and patience is an old friend…
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
11:53 am
Would last season have been more of a success if we backed in the playoffs, and beat a 7-9 Seattle in the WC round and got smoked by GB? Would that have been a “more successful” season in all your ryan haters books? Somehow I doubt it.
chichi
December 11th, 2011
11:55 am
Bring in Norv in as OC when he loses his job.
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
11:55 am
Agree Rob, we are just like every other 7-5 team scraping for the playoffs, non are “great”. But in todays NFL, you don’t have to be great, you just got to be hot. Who is it going to be this year? Green Bay is looking stout, but you just never know, hence the Pats in 07. (or whenever it was)
Ga Blogger
December 11th, 2011
11:56 am
You have an avg QB, a good but slow runner, one good WR who is a rookie, an old TE who is out of his prime. Can’t see why they aren’t 12-0..???????????? Hmmmmmmm……….?
The D is good. But can’t win every game. This team needs a qb that can throw over 20 yards. When drafted I thought he was going to be a 8-9 game winner at best. He will not win games for you like other qb’s can do.
Ga Blogger
December 11th, 2011
11:59 am
At seasons end cam will be better than Ryan now, how can you say his rookie yr was better than cams??
I would trade the two straight up today!!!!
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
GA blogger, what do you mean he will not win games like others? He is best in crunch time. He had 15 4th quarter come from behind victories in his 1st 3 seasons. Dan Marino lead all time at 45. Think about that. Plus, in 3 of the losses this year, he drove the field, and put the team in position to win at the end. That is want putting a team on the shoulders is all about.
Ga Blogger
December 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
Mr Charlie 1 JSS 1 corrected score
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
Ryan 11-5, Best cam can do is 8-8. Ws and Ls is ALL that matters in the NFL.
Samuel
December 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
The problem on offense is dropped balls by the recievers that could have tied or won a game. Also Matt Ryans inability to consistently play well against teams that are seemingly better than the Falcons. Michael Turner has done well and broke some for big gains. But several times he’s been caught from behind. I don’t know if Snelling and Rodgers have the kind of speed once in the secondary, they can take it to the house with a sixty or seventy yard dash. On defense decoud has been a disapointment and although Robinson at times can be a hitter, he lacks cover skills and an eye for interceptions. The defensive end position has not been good, Abe and Edwards can’t seem to register sacks with any propensity. Also the coaching staff throughout the season, sometimes have not done a good job. This is a copy cat league and what the packers have shown the last couple of years is- they been able to win without a strong run game, and a defense that makes crucial plays when it counts.
Mr Charlie
December 11th, 2011
12:02 pm
Ryan lead a joke of a team to the playoffs. Cam? Put up some nice stats, but did not win. All about the Ws baby. No excuses, to quote JSS: “you can’t justify losing”