OK, so it didn’t work, but Mike Smith made the right choice
Sometimes football is, as Michael Turner said, "a game of inches." (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
I’d have gone for it. I’d go for it again. I might call a different play the next time, but I find no fault with Mike Smith’s reasoning. His choice was to try and keep possession by gaining six inches or to rely on his defense to halt the great Drew Brees yet again. That’s no choice at all.
Said Dunta Robinson, who we should note plays defense for the Falcons: “We were more bothered when we saw the punt team going out there [which it did before Smith called timeout and changed his mind] than when we saw the offense. We felt there was no way we weren’t going to get that first down.”
But they didn’t, and the Falcons lost another wild and crazy game in the series that leads the world in wild and crazy games, and now they’re 5-4 and trail New Orleans by 1 1/2 games in the NFC South. Give them this, though: They went down swinging, surging from 10 points behind in the final five minutes to force overtime, losing in overtime on their terms — not Drew Brees’.
We can and will debate whether these Falcons are as good as they should be, but we cannot question their guts. They out-dared the Saints, who as we know are a dauntless bunch, and came within an eyelash of stealing a game Brees and Co. should have locked away. That’s not to excuse the loss — there are no moral victories in the NFL — but it is to suggest that anyone who believes this excruciating game will crush the local team hasn’t been paying attention.
This is a feisty bunch, and this coach is a gutsy guy. Mike Smith made some curious decisions Sunday — a poor challenge that cost a timeout, an onside kick that came too early — but his team was in position not just to tie but to win at the end of regulation. (To me, Sean Payton messed up worse than Smitty did.) And that fourth-down call at the 29 in overtime wasn’t some flight of fancy but a considered decision based on, of all things, a grasp of history.
Said Smith: “We have had no success in giving them the ball back.”
He referred to two games: A five-point loss in the Superdome on Dec. 7, 2008, when the Falcons punted to the Saints with 3:15 remaining and saw New Orleans kill the clock, and the deflating game here on Dec. 27, 2010, when the Falcons, trailing by three, again punted with 2:44 left and never touched the ball again. Many among us ripped Smitty for a failure of nerve after the second game — that’s my hand you see raised — and we can’t have it both ways, can we? A coach can’t be half-daring, can he?
Smith again: “The message all week was that we were going to be an aggressive football team.”
As to the play itself: It was awful. Needing six inches, the Falcons eschewed a quarterback sneak and handed instead to Michael Turner, who had two lead blockers but had to wait for those blockers to array themselves. By that time, the Saints had him.
Said Turner: “If I didn’t like [the call], I would have walked off the field and let somebody else run the ball.”
The bottom line is that Smith’s daring gave the ball to Brees 40 yards closer than a punt would have, but there’s a line that undercuts even that bottom line: If you can’t get six inches in a game of this magnitude, you don’t deserve to win.
Said linebacker Curtis Lofton: “Fourth-and-inches, it being overtime — why not? You’ve got to go for it.”
Actually, you don’t. A skittish coach would have punted and, after the great Brees had driven his team to victory, have said, “Whaddaya want from me? I played the percentages!”
This is what we got from Mike Smith: “It’s something I take full responsibility for … It’s not anybody else’s fault. It’s my responsibility.”
Loading ...As Smith spoke, his employer sat five yards to his right. Asked if he’d have gone for it, Arthur Blank said: “It was absolutely the right thing to do. You can’t keep giving the ball back to that offense.”
Let’s say again that there are no quality losses in pro football, and the Falcons somehow lost a game in which they outgained the great Brees and his offense by 118 yards. But these teams will meet again the night after Christmas, and the Saints have the tougher schedule from here. This division race isn’t over, and I’m pretty sure this coach’s men aren’t going to quit on him. On the contrary.
“I’m behind Smitty,” said center Todd McClure. “In this situation we didn’t get it done, but I like that our head coach has faith in us to get it done.”
Maybe in December they’ll gain those six inches. But a few words to the daring Mr. Smith: Quarterback sneak next time.
By Mark Bradley
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352 comments Add your comment
take it from me.
November 13th, 2011
8:36 pm
It wasn’t the right call to make.punting the ball is the right call,with 8 men on the d line,i inch would have been tough to get, even with a sneak! If the coach’es don’t have anymore comfidence in the defence than that,then its going to be a long season.
ugafan13
November 13th, 2011
8:40 pm
Roddy needs some stick’em. He was hit in the hands at least twice and didn’t make the catch. Begining to think he is all mouth…
Reality
November 13th, 2011
8:42 pm
NO has better WR, a much better QB and better coaching….thus they win. We will never make the Super with Ryan and White. Just like Philly will never make it with Vick.
stendek
November 13th, 2011
8:44 pm
Roddy “Butterfingers” White cost Falcon regulation victory with drop of sure TD in EZ. Bum has become liability. Reunite creep with his booty buddy in Philly. Where his heart really is!
Najeh Davenpoop
November 13th, 2011
8:45 pm
I don’t think going for it on 4th and inches in overtime is necessarily wrong all the time, but I do think it is wrong if you give the other team the ball in field goal range. If he made that call at the 50 it would have been fine. But when you fail at your own 30, even if the other team gets zero yards they are still in field goal range in a dome. In that situation, it is better to punt in my opinion.
Although maybe if Michael Koenen was still a Falcon, Mike Smith punts.
BigTony0058
November 13th, 2011
8:51 pm
Right call but wrong formation & wrong personnel!!!!!
Long Time Fan!
November 13th, 2011
8:54 pm
I have no problem with going for it in that situation on 4th down. But a deep hand off to Michael Turner??? INSANE!! We had passed the ball up and down the field the entire game!! Fake a hand off to the “Learner” and chunk it to any number of open tight ends or wide receivers. I would have gone to Michael Palmer there. The surprise factor! Falcons played hard. Played agrresive on offense! Imagine that. Still no cigar. Gave it away at home. Does not bode well by any stretch of anybody’s imagination…….
KBP
November 13th, 2011
8:55 pm
Bad decision and worse play call. Even if you get first down you are at least 50 yards away from field goal range. Punt the ball and make them drive 60-70 yards.
Falcons: Play 60!
November 13th, 2011
8:55 pm
Roddy’s last tweet before the game:
-Defend the dome see y’all at 4
translation:
-the rest of the team can defend the dome, i’m just going to sit back here and watch and if anything happens that makes me look bad just remember, it’s the other guys fault
Loserville USA
November 13th, 2011
9:10 pm
After a few hours to digest all this I feel that this decision — which did NOT work out — will serve this team well down the stretch.
Maybe some of the prima donnas will work a little harder now not to make their coach look bad.
Roddy — Hawaii? Not this year. In fact, the only ones on the team I would even consider would be Lofton and ‘Spoon.
ALSO: I think we’re finding out William Moore is a damn good football player. Too bad he gets hurt and subjects us to DeCoud, who worked really hard to be a starter and all of a sudden, has regressed almost to Owens level.
Moore and Sanders should start regularly. Draft needs to address OL, DB.
Ginger
November 13th, 2011
9:13 pm
wrong play…right call to go for it…..would have love to see us throw a little short pass to a fast player—wish Julio had been in game…short pass to Julio and he would have caught that ball and possiblity taken it to the house….NO had everybody up on the line
Bud
November 13th, 2011
9:23 pm
To all the people sayng the spot of the fumble is where the ball went out of boudns, you are wrong (blame Ken Stabler and the Raiders). The NFL changed the rule on fumbles in late game situations. If the the team that fumbles, retains possession, the ball is marked at the spot where the fumble occurred, not where it is recovered or goes out of bounds, unless the spot of recovery is behind the spot of the fumble.
Saints defeat Falcons 26-23 in overtime | Atlanta Falcons
November 13th, 2011
9:26 pm
[...] OK, so it didn’t work, but Mike Smith made the right choice [...]
Amused
November 13th, 2011
9:33 pm
What a poll. I didn’t know that so many Falcons fans could buy such a spin! That was an awful decision…indicative that the Falcons were afraid to play defense.
2 GOOD DOGS
November 13th, 2011
9:33 pm
Going for the first down there was the same as the one in regular time to Roddy White to save the game. Both plays HAD to be made or it was over. In regular time ,we lined up spread wide with several options, and had success.
So why the change in thought with everything on the line ? I think the right call was to go for it.
But the play call …….? TERRIBLE play call.
We run Turner in midfield with 4 blockers and a fullback and get 2 yards at best. Against usually 4 down lineman and 2 linebackers, and maybe a d back. That’s 5 against 6 at best. Even this matchup has failed every time at the goal line. So now we try to run 5 against 9 tight defensively between tackles to win the game, that we can’t convert in lesser circumstances.
I’d love to know the wonderlich test scores on this bunch of players and who decided they could play in the NFL. We are undisciplined , arrogant and embarrassing to watch. The fish ALWAYS stinks from the head.So what is Blank going to do about this IMAGE PROBLEM ?
Fan of the Game
November 13th, 2011
9:41 pm
Hey Phil, I was talking about the previous play. I know Turner was not close, but I still don’t know why they put the ball where they did. When Cox had possession and his knee was not down where they marked it. If I were the Falcons the NFL office would have to explain it to me. The nose of the ball should have been touching the 30 yard line.
Roddy White = terrible
November 13th, 2011
9:42 pm
Roddy White went from an average #1 receiver last year (talent wise, not production) to a below average #2 receiver this year. Honestly, I’d rather take all 5 of the Packers wideouts before Roddy. Horrible penalties, poor effort, no hands. With Jordy Nelson instead of Roddy White we’d have at least two more victories (this game and Tampa Bay game). Get rid of the bum. It’s amazing Matt Ryan can make him look so good.
No Way
November 13th, 2011
9:43 pm
Dumb move, especially the play call. Own 29??? Game over!
Chris Perkins
November 13th, 2011
9:45 pm
to Nola Falcon Fan: I’ll tell you where we’ve been, jack a$$–we’ve been here, dip wad, supporting the Saints through the same thick and thin, and worse, than the Falcons and any other team in the NFL. To suggest that we have not been die hard Saints fans since 1967 is to confirm that you are a Douchebag.
Cry all you want about the call to go for it on 4th. Go ahead, complain that White missed a touchdown pass, yada yada yada…don’t even give the Saints defense credit for stuffing The Falcons, shutting them down in the red zone where it counts, and stopping the Great Michael Turner when he really needed to make the yard. Let’s see, I seem to recall Jimmy Graham missing a couple of turning point 3rd down passes where he was wide open.
The Falcons are 5-4 for a reason. The Saints are 7-3 for a reason. Don’t forget it. Cry, complain, and moan all you want, the simple truth is that the Saints won the game today and are the better team.
Southern Boy
November 13th, 2011
9:48 pm
It was the right call to go for it on fourth and inches, but it was the wrong play call—should have run the quarterback sneak.
Fan of the Game
November 13th, 2011
9:49 pm
I agree that the best team won. The Falcons offensive line is just physically weak. Tough lost and Falcons will bounce back. But we need to draft strong o-line.
Who Dat Tigershakk
November 13th, 2011
9:50 pm
What a game! Saints Falcons is a very underrated rivalry, two great teams. It was huge to get a win and go 1.5 games up. I’m sure the division will come down to the Dec 26 game at the Dome on MNF. But I’m gonna enjoy this win for the bye week, always great to beat the dirty birds in ATL. See yall in December. WHO DAT!
B-Da man
November 13th, 2011
9:51 pm
You can say what you want about the 4 and inches, but that’s not what lost the game. (1) Red zone offense in the first half, lost this game: missed FG and two FG that should have been TD. If we turn one of those opportunities into a TD then we win. (2) Stupid personal fouls. AFter havng 1 penalty agains INDY we have 10 against the saints. Wha was Weems thinking. (3) Dropped passes. Rodddy needs to focus more, he can be really good at times and sometimes reminds me of Roddy in his first couple of season, he misses TD catch at end and tips a pass off his hands that ends up INT and 3 pts for saints. Also saw some poor effort on a couple of blocks. Smith wants WR to block , but Roddy must not be listening. (4) Smith sure can manage to mess up his time outs. He never seems to win any challenges and looses time outs that he needs. Also had to burn one in the third that also caught up with us. Better challenge management is needed. (5) no pass rush to speak of. Division race is not over, but we sure messed up a great chance to take the lead.
One more thing. I like Julio and he is explosiveness but it’s looking like not worth all the draft picks with the hammy pulls…at least not this year. Harrry Douglas seems like a capable enough WR. Julio reminds me of TO, big, fast and strong, but you were just never sure about his hands. AJ Green is more like Moss, you know he is going to catch the ball.
LakeDawg
November 13th, 2011
9:52 pm
Going for it was the right thing to do. Also, the onside kick was the right thing to do. If the Falcons had kicked it deep, they wouldn’t have had time to tie the game. Even though the Saints recovered the kick, it forced the D to either stop them or lose. If they were kicked deep, the Saints would have run too much of the clock before the D got a stop. Its the psychology of it. Everyone knows the D wouldn’t have gotten a stop until the Saints were in Falcon territory. The onside kick put the Saints there and the D got a stop. Then they almost won it in regulation.
Fan of the Game
November 13th, 2011
9:54 pm
Maybe Julio needs to cut his hair and grow some muscle.
JDW
November 13th, 2011
9:59 pm
Right decision wrong call…sneak gets the six inches every time.
BigTony0058
November 13th, 2011
10:04 pm
Right call, wrong formation & personnel!!!!!! Spread the defense out with 4 wide, put Rogers on the field & go get the inch man!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joseph
November 13th, 2011
10:07 pm
I agree with the decision to go for it. I hate we couldn’t finish it off in regulation. We can still win the division. I hate the refs made some really bad calls. Offensive pass interference on Roddy White? Seriously?
Eagles QB 32.5 passer rating
November 13th, 2011
10:07 pm
The outlook for some other Bird teams is much worse!
scfalcon
November 13th, 2011
10:10 pm
Our receiving corps lacks discipline. From the celebration last week to the senseless personal fouls every week. They need to be called out as a unit.
Ted
November 13th, 2011
10:11 pm
100% right. Odds are not with you if you punt to a team with Brees as qb and its sudden death. You have to go for it. Chances we made that foot are usually 80% plus.
Tim
November 13th, 2011
10:13 pm
The real math folks who can noodle this out know it was the right move. Perhaps the wrong play.
Pete
November 13th, 2011
10:14 pm
I didn’t mind going on 4th, although I think a QB sneak would have been a better call. I do put the blame on Smith for the three other times we were 3rd and one and threw the ball. We seemed to run effectively in the first half. Did something happen to the o-line late in the game? Those are the plays I can’t figure out, not the 4tth down play.
bluthunder
November 13th, 2011
10:25 pm
Packer fan pulling for the Falcons > wrong call not trusting your defense! I’ll still be pulling for you to come to Lambeau in Jan.!! Not a Saints fan.
Eric C.
November 13th, 2011
10:34 pm
MB, excellent commentary!!!
Ermin
November 13th, 2011
10:34 pm
@BigTony0058 : I Absolutely agree with you, right call to go for it but when we line up with one WR(Roddy) and 3 Tight Ends the Saints stack the box and before Turner even has the ball in his hands the play is DEAD. Great PlayCalling Mularkey.( Absolute waste of a offensive coordinator ). I have to go cool off for a week . See You Guys…
daveinbuford
November 13th, 2011
10:43 pm
You’re entitled to your opinion but the truth is if you’re going to try something that risky, pick a play that’ll surprise the other team and will work. Obviously, the Saints weren’t and it didn’t. The bottom line is that the Falcons will be watching at home playoff time.
Sam
November 13th, 2011
10:43 pm
Just watched Brady avoid all the jets rushers and then throw a strike to a receiver. Why can’t Ryan buy time with his feet instead of falling or throwing it away
Mr Charlie
November 13th, 2011
10:43 pm
You gotta go QB sneak on touch, once you pile the FB onto Ice’s back, you get an inch. Love ya smitty…We will get them next time.
Lil' Barry Bailout
November 13th, 2011
10:57 pm
I thought it was a dumb call, both before and after they failed to gain one yard.
And no, you’re not a hero when such dumb calls end up working…you’re merely forgiven for being dumb.
RB
November 13th, 2011
11:03 pm
The simple question was, If I’m successful do I win or do I lose if I’m not successful? Mike Smith had a dumb moment. If they make the playoffs it will be forgiven. If not, it won’t.
30 years of misery
November 13th, 2011
11:13 pm
In a leauge where parity reins supreme,1 bad lapse in judgment muchless 3 you cannot have from a 3rd year head coach.I dont question the 4th down call,just the manner in which it was called. The window is closing on this tallented team,with the playoff road now running through greenbay.Men were drafted on the d side of the ball,with a salespitch of high character people need only apply.What about football I.Q. All those wasted drafts and high price free agents and you still hold your breath and pray that the secondary will be in position when the ball is in the air.praying that decloud will be where he’s supposed to be,or will half the field will b in zone and the other half press.How did the lowly rams get 2 brees. And what has happend to Roddy White,use 2 be when the game was on the line no one was better.He hurt this team with his drops not to mention the bonehead fouls, grow up son.Did our great G.M. OUTSMART HIMSELF i.e. another injury prone draft pick.The rest of the N.F.L. has learned our Q.B.S LIMITATIONS.My 18 year son can throw a better deep ball.
Mike Smith’s decision to go for it wasn’t about winning – it was about luck. | Falcons Focus – Atlanta Falcons Blog, Opinion and Analysis
November 13th, 2011
11:14 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution has already put together a well-written article about how Mike Smith made the right decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in overtime of the Falcons’ 26-23 loss to the [...]
Dre
November 13th, 2011
11:23 pm
It was not worth it on the 29yard line, even if they made it, they still were not in field goal range but the Saints were… Its overtime the risk was 100 and the reward at best was 9!! Brees was not lighting up the Falcons and the Defense had already stopped the saints….. looked like a video game call..
Thomas
November 13th, 2011
11:33 pm
Not to be a second guesser, but, to me Mike Smith should have been more aggressive on the first drive of the game and gone for it on 4th down then. At the least, you would have had them backed up deep in their territory. The two early fgs were the times that he might have gone for it.
There is another point is that I feel coach could be better at and that is controlling his emotions. He has cost us timeout with poor challenges that was no more than his emotions getting away from him.
And since I’m piling on, that little thing of writing down the number of a player along the sideline irks me personally. He has people around him that can do the name taking. He needs to stay focused on how he and his staff can make better adjustments during the game.
Can we beat a marque team, that the challenge that our team face. We cannot consider us as arriving until we be a good team in primetime. Smith put your note pad down and get that worked out and then you can take to taking names on the side line. You are about the only coach that I’ve seen doing that.
Steve From Dalton
November 13th, 2011
11:49 pm
Right call, Wrong Play
Loserville USA
November 14th, 2011
12:03 am
I hope there’s a day when Falcons fans can actually say a coach won them something.
I give Smith credit for trying. He truly is a leader of men. Right guy for the job. Wrong offensive coordinator. Mularkey’s gotta go.
Ryan misses Musgrave — it’s clear. Get him back in Atlanta.
ejj
November 14th, 2011
12:10 am
The game was lost long before that call. It was 50-50, my family and I thought a qb sneak, might have caught the Saints off guard, we play each other so much, they’re pretty familar with us, so they were expecting turner. I felt the play-calling was poor, it wasn’t aggressive during the game, poor excution by the wide receivers, with exception of Douglass. The defense had no push, or pressure on Bres, which is a major No-No. Not
DEREK FAVORS
November 14th, 2011
12:13 am
Go saints
Bravesbobblehead
November 14th, 2011
12:55 am
I would have trusted my pathetic Defense especially the secondary more in this case. The seemed to rise to the occasion.