The Falcons had to change to move forward, and they have
The man in the white shirt has had a busy New Year. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Flowery Branch – Even as we grouse about recent results, we need to step back and admire the broader view. If, in the dark days of January 2008 — Michael Vick in jail, Bobby Petrino in Arkansas, the franchise in tatters — someone had said, “The Falcons’ next staff will win 67.2 percent of its games over the next four years and make the playoffs three times,” we’d have taken it in a Meadowlands minute.
But that was then, and now is rather different. And now is why the doings of January 2012 have been essential to the continued growth of a team described by Mike Nolan, its new defensive coordinator, as “very close” to its “ultimate goal.”
The staff Mike Smith assembled in 2008 served the Falcons well, but it had reached the point of diminishing returns. The 10-6 season just completed was the first of past four that could be construed as a reversal. Had Mike Mularkey and Brian VanGorder and Paul Boudreau done slipshod work all along, the Falcons wouldn’t have spent the last week seeking new coordinators — they’d have been searching for a new head coach. But there comes a time where better is required.
Over those four seasons, the Falcons got good enough for us to feel disappointed that they weren’t even better, and the 2011 season told us that better wasn’t apt to be forthcoming if this staff remained intact. The offense was out of plumb. The defense couldn’t pressure the passer. The O-line didn’t push the opponent backward on three galling fourth-and-1’s (once against New Orleans, twice against the Giants).
Some of that has to do with personnel, sure, but the Falcons happen to like their personnel. (Most of it, anyway.) The in-house belief entering the playoffs was that this team had enough talent to play beyond Round 1 and even Round 2, and one awful Sunday in New Jersey made it clear that talent was no longer being maximized.
The Falcons got lucky in that they didn’t have to fire Mularkey, the offensive coordinator, or VanGorder, the defensive man. We’ll never know now, but the belief here is that Mularkey would have been fired had he not become Jacksonville’s head coach but that VanGorder, who left for Auburn, wouldn’t have. Boudreau, the line coach, was fired Tuesday. Thus were the Falcons positioned to build Staff of Smitty 2.0.
We cannot pretend to know how this will play out, but early impressions are that the Falcons have upgraded: Dirk Koetter, whose addition has been locally lampooned, should be able to find uses for these offensive players that Mularkey, who was stubborn to excess, could or would not, and Nolan has a better history as an NFL coordinator than VanGorder. (The Falcons haven’t hired Boudreau’s replacement, but whoever takes the job will surely be tasked with rendering a finesse-type line more forceful.)
There was cause to believe the old staff had peaked; there’s no cause to believe this team has. Speaking with Atlanta reporters on a conference call Wednesday, Nolan said of his new employer: “The big picture looks very good.”
Nolan has recently espoused the 3-4 defense, but he noted that half his 14 seasons as an NFL coordinator were spent coaching the 4-3. During his interview, Nolan was asked by Smith to view tape and relate his “vision” for these defenders. Nolan’s verdict: “The track they’ve been on [meaning the 4-3] is a good one.”
Of even greater importance than scheme is the importation of new voices, new methods. Through three seasons there was no crying need for Smith to shuffle staff because the team was winning at what was, by Falcons’ standards, a dizzying rate. The only dizzying part of 2011 was how ordinary this gifted team looked when matched against comparable opposition.
It’s not easy to change when you’re winning — ask Mark Richt — but the Falcons’ underperformance of 2011 proved that status quo would no longer suffice. They could and should have done better. They needed a jolt. Two new coordinators and a different O-line coach should do the trick.
Next season won’t be business as usual, and it couldn’t have been if the Falcons expected to reap more than another one-and-done postseason. This hasn’t been the easiest January of Smith’s tenure — on the contrary, it has been the trickiest — but there’s no easy way to win a Super Bowl. Over the past few days, he has nudged his team a bit closer to that ultimate goal.
By Mark Bradley
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
129 comments Add your comment
tfalcon
January 19th, 2012
9:09 am
i dont see how any body could be comfortable going with the present personnell on the offesive line,we need a center,guard,lt dos any body out there really believe hawly,renyolds,johnson are going to get it done
Arno
January 19th, 2012
9:12 am
We hear this FOUR YEARS thing beat like a gong. Four years ago, Smith said his priority was a team strong up front. Four years later we have the Giants game.
NtheNo
January 19th, 2012
9:21 am
WIth the falcons its always “gonna’ get better.” Over the years I’ve learned to distance my emotions and interest – I don’t go to games anymore and I watch them on television only if there is nothing better to do. Despite that – I wish them well and will follow at a sub-emotional level. Its all good.
Sherrill
January 19th, 2012
9:38 am
How could Mike Smith put up with the offensive play calling all this time? Does he not realize he is the head coach and that winning is more important than sticking by his friends? Prediction: Falcons finish 3rd in NFC South behind Saints and Cam Newton. Watch Mike Smith on the sidelines; he is not involved in what is going on on the field. This is not going to end well.
tony
January 19th, 2012
9:39 am
I say the GM is the reason why the falcons played poorly against good teams and here’s why:
1) In 2008 the falcons rush defense rank 26th in 2007; falcons draft Matt Ryan instead of Glenn Dorsey. They could have taken Joe Flacco in the 2nd rd.
2) They did better against the run the following season(2008) due to the linebackers but that put the LBs at a disadvantage against the pass so what did they do? They decided to draft injury prone Peria Jerry instead of Clay Mathews. They thought Jerry would help their pass rush but backfired!
3) In 2009 the pass defense is still rank very low(rank 22nd) so they are forced to draft Weatherspoon. They just ignore the o-line. Bryan Bulaga-OT(@greenbay) was still on the board when they drafted Weatherspoon. Now he is in Green Bay keeping those nasty linemen from killing Rogers.
4) In 2010 the pass defense is rank 22nd: impatient Dimitroff gives away 3 draft picks for a reciever(J.Jones) I sure was hoping they would Muhammad Wilkerson-DT/DE and Randall Cobb-WR. Think about this…had Dimitroff drafted by the book, we could have drafted these players in 2010:
1st rd Muhammad Wilkerson-DT/DE(@NYJ 49 tkls, 3 sacks)
2nd rd Randall Cobb-WR/PR
3rd rd Justin Houston-DE/OLB(@kansas 56 tkls, 5.5 sacks)
Our team would have looked like this had Dimitroff drafted by the book:
Offense: LT Will Svitek, LG Justin Blalock, C Todd McClure, RG Joe Hawley, RT Bryan Bulaga
QB-Joe Flacco, RB- Michael Turner, WR-Rodney White, WR-Jenkins, TE-Tony G
Defense: LDE-Muhammad Wilkerson, LDT-Jonathan Babineaux, RDT-Glenn Dorsey, RDE-John Abraham, LLB-Clay Mathew, MLB-Curtis Lofton, RLB-Justin Houston
In this year’s draft we could have taken Kellen Moore-QB in the 1st rd or either move up and take ROBERT GRIFFIN III-QB, BAYLOR and continue to strenghten the o-line in the 2nd and 3rd rounds but now since we gave those picks away, the falcons are in the dumps.
That’s the way I would have built the team.
Dimi
January 19th, 2012
9:43 am
I’m so excited.
My Falcons will discover the screen pass.
And with fewer picks, no one will notice my lack of talent evaluation skills for another year.
tony
January 19th, 2012
9:45 am
I say the GM is the reason why the falcons played poorly against good teams and here’s why:
1) In 2008 the falcons rush defense rank 26th in 2007: the falcons draft Matt Ryan instead of Glenn Dorsey. They could have taken Joe Flacco in the 2nd rd.
2) They did better against the run the following season(2008) due to the linebackers but that put the LBs at a disadvantage against the pass so they decided to draft injury prone Peria Jerry instead of Clay Mathews. They thought Jerry would help their pass rush but it didn’t work the way they planned it.
3) In 2009 the pass defense is still rank very low(rank 22nd) so they are forced to draft Weatherspoon. They just ignore the o-line. Bryan Bulaga-OT(@greenbay) was still on the board when they drafted Weatherspoon. Now he is in Green Bay keeping those nasty linemen from killing Rogers.
4) In 2010 the pass defense is rank 22nd: impatient Dimitroff gives away 3 draft picks for a reciever(J.Jones) I hoping they would Muhammad Wilkerson-DT/DE and Randall Cobb-WR. Think about this…had Dimitroff drafted by the book, we could have drafted these players in 2010:
1st rd Muhammad Wilkerson-DT/DE(@NYJ 49 tkls, 3 sacks)
2nd rd Randall Cobb-WR/PR
3rd rd Justin Houston-DE/OLB(@kansas 56 tkls, 5.5 sacks)
Our team would have looked like this had Dimitroff drafted by the book:
Offense: LT Will Svitek, LG Justin Blalock, C Todd McClure, RG Joe Hawley, RT Bryan Bulaga
QB-Joe Flacco, RB- Michael Turner, WR-Rodney White, WR-Jenkins, TE-Tony G
Defense: LDE-Muhammad Wilkerson, LDT-Jonathan Babineaux, RDT-Glenn Dorsey, RDE-John Abraham, LLB-Clay Mathew, MLB-Curtis Lofton, RLB-Justin Houston
In this year’s draft we could have taken Kellen Moore-QB in the 1st rd or either move up and take ROBERT GRIFFIN III-QB, BAYLOR and continue to strenghten the o-line in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Now that they gave away those draft picks, they probably won’t do much to cleanup the mess Dimitroff has created.
That’s the way I would have built the team.
tfalcon
January 19th, 2012
9:53 am
@tony man missing mathews hurt,good point to ur draft dont fordet about william moore hell he cant stay healthy
tfalcon
January 19th, 2012
9:55 am
IM not totally down on TD lets see what kind of deals he comes up with this yr
Therut
January 19th, 2012
10:31 am
Scroll back up and read KDP. He is dead on. $7 million for Tony? NOOOOOOOOO. I don’t care if we have the worst o-line in history, I never see Turner fake out a defender. He has to go (and lose 30 lbs)
tony
January 19th, 2012
10:44 am
ttfalcon, I watch the Steelers in 1974 when I was 12 years old and I knew at a very young age that the Steelers were good because they had a strong d-line and o-line. I felt that if the falcons would build their team like the Steelers that they could compete against the best teams in the league. Here we go 38 years later and the falcons continue to ignore the trenches.
Heck, Mean Joe Green, AC Greenwood and company were so dominant up front that the LBs and the secondary could go on vacation. Their O-line was dominate that Franco Harris could gain 20 yards a carry but Bradshaw had to spread the ball around to keep everybody happy.
The falcon should consentrate on building the trenches until the o-line and d-line becomes as dominant as the old Steeler’s defense and quit reaching.
JeanE
January 19th, 2012
10:57 am
Smith has 1 more year to make progress then he’ll be gone if he doesn’t. Unless a rash of horrific injuries occur which would be out of his control. This team does have talent, but for whatever reason, positively wilts and melts down once the postseason starts. That is in itself, extremely alarming. I had really hoped for an installation of some sort of hybrid west coast offense to make use of Ryan’s strengths. Guess that’s not happening. I’ll reserve judgement on the new hires ’til after next season. But Smith and Dimitroff are on the hot seat as well. It seems like TD’s personnel choices are about hit as much as miss and that’s not going to cut it. We have to develop a team toughness that is sorely lacking. We left our meanest SOB Dahl, go to another team. Bad move. Imperative to somehow improve our O-line and D-line. This will help Ryan and our secondary. Time always tells.
GTT
January 19th, 2012
11:20 am
Is Glenn Dorsey still in the league? He’s certainly not a star and Ryan, flawed as he is, has given the Falcons a whole lot more than Dorsey. And, Flacco has six TDs and seven picks in the playoffs. They have won playoff games because of their defense, not because of Flacco. Forgive me, tony, but that’s just dumb.
GTT
January 19th, 2012
11:33 am
I agree completely with your last post, tony. The only other period of excellence the Falcons had was when Leeman Bennett, Eddie Lebaron and Tom Braatz were brought in and the first thing they did was start concentrating on the trenches.
Please forgive the “dumb” remark. That was rude and I apologize.
tony
January 19th, 2012
11:52 am
Correction: LC Greenwood
@Therut, last I check the falcon’s rush offense was rank #2 in 2008 and has been steady declining ever since. I blame the decline on their weaker o-line and because of Matt Ryan’s inability to throw the deep pass. Defenses can now clamp down on the those intermediate passes and make the falcons a 1 dimensional team.
Every1 knows that Turner is a north and south rb. He’s not the problem but I would like to see Rodgers get more carries.
diehardsufferingfan
January 19th, 2012
12:37 pm
i love the nolan hire. lukewarm on koetter but he deserves a chance. hell, raise your hand if u though chisik (spelling?) was a good hire for auburn? thats what i thought. first off, nolan needs to get dunta back in man to man where he belongs, not 10 yds off the friggin wr. or lets put him at safety and pick up another corner. decoud has to go, along with baker and at least 3/4 of the o line. i am cautiously optimistic but very grateful we r at least competitive and somewhat consistent in winning. i grew up with this team. this run is better than anything i have seen short of that super bowl season. lets get it dirty birds!
Ed
January 19th, 2012
12:57 pm
I’m interested to see what Mike Nolan does to the secondary. I think the Falcons need a ball hawk free safety like Michael Griffin or LaRon Landry.
News: Roddick down and out Down Under at Australian Open – Atlanta Journal Constitution | News 25/7! Delivering news in real time
January 19th, 2012
1:20 pm
[...] The Falcons had to change to move forward, and they have [...]
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
January 19th, 2012
1:43 pm
Smith has one year to get to the NFC CG or he will work for Mr. Blank at Home Depot. Throw the damn ball to Julio!
SAL
January 19th, 2012
1:50 pm
Move’em to Chattanooga!!!!
Falcon Realist
January 19th, 2012
6:32 pm
Food for thought… how much change is there if you change out the coordinators but keep the other assistant coaches… how do the players respond to the same position coaches.
RNew
January 19th, 2012
8:10 pm
We need to start a “dump D. Robinson” movement. He has had two seasons. His production has not increased. They can cut him and save millions I’m sure. D. Franks has played tougher and more consistent down the stretch.
cornell sims
January 19th, 2012
11:51 pm
I like the hire of Nolan. Everywhere he has been, he as produced a top 10 defense. The hire of Koetter is still up in the air for me until I start seeing in game production. I am tired of turner, we need to get a more athletic TE, upgrade at defensive tackle (I think that if we can get a good push up the middle more often then our DE would look a lot better, I do believe that daunta robinson can be a very good corner in the right system. He is a bump and run corner who is 10 times better playing man then that soft zone that we ran to damn much, hopefully Nolan allows Daunta to play to what he is comfortable doing. We need to let abraham walk (what we will have to pay him to stay we can find a much younger DE who production is a lot more consistent year to year and who doesnt rack up his sack total in 2-3 games. Resign snelling, lofton, douglas and cut/trade turner. We need to found a every down back. Grimes is going to cost to much to bring back plus I think Nolan likes bigger and more physical corners. (example: San Fran Corners). What do yall think
Not a Falcon fan
January 21st, 2012
5:36 pm
The falCANTS have moved “forward”. That’s funny!!!! I needed a good laugh !!!!!
Just Wondering
January 21st, 2012
6:11 pm
I completely agree with Falcons Realist about the need for position coach changes as well. The defense and offense coords should be able to pick their own position coaches. It’s obvious that the current position coaches were being tuned out by the poor play from the players.
Joshua Malavenda
January 22nd, 2012
1:30 am
Cornell sims-
We think the same and I agree with you with everything except two things I think we should just trade dunta because we owe him eff ton of money that he is not worth and we can at least get 2 and 4th rd pick for him and the added cap room will be very handy to get the best free agents liek we already 3o million under and so we be at least 40 million if we did that and then we traded turner for like 3 and 4 th and maybe liek or 6 or 7 next year we could take off liek another 5 million but we wont get rid of abrham because of his leadership and will mess up the dynamic of the lockerroom simialr to dahl departure last year. we will have alot of money to play with in free agency and also the draft picks we could use to make up for the lost ones for julio jones. I think also they realease snelling and sign tolbert in free agency and try to get some high profile free agent running back and also I ahve this feeling the texans are going to let mario williams because they had more sacks when he was injured and they alot cheaper so they will let him walk and we will get him next year for really cheap because he got injured last year.
jojatek
January 22nd, 2012
8:36 pm
While we’re changing things, let’s go back to the old uniforms and logos (1966). Keep it simple and focus on being a serious football franchise and perennial contender with the classic look of a team that’s been in the league for a while. Anyone else tired of the new/old look…?
Pilot97
January 23rd, 2012
8:29 am
Most of the players on the oline wouldn’t make it on any of the other finalist in the playoffs. The line coach doesn’t make the picks he is dealt them. BOUDREAU made the Falcon’s line respectable. Promises to make better picks and more for him were never met. It is easier to fire a coach than an owner or GM and even players can be cut but usually with a cap hit. So my prediction is Ryan will get happy feet and regress further next year the new coach won’t get his promised relif with good players and won’t get things going so Boudreau will be missed but he will be appreciated at his new team.. All you yahoos who want a championship might want to move to another city.
Fred Macmurray
January 23rd, 2012
12:50 pm
I agree Pilot97.. Its just stupid to blame Boudreau,,, the man did a great job with the players he had