This is not a roundup. Repeat, this is NOT a roundup. Do not adjust your computer. I have to talk about this because, frankly, this is asinine and pathetic on every level.
I live in Atlanta, but I am NOT a fan of Atlanta sports teams. I never was a fan of the Falcons. My Dad grew up a Cowboys fan in the 50s, but when the Falcons came to Atlanta in 1966, he adopted them because they were the hometown team. I was never a Hawks fan, but neither was my Dad...he grew up a Celtics fan, was the same age as Bill Russell, and didn't mind that I was a Lakers fan. I also broke up with the Braves because I got tired of being disappointed.
However, since my Dad was a Falcons fan, I want them to do well on some level. I know he'd be tickled to death (even though he couldn't watch them on TV because they are so maddening he just couldn't take it.) So, when I heard this news I nearly drove off the road.
Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith were given contract extensions today. Why? I have no idea.
Let me let you in on what nobody wants to talk about in this town. Everyone thought hiring someone from the Patriots was an automatic winner. It isn't. They say Dimitroff drafted Matt Ryan. To be clear, Matt Ryan isn't THAT good, and you or I could have drafted the dude.
Mike Smith doesn't have the killer instinct. He sounds apathetic and disinterested. It's boring to say the least. He literally sounds like he could care less. Dude, get some passion.
What's more, Smith isn't a good enough coach for Dimitroff. The Patriot Way, is actually the BELICHICK WAY. What is the common thread in New England? BILL BELICHICK. Do you see Bill Belichick coaching the Falcons?
Have the Patriots ever drafted well? NO! They are ROUNDLY crapped on for their drafting and then Bill Belichick, rightly so, is ROUNDLY lauded for his incredible coaching up of inferior talent. He takes people and makes them into more than they should be. He's waltzing into the hall of fame on the first ballot. If he isn't, I'm going to stop watching football, I'm not even kidding. I don't even LIKE the Patriots, I crap on them all the time for Spygate thing, but that doesn't make him a bad coach. The man is a genius.
So, does Mike Smith live in even the same UNIVERSE as Belichick? NO. Period.
So, you have a crappy GM who drafts as if Belichick is coaching the team, but his coach is actually just apathetic.
That's your formula for winning? Wow.
I called a sports tation in Atlanta before the season and predicted 8-8 or 7-9 as their record. They hung up on me and laughed me off the air. Who looks stupid now? The Falcons are damaged BEYOND REPAIR and the two people who did the most damage got contract extensions? I'm sorry, if you did your job this badly, would you still have it?
No, you wouldn't.
Oh, but they had all those winning seasons. Yeah, winning games by one or two points, on lucky plays, then underachieving in the playoffs. That's not good enough. To quote Henry Spencer on Psych "Do it. Better!"
The Falcons have doomed themselves to at LEAST another three to four years or disappointment. By that time, Matt Ryan will be over 30 and still not elite. Then what do you do? Oh yeah, start over. Then what? Oh yeah, the window closed.
The Falcons have never won a Super Bowl, and with this line of thinking, they never will. Print that. Quote it.
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ReplyDeleteDimitroff and Mike Smith Only got a contract extension for one year so they have to get done this time around. Everyone say Matt Ryan is not that good but the hold time he's been in Atlanta he hasn't had a reliable defense or pass rush. Yea that's Dimitroff Fault but we had 5 winning seasons. Matt Ryan might not be elite but why should we automatically fire everyone cause of one failed season. Change can be good but we have had 5 winning seasons and the best winning percentage in falcons history. If we fire everyone who do we go out and get? What's the guarantee that the personnel we would get help us get a Super Bowl I say give them one more year if things don't turn around after the hire of Mike Tice, Bryan Cox and Piolio then some has to go!! New Stadium coming Blank wants rings
ReplyDeleteBecause this is not how CHAMPIONS are made. This is professional sports. I'm actually a really nice dude, but, this is a job where you WHOLE ENTIRE JOB is winning. They don't win when it counts. Period. They've maxed out all of their abilities. You could cut this team down to Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and just start completely over, because, eventually, they'll be the only two left. Your "best winning percentage" etc. doesn't mean anything. Have the Falcons even been to the Super Bowl? No. They're failing, miserably, with what is supposed to be a good team. It's not really that good. But, everyone is so nice in Atlanta, that they won't state the obvious...it's time to move on. Every year they get is equivalent to about three years of lost time on the backend when this team still doesn't win anything significant.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you forgot one little thing...Mike Smith controls the 53-man roster. He's not playing Antone Smith and throwing that garbage defense out there without any real adjustments? Teams figure out the Falcons in the second half because Smith is incapable, apparently, of making halftime adjustments. It;s just not good enough. If this were college football, it'd be alright. However, these people are getting paid. A lot of money. They need to step up.