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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > July > 25
Friday, July 25, 2008
Falcons starting over — as a team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thomas Dimitroff could have sought to finesse the transition. Instead he grabbed the Band-Aid and ripped hard, which is always the best way. It smarts for a little while, but you’re done with it.
In his first offseason as general manager, Dimitroff severed relations with four former Pro Bowlers. On Saturday, the Falcons open training camp with a roster heavy on youth and heavier on uncertainty, and the thought occurs that keeping one or two of those veterans might have smoothed what figures to be a turbulent season. The thought, it must be noted, does not occur to Dimitroff.
“I respect all the individuals who moved on,” he said this week. “[But] we are moving forward. There’s not a temptation to second-guess our moves. They may very well go to the next team and be productive. Right now for the Atlanta Falcons, we’re focused on our new roster.”
This administration may or may not prove any more successful than previous Falcons regimes, but there is about Dimitroff a clarity of vision — really, you folks need to meet this guy — unseen in Flowery Branch (and, before that, Suwanee). He’s new to the job, but he carries himself as if he’s been doing this all his life.
About those cast aside: Might DeAngelo Hall, traded to the Raiders, have helped win a game in a season that might not generate many victories? Sure. He also might have been a bigger distraction than ever.
Might Warrick Dunn, who signed with Tampa Bay after being waived, have made a few plays? Sure. But would a man who has worked all his career to disprove the notion that he’s a third-down back have welcomed a role as a third-down back behind Michael Turner?
The Falcons, see, tried the cult-of-personality route, and everything collapsed when their biggest personality went to jail. Imported from New England, Dimitroff is trying a tack that has met with somewhat more success. “We have the type of people who want to be part of this organization,” he said, “who believe quite simply in the team concept. For us, that’s imperative.”
Then this: “We made very calculated decisions in the draft — not only skills on the field but the makeup of these players. That combination in minicamp really showed its colors. We were impressed with what we saw not only skill-wise but [with] players who are buying into the team idea, who aren’t about just themselves, who know the way we’re going to restructure and redirect this ship is through all of us buying into the team idea.”
Doesn’t every organization say the same? Sure, Dimitroff said. “It sounds cliche. [But] I was witness to that turnaround in New England, how that team truly bought in. … A guy like Kevin Faulk, who could play for another team and maybe touch the ball 20 times, accepted his role and maybe only touched the ball eight to 10 times, but he was so instrumental in us winning.”
Dimitroff concedes that harmony can go only so far — “Obviously you have to win for it to gain legs” — but when you’re starting over, isn’t this the place to begin? The 2008 Falcons might not win many games, but they will build a foundation. They will look like a team, as opposed to a collection. And that’s something.
“If you continue to make moves that are sound decisions and not emotionally driven haphazard decisions,” Dimitroff said, “I think people will realize that consistency is the key here. To me, that’s huge. If this team can show consistency in their work ethic and their believing in themselves, then I truly believe we’re headed in the right direction.”
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