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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2009 > January > 21
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Dimitroff: Falcons in store for defensive upgrade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Had they stopped the Cardinals on third-and-16 and then driven for the winning touchdown; had they gone to Carolina and done as Arizona did; had they played host to Philadelphia in the NFC title game and done as Arizona did …
The Falcons would be going to the Super Bowl.
The Falcons, who entered the playoffs as a road favorite — a first in their 43 seasons of operation — and not the Cardinals, recently considered the weakest of the 12 postseason qualifiers. Would’ves and should’ves are fool’s gold in such a bottom-line business, but the feeling remains:
It could’ve been them.
Couldn’t it?
“I was excited for some of the guys in Arizona,” said Thomas Dimitroff, the general manager, “but the competitive side of me found [the Cardinals winning the NFC championship] tough to stomach. The beauty of our league is that you never know from play to play, from series to series, from game to game.”
Understand: Dimitroff isn’t sitting around Mobile, Ala. — he spoke from the site of the Senior Bowl, where he’s doing his due scouting diligence — in a state of mourning. His team had the happiest season this franchise has ever known and lost fair and square on the road to an inspired opponent. Even so …
“It’s natural to recollect and reconsider many, many times,” Dimitroff said. “But we’re not wallowing in pity or remorse.”
On the contrary, Dimitroff and colleagues are eyeballing and interviewing players who might one day help stop a third-and-16. They’re looking for a rampaging safety — like Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, whom Dimitroff loves — or a difference-making linebacker of their own.
“That would be the logical next step,” said Dimitroff, speaking of upgrading his defense. “We’ve analyzed our season over the last few days, and our goal will always be to continue to improve. … We want to be a formidable contender for years to come.”
In short, that means: More D is on the way. Should we deem it happenstance that the Falcons loaded up on offense last winter? Dimitroff, who’s a scout by trade and a big-picture guy by nature, had to know that the 2009 draft figured to be heavy on defenders. (Safeties and tackles especially.)
Did the loss in Phoenix change his thinking in any way? Dimitroff: “It confirmed some of the issues we may have been having. That said, we’re never ever going to evaluate off just one game.”
The Cardinals exposed the Falcons defense as one subsisting on schemes and willpower, as opposed to talent. Three huge plays — the touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, on which Lawyer Milloy was culpable and the third-and-16 conversion, on which Keith Brooking was flummoxed — went unmade. If the Falcons are to go further next time, such lapses cannot reoccur.
The good news: Dimitroff believes 11-5 was indeed an accurate reflection of his team’s worth. “Certain games you feel like you were better than the result, and other times the ball may have bounced our way. … [But] I don’t believe [the record] was lucky in any way.”
The better news: This time Dimitroff arrived in Mobile with only one agenda. “It’s a lot more relaxed,” he said. “I can sit in the stands and evaluate talent instead of evaluating coaching candidates.”
A year ago, Dimitroff left for the Senior Bowl without a head coach but returned with Mike Smith, who was just named the NFL’s coach of the year. This GM does have an eye for talent. He’ll find his defenders. Next time the Falcons will blunt that third-and-16. Soon enough they’ll be the ones bound for the game bearing Roman numerals.
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