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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > October > 19
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Falcons’ goals can be made
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch — When it comes to shocking things this NFL season, the Falcons’ dance with decency ranks between those who believe that Pacman Jones really will get it some day and Brett Favre leaving the Wisconsin Cheeseheads for Fireman Ed in the Meadowlands.
So how shocking is the Falcons’ 4-2 record in the highly competitive NFC South after their bye on Sunday? Just last year, they had those controversies for the ages involving Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino. They eventually had their third consecutive nonwinning season at 4-12.
Now, despite a rookie NFL general manager hiring a rookie NFL head coach, and despite inexperienced players throughout their two-deep roster, the Falcons look promising enough near Halloween to suggest they will remain significant through Christmas.
This is shocking, isn’t it? “No. Not at all,” said linebacker Michael Boley, straight-faced, with others in the Falcons’ locker room supporting his claim.
Added Boley, who was around for the Falcons’ ugliness during the previous three seasons, “Back at the first minicamp we had this year, and even before the [April draft], we set high expectations for ourselves. Then [Falcons officials] did a good job with the draft. After that, we spent the whole offseason getting mentally prepared. Really, it boils down to the fact that we all believe in each other, and it was just a matter of everybody buying into Coach Smith’s philosophy.”
It’s a simple philosophy, and here is the primary message: goals.
Ten days after Thomas Dimitroff left the New England Patriots’ scouting department to become the Falcons’ general manager last January, he hired the affable Smith away from the Jacksonville Jaguars, where Smith spent five years as their defensive coordinator. He kept flashing his bright smile to players, but he also kept telling them to trust the journey that he had mapped out for the team.
That journey involved each player making a commitment to do whatever it took to prosper every stop along the way. He told them during the offseason. He told them during minicamps. He told them during training camp.
He still tells them.
“We have deep discussions about our internal goals, and we set milestones in terms of where we want to be,” said Smith, among the NFL’s teaching coaches, and not by coincidence. While growing up in his native Daytona Beach, Fla., his parents were educators. Added Smith, “There’s a process you have to go through and steps you have to take to become a good football team, and we’re just continuing to work through those steps. So I wouldn’t say I’m surprised [by the 4-2 start], but it has been accelerated in terms of how quickly some of these milestones have been reached.”
The success or failure for the Falcons regarding those other milestones will depend on their ability to stop turning the red zone into the dead zone.
They’ve managed only eight touchdowns after 20 trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. The defense also has issues, with a leaky secondary for long stretches and ranking among the league’s worst teams in third-down conversion rate for foes.
Still, compared to the big thing, according to Falcons defensive end John Abraham, those are little things.
And the big thing? “This is the first time since I’ve been on this team that I know everybody’s name, because we’ve become a close family,” said Abraham, in his third season with the Falcons. “Nobody feels like they’re better than anybody else. Unlike the past, nobody is griping and moaning about, ‘I need to do this, and I need to do that.’ Everybody is just doing their job.”
Wow. What a concept.
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