Falcons coach Mike Smith orders team to unplug

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH – Enough.

In his end of the season remarks to the team, Falcons head coach Mike Smith ordered his players to "unplug."

Anybody who gets busted trying to sneak into the practice facility to lift weights will be facing a hefty fine.

OK, just kidding about the fine, but Smith definitely wants the Falcons to push away from the football table and relax.

"Since we started back in July, it's been about 155 days that we've been working very, very hard," Smith said. "Our bodies, coaches included, need some rest."

The players will get a four-to six-week break.

"I know that their minds might be telling them, ‘I need to get back into the weight room,' " Smith said. "Take that time off, unplug and enjoy their families. Stay away from football. We'll have plenty of time when we start back in March."

He also let them know they came up short of their goals, which included winning the NFC South division, returning to playoffs and winning the Super Bowl. It was nice to make a little history and break the franchise's streak of never having back-to-back winning seasons. But in the big picture, it wasn't that important.

"We all, starting with me, have to be better and do things better," Smith said. "I told them, this is my second year as a head coach and I made a lot of mistakes. They made a lot of mistakes."

Over the next weeks, Smith said the entire operation will be evaluated, starting with his office.

"After every game, I critique myself on some of the things in time management, some of the things in strategy," he said. "Because I think as a head coach, that's what you have to do in terms of preparation, how we schedule things and how we do things. I continue to get a better feel of how we want to practice, knowing when guys need to get rest.

"This is a very long season. It's a marathon. I think it's something that I will and have gotten better at, but it's something we can improve on."

Smith also plans to review the season in detail next week, but he did have some initial observations.

He felt the defense finished the season strong. They finished ranked 10th against the run, while giving up just 106.8 yards per game.

"Over the last quarter of the season, I thought we [played run defense] as well as anybody in the league," Smith said.

There were some challenges early. Mike Peterson adjusted to playing weakside linebacker for the first time in five seasons. The front seven overcame injuries at defensive tackle (first-round pick Peria Jerry and his replacement Thomas Johnson).

Running back Jason Snelling had to pick up the slack when Jerious Norwood, Ovie Mughelli and Michael Turner all suffered injuries. He bounced between fullback and tailback and closed out the season with a 147-yard rushing effort against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

"He's been a very valuable member of our team this year," Smith said.

Early in the season, the Falcons struggled at cornerback. But the position stabilized somewhat when rookie Christopher Owens took over on the left side and Brent Grimes replaced then-injured Chris Houston on the right side.

"Those two young corners, through the last quarter of the season, have progressed very well," Smith said. "I think that bodes well for us in the future to have those guys get that experience, especially Chris Owens."

When asked about other players who exceeded expectations, Smith said he thought the back-end of the rookie class did well. Jerry (knee) and second-round pick safety William Moore (knee, hamstring) played in just one game each.

"It was nice to see [linebacker] Spencer Adkins contribute," Smith said. "I thought we got a lot of good play out of our young players. We got to get a good look at our big offensive lineman in Garrett Reynolds. [Defensive tackle] Vance Walker, our seventh-round draft pick, ended up playing 250 snaps. That's almost a quarter of the snaps."

Smith also liked the continued growth of quarterback Matt Ryan, linebacker Curtis Lofton, left tackle Sam Baker and nickel back Chevis Jackson. But he was most proud of the fact the team beat Tampa Bay Sunday and won its final three games after being eliminated from the playoffs.

"It's going to be very, very important to use this game and how we finished the 2009 season to catapult us into 2010," Smith said.