Falcons Q & A: Smith remains optimistic about season

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Mike Smith has found the waters a bit choppier in his second season as a head coach.

After guiding the Falcons to the playoffs and winning several coach-of-the-year honors in 2008, Smith has the 2009 Falcons sitting at 6-6 with four games to play.

The team has dropped five of its last seven games, the star quarterback and running back are injured and some contend the Falcons will be hard-pressed to post the franchise's first back-to-back winning seasons.

In a one-on-one conversation with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Smith discussed rebuilding the defense, what's he's reading and why he's still optimistic the Falcons can achieve some of their goals.

Q: Motivationally, do you do any different film cut-ups? Pull out your favorite quotes? Or brush off your best pre-game speech notes?

A: I'm not a big believer in a lot of motivational tactics. I believe these guys are pros and you've got to be honest and tell them what the situation is. I think those motivational speeches end about as soon as they walk out of that locker room.

Q: Are you getting a dose of reality this year that comes from relying on so many young players?

A: Well, I think you get what you earn in this league. There is no doubt about that. We are working a process. And the process is to have a team that we can sustain for a long period of time. I really believe that we are doing it in the right way.

Q: Do you get a chance to reach out to any of your coaching friends during the season to use as a sounding board?

A: There are a couple of guys that I get to talk to on a regular basis. One of them is (Cincinnati Bengals head coach) Marvin Lewis. We talk on a regular basis, really just in terms of how things have been going and more about hypotheticals. I'll speak to (brother-in-law) Brian Billick since he's a guy who can give me information. I can talk more directly to him instead of using hypotheticals. I talk with (Jacksonville coach) Jack Del Rio throughout the season as well.

Q: You focused on rebuilding the defense this year. How is that going?

A: I think we are a very young defense that has not played as consistent as we would like throughout the entire season. I think there have been spurts within games that we've played efficiently and effectively. I think that our guys are going through the learning curve and experiencing the ups and downs of being an NFL player.

Q: How do you coach through the injuries?

A: It's unfortunate that our first- and second-round draft picks (Peria Jerry and William Moore) were injured and were not able to play because they are losing valuable playing time. Both of those guys would have had extensive playing time. In terms of sustaining what we are trying to build here, you don't want to have guys missing time. The way that you work through it is that you talk to your guys all the time about one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity.

Q: Are you still optimistic at this point in the season?

A: I'm very optimistic about our team because I've got a lot of faith and confidence in our players and the coaches. We've worked extremely hard. We've had to overcome adversity throughout the season up to this point. I really believe this: adversity is something that makes you stronger not only as an individual but as a team.

Q: Would you like to see football return to East Tennessee State University?

A: There is no doubt that I would like to see that. That's my alma mater and we don't have football right now. I know that there is a grassroots effort to bring football back to East Tennessee State, but I also realize that there is a lot of work that has to be done.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: I'm reading two books. One is called "The Shark and The Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves" by John Gordon. The other one that I just finished up is called "The Takeaway: The 20 life lessons that every father should share with his child" by Pat and Karen Williams. It's a really good book. It's about parenting and everything a parent should share with his child. I did my (John) Wooden reading earlier in the season.