FLOWERY BRANCH – While CBS analyst Boomer Esiason is a staunch Rex Ryan supporter for the Atlanta Falcons, he's not too high on assistant general manager Scott Pioli.
“(Rex Ryan) would be the perfect fit for the Atlanta Falcons, but is Scott Pioli
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
going to go in there and ruin that franchise like he did Kansas City,” Esiason said will doing a segment on the Rick and Jaime Show on 92.9 The Game on Friday.
He was asked his interpretation of the Falcons’ restructured front office.
“That means basically that (general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s) been cut off at the knees by a guy he formerly worked with and for up there in New England,” Esiason said. “This is what happens in this world. In the NFL, basically they cannibalize each other. They eat each other. They eat their young like Piranhas. It’s a dysfunctional group of people that live in a dysfunctional world that back-stab each other . . . I would hope and pray that Scott has figured out what he did wrong in Kansas City and how he just completely turned that franchise upside down and inside out.
He categorized Pioli’s tenure in Kansas City as a “failure.”
“I’m sure he would tell you that he drafted some good guys while he was there,” Esiason said. “Then of course Andy Reid was the beneficiary of that, but Andy Reid has a different tact of doing things and way of doing things and that’s exactly what Kansas City needed.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
“I’m sure that Arthur Blank appreciates some of the success that the New England Patriots have had. That’s probably why he hired Dimitroff in the first place and that’s why he’s probably bringing in Pioli in the second place.
“These guys are all political animals. They know how to play the game and how to talk to these owners. They know how to get themselves back in the mix as somebody who knows what they are doing.”
Esiason believes that Ryan would bring a different attitude and approach to the Falcons.
“The attitude that Rex Ryan brought here to the New York Jets , who found themselves very much in the same situation when they hired Rex away from the Baltimore Ravens as the Atlanta Falcons do right now,” Esiason said. “Rex brought energy, he brought life and was a part of bringing the new Stadium here for the New York Jets with the PSLs and all of that stuff.”
Esiason believes that Dimitroff and Pioli will advocate for Josh McDaniels to be come the new coach.
“I don’t necessarily know that you could trust anybody in this NFL and how they do their business behind everybody’s back and how they angle for every job they can get,” Esiason said. “It will be interesting to see if this is going to be McDaniels, which would be another ‘New England South’ way of doing things when we all realize that why New England is as good as they are is number one because of (Bill) Belichick) and number two because of Tom Brady.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Esiason believes that Ryan could breathe life into the Falcons defense.
"The Atlanta Falcons have the 32nd (ranked) defense in the NFL out of 32 teams," he said. "They are horrendous and they give up big-play after big-play. Your offense can play differently when they have a reasonable defense.
"Rex took a 16th ranked defense under (former Jets coach Eric) Mangini and turned it into the No. 1 ranked defense his first year with the New York Jets. One of the reasons why they went to the AFC championship games in back-to-back years was because they ran the ball and played great defense.
“The reason why they ran the ball is because they didn’t really have a quarterback to speak of. Mark Sanchez was young and he basically got beat up here in the New York media. He went through three different offensive coordinator with Brian Schottenheimer, Tony Sparano and then Marty Mornhingweg. He never got a chance to play under Marty Mornhingweg . . . .he was hamstrung in that regard. . . . I believe whole heartedly in my heart that Rex Ryan creating a defense to go against Cam Newton, to go against Drew Brees and whoever Tampa decides to draft No. 1 whether it be Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston, you’re going to have to have a defensive mentality going into those games because if your quarterback is off just a little bit, you can actually win a game 17-13, which I believe would be music to the Atlanta Falcons fans’ ears.
BOOMER'S PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: "My lock of the week has got to be Seattle. How does Carolina go in there and beat that team especially the way their defense has played the last eight weeks of the season. Case in point, why you would not want Rex Ryan in Atlanta? Take a look at what that defense is doing in Seattle.
“My upset of the week: I’m going to go with the Cowboys. It has really nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers and his calf. I thought if there was a team that could go on the road and win a game and run the ball effectively and keep it away from the opposing teams quarterback, it would be Dallas.
“I’m going to go with Dallas as my upset of the week and Seattle as my lock of the week.”
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