CMGd Single Player - AJC
(UPDATE: FULL EDITED TRANSCRIPT BELOW -- 8:25 P.M)
Falcons coach Mike Smith spoke to the media for 14 minutes, 36 seconds at the NFL scouting combine on Thursday.
Here are 6 quick takeaways from his talk:
1. He was non-committal about the team bringing back defensive end Osi Umenyiora.
2. The team was comfortable with letting Asante Samuel because of the strong play of rookies Robert Alford and Desmond Trufant.
3. He was pleased with how Steven Jackson finished the season, but noted the poor stats and how the offensive line must improve.
4. Peter Konz will get a chance to compete for the starting center spot after losing the job last season.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
5. He's looking forward to competing with new Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith in the NFC South.
6. He also feels that the offensive tackle pool for the draft is pretty deep.
Check back later for the full transcript.
SMITH: It's good to be here. With that, I'll open it up for questions, Darryl Ledbetter. (Hey, that's me!)
Q: Can you talk about the offseason changes with the coaching staff (Mike Tice as new Oline coach; Brian Cox as Dline coach. Fired oline coaches Paul Dunn and Pat Hill and dline coach Ray Hamilton)?
A: We are like all other teams in this league. This is the time of the year that you recalibrate your roster, you recalibrate your football team. Whether if you are 4-12 team or a 13-3 team, you’re going to go through this process. The process has started in Atlanta. There were some changes made on our coaching staff. We have started to integrate those coaches in terms of what we are going to be going forward, especially on the offensive side of the ball. There were more changes on the offense than on the defense.
Q: Can you talk about the offseason player moves? (Cutting Asante Samuel, Stephen Nicholas and Garrett Reynolds, while signing Gabe Carimi.)
A: Asante and Stephen Nicholas have been a big part of the success that we’ve had. When you put your roster together each and every year you have to make decisions that will affect guys in one way and other guys in another. Those guys were contributors to our team, but moving forward as we put our 2014 roster together we felt like it was in the best interest for us to go in a different direction. There are a number of factors that go into that decision and the decisions that we make. We added Gabe Carimi, who was in Tampa last year. We feel like he gives us flexibility on the offensive side of the football. He can play both guard and tackle. He was a former first-round draft pick. We are hoping that he will play to that level this year.
Q: What was the team’s evaluation of Steven Jackson after year one? Do you all have to look at running back in the draft?
A: Well, we were the 32nd team in the league in terms of rushing. It’s definitely an area that we have to improve on. Steven Jackson, it was unfortunate that he was injured in the second game of the season. I don’t think we really got to see what Steven is capable of doing until the last three or four games. I think he scored all six of his touchdowns in those last four games. We have to improve our running game and it starts with winning the line of scrimmage. That is an area that will be an emphasis point for us. Not only to be able to run the football, but to protect our quarterback. We did not do as good enough job of protecting our quarterback in 2013.
Q: What’s the plan to replace tight end Tony Gonzalez? How does Levine Toilolo figure into that plan?
A: You can’t replace Tony Gonzalez. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. Levine has the ability to play both what we call the Y and the F, so he gives us some flexibility. He doesn’t have the speed, but he has the size and catching circumference at 6-foot-8 that will make it easier for our quarterback. So there will be some mismatches that will be in our favor in regards to covering the tight end, but Tony is going to be tough to replace.
Q: Could you talk about Lovie Smith being in the division and the battles that you’ve had with him in the past?
A: Lovie is an outstanding football coach. I think his record speaks for itself. He’s been very successful in Chicago as a (head) coach. He’s got a defensive background. I think our division is the toughest division in all of football. I know that it can be argued that there are others that may have that same claim, but we look forward to competing against Lovie and his staff. He does an outstanding job. His teams always play hard. That’s the one thing that you know when you play a Lovie Smith coached-team, you better bring your lunch pail because it’s going to be a long day.
Q: What did you think of the offensive line prospects you coached at the Senior Bowl?
A: Well, I’m not going to get into specifics, but there were a number offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl that are projected to go high. I thought it was a good group. We embraced as a coaching staff and as an organization the opportunity to coach the Senior Bowl. It allowed us to rub elbows and spend a lot of time with 110 prospects. So we got a chance to spend a week with them. But the offensive linemen on both sides of the rosters, North and South, were very impressive.
Q: What did you think of (Notre Dame tackle) Zack Martin?
A: I think Zack Martin did an outstanding job. I think he had the flexibility to play multiple positions on the offensive line. I think we’re going to get an opportunity to see some of his physical numbers here at the combine to finish out the evaluation process for the league.
Q: What is your overall evaluation of the offensive line prospects in this draft?
A: From what I understand, and my focus right now has been more on free agency than the draft. I just kind of switched gears the last 10 days. I believe it’s very deep in the offensive line, specifically at the offensive tackle position. But it seems like there are a number of guys that are projected to go high at that offensive tackle position.
Q: (Something about the tight end position)
A: The numbers here are higher this year. I was looking at the number of tight ends that were invited to participate in the combine. Tight end is definitely a position that has been evolving. You can say that some tight ends think they are wide receivers for a number of reasons. I think that position has become a hybrid position, between a wide receiver and a tight end. The true Y tight end, you don’t see as many of them. The college tight end is more of guy who plays in a two-point stance. You don’t see tight ends that line up in three-point stances in college very often. A couple of years ago, we were looking at a prospect and we and it took us two years (of film) to see five snaps where he lined up in a two-point stance. You have to do some projecting when you’re looking at the tight ends. But I do think it’s an evolving position. It’s changing. Offensive coordinators are being very creative (with) how they align the tight end. He can line up in that fullback position. He can line up as an H back. He can line up in the No. 1 wide receiver position as well.
Q: On Jimmy Graham saying that he’s a wide receiver?
A: I think this, this is a very competitive league and as a player you should try to get paid as much money as you possibly can.
Q: What was you evaluation of Alford and Trufant?
A: I think that Marcus Trufant, excuse me Desmond Trufant. I do that all the time. Did a very good job for us. Desmond made the all-rookie team this year and he was very productive. He played almost every snap of his rookie season. He’s an outstanding competitor. Having him get that experience in year one is just going to pay dividends for us in year two and year three. He is one of the more physical corners that I’ve been around. He’s very smart. Having two brothers that have played in the league in front of him, so he understands what being a professional football player is. I thought Robert Alford, when he had the opportunity to play significantly in the second half of the season, did an outstanding job. So, we’ve got two young corners that have the skill set and the traits that we are looking for in the corner position for Coach (Mike) Nolan and his defensive staff.
Q: Will Osi Umenyiora be back next season?
A: Osi did a very good job for us. He led the team in sacks. He had 7.5 sacks. He did a great job in the leadership role as well. He was a great mentor to some of our young defensive ends. I’m never going to say never. This is the time of the year that you are recalibrating your roster, but Osi did an outstanding job for us in 2013 and I’m looking forward to continue working with him.
Q: Was working the Senior Bowl a bonus?
A: Absolutely. I talked to a number of coaches and staffs across the league who had the opportunity to work the Senior Bowl. It was something that we embraced as a coaching staff, but also with our scouting staff. To have the opportunity to work directly with 55 guys and have an opportunity to spend time with another 55, so spending time with 110 draft eligible players. ...the advantage was big for the two staffs that were able to do that. We feel like we are ahead of (the curve). I know that I am in terms of knowing the players, especially the seniors. I’m not as well versed on the 98 juniors that have declared for the draft. That’s always a catch-up time and I know our personnel staff has been working some long and hard hours to get caught up on the juniors who declared for this draft.
Q: Will you make up for that doing the interview process?
A: Absolutely. Our interviews will be skewed that way. We’ve had an opportunity to have extensive interviews with 110 guys already. So, we feel that we have a big advantage over the other 30 teams. Us and Jacksonville got an advantage. Every coach that I talked to, talked about the draft after the spent their week in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and they felt like they had their best draft. We are looking forward to going through the rest of this process.
Q: (Something on heavily scouting Auburn players?)
A: With our location and being in the Southeast and close to the SEC, not only Auburn, but we get to look all of the SEC schools. We spend a lot of time (with them). It’s not that far of a drive to get to Auburn or to get to Georgia. The two guys that you are specifically talking about are very good football players. One, we had a hard time blocking in the Senior Bowl. We had to make some adjustments to protect our quarterbacks because (Dee Ford) was a very explosive pass rusher.
Q: What is the health of wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones?
A: Well, I thought Roddy, the last two or three games, got close to being 100 percent. You’re never 100 percent in the National Football League at the end of the season. Roddy fought through a very difficult ankle injury through the first eight or nine games. Then he had a hamstring injury he was dealing with in the second half of the season. He ended up at the end of the season playing close to the level that we are used to seeing Roddy White play (at). Julio Jones was having a monster year when he was injured in Week Four or Week Five. He had 41 catches. He was on pace to have one of the all-time receiver years in the history of the NFL. Both of those guys are working with our athletic performance staff and our training staff. I saw both of them on Monday in the training room. They are working hard. Again, our focus is going to be not to get them back as quickly as we can, our focus is to make sure they are going to be ready to go in September. That will be our No. 1 goal.
Q: How did the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl perform?
A: We are not really focused on the quarterback (position). Our quarterback position is good. I thought that there were guys that had different traits that we’re not necessarily looking for in terms of the running quarterback. We had Tajh Boyd, but I thought he did a very good job in the pro style offense. He picked it up quickly and we are not that in-tune with the quarterback position. Those guys will be long gone before we would think about taking a quarterback that played in that ball game.
