Here’s what Falcons coach Arthur Smith had to say after the 24-15 win over the Saints on Sunday:
On the mindset of offense on the last drive: “Take the game over. It was a challenge all week in the line of scrimmage. We won the game. And that’s what the O-line did.”
On the running backs having nine-straight carries in the last drive: “We could’ve picked it up. I thought about it at times, but when you’re watching the intent and the way those guys were going up front, the way they were blocking and the way that our guys were running the football - and that was all three of the runners - you know, why pick it up? So, that was encouraging. That’s who we need to be to close out games. And it’s just one game, but we needed that win in the worst way, and I thought overall it was a good team win.”
On snapping the three-game losing streak and taking over first place in the NFC South: “Look, those things have got to play out. I mean, we’ve got six games to go, right? And it’ll feel like six lifetimes. It’s just the National Football League, and it ebbs and flows. I mean, you’re caught by a couple of plays in the last two games, and we knew coming off the bye week and everything we talked about, some of the things logistically we wanted to do as a staff, we certainly did that. The ways we wanted to play, getting some guys in space I thought helped us. And then, rolling through personnel defensively, keeping guys fresh - I think you saw a little bit of that. So, we’ve got plenty of stuff to work on, as always, but overall, a good team win.”
On the decision to play RB Cordarrelle Patterson more: “Yeah, he’s been building on it. You saw a little bit in Tampa about where you saw him. He can play all over the place, and it gives you another guy. We didn’t have to go out there, but if we need to win one-on-one outside, he gives you that. And you talk about being fresh. Those are hard guys to tackle. When you’re getting momentum and you’re getting into the drives, and we believe in our conditioning. So, he’ll continue, depending on the plan. But all these guys, as we hopefully continue to get better, they’ll all be involved.”
On how QB Desmond Ridder played: “Yeah, look, overall, a lot of those drives early, he got in space. We talked about using his legs as a weapon, which I thought he did pretty well. They adjusted on some of the zone read stuff, which got us on that first drive in the third quarter. We were going fast, in and out, trying to end the half with a touchdown, not giving the ball back, and we liked the angle of it. He had to move. I believe Khalen Saunders kind of got in the way, and a little miscommunication over there, and Mathieu got up under it. The other one, he was trying to make a play, being a little greedy. But what you like about him is the way he came back. They hit pressure. The easy play would be underneath, but he believed in it, he drifted, big-time throw to Bijan [Robinson], got him one-on-one in space, which we wanted. So, he doesn’t flinch. Obviously, you don’t want the turnovers. Thankfully, today we were zero, and we were able to get Jessie [Bates III]’s interception and then Jessie punching the ball out. So, thankful for that. But he’s resilient, and we’ll keep working.”
On whether he had any hesitation to put the ball in QB Desmond Ridder’s hands in critical situations: “No. You’ve got believe in him when you put him out there, and that’s what he’s done. His history will show you that. Just throughout all the games he played in college, like he’s pretty damn good in critical situations in the fourth quarter. He’s done that in the NFL. Like I said, we’ve got to keep working. We’ve got a lot of belief, and more importantly, those guys have belief.”
On looking unhappy with being forced to call a timeout before the pass to RB Bijan Robinson: “Talk about logistics. But, yes, somebody came out, it gets under 15, so you have a mechanism to get up on the ball so you don’t have to burn it. And then it was too slow. And I guess I must be living right because the next play, we got the touchdown, thankfully.”
On whether he thought he lost the play to RB Bijan Robinson after calling the timeout: “No. Somebody subbed. Yeah, that was the one error that we had. Hate wasting a timeout. Wasn’t going to take a delay of game there, and so we had to use it. But we’ll get that fixed.”
On S Jessie Bates III making plays: “Yeah. There were some things that Jessie, like a lot of our guys, they’re prideful players. He puts a lot of work in. It’s something he felt he got a jump on it. And then, it’s the effort. Not only that, he got down the sideline and then Zach Harrison - Zach making those blocks. I mean it takes everybody, but great playing. And then Jessie’s play punching the ball out on [Taysom] Hill, that was kind of a turning point in the game.”
On whether Offensive Coordinator Dave Ragone was in the booth today and whether he feels like that helped: “Well, first, for me, Dave and I collaborate on everything. And both of us didn’t need to be down, and I think there were some things with Dave’s experience that he could help Des as he was seeing unfold up top as they communicated. So, instead of both of us being down, it was just a logistical thing where I thought - and I thought it worked well today. Dave’s got a good presence and good feel, and the communication between the staff and me and the quarterbacks, I thought helped. Again, you see some things down here, but we just thought it would be a changeup, and obviously, happy with the results today.”
On the atmosphere of the team and building over the last couple of weeks: “I think, Jeff, I mean you’ve covered sports a long time. I keep saying, it’s not just coach talk. This is a different group, and I mean that in a great way. I mean these guys work so damn hard. And I know everybody works hard; it’s pro sports. But if you had seen our Wednesday practice, it felt like training camp. It was a damn battle. These guys wanted to win, and I would argue that it paid off. It felt like a heavyweight fight. It was physical as hell out there. I think it was kind of cathartic for a lot of those guys because they know they put a lot of work in, guys were frustrated, felt like there was a play or two here. That’s what the games have come down to. We lost those two at the end, and we had an opportunity, thankfully, to go take it out on somebody else. So, it was probably more cathartic, I would say. But it’s the whole team. It’s a close team.”
On whether S Richie Grant and S DeMarcco Hellams were part of the rotation on defense or was it something that Hellams was pushing for: “Both. I think people want to get you in so much sub-defense. They weren’t playing a lot of heavy personnel on some of their tight end package. It felt little. That’s a lot of the NFL right now. So, people do that, then they try to get the smaller guys into the run fits. You’re just trying to change it up, putting guys in spots where you think you can maximize them. And that’s a credit to DeMarcco as well. Even you saw Tre [Flowers] go out there a little bit too.”
On whether there was something that stood out to him with having Offensive Coordinator Dave Ragone in the booth: “Yeah, because you do so much self-scouting. Everybody’s got tendencies, so you’re going to always try to break yours; they’re trying to break theirs. But it’s not just what they’re playing, how they’re playing, what the matchup looks like up top. I’ve got my view. I’ve got the Surface. Sometimes, it’s like a NASCAR pit crew. I just think there were some things I wanted to see. It was more about some of the matchups really and just how they’re playing, where their safeties are, if they’re leaning to a certain guy or not. Pre-snap, what they’re trying to roll on the quarterback that you may not be able to see from ground level.”
On the red zone play overall and on defense: “Yeah, we got down there twice. Obviously disappointed to turn the ball over, but the other one, we ran in. Then defensively, we gave up some yards, but it comes down to situational football, and two enormous plays down there and holding them to field goals. So, we’ll get some of that other stuff cleaned up. They had some new wrinkles. They hit a lot of shots kind of between the 20s. But when it came to those critical downs, that was the difference.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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