FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot addressed Atlanta media members Wednesday before practice.
Fontenot discussed the teams’ major offseason acquisitions, quarterback Desmond Ridder and owner Arthur Blank’s expectations for the team in Year 3 of the three-year plan.
Here’s what Fontenot had to say:
On what he hopes safety Jessie Bates III can bring to the team: “Everything he can bring, outside of obviously the football player, he’s been a good football player in this league. We also know the person he is and what he’s going to bring to the locker room. Not just Jessie, but you talk about Calais Campbell, David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, and all these guys that we added, Jeff Okudah. We added a lot of players on defense, and it’s not just because of who they are on the football field, but it’s what they’re going to add in the building. We know the brand of football that we play here and we know how we’re going to win games here, so you have to fit that ethos and fit that culture and we know Jessie fits that.”
On how he views the NFL-wide running back conversation: “We talk a lot about positionless football, and we really can’t speak for other people’s buildings and what they’re doing because you just don’t have all the information. You don’t know exactly why they are making the decisions they’re making in other buildings. But here, we don’t look at what position they play, we look at who they are. Not what, who. That’s whether you’re a guard or a safety or there’s some positions that some people might say, ‘You shouldn’t pay a lot of money to.’ But we look at who they are as individuals and what are they really bringing to our team? Do we have a clear vision of how they are going to affect this team? We’re not going to put someone in the bucket of a particular position. It depends on who they are and if they’re going to help us win championships. And we don’t mind paying them.”
On worrying about paying versatile players in the future: “Obviously, there’s a business side to all of it and there are all those challenges, not only on offense but also on defense. You talk about a guy like Jessie Bates – he can cover, he can pressure, he can play the run, you can move down in the box, you can play him deep – we always want versatile players. You look at Kaden Elliss – he’s played (middle linebacker), he’s played inside, he’s played outside on the edge, he’s rushed – we want versatile players at every position because that’s the type of football team we have.”
On how he feels in the third year of their three-year plan: “It’s really exciting. We obviously appreciative Arthur and his mindset. He wants to win in the worst way, and yet, he’s obviously a really smart businessman that understands patience and plans. He’s been so supportive; we want for nothing. We feel really good about where we are. It was a transition the last couple of years, and it’s really challenging because you’re working hard to win games, and yet, you know you have to clean up the cap, and there’s some tough decisions that you have to make. We believe we needed to lay the right foundation and establish that winning culture, and we believe we have a really competitive football team. We’re excited to be in Year 3. This feels weird, I’ve never stood up here (standing at a podium), I feel like I’m a pastor in a church. I feel like I need a Bible. I’m used to sitting down. It’s like I’m speaking to the congregation. That’s my deacon right there, he picks up the offering.”
On whether he believes Ridder is a future franchise quarterback: “The reasons we got excited about Desmond. And we talked about it when we drafted Desmond. We always talk about it. It’s not just who you are. Every player in the league is talented, prototype, they’re talented, they have good physical tools – they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t. Usually if players fail – if they make it or they don’t – it has a lot to do with the makeup and who they really are. Can they handle all the distractions? Can they handle those things? One thing we saw early on with Desmond is the professional he was and the maturity at an early stage in his career last year. ...”
On how he plans to evaluate Ridder throughout the season: “You know what I do after practice every day? I sit down and watch film with Arthur Smith and our scouts do the same thing. They sit in the meetings and they watch film with the coaches and that’s really important to do. If you just watch practice, and you guys have to do it and try your best to do it, if it looks like a cornerback just got beat here, but if you don’t know his responsibility - okay, the safety is supposed to be over top, there’s other elements. So we spend a lot of time watching film together and understanding what’s really going on. ...”
On his patience with monitoring Ridder’s improvement: “We want to continue to improve in every area. We want to be better today than we were yesterday. And tomorrow, we want to continue to improve. So, that’s what we’re looking for from myself, from everyone in the organization: continue to improve. And yet having that mindset to continue to improve. We’re going to have adversity, failure is a part of the process. ... Everything’s not going to be perfect. This isn’t a perfect game, and that’s a part of it. We have to believe in the mindset and the makeup and that everyone here is doing everything they can to have sustained winning, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
On whether he sees an opening in the NFC South for Ridder and the team: “We have a lot of confidence in our team. We don’t look at it like OK, this is where this division is and its time. We just have to focus on every challenge that’s in front of us. (We) focus on finishing out this week the right way. We’re in our third day of full pads. It’s a tough, it’s the dog days for the players. Let’s continue to improve, let’s get ready to go to Miami and compete and continue to get better. Let’s get ready for Carolina in Week 1, and we just take it one step at a time. When you’re looking at the steps right in front of you, you can keep going, if you look too far, you’ll fall. We don’t look at it like ‘Hey, let’s take over this division because of where it is.’ We’re focusing on the moment and focusing on what’s right in front of us.”
On what he thinks would define a successful third year within the three-year plan: “Continued improvement. We wouldn’t put a specific number on it. We wouldn’t put a floor or a ceiling on what we can be. We believe in this team, we believe in our process. Just like it always is, we want to continue to improve and get better.”
On what the most important thing is from the first two years that impacts this third year and what he and coach Arthur Smith have found out about this process: “I think, regardless of where we were two years ago or last year, we talk about this all the time as well. There’s some players that were with our team in Year 1 and Year 2 that are no longer here, but they were a part of it. They were a part of building the foundation. We had to make that decision that, and we always said it’s in the tear-down and rebuild. We want to do our best to win games. Again, making tough decisions, but we have to establish that winning culture. ...”
On whether he feels the offseason went as well for him as it looks on paper: “It really did. It went well because you don’t know. You have a plan, you have a blueprint, but you always have to adapt and adjust and pivot and you just never know how things are going to happen. We really noticed with this offseason, which is really cool, is that players really wanted to be here. ...”
On whether he’s noticed the maturity of running back Bijan Robinson on the field and in the building: “Maturity is a really good word to use for him because he is. He’s a true professional already, just the way he handles himself. We put a lot on these rookies’ plates, a lot on all these players plates, but the rookies it’s a transition and there’s a lot they have going on, a lot in their heads and yet we put a lot on them. Bijan’s doing a lot of different things for us and it’s taxing, but he’s handled everything so well. …”
On how close the current roster is to what he and Smith envisioned in Year 3: “We like where the roster is and yet, we’re always trying to improve. We rank right at the top of the league in transactions over the last three years, and that’s not going to change. Whether we’re talking about working out players, signing players off the street, practice-squad transactions, we’re trying to turn over every stone. We’re constantly trying to improve. I appreciate (assistant GM) Kyle Smith and (director of player personnel) Ryan (Pace), who runs our pro department and that whole staff because every time you turn around, we’re constantly working out players and trying to improve. ...”
On the competition he sees to make the initial 53-man roster: “We love how camp has gone because it’s so competitive. It is really competitive. We got the right types of guys because no one is backing down. It’s every day. In every phase – offense, defense, every position room. There’s a lot of back and forth and it’s extremely competitive….”
On what he’s learned from working with Smith: “It’s a really cool relationship and I think it’s because there’s so much mutual respect. Like Arthur Smith will do anything he can for any one of those players, any one of these staff members and 24/7, all he’s thinking about is how to build a sustained winning team. All he thinks about is winning. He’ll do whatever he can to build this football team and improve this football team and he knows I’m the same way.”
(The transcript provided by the team was edited for brevity and clarity)
