Falcons owner Arthur Blank was the first to emerge from the team’s locker room after his team’s listless 41-28 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday.
He offered general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith his “full support” in getting the franchise pointed in a winning direction. He also noted that the Falcons would play the final six games to win and not to improve their draft position.
Blank’s remarks:
Opening statement: "We love our head coach and we love our general manager. We'll candidly look at everybody honestly, critically and see what we have to do. It should be nobody that escapes that critique. That's their job and I have confidence that they'll do it. They are doing it and they will do it."
Q: What’s the most disheartening thing to you?
A: When you come off five years (of winning). It's not like the old days of the Atlanta Falcons when we were up and down for 36 years. So we've had five great years, the second most wins in the league, second only to the Patriots over that period and the most in the NFC. Obviously, what's disheartening is this year, sitting at 2-8 with the expectations that were reasonable coming into this year. So, it's very disappointing for our fans and for everybody connected to franchise. Certainly for the players, coaches and for our fans.
Q: Does the losing affect of the plans for the stadium that you have to roll out in the future?
A: This has nothing to do with the stadium. The stadium is a 30-year project. Hopefully, 45.
Q: Do you still have complete confidence in general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith?
A: I do. I absolutely, do. They've earned it over the last five years. This is a tough business. We've had a lot of injuries and there have been a lot of issues on top of the injuries and that is pretty obvious. The guys are proven leaders and proven by success. Their records speak for themselves. They'll do the work that has to be done with my full support. We'll get back to what we have to do. Right now, we have six more games that we have to play this year and we plan on competing hard in those games, winning, if not all, as many as we can.
Line shuffled: The Falcons moved center Peter Konz to right guard and started Joe Hawley at center against Tampa Bay.
The move didn’t work out so well. Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had three sacks over Konz, who was subsequently replaced by Garrett Reynolds.
This is no new story line. The Falcons’ offensive line has struggled with pass protection all season.
“Right now, it’s really not about me,” Konz said. “It’s about the team and how we can all move forward.”
Hawley was used as a starter during the 2011 season, but has been a reserve this year. He’s played as the jumbo tight end. The coaches made the switch to center in practice last week.
“I was excited with the opportunity that the coaches gave me to get back out there,” Hawley said. “We can’t wait until late in the game and try to come back. We have to start fast.”
Hawley hope he gets a chance to stay with the first unit.
“We have to start putting up points as an offense,” Hawley said. “We have a talented offense and we have to get into the end zone, but that’s not what we are doing right now.”
Gonzalez in action: Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, who suffered a toe injury last week against Seattle, played and made six catches for 51 yards.
Safety Kemal Ishmael, running back Jason Snelling, linebacker Omar Gaither, guard Harland Gunn, tackle Sean Locklear, wide receiver Brian Robiskie and defensive end Malliciah Goodman were all declared inactive.
Gonzalez, who has missed only two games over his entire career, was limited in practice on Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday,
No Snelling: Snelling, who was arrested on marijuana possession charges in Bartow County last week, elected not to play, according to the team. The Falcons activated running back Josh Vaughan and elected Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers to handle most of the running back duties.
Also, Antone Smith entered the game late and rushed for 88 yards on two carries.
Snelling, a reserve running back, has 36 rushes for 132 yards and one touchdown this season. He has 19 catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Etc: Linebacker Paul Worrilow had 16 tackles, his third straight game with double-digit tackles. … Fans attending Thursday's New Orleans game at the Georgia Dome are asked to donate their old cell phones for Verizon's Hopeline project. They can drop off the phones, which will be used to aid survivors of domestic violence, at the Falcons' Landing prior to the game.
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