Over the first five seasons of his tenure, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff batted nearly 1.000.
In 2008, nearly every move he made in the draft (selecting Matt Ryan over Glenn Dorsey) and free agency (signing Michael Turner) worked out fine.
He would follow with more strong drafts and trades (Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones) as a first-time general manager. There have been some bumps along the road, such as selecting Peria Jerry with Clay Matthews still on the board and signing cornerback Dunta Robinson and defensive end Ray Edwards, but Dimitroff widely was credited with the resurrection of this once-moribund franchise, along with coach Mike Smith.
Dimitroff and Smith had the Falcons on the verge of the Super Bowl with a trip to the NFC title game last season before the collapse of 2013.
Dimitroff, a two-time executive-of-the-year award winner, discussed this season and the Falcons’ plans to quickly fix the team with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: Are you open to fixing your line problems through free agency?
A: Again, my comment is that we are going to build and acquire through different approaches, and one can be solely through the draft and one could be supplementing with free agency. We've always said that from the beginning. If the right player is there, both offensively and defensively along the front in both areas, we will consider (the options).
Q: What did you mean by the ‘missed assessment’ of the veteran cuts last season?
A: My point was, individually, I don't believe that we made mistakes as far as individually cutting people and releasing people. There were a lot of things involved in that from the standpoint of not only their ability on the field, but other things that played into it from a cap standpoint, etc.
My point was, the aggregate. Overall, the decisions to make all of the moves that we made was where I believe there was, personally from my standpoint, from what I did, a missed assessment on how that was going to affect the football team.
One thing, and I’ve said this all along, this is a collaborative organization. This just isn’t one person throwing around their weight and making decisions, but in the end I’m responsible for that decision to decide what we are going to do ultimately across the board. With that many moves, I think it affected this team in certain ways that I probably underestimated the impact of that.
Q: Just as a housekeeping matter, Tony Gonzalez’s two-year contract was done to spread out his signing bonus over two seasons?
A: Correct.
Q: Do you all have all of your draft picks this year?
A: Yes, we have all seven, and we have the potential to add a couple (compensatory) picks on the back end.
Q: How does your philosophy change when picking in the top 10?
A: We were up there that first year for Matt. That's one of the things that we've talked about is that we've been fortunate and unfortunate with the fact that we went 11-5 that first year because we went from being a top-10 pick type team to going right back to the 20s to 32. So, we have not been in that area, but for moving up in the Julio case. Honestly, those are the areas that are a lot more fun to evaluate … it can't be a little bit more definitive about the talent in the top 10 versus trying to projected more from 20 to 32.
Q: Is there a need for a big-time pass rusher? Or, can you all handle that schematically?
A: I think any NFL team needs to have a high-end pass rusher to pressure and to disrupt the quarterback. It doesn't always mean that he has to come out with 22 sacks. It means that there could be a significant amount of sacks as well as a significant amount of pressures and disruptions. It's our goal to find the right mix of those players who can affect the passer, as we always say.
Q: How did rookie tight end Levine Toilolo progress this season?
A: He progressed well. He came in and he had an element of rawness to him. (He is) a big guy who actually has the ability to wall off and block. He continues to get better and better at blocking. He's improving in the hands area. Levine is going to be a good football player in this league. Where he ends up in terms of the depth chart will have a lot to do with how we scheme and play our tight ends in the future.
Q: If the dominant player at six (in the draft) is an offensive weapon, do you hesitate to take him?
A: We would be extremely calculated in our decision and our contemplation of taking anyone in the top six quite honestly, because the people that land in the top six slots are difference-makers. If we deemed a difference-maker is there at any position, we would contemplate it.
Q: How active can the Falcons be in free agency this offseason?
A: We are in a good spot. We are pretty much at the mid-line (of available money) in the league right now. We'll have the financial ability to be selective in free agency, if we deem that's right. Philosophically, it depends on where those players are and how much it's going to cost.
Q: The Falcons have used the trade market to improve. Will the Falcons be active in the trade market this offseason?
A: Of course, I'm always open to the proper trade situation.
Q: Since the Falcons pick sixth, what’s your assessment of the top 10 of the upcomng draft?
A: This is a very good top 10 I believe. … You know there are going to be some quarterbacks tapping their way into the top 10, potentially, as well as some linebackers that are out there. It's a mixed bag in my mind. I'm encouraged by what we see so far.
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