FLOWERY BRANCH — After his fourth-down decision in overtime against New Orleans on Sunday, Falcons coach Mike Smith was the target of every Monday morning quarterback on television, radio and from all corners of the Internet.
There was Herm Edwards on ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” show checking in.
“I heard Mike say, you know I like to gamble,” Edwards said. “I’m going to tell him this: that’s why you go to Las Vegas, that’s why all those chandeliers are up there. Because people gamble in Vegas and when they lose, they buy chandeliers.
“When you gamble like that, you lose the football game. You can’t do it. You can’t allow that to happen. Punt the ball. ... And I’m mad at Atlanta because, you know what, I picked Atlanta to be in the Super Bowl.”
Online, Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports accused Smith of panicking.
On satellite radio, Solomon Wilcots of SiriusXM NFL Radio spoke with Smith on Tuesday during his regularly scheduled segment. Smith stressed the work that went into the decision and that it was not a haphazard move.
A day later, Wilcots, who played six years in the NFL, couldn’t sign off on the move because he felt the reward was not commiserate with the risk involved.
“You are just getting three new downs and you may have to punt anyway after those three additional snaps,” Wilcots said.
If given the opportunity, Smith would make the same call.
“My confidence is never going to waver,” said Smith, who has guided the Falcons to a franchise-first three consecutive winning seasons. “The one thing that I’m going to try to do is be consistent every day that I wake up. I think it’s very important as a coach, but as a person you want to be a consistent person.”
The players took note of the venomous criticism of Smith.
“That was tough,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “That was real tough because coach Smitty cares so much. You knew he was going to take that responsibility, but at the same time we have to be accountable as well.”
Smith’s own 24-hour rule was extended a bit. Normally, after a win or a loss, he gives the team a day to either enjoy the win or stew a loss.
“I’m sure he handled it in his own way,” Gonzalez said.
At a team meeting Wednesday, Smith pronounced that it was time to move on. The Falcons, picked by some to reach the Super Bowl, now find themselves in a mad scramble to make the playoffs.
“It’s getting down to crunch time,” Gonzalez said. “It’s starting to get to that point where you can’t afford to keep losing. We have to put a couple wins together and make a run. We need to start hitting our stride.”
Almost to a man, the Falcons rallied behind their coach. Even the defensive players, who could have moaned about not getting a chance to hold the Saints, were backing their coach.
“Of course, I really don’t know why he’s taking any heat,” linebacker Mike Peterson said. “Probably because a lot of these coaches and sports analysts don’t really have the [fortitude] to do what he did. That’s why they are trying to make a story out of it. I respect him for having the [fortitude] to do it.”
That the move backfired was particularly tough because first place in the NFC South was at stake. The winner of the first Saints-Falcons game over the past two seasons has won the division.
Now, the Falcons are 1 1/2 games back with seven games to play. They face the Saints again Dec. 26 and likely would need to win all five preceding games to set up a “winner-takes-all” showdown game.
Tennessee coach Mike Munchak, a Hall of Fame player who’s in his first-season as a head coach, knows that second-guessing goes with the territory.
“It’s hard to judge what decisions are made by a coach unless you are on the sidelines or in his shoes or know what he’s thinking at the time,” Munchak said. “When you make it, people are pretty excited about it. When you don’t, unfortunately there are consequences.”
Smith’s staff circled the wagons around the coach. The coordinators — Mike Mularkey, Brian VanGorder and Keith Armstrong — would not address the fourth-down decision when they met with the media Tuesday.
“We moved on to Tennessee immediately after,” Mularkey said. “I don’t read the papers, and I don’t know what the discussions are. I’ve kind of moved on and got ready for the next one, which I’m in the process of doing. I think Mike [Smith] handled it all really well. He’s covered it in all the details.
“I’m going to talk about Tennessee because that’s what I have to get ready for. I’m not going to rehash all that.”
