Arthur Blank was not happy with how last season turned out and he wanted to let Atlanta know all about his angst.
He broke from his usual clinical approach and bared his soul to Falcons fans in a news conference that was carried live on local radio from his Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s offices in Buckhead.
Not many owners around the NFL have held this type of event where he let everyone know just how disappointed — he used the word “angry” when prodded by a radio personality — he was with the Falcons’ 10-6 record and early exit from the wild-card round of the playoffs.
“We’ve performed a little bit like a yo-yo, up and down,” Blank said.
A few pundits, including Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, picked the Falcons to win the Super Bowl. Blank was clearly expecting more than a first-round playoff exit.
The team also was eliminated in the first round after the 2008 season and last season, after earning a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, they were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs. In each of those seasons, the team that defeated the Falcons reached the Super Bowl.
Explosions
Coach Mike Smith said the Falcons did improve on explosive plays, but the players then jumped on top of the dynamite.
“We were a more explosive team,” Smith said. “Ninth in the [NFL] in creating explosive plays. We had 71 in the regular season. We were more explosive. But was it effective explosiveness? No, it wasn’t. We became inconsistent in other areas of the football team.
“For instance, we’d have an explosive play in certain games, and we didn’t capitalize on it when we got down into the red zone. There were numerous examples of that.”
Character an issue
Some contend that the Falcons’ approach to drafting players of high character has hurt them in the playoffs.
“We know that we need to have that ornery football player on this team,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We need to make sure that the chemistry is right. We don’t want to add five or eight or ten players on our team that don’t [fit] with the rest of the team. To me, there’s an art to putting a team together.”
Etc.
Wide receiver Roddy White was added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster Wednesday, according to the NFL. White will replace Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who is unable to participate because of an injury. White finished the season with 100 catches for 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns. ... Smith said that his offensive most valuable player was quarterback Matt Ryan. His defensive MVP was linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. He also had lauded punter Matt Bosher and return man/coverage guy Eric Weems. ... Smith stated that Weatherspoon received some attention during the league-wide Pro Bowl voting. ... Running back Michael Turner’s touches likely will be reduced moving forward. He’s led the league in carries in two of the past four seasons and was second in the league with 301 carries in 2011.
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