This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who’ve spent the past week obsessing over the Falcons’ relative frugality and unwillingness to give a $114 million contract to a defensive tackle. But on the other side of the noise wall, things are relatively calm and upbeat.
Dan Quinn, the new coach via Seattle, where the bulk of a Super Bowl team wasn’t built with blowtorch signings in free agency but rather smart drafts and budget-friendly, role-specific signings, responded to the doubts this way: “I’m not concerned about winning free agency. What’s best for our team is having the right group of guys and how they can best connect and how hard they play for each other.”
Thomas Dimitroff, the once universally praised but more recently maligned general manager, said: “There are a lot of really good football players in this league who don’t carry an outrageous price tag. We spent a lot more time evaluating these players than people outside this building, and we feel very confident about our approach.”
And further more: You’re not in charge.
The familiar words, “We feel very confident about our approach,” probably would be more comforting if they weren’t followed the past two years by records of 4-12 and 6-10. But the organization has pushed the reset button with a new coaching staff and new philosophy, so it’s a bit premature to assume disaster before even the first practice.
It’s fair to be skeptical. It’s fair to wonder why the Falcons, with available payroll space, haven’t heavily invested in a proven pass rusher. One doesn’t have to be a personnel guru to know cap space has never sacked anybody. But nothing has been won or lost yet. The new off-field team is in the midst of its first on-field rebuilding project, changing parts, scheme and mindset.
Quinn and Dimitroff know some of their decisions are being picked apart, but that’s not even a minor concern in their world. It’s not like they and assistant general manager Scott Pioli have been potted palms. They signed or re-signed 10 players before the start of free agency. They signed seven players in the first three days of free agency — three linebackers (Brooks Reed, Justin Durant, O’Brien Schofield), a defensive end (Adrian Clayborn), a cornerback (Phillip Adams), a wide receiver (Leonard Hankerson) and a guard (Mike Person).
None of the defensive players are major sack guys (Clayborn had 5 1/2 in 2013 but played only one game last year because of a torn biceps). The signings have lacked the cannonball splashes of Ndamukong Suh in Miami (six years, $114 million), tight end Julius Thomas in Jacksonville (five years, $46 million), linebacker Pernell McPhee in Chicago (five years, $40 million) and defensive end Jerry Hughes in Buffalo (re-signing, five years, $45 million).
But the Falcons have several holes to fill, and this is about player evaluation and scheme-fitting. If Quinn can create a pass rush with new pieces and raise the returning dead in the locker room, this will work.
Quinn and Dimitroff granted a 30-minute, joint interview Friday, sandwiched between film sessions and player visits to the team's practice facility. They addressed their working relationship, the new front-office structure and their vision for the team.
Neither would say how much turnover they expected from the Falcons’ 2014 roster. But 20 percent is about average, and Dimitroff acknowledged “it could be” higher. (Educated guess: about 30 percent, or 16 of 53 players). Seattle’s Pete Carroll and John Schneider orchestrated a drastic makeover in 2010 with a league-leading 284 transactions. But the Falcons’ overhaul likely won’t be as big, but Quinn said it’s difficult to quantify because nobody has been evaluated on the field or in an OTA yet.
Quinn’s defensive philosophy and the personnel decisions to satisfy that predictably are getting the most attention.
“There’s a real style and attitude about how we’re going to play,” he said. “It’s not about the one guy. It’s not about pass rusher — it’s pass rush. It’s not done with one man — it’s done with the style and attitude that we play to affect the quarterback. And (critics) need to wait a while, too. It’s still March.”
Dimitroff smiled, then added: “And by the way, we have the eighth overall pick. Everyone needs to keep that in perspective. We have the whole other side of team building in the next couple of months.”
Not everything has gone according to plan. The Falcons hoped to sign former Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan, but didn’t bid to the level of Tennessee (four years, $27 million). They also were surprised by Sean Weatherspoon’s departure. But overall, both said they are pleased.
Dimitroff continues to defuse suggestions that he has been stripped of some front-office autonomy (although Quinn now controls the 53-man roster). Pioli oversees pro and college scouting, but he still answers to Dimitroff.
Dimitroff said Pioli’s increased responsibilities have allowed the general manager to “roll my sleeves down a little bit. … It allows me to step back and look at things from a big-picture perspective and …. not worry about the day-to-day processes in the personnel department.”
The organization appears to have taken collaboration to a new level, a la the Seahawks, with Quinn and his assistants meeting with the entire personnel staff. “He brought in his position coaches and his coordinators on both sides of the ball and we had basically symposiums on the style of football we would be playing, relatively speaking from a scheme standpoint,” Dimitroff said. “I can’t tell you how important that was for us, to have clarity.”
So there should be no doubt they all are on the same page. Obviously, there’s not a universal feeling in how this offseason is being written. But where the story goes remains to be seen.
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