It was about as animated as Mike Smith gets during an interview session.
Sure, the Falcons head coach was more animated Monday during the Falcons’ first padded practice of training camp. There were several fights to break up which he loudly labeled a “waste of energy” in no uncertain terms.
Smith took exception when asked post practice whether the fights were a sign that the Falcons were trying to be a tougher team.
“Everybody wants to talk about toughness,” he said. “If you play in the National Football League, you are a tough person. It’s about being resilient. It’s about being strong. It’s about being physical. Everybody who plays in the NFL is tough. I can’t tell you that I’ve ever been around a football player that plays in the National Football League that is not tough - to throw his body around and put his body through all of it.
“But in terms of being physical, we’ve got to be a more physical football team. That has been what we’ve been talking about since the very beginning of this offseason and the end of last season is being a more resilient football team. And you just don’t turn it on when you go out on the field when you play a game. You’ve got to work on it on the practice field and make sure everybody understands what we are trying to get done.”
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