Category: NFL (Page 57 of 1282)

      Falcons’ Mike Smith long overdue to unleash Matt Ryan, passing game

      May 21, 2012 /

      First came the decision to trade five selections in order to move up in the 2011 NFL Draft for receiver Julio Jones.

      Then players and media members used words like “explosiveness” to describe their offense.

      Then came the fizzle.

      Mike Smith is 43-21 as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. With the exception of Dan Reeves, who led the Falcons to their first and only Super Bowl appearance, Smith is the best coach the team has had in its 46-year history. His players love to play for him and he’s brought stability to a franchise that has long lacked consistency at the head coach position.

      But if he doesn’t tweak his overall philosophy when it comes to the Falcons offense, he will become the modern day version of Marty Schottenheimer – if he hasn’t already.

      Like Smith, Schottenheimer used to stockpile victories during the regular season. But because he was unwilling to change his style when it came to coaching in the postseason, he never won anything of substance. He was 5-13 in the postseason with no Super Bowl appearances and nary a conference title to call his own.

      Smith is 0-3 in the playoffs with two utterly embarrassing performances by his team the last two years. The Packers drubbed the Falcons 48-21 at the Georgia Dome two seasons ago and the Giants shut Atlanta down 24-2 on their way to a Super Bowl victory last year.

      At the root of the Falcons’ postseason failures is a lack of creativity on Smith’s part. Some have suggested Matt Ryan doesn’t have what it takes to win in big games but the fault doesn’t lie in the quarterback, it lies in the overall mentality of the head coach.

      The Falcons wanted to beat the Giants on the ground last year because New York was brutal against the run during the regular season. It wasn’t a bad idea but when the Giants bottled up Michael Turner, the Falcons didn’t have a Plan B in place. That falls on Smith, who remains hamstrung by his philosophy that in order to win the NFL, you must grind down the clock, keep the game close, and win in the end. That ideology may work in the regular season against inferior opponents but when a team like the Packers doesn’t mind throwing the ball 40 times in order to beat you, being able to run the ball becomes irrelevant.

      Part of the Falcons problem was former offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, who is now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ryan has developed into a slow starter over the years but Mularkey was hesitant to put his quarterback in the no-huddle, which often got Ryan into a good rhythm. Mularkey would waste a full quarter of ineffective play from his offense before he got into his no-huddle attack. Whether that was because of Smith’s conservatism or Mularkey’s unwillingness to allow Ryan to call the shots is not known outside of Atlanta. But either way, it was shocking that the Falcons didn’t use the no-huddle more last season.

      In steps new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who was limited in Jacksonville because of the lack of weapons at his disposal (save for Maurice Jones-Drew, that is). Koetter is a gifted playcaller and has already said that he will install the no-huddle for Ryan, who could benefit from having someone other than Mularkey put game plans together. The hope is that a creative play-caller like Koetter is the missing piece.

      But everything comes back to Smith, who ultimately decides what kind of philosophy his team will have on Sundays. The Falcons ranked eighth in the league in passing yards per game last season so this isn’t about stats – it’s about a mentality. Will Smith allow Koetter to design his game plans around Ryan instead of Turner? Will he allow the Falcons to actually use the assortment of weapons (Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Harry Douglas, etc.) that they have in their arsenal? Will Smith finally allow the Falcons to shake hands with the present day NFL and become a team that beats opponents through the air?

      If he doesn’t, Smith’s list of critics will grow by leaps and bounds. His job is safe for now but he must change his ways in order for this talented Falcons team to reach its full potential. Ryan was maxed out in Mularkey’s run-first offense but he still has untapped potential as the architect of a fast-paced attack. It’s just a matter of whether or not Smith will take the chains off.

      If he doesn’t, the new “Martyball” will become entrenched in Atlanta.

      External Sports, NFL

      What’s with the stalling? Saints need to pay Drew Brees.

      May 17, 2012 /

      No other quarterback besides Drew Brees has made it past the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs in the entire 40-plus year history of the New Orleans Saints. He continues to produce outrageous passing numbers, he means more to his team than any other player on New Orleans’ roster, and he wins.

      So why the Saints continue to anger him by not giving him a long-term contract is a question worth $20 million on its own. If Peyton Manning, who didn’t take a snap last year, is worth $19,200,00 in 2012 then why are the Saints balking at paying Brees $20-plus million per season?

      Sean Payton and Jonathan Vilma are suspended for an entire year. Gregg Williams is gone, Joe Vitt must serve a six-game suspension before taking over as interim head coach for 2012, and three other players have been suspended for their role in the bounty program. Brees is the only true leader that the Saints have on their roster but he refuses to show up to camp until he receives a long-term deal. Why owner Tom Benson refuses to hand Brees a blank check and says, “Write down any number you want – just get out on that practice field and lead this team like you’ve done the past seven years,” is beyond me.

      Some insist that Brees is being selfish because he won’t just play under his one-year tender. But if you nearly had your entire career ruined because of an injury to your throwing shoulder, would you play on a one-year deal? The Saints are lucky they even wound up with Brees in the first place. He was set to sign with the Dolphins before Miami’s doctors told the team to pass because they thought he would never throw again. He landed in New Orleans only to team up with Payton and turn the Saints into one of the most imposing offenses in the last five years.

      It’s not like Brees’ production has dipped either. He set career highs in competitions, competition percentage, yards, touchdowns and yards per game last season. So while he may be getting up there in age (he’s 33), he shows zero signs of slowing down.

      Unless they have a shutdown defense teams can’t win in the NFL without a quarterback. And the Saints don’t have a shutdown defense.

      What they do have is a quarterback who posts Hall of Fame-type numbers but he’s extremely frustrated (his words – not mine) by the way his contract negotiations of gone with the team. Considering what he means to the Saints, the city of New Orleans and his teammates, it’s befuddling why Brees doesn’t have a contract yet. And while the Saints still have until July 16 to work out a long-term deal with their record-setting signal caller, why wait?

      External Sports, NFL

      Drew Brees extremely frustrated by lack of contract negotiations with Saints

      May 16, 2012 /

      It’s May 16 and Drew Brees has yet to receive a long-term contract from the New Orleans Saints. As you would imagine, this has left the veteran quarterback extremely frustrated about his situation.

      From ProFootballTalk.com:

      “This is a big time for our team, especially when you look at what’s happened in this offseason, missing our head coach, Sean Payton,” Brees said. “There should be a sense of urgency and yet it seems like there’s not.”

      “We’ve reached out on a number of occasions and at times I’ve been frustrated by the lack of response,” Brees said.

      “It’s been extremely frustrating for me,” Brees said. “The negotiation shouldn’t have been this difficult.”

      It’s understandable that Brees is frustrated but when you’re talking about a contract of this magnitude, it takes time for the situation to get settled. It’s not like Mickey Loomis woke up one day and forgot what Brees means to this team. And in the wake of the bounty scandal, the Saints are well aware that at some point they’re going to need to provide their fan base with positive news.

      It would make everyone in New Orleans feel better if Brees were signed to a long-term contract but it’s only May. There’s a good four months before the regular season starts and a month and a half before players report to training camp. It’s a safe bet that Brees will be donning a Fleur-de-lis on each side of his head next season.

      The only thing that would make this story remotely interesting is if the Saints came out and stated that they want Brees to play on his one year tender. If that happens, then the crap will hit the preverbal fan because Brees is unlikely to play on a one-year deal. Not after he’s set the league on fire the past three seasons.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jaguars already committed to Blaine Gabbert in 2012

      May 14, 2012 /

      Creating competition is apparently overrated in Mike Mularkey’s book.

      When speaking to NFL.com’s Albert Breer on Monday, the new Jaguars head coach said that his quarterback position is not open for competition.

      “No, it’s not (a competition),” Mulakery said. “Blaine’s our starting quarterback…I’m a big body-language reader, and on the practice field, the cafeteria, in meetings, he has a confidence about him. We feel good about him.”

      It’s understandable that Mularkey wants to instill confidence in Gabbert right from the start. If it walks, talks, and acts like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Thus, if Gabbert is entrusted to be the starter from Day 1, then the hope is that he’ll embrace the leadership role and enter training camp brimming with confidence.

      That said, considering how poorly Gabbert played last season as a rookie, it’s interesting that Mularkey has committed to him so quickly. Chad Henne isn’t a great starting option, but one would have thought Mularkey would have at least left the position open to competition. Most coaches want to create competition at every position so that players don’t become complacent – not award starting jobs in May.

      Then again, Mularkey was one of the coaches in Atlanta who did a great job easing Matt Ryan into the NFL. His offense is quarterback-friendly because it relies on power running and a passing game that works the short-to-intermediate zones. Thus, Gabbert, who doesn’t have to worry about the lockout ruining his preparation time this offseason, shouldn’t have an issue grasping his role in Mularkey’s offense.

      It’ll be interesting to see how the former Missouri star fares in Mularkey’s offense and to watch him try to bounce back from a brutal rookie campaign.

      External Sports, NFL

      Russell Wilson will have chance to start for Seahawks

      May 13, 2012 /

      Pete Carroll saw enough out of Russell Wilson this weekend to confirm that the rookie will have an opportunity to compete for the Seahawks’ starting quarterback job this year.

      “He showed us enough,” Carroll told the Seattle Times. “He’s in the competition.”

      When asked whether Seattle expected Wilson to compete as a rookie when the team drafted him in the third round last month, Carroll said that he “hoped that, and we confirmed it in these three days.”

      The biggest knock on Wilson coming out of Wisconsin was his lack of height. He measured 5-foot-10 5/8 at the Senior Bowl weigh-ins back in late January, making him a quarterback in a baseball player’s body. But he’s incredibly smart, he’s an outstanding athlete and he has solid pocket presence. There’s no reason to think that he can’t win a starting job, even after the Hawks gave free agent Matt Flynn a three-year, $19.5 million contract back in March.

      That said, it would be an upset if Flynn didn’t earn the starting job in preseason. Russell could give him a run for his money and keep him on a short leash once the regular season starts, but it stands to reason that Flynn will be Seattle’s starter in Week 1.

      External Sports, NFL

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