The Falcons finished the regular season with a humiliating 48-17 loss on the road against their most despised opponents, the New Orleans Saints. The only thing that was more embarrassing than the loss itself was head coach Arthur Smith’s reaction to it.
With just over a minute remaining, the Saints went for and converted a touchdown out of the victory formation.
And Arthur Smith blew a fit about it at what was supposed to be a postgame handshake between the two head coaches.
After the game, Allen stated that teammates had questioned him if running back Jamaal Williams could score. He responded no, and the players went forward with the play nonetheless.
Smith did admit after the game that the Saints “can do whatever you want” on the football field.
Is going for a touchdown out of the win formation excellent sportsmanship in those situation? No way, no how. But I’m not going to be upset if Saints players pull a dagger on a division rival. And I believe Arthur Smith should be far more disappointed with his own performance in this one.
For starters, the game had passed the point of no return. With more than eight minutes remained in the game, the outcome was almost certainly sealed. With a 17-point disadvantage, the Falcons faced a third-and-6 on their own 29-yard line. When a team is trailing by three scores against its biggest rival, with the head coach’s job and the last shattered shards of the team’s postseason hopes on the line, the last things anyone should do with that much time remaining in the game are a) punt the ball away and b) bench the starter (even though the starter was Desmond Ridder) for third stringer Logan Woodside.
More significantly, it is not the Saints’ responsibility to make Arthur Smith appear competent. It is not the Saints’ responsibility to ease off on the Falcons. If Arthur Smith does not want his team to be scored on by the Saints in garbage time, he must ensure that his squad does not allow it to happen. THIS IS HOW REAL LIFE WORKS.
This isn’t fourth-grade flag football, where we just hope everyone has fun, gets a trophy, and someone’s parent hands out orange slices and juice boxes after the game. The NFL stands for National Football League. Teams compete to win and play until the whistle blows. If Arthur Smith’s team wasn’t ready for that, there’s only one person to blame: Dennis Allen and the Saints.
Arthur Smith, of all people, should be acutely aware of this, given how frequently he cites “this isn’t fantasy football” as an excuse for not doing a better job of incorporating Atlanta’s considerable offensive skill position talent — particularly Kyle Pitts and Drake London — into the game plan.
Smith’s time on the Falcons’ sideline may have come to an end, and the arrogance he displayed in this postgame conversation will be one of the main reasons he was unable to flourish in Atlanta.
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