Arthur Smith has only been the Atlanta Falcons head coach for just a few days and he will make many decisions in the coming days, weeks and months. But as for the kind of team he wants to field in 2021, Smith did not hesitate with his answer.
“We want to be the most professional, unselfish, well-conditioned, toughest, physical football player in the league,” Smith said.
In an exclusive (and his first) interview with AtlantaFalcons.com, Smith said he certainly expects the roster to look different in September than the Falcons will perform in Week 1, but he also points out that ‘we have a lot of playmakers “now.
And one of them is quarterback Matt Ryan, whom Smith called ‘the ultimate pro’.
Smith acknowledges the continued success Ryan had here in Atlanta, but stopped short when he compared the work he did to Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee. Smith helped revive the Titans full-back’s career.
In two seasons that Smith’s offense has executed, the overall draft pick began in 2012 with 26 games and a total of 6,561 passing yards with 55 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 110.6 passer count, while 67.3 percent completed his passes is. Tannehill was named the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career in 2019 and was named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the Pro Football Writers of America.
“(Matt) is a great leader and there are obviously a lot of things he can do, but I’m not comparing because we did something with Ryan,” Smith said. “That does not mean we’ll do the same thing with Matt.
“We’re going to play on Matt’s strengths, just like we tried to play on Ryan’s strengths.”
Smith said he and the new Valcons general manager, Terry Fontenot, want to add “more” playmakers, as well as the kind of team he plans to build.
“We’re constantly going to look at innovating and adapting, no matter who the staff is,” Smith said. “We’re going to play the strengths of the team, and we’re going to be flexible. But we’re going to do it in all three phases. And we’re going to have guys who are good teammates and who understand how to adapt week to week.”
Along with the descriptions of tough, physical, smart, innovative and adaptable, another word used is ‘liability’.
“And it’s going to be a big thing – we’re going to look for guys who are good teammates and will hold our best players accountable,” Smith said. “And so it’s Matt or Grady Jarrett, they’ll all be kept to the same standard.”
Smith said he spoke to Fontenot and got to know him.
“We have the same vision,” Smith said. “We have the same values. It will definitely not be group thinking, but Terry and I … it will be an ultimate partnership. It will be a good collaboration, a good partnership, because we want this team in the short term. term builds the long term. ‘