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Arthur Smith has only been head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for a few days and has a lot of decisions to make in the days, weeks and months to come. But when it comes to the type of team he wants to field in 2021, Smith didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“We want to be the most professional, selfless, well-conditioned and tough physical football in the league,” said Smith.
In an exclusive interview (and his first) with AtlantaFalcons.com, Smith said he certainly expected the roster to be different in September when the Falcons line up in Week 1, but he also points out that “we have a lot of playmakers.” now.
And one of those is quarterback Matt Ryan, who Smith called “the ultimate pro.”
Smith acknowledged the sustained success Ryan has had here in Atlanta, but paused when it came to comparing the work he did with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee. Smith helped revive the career of the Titans quarterback.
In two consecutive seasons with Smith’s offense, the 8th pick in the 2012 draft started 26 games and totaled 6,561 passing yards with 55 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a passer rating of 110.6, while completing 67, 3% of his passes. Tannehill was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career in 2019 and was named Returning Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the Pro Football Writers of America.
“(Matt) is a great leader and obviously there is a lot he can do, but I’m not going into the comparisons because we’ve done something with Ryan,” Smith said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to do the same things with Matt.
“We’re going to play with Matt’s strengths just like we tried to play with Ryan’s strengths.”
Speaking of the roster, Smith said he and new Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot “will be looking to add more ‘playmakers’ as well as the type of squad he plans to build.
“We will constantly seek to innovate and adapt, regardless of the staff,” said Smith. “We’re going to play with the strengths of the team, and we’re going to be flexible. But we’re going to do that in all three phases. And we’re going to have guys who are great teammates and who understand how to adapt from week to week. week. “
Besides the descriptors of tough, physical, smart, innovative and adaptive, another word used is “responsibility”.
“And that’s going to be a great thing – we’re going to look for guys who are good teammates and we’re going to hold our best players accountable,” Smith said. “And so whether it’s Matt or Grady Jarrett, they’re all going to be held to the same level.”
Smith said he spoke to Fontenot and got to know him.
“We share the same vision,” Smith said. “We have the same values. Certainly it won’t be a group thought, but Terry and I … it will be an ultimate partnership. It will be a great collaboration, a good partnership as we look to build this team in the short term. term the long term. “
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