Falcons: I Loved hearing Arthur Blank saying Offensive Line was not good enough...

[g-dawg]

(01-11-2012 02:33 PM)pauliwood Wrote:  Me either, but I guess you actually have to understand both football and business, to really understand, appreciate and be entertained by this.

yeah, I'm sure you know more about business than me pauli......you can just say "you know I thought it was interesting" but you gotta take a shot, huh?

[bassfalcon]

I guess you have to read between the lines to some degree for it to be interesting.

You can tell a lot from body language and there is no doubt the heat has been turned up on everyone by AB.

I feel like the checkbook will be wide open when it comes to signing new coordinators.

I don't think TD or Smith have any choice but to try for the best possible choices. At this point you can't bring in any no names without NFL experience because the next head on the block is MS.

[pauliwood]

(01-11-2012 02:48 PM)g-dawg Wrote:  yeah, I'm sure you know more about business than me pauli......you can just say "you know I thought it was interesting" but you gotta take a shot, huh?

That's what Rivals are for, cheer up buddy, today is a happy day.

[ggp]

(01-11-2012 02:26 PM)g-dawg Wrote:  that was really the only thing noteworthy in the entire 1 hour press conference. Falcons have the most boring press conferences - how do you go 1 friggin' hour and only have two minutes that is interesting at all.

ugggh!

Damn it! I had to leave before the OL was discussed. The OL has been a major point for me for a long time. Can some one give me a "transcript" of what was said about our OL?

I wanted to be able to ask Mike Smith and TD point blank: Although the OL improved its pass protection, after Svitek took over for Baker, there were still major issues opening running lanes for our RB's. Do you see this as a problem with the quality of the players or was there a problem with the design of the blocking schemes? Do you plan to wait for the development of the players that have been drafted, or do you see a need to improve the OL roster via free agency?

[Knight of God]

(01-11-2012 02:16 PM)g-dawg Wrote:  In press conference basically AB said:

1) AB said Matt Ryan was not protected enough in Giants game - regardless of stats showing only 2 sacks.

2) AB said even though Falcons ranked 6th overall in Offensive Line sacks allowed - that the stats can be deceiving.

Loved that......AB basically telegraphing that the Falcons Offensive Line is going to be a point of emphasis on improving in off-season.

Yeah, it was a great press conference.

[ggp]

I just watched the last ten minutes of the conference. It was a thing of beauty!

Loving Arthur cutting out the crap: Stats can mean anything. Ranking 6th in pass protection could be because Matt was forced to get rid of the ball quickly. Receivers need more time to get open down field.

In a heart beat, the conference turned. One minute, we were hearing the same PC crap. The next minute, Blank was setting the expectations for the two guys next to him......in public! Stop with the statistical crap and start producing wins.....meaningful wins.

So, will TD stick to his guns and gamble on his draft picks, or will he go hunting for offensive linemen? I get the feeling TD's reputation is publicly at stake here. What would you do? Makes for interesting drama.

Blank knows how to sell his product.

[JDaveG]

(01-11-2012 03:06 PM)ggp Wrote:  Damn it! I had to leave before the OL was discussed. The OL has been a major point for me for a long time. Can some one give me a "transcript" of what was said about our OL?

I wanted to be able to ask Mike Smith and TD point blank: Although the OL improved its pass protection, after Svitek took over for Baker, there were still major issues opening running lanes for our RB's. Do you see this as a problem with the quality of the players or was there a problem with the design of the blocking schemes? Do you plan to wait for the development of the players that have been drafted, or do you see a need to improve the OL roster via free agency?

I'm paraphrasing, but for me, the best part was that after TD said we had the 6th fewest sacks in the league and started talking about stats, Mr. Blank said statistics don't tell the whole story and Matt Ryan was hurried and pressured way too much and had to throw the ball away and did not have time for plays to develop. Then he said (paraphrasing, but closely):

"Do I think the o-line performed up to our expectations? No, they did not."

[markdzul]

Our owner is pretty freakin awesome... The man gets shit done...

[ggp]

(01-11-2012 09:25 PM)JDaveG Wrote:  I'm paraphrasing, but for me, the best part was that after TD said we had the 6th fewest sacks in the league and started talking about stats, Mr. Blank said statistics don't tell the whole story and Matt Ryan was hurried and pressured way too much and had to throw the ball away and did not have time for plays to develop. Then he said (paraphrasing, but closely):

"Do I think the o-line performed up to our expectations? No, they did not."

Those were some of the sweetest words spoken in a news conference. Finally, I feel like I am not shouting at a wall.

[mdrake34]

Ok, so Arthur says the O-line needs to be re valuated. So how do we go about doing that? We gave big contracts to Blalock and Clabo (who played like a diseased donkey dick most of the season), leaving us with possible upgrades at LT, C and RG. Svitek performed anywhere from so-so (payoff game) to good (vikings game). He's 30 and not the long term answer. We go through this every year with McClure. He continues to age, weaken and struggle against big NT's. But there are always cries of "he's smart!", "he's a savvy veteran!" Probably time for an upgrade there, and I'm not convinced it's Hawley. He was unremarkable at C. Speaking of Hawley, he can't ever play RG. EVER. He was a turnstile, not unlike his predecessor Reynolds. No idea what we have in Johnson. He was an elite G in college, but I don't know why he went on IR after a single concussion, unless the falcons aren't telling us something. That didn't make sense at all.

So, we need to look elsewhere for help at all 3 positions, either FA or early in the draft. No more bullshit "the TD way" 6th round D7 "patriot" picks. That obviously hasn't panned out yet. I want a big, ugly fat bastard up there pushing people down.

Also, MAYBE WE SHOULD GET A NEW OLINE COACH. Just a thought.