Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith has nobody to blame but himself.
Over the last three seasons, nobody has done less with more than the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator. Nobody has done a better job of hiding transcendent first-round talent like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson at the expense of stupid Wildcat stuff in the red zone. And nobody has mangled his quarterback situation more notably.
But we digress. In any event, at the end of the Falcons’ 48-17 Sunday loss to the New Orleans Saints, Smith gave Saints head coach Dennis Allen a bit of what-for based on New Orleans scoring a final touchdown with 1:10 left in the game. This was a fake victory formation at the one-yard line after Saints defensive back Tyrann Mathieu picked off a Logan Woodside pass at the Atlanta 25-yard line, and ran out of gas after a 74-yard run.
Tyrann Mathieu takes what’s his & doesn’t apologize #Saints pic.twitter.com/ALPGs2Zhld
— Trizzy Trace (@tracegirouard48) January 7, 2024
What was Allen supposed to do — kneel on the ball at the Atlanta one-yard line until the clock ran out?
This is the play Arthur Smith was upset about. pic.twitter.com/nAAQaM1DmS https://t.co/Z08FXh0xRN
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 7, 2024
Apparently, Smith thinks that’s exactly what Allen should have done.
I thought the idea was that if you don’t want your opponent to ring your asses up, you stop them. pic.twitter.com/60mjvOCLwK
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) January 7, 2024
America was ready with corrective action for Coach Smith, and justifiably so. Allen shouldn’t have to apologize for a bit of it, though he did.
Saints coach Dennis Allen: I’m gonna start by apologizing to Arthur Smith and the Falcons.
Said they should’ve taken a knee. But guys wanted to get Jamaal Williams a TD and that’s “unacceptable.”
“That’s not who we are, not what we’re about.”
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) January 7, 2024