Before the Falcons’ Week 14 loss to the Buccaneers, reports from Jeremy Fowler suggested the only way Arthur Smith would be fired following the 2023 campaign would be if there was a “late season collapse” for the Falcons.
Atlanta would end up blowing a prime opportunity to grab a stranglehold of the division against Tampa Bay. However, the club’s postseason hopes were still very alive.
With a win over the 1-12 Panthers, the Falcons could very well still find themselves in the playoffs. Well, that didn’t happen. Smith’s team fell to Carolina, who didn’t score a touchdown in the contest.
It resulted in Desmond Ridder‘s benching, and fans questioned what exactly a “late season collapse” would entail because losing to the worst team in football, which effectively dashed their postseason hopes, certainly seemed like it.
The Falcons then followed it up with the most convincing win of the season with a 29-10 drumming of the Colts. Reports surfaced that Arthur Blank would likely give Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot the 2024 campaign after that Week 16 victory.
But as we’ve seen this entire season, Smith’s team looked like a completely different one the next week. On the road in Chicago, the Falcons looked absolutely pathetic against the Bears, sparking even more calls for Arthur Smith’s job.
I always thought it was a long shot that he’d be fired because the players loved him and the quarterback play has been atrocious more often than not. However, Arthur Smtih might actually be losing the locker room.
Cordarrelle Patterson, one of the most highly respected veterans in the locker room, retweeted a post that said, “It’s crazy how little we saw Cordarrelle Patterson this year. Arthur Smith didn’t use him creatively at all, and listed him as “Joker” on the depth chart. The joke was on all of us.”
Our friend at Fox 5 Miles Garrett noticed and posted a screenshot of the retweet, which Patterson replied to asking, “Should I be happy?”
Should I be happy?
— cordarrelle patterson (@ceeflashpee84) January 1, 2024
Nobody is happy when the Falcons lose, but the locker room consistently being behind Arthur Smith made me think he’d be in the building next year. Now, I’m not so sure.
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Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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