The Falcons approached the preseason in the first year of the new regime very gingerly, resting the starters in the hopes of minimizing injuries before the regular season even started. However, after being blown out by the Eagles in the season opener, Arthur Smith has reverted to the traditional approach.
The second-year head coach spent an hour talking with Mike Bell and Carl Dukes of 92.9 The Game, and covered a wide array of topics. They included Smith’s expectations, the rookie class, veterans’ contributions, and lessons learned from 2021. As stated before, one of those lessons was the lack of playing time for the starters during the preseason, which has become more a more mainstream approach to avoid injuries.
“Yeah, my approach will certainly change this year,” Smith said.
Although I don’t necessarily have a problem with sitting starters, especially given the Falcons’ thin roster, I can respect Smith’s self-reflection and decisiveness to make a change.
“I’m going to go a little old school, and we gotta get ready to play, we gotta get ready to go from the jump,” Smith added. “Is that the reason we lost the first two games? No, but it didn’t help. We got to play smarter; we can’t have self-inflicted wounds.”
The Falcons may not win more games in the second season under the new regime, but they’re certainly differing in their approach. We’ll see if there are any tangible effects.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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