re: Who do we want Falcons to hire??...

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I wouldnt want Ryan in ATL, hell revamp that D and Matt Ryan is better than any QB he ever dreamed of in New York.

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This. Jets and the Falcons will be sorry for firing their capable coaches. At least Ryan brought solid defense to his team, and I'd absolutely loathe the idea of solid defensive teams at Tampa (with Lovie Smith), Carolina (they've been the best defensive team in the NFC-S for 2 years now), and then Atlanta. Our division would turn into a meat-grinder.

I know a lot of people joked about Mike Smith, but you can't manufacture "toughness" in one year of an NFL training camp and unfortunately that seems to be something that is lacking in half of the teams in the NFC-S. They gave him a 1 year death sentence this past off-season. You can't correct years of poor draft/FA decisions with one year of your HC telling his team to play tough.

The problem with both the Falcons and the Saints is the apparent inability by both Front Offices to gauge a player's toughness in the draft or free agency. I see tons of likable guys on both the Saints and Falcons teams from a personality standpoint, but there are only a few Mean Joes on either team. Did anyone see our interior defensive "line" against the Buccs? I know we have injuries and they were evaluating our players in a base 3-4 a lot of the game, but they were being shoved backwards like they had roller skates. You can't manufacture toughness, and it always shows at the line of scrimmage.