Falcons defensive coordinator Richard Smith will not continue in that role following Atlanta’s historic collapse in Super Bowl LI, The Sporting News is reporting.
The website, citing sources, reported late Tuesday that Smith could be moved to another staff position, although it did not have details. Sporting News also reported that Bryan Cox will be replaced as defensive line coach.
The Falcons led the New England Patriots 28-3 early in the second half of Sunday’s game but surrendered 31 consecutive points in a 34-28 overtime loss.
The Falcons will replace defensive coordinator Richard Smith, left, according to a report. AP Photo/John Bazemore
Smith, 61, became Atlanta’s defensive coordinator when Dan Quinn was hired as head coach in 2015.
Cox, 48, has coached the Falcons’ defensive line since 2014. He has a decade of experience as a coach in the NFL and was an All-Pro linebacker during a 12-year playing career.
HOUSTON — This one will sting for a while. Ricardo Allen knows it.
The Atlanta Falcons free safety could practically feel the Lombardi trophy in his arms, considering his team held a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter of Super Bowl LI before Tom Brady and the New England Patriots rallied for a stunning, 34-28 overtime victory. The colossal collapse was the worst in Super Bowl history and left Allen thinking about one thing: getting back to work this week.
“How do you get this feeling out your stomach? You never do,” Allen said. “You don’t. It’s going to hurt me. It’s going to bite me for forever. It’s going to be painful. I never forget anything, especially something like this. It was another game, but it was the biggest game of the year. And we needed to bring this back to Atlanta, and we didn’t do that. We played really well early, and we slowed down.”
Following their Super Bowl meltdown, Matt Ryan emphasized how the Falcons must keep moving forward in order to again challenge for the Lombardi trophy. AP Photo/Eric Gay
The empty feeling is sure to follow the Falcons into Tuesday morning’s open locker room session, as the players clean out their items for an extended break. But there will be constant reminders of how they all but gave away a Super Bowl title, which would have been the first in franchise history.
There’s no erasing the game film completely.
“I’ll probably watch it 10 times a day,” Allen said. “I’ll probably watch it over and over and over again just to see to what went wrong and when it went wrong and why it went wrong.”
“At the end of the day, it’s going back and watching the film,” Alford said. “I’m probably going to watch it at least three or four times just to see what I could have done better to help my team win and to keep this feeling with me to use as motivation as a grind for next season.”
As painful as it feels, the Falcons have to find a way not to let the devastating loss transform into an extended Super Bowl hangover. The window of opportunity to win a title is extremely small for most teams not named the Patriots. But there’s no reason why the Falcons can’t build off a surprising 2016 run and put themselves in contention once again next season.
It starts with MVP Matt Ryan, who has been around enough to know how to handle adversity.
“I think everybody is disappointed, for sure,” Ryan said after the game. “It’s not easy when you’ve come this far and didn’t get the result that you want. Like all things, we’ll move past it, come together, and hopefully put ourselves right back in the position.”
There’s no guarantee such will occur. Remember last year, MVP Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers felt confident about recovering after being dominated in a Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos. But rather than retool, the Panthers regressed and failed to make the playoffs.
To avoid taking a step back next season, the Falcons have to first absorb the loss of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who officially became coach of the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. Although Shanahan took much criticism for his second-half playcalling in the Super Bowl, no one can deny he helped elevate Ryan and the offense to another level. Keeping Shanahan’s scheme intact with an internal candidate or coach from the same coaching tree would be wise, considering coach Dan Quinn already said the offensive system is “100 percent” in place.
The young players on defense — specifically the four rookies and three second-year players in the starting lineup — have to view the Super Bowl loss as determining the champion for this specific season and not defining the outlook for the future of the unit.
Quinn will once again emphasize his vision of being one of the toughest, fastest outfits around, while emphasizing the primary goal of the 2017 regular season: owning the NFC South. Dominating the division will be a more daunting task with the potential of the Panthers having a bounce-back season and the possibility of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking another step toward becoming a playoff team.
Then with the ’17 schedule, the Falcons face five playoff teams, three at home and two away. One of those road contests will be against the Patriots, which is sure to stir up bad memories about the Super Bowl. But those thoughts of failure can’t linger, not if the Falcons hope to enjoy success for years to come.
“It’s not moral victories, but this was a good building point,” Allen said of the season. “We just have to keep going. We’ve got to keep building.”
Terrell Owens is second in NFL history in receiving yards. He’s third in league history with 153 touchdown catches, eighth all-time in receptions and was a first-team All-Pro five times.
Yet he’s not in the Hall of Fame after two years of eligibility.
Yes, there are mitigating factors when it comes to the fiery Owens, as multiple Hall of Fame voters have explained over the past few days that Owens’ attitude and demeanor appear to be at least part of the reason he wasn’t selected either of the past two years, if not the entire reason.
But it also leads to a question. Could Owens taking longer to get in combined with the list of big-time worthy players continuing to grow by the year hurt Calvin Johnson’s chances when the former Detroit Lions great becomes eligible in 2021?
It’s possible.
Owens’ candidacy alone probably won’t hurt Johnson, but considering the list of players who’ll become eligible in the next few years, there’s a decent chance Johnson won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. That is despite being, like Owens, one of the best players of his generation regardless of position.
In comparing Johnson directly to Owens, Owens has better stats and more longevity, although Johnson walked away a year ago on his own accord. Johnson doesn’t have the locker room issues Owens did. Unlike Owens, Johnson was a model teammate at all times. He rarely spoke out and was universally respected, while Owens had some issues with the clubs he played for.
If Johnson isn’t an early-ballot Hall of Famer, though, it’ll likely have more to do with circumstance and other players involved.
Johnson will be entering the eligibility pool in an insanely strong year, with two likely first-ballot locks in Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson as well as candidates such as Marshawn Lynch, and Jared Allen, all deserving of long looks. Plus, there are likely to be leftover candidates from strong classes in front of Johnson, both at receiver and other positions.
At Johnson’s own position, working with the assumption Randy Moss should get in the Hall in either 2018 or 2019, the candidates could include at least one of a group of receivers such as Owens, Hines Ward, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Reggie Wayne. Other than Owens, none were as transcendent as Johnson, but all had better numbers and better overall team success.
Consider, too, that only five receivers — Jerry Rice, Steve Largent, Paul Warfield, Lance Alworth and Raymond Berry — have been first-ballot Hall of Famers. Michael Irvin, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter and James Lofton all had to wait. Orlando Pace, Michael Strahan, Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin recently had to wait at other positions, too.
So there’s a chance Johnson could join either one of those lists, based on circumstances his own career couldn’t control.
Johnson, for what it’s worth, told ESPN in December he hasn’t thought much about the Hall of Fame. The only time he does consider it is when someone — be it his father or someone else — brings it up. Even then, he doesn’t ruminate on it much.
First, his potential enshrinement is at minimum four years away. And second, Johnson is content with how he played in his career. He hit goals that he wanted to. He knows how good he was and how people viewed him.
“My thing is, everything I do, I leave it out there and let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson said. “I put up some great numbers. Hell, like I said, if anything, we didn’t have the playoff success, the team success that I wanted to have, that I’m sure the organization wanted to have.
“It is what it is. I balled out, had some good years, man, had fun and did it with some guys and made relationships that will never end.”
Johnson is No. 22 in career receiving touchdowns (83), No. 29 in yards (11,619) and No. 43 in receptions (731). There are players ahead of Johnson in every category who likely won’t go to the Hall of Fame. Plus, Johnson’s longevity could come into question, although he walked away as still one of the best in the game, with six straight 1,000-yard seasons to end his career. And he never had a down year, either, with over 750 yards receiving in every season he played.
So there’s no doubt he’s worthy, and it would be stunning if he didn’t get in at some point. But when you look at Calvin Johnson — and you look at the Hall of Fame voting — understand that he may have to wait longer than most people might anticipate.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph strongly reaffirmed the team’s commitment Tuesday to either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch being the team’s starter at quarterback in 2017.
While executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway has ultimate control over the team’s roster and the Broncos could change course in the weeks and months to come, Elway, Joseph and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy have now all said publicly the Broncos’ current plan is to choose between Siemian and Lynch.
Asked Tuesday, when he formally introduced the team’s new coaching staff, if he was committed to Siemian and Lynch, Joseph said:
“Absolutely, I am. They’re both smart guys. Obviously different skill sets, but I’m committed to both of those kids. They’re good football players and we’ve got to build around those guys. That’s going to help those guys play better. Obviously up front, protecting those guys better, helping them play better.”
McCoy was also asked what he thought of the idea of the Broncos potentially bringing in a veteran quarterback to compete with the two.
“I’m happy with the two guys we have,” McCoy said. “That’s our No. 1 focus right now, to get the two quarterbacks we have on our roster ready to play.”
Trevor Siemian started 14 games in 2016, his second season in the NFL. Paxton Lynch, who was the Broncos’ first-round draft pick last year, started in the other two games for Denver. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Elway has always made it clear any and all potential moves are discussed by the team and that any decision would have to make sense financially against the salary cap as well as from a roster-building perspective over the long haul.
To bring in a veteran quarterback would impact how much time on the practice field the Broncos could give Siemian and Lynch and could potentially slow the development of one, or both, of the quarterbacks.
Romo’s contract is not one the Broncos would take in a trade, so the Broncos wouldn’t even consider a high-priced player like him at the position unless he was released. And even then Elway and Joseph continue to say they see Siemian and Lynch battling for the job.
“Absolutely, that’s my vision and that’s what we’re going to go for,” Joseph said Tuesday.
“They’re two talented players and we’re going to play the best guy,” McCoy said. “They’ll come in and compete and go from there.”
Siemian started 14 games this past season and finished 8-6 as a starter with 3,401 yards to go with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Siemian was battered at times because of the Broncos’ spotty play in the offensive line as well as the team’s inability to consistently run the ball.
Siemian is currently recovering from offseason surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder, but has said he expects to be ready when the offseason program begins in April.
Last week in Houston during the Super Bowl buildup former Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Siemian has the “smarts, he’s got the arm,” to be a starter, but also that Siemian had to learn to protect himself better as well.
Lynch made two starts and showed his potential as well as the distance he must cover to be ready to be a starter — “we knew it was going to take some time,” Kubiak said — as he finished with 497 yards passing to go with two touchdowns and one interception.
McCoy said Tuesday both quarterbacks can look forward to plenty of work to take home each night as the new playbook is installed when the offseason program begins.
