Blame Mike Smith for Atlanta's playoff loss

On wildcard Saturday, I watched the Atlanta Falcons basically hand the game to the New York Giants. The final score was 24-2, with the Falcons getting their two points off of a measly safety in the first half. When you look at the box score, it is obvious why the Falcons lost the game. Matt Ryan threw for under 200 yards, Michael Turner rushed for only 41 yards, and the defense gave up 442 total yards of offense. But what doesn’t show up in the box score is the horrible coaching decisions made by Falcons head coach Mike Smith.

Mike Smith (Photo by blogs.ajc.com)

First, early in the game when the score was still close, Smith elected to go for it on 4^th and inches instead of taking the easy 3 points. The spotting of the ball was questionable, but the Falcons failed to convert the 4^th down and walked away with no points. Smith has gained a reputation of going for it on 4^th down, as he went for it on 4^th and 1 on his own 30 yard line against the Saints in overtime in the regular season.  Later in the Giants game on Saturday, the Falcons once again found themselves in field goal range with the game still very much in reach. They faced another 4^th and 1 and Smith decided to go for it instead of taking the much needed field goal. Again, the Falcons walked away with no points, giving the Giants all the momentum they would need.

Although the score makes the game seem like it was a blow out, this game was close until Hakeem Nicks broke free for a 72 yard touchdown with 2:44 remaining in the 3^rd quarter.  If Smith took the 3 points both times, the game could have been 10-8 in the third quarter and Atlanta would have had a chance. Instead, the Giants had all the momentum for much of the second half and were able to control the game and force the Falcons to throw the ball in situations where they would have liked to run.

Not only did Smith make questionable decisions on 4^th down, he failed to take advantage of having all 3 timeouts and the ball with just under two minutes left in the first half. Instead of using his timeouts, the Falcons ran a play and let valuable seconds tick off the clock. Time expired, and the Falcons went into the half with two remaining timeouts and down 7-2. At least give your team a chance to move down the field and kick a field goal and gain some momentum going into the half. The Falcons received the ball first in the second half and could have had a chance to take the lead if Smith played his cards right.

The critics will say that Matt Ryan can’t win a playoff game, but the blame for this one should be put on the shoulders of Mike Smith. Atlanta’s players were clearly frustrated with how the game was going. Roddy White was getting into scuffles late in the 4^th quarter and other players were hanging their heads on the sidelines. In my mind, the way Mike Smith coached this game was enough to get him fired. He may have a good regular season record, but he has failed to provide the Falcons with any success in the playoffs over the past 3 seasons.