Though Arthur Smith is to blame, losing the Falcons isn’t his sole responsibility

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ATLANTA Arthur Smith normally skips a preamble in his press conferences, heading straight for questions from reporters on site.

The Falcons head coach postponed the first investigation after a 32-6 loss to Philadelphia in favor of an opening statement.

He took the extra time to take responsibility for what happened on Sunday afternoon at the Mercedes-Benz stadium, not much good.

It was direct and to the point, as Smith is accustomed to doing.

“I did a really bad job getting ready to go,” Smith said. “I feel bad for our fans and everyone who showed up today. We will do a better job in the future. This game is not going to define us. It’s a long season ahead, but I don’t haven’t done a good job getting us ready to go. “

Smith isn’t the first head coach to fall for the sword after a disappointing loss. Not even close. Some make it such a habit that the words go hollow, a simple way to absorb the heat and give relief to players with no soul behind them.

This, my friends, was not that.

Smith is not wrong. He preaches the value of authenticity and practice. He says what he feels, maybe not in as much detail as he reveals things, but the tone and content usually expresses his feelings clearly.

He was extremely disappointed with what happened against the Eagles. It could be seen and heard from the podium. It’s an appropriate reaction to being poorly beaten on your pitch, not scoring an offensive touchdown, not containing mobile but inexperienced Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

There was another point that sounded like a sting on his end, the one that motivated his opening statement above all. The Falcons have been penalized 12 times and here’s the kicker: five flags arrived before the snap. One of them happened on the 2-yard line, where the Falcons were ready to hit him. They all hurt or embarrassed in their own way.

That is, more than anything else, why Smith took charge of the major blunders in this loss. Smith despises unruly football. The hate.

He had players run one lap for each pre-snap penalty in practices dating back to the offseason schedule. He stressed the importance of playing clean and focused football when it matters most. Then the Falcons found themselves in trouble time and time again, with small infractions that had major implications for Sunday’s result.

As with any aspect of ultimate team play, it’s never anyone’s fault. This mess isn’t everything about Arthur Smith. It’s not all up to Matt Ryan. It wasn’t all about Jalen Mayfield or anyone else on the list. It is a collective effort or in this case, a collective failure.

It’s important to hear Smith’s press conference totally extrapolating a quote and drawing a big conclusion. He was not a cliché. Not at all.

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