Arthur Blank: The Atlanta Falcons Have No Fear

by Dave Choate on May 3, 2011 8:37 PM EDT in Falcons News

It's been a while since we've had an article specifically about Arthur Blank, so here you go.

ESPN's Pat Yasinskas had a brief interview with Blank on Monday and came away with the impression that the owner was very much on board with the Falcons' aggressive moves:

"This is not a timid team,’’ Blank said. "This is a team that will continue to make moves for the franchise that will sustain the kind of success that we’ve had in our three winning seasons the last three years. We’ve not gotten to the final game yet, which is our final move.’’

I've said it before and I'll say it again: No matter what his flaws are as an owner, Blank fiercely wants to win. He will bring his considerable fortune and passion to bear to that end, and while it hasn't resulted in a championship yet, it's enough to put the Falcons on the right track.

Equally important is the fact that Blank, Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith all appear to be on board with this strategy. No matter what pundits, fans and fellow NFL front offices may think, this team is confident that flexing its muscle in the draft and upcoming free agency will bring the kind of results we've long dreamed of.

I gotta say that this confidence bodes well, and I do love Blank for it. What say you?

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by Caleb Rutherford on May 3, 2011 9:16 PM EDT reply actions

There’s a different (special) feeling about this upcoming season and it’s not because of the Labor situation.

"In a dog eat dog world, you must have the mentality of a Pit Bull." -Phil Jackson

by waltbabyluv on May 3, 2011 9:19 PM EDT reply actions

To have experienced the Vick and Petrino

fiascos in the same season, both “men” well compensated, blatantly lie to him could have soured Arthur Blank on trying so hard to make the Falcon’s winners. Add in the slickness of Jerry Jones in the Petrino matter and pile on with the dogging of Atlanta itself as a result of the Super Bowl storm. It hasn’t been easy for Blank and it’s evident that issues that trouble us also eat at him. Except, he has a reason to take it personally. For the first time Falcons have an owner who’s “one of us” ..a fan of the Falcons.

When I first saw him on the sidelines I thought “Oh oh” But he cares and doesn’t interfere as far as we know. I have a lot of admiration for him and think that we’re lucky to have him. And he’s lucky too…he almost hired Bill Parcells.

by FrozenFinger on May 3, 2011 9:51 PM EDT reply actions

And we would have still been searching for a quarterback

by Fear Me on May 4, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions

A model falcon.

"I'm about rings now"
~Arthur Blank

by CollegePark4Life on May 3, 2011 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

I think Blank is the most falconly Falcon to ever be.

Daddy warbucks is pretty damn determined to win a superbowl. Good for us.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on May 3, 2011 10:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

blank is the man! Nuff said

Been a falcons fan since the big starter jackets was in style

by turnj35 on May 3, 2011 10:26 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

I love this

but I’m also cautious. While I know Blank wants to win, I’m concerned that this will bleed over into Football Operations if we don’t get a championship in the next few years. What’s wrong with that? Well, we could have a Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones, or Al Davis situation. Let’s not forget that Al Davis was beloved for his, “Just win, baby.” After a few years of not winning, well, we see what’s happened. One could argue that as the Redskins and Cowboys have largely been unsuccessful for the last decade, their owners have become more demanding, only hurting their teams.

While I encourage Mr. Blank to stay involved, I also hope he knows when to stay in the background.

by KMarch on May 3, 2011 11:00 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

well

i think Blank lets TD do his job and evaluate talent and sign players. Jerry Jones, Al Davis and Dan Snyder just sign the biggest FA or whatever guy has that look they want. I think Arthur is the most hands on, hands off owner in the league.

by Erihury on May 3, 2011 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree, now he's fine

it’s the future that concerns me. We’ve already heard TD’s various anecdotes about Blank’s desire to win. They seem playful, but that can change if the Falcons don’t get to the level of success he wants. Also, let’s not forget about the speech’s he gave after the season talking about how pissed he was about the GB game. As fans we love that enthusiasm, as employees… maybe that feels differently.

by KMarch on May 3, 2011 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions

I think he's already learned this lesson

That’s what he went through his first couple of years as owner and he’s admitted it was the wrong approach. I don’t think this is anything to be worried about.

by cheshire falcon on May 3, 2011 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Of course nobody wants a meddling owner but I don't think we're in any danger of that

I know younger fans may not believe of this, but Al Davis truly is one of the founding fathers of professional football. Ever since he was made HC/GM of the Raiders in his early thirties though his Commissionership of the AFL to owning the Raiders Franchise he’s been one of the the most innovative, forward-looking, and enduring minds in football. The man really doesn’t deserve the level of disrespect that gets heaped on him today as a form of cheap humor.

But (and you knew there would be a “but”), the problem Davis now faces is that the game has passed him by and he can’t accept that. What was innovative early in his nearly 50 year association with professional football is relatively primitive by today’s standards. The most famous example is it takes more than just elite speed to be a dominant WR in today’s NFL. It worked in the 70’s but defensive coaches have adapted and now scheme to stop it.

He still views himself as a coach/GM “wunderkind” who is determined to vindicate himself and his philosophy no matter how long or how much it costs. Jerry Jones shares this same combination of arrogance and the need to be proven right in the eyes of others. It is what drove Jones to run Jimmy Johnson out of town after a couple of SB rings, name himself team GM, and tell reporters that the most enjoyable job he’s ever had is his current one: “coaching football.” Their desire to feed their egos overshadows everything including what is best for their franchises.

As for Dan Snyder, he is your typically cheapskate billionaire. Now I don’t mean the man didn’t earn his wealth through hard work or that he is unwilling to spend money on his various investments. Instead, he approaches football with the attitude that EVERYTHING is for sale; that he can buy anything (including wins) if he throws enough money at it. .

So every year he wins Free Agency and poaches the annual coaches market for the biggest names thinking that if he spends enough money everything he wants will fallow. He’s not willing to invest the years of patience required to install a quality staff for his organization from the scouting departments up to the team executives. He just wants to know how much a Super Bowl trophy costs so he knows how big to make the check.

I don’t think we have to worry about Arthur Blank falling into the same kind of traps. He seems to aspire to be like the Ronneys and the Krafts of the NFL world: owners who have a team that is near universally respected for being well run and competitive over entire decades of NFL history. And thankfully he appears to take most of his personal pride from his success in the business world and keeps his interests in the NFL as a type of hobby, albeit one he is obviously very passionate about but doesn’t invest himself so wholly into its day to day running. He wants to be a successful owner not coach or GM. Honestly, I think that is about the best attitude an owner could have.

by Leon07 on May 4, 2011 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Mobile Rec!

Great, great post.

by FLA_Falcon on May 4, 2011 12:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Wow...

After this, anything I have to say will sound like this: I like turtles.

"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.

by Jman781 on May 4, 2011 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Well...

I like Turtles…nuff said…

by Joseph K. Houston on May 4, 2011 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Turtles on the ninja variety? Between the ages or 13-19?

by FLA_Falcon on May 4, 2011 11:02 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Yah...these guys love Leon07's post!!!

…they told me themselves… :)

by Joseph K. Houston on May 4, 2011 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Blank

I don’t think you could ask for a better owner. I hope that he is willing to open the check book for free agents, cause we are going to need them with the lack of production out of the last two drafts and the gutting of drafts picks this year in acquiring a no. 2 receiver. His cash may be the saving grace.

by Whopper Dawg on May 3, 2011 11:48 PM EDT reply actions

I'm just curious but how many starter does Dimitroff have to produce for you to consider a draft successful?

From my count he’s averaging 3-4 a year which is a rather high NFL average. And that average could dramatically increase as many of the pre-Dimitroff and Smith players are getting older and/or hitting Free Agency. It wouldn’t be impossible for nearly our entire offensive and defensive starting roster to be made up of Dimitroff acquired players by opening day with only a few exceptions.

The situation seems to be that more and more of the team is made up of Dimitroff players
AND we’ve experience the 3 greatest seasons of consecutive Atlanta Falcons success in team history all with winning seasons and two playoff appearances, but you think the people in charge are doing a dreadfully bad job. Hummm…

So, again, I have to ask: how many starters do you think Dimitroff should be producing every year from the Draft? 5? 7? I honestly don’t know of any franchise who averages more than us over a statistically significant period of time.

Not liking one potential player over another during the draft is a matter of opinion and we’re all welcomed to ours. We can and often do dream about the ones that got away and want could have been. But I believe to claim that we aren’t getting production from the players Dimitroff has drafted is factually wrong. I just don’t see how the objective data supports such a claim.
.

by Leon07 on May 4, 2011 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions

more and more of the team is made up of Dimitroff players

Sure, has to be, the average years for an NFL player is 4 if I am not mistaken. My issue is look at the drafts from 2009 to 2011. What have you got, according to you calc, we should have 6 or 8 starters from the drafts of 2009 – 2010, 3 – 4 a year right? We don’t. So, that is the factual date you are looking for. If you think that have gleaned 6 to 9 starters over 2009 – 2010 drafts (those are your numbers)s, please list them, and if you think we got 3 to 4 starters out of the 2011 draft, you are dreaming, and if you think TD can get 3 to 4 starters out of the 2012 draft without a 1 and 4, I think you are dreaming too.

You have only two players from those drafts that started and played significant minutes, Moore and Peters, and Peters was rotational. That leaves us a little short, yes. Now, before you start blowing the injury horn, Jerry had a history of injury in college, so we knew that going in, so we shouldn’t be surprised. Then we blow up two years of draft, 2011/2012, for a no 2 receiver, great move that is. Yeah, yeah, he may be good, but he ain’t that good. For that price, he should be the best receiver to play in the NFL of all time – really, think about it. No one, no one, has ever given up that much for a draft choice that was used on a flipping WR much less a no 2. It simply boggles the mind.

Overall, an incredible job taking the Falcons from where they were to where they are, great first year draft by TD, great free agent pickups (at least Turner and TG, jury still out on Robinson IMO) and the best move of all was getting Coach Smith, who I think is more responsible for the improvement than TD).

But, if you really look at the drafts of 2009, 2010 and 2011, really look at it, and don’t sing the “in TD we trust” and “everything will be OK”, we have gotten scant production out of those drafts on the field. If he had done half of what he did in the 2008 draft, we would be in high cotton (I hope that no one thinks that is racist), but he has not had very good drafts since 2008 by any standard.

I look forward to your and other comments.

by Whopper Dawg on May 4, 2011 4:35 AM EDT up reply actions

You're right.

Rich Mckay, Jim Mora Jr, and he-whose-name-shall-not-be-mentioned built this team, and quite frankly I’m disappointed that Mr Blank is allowing Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff to ruin our noble tradition of winning.

Smokey says: Only you can BVG forest fires.

by VaderX5 on May 4, 2011 4:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm hoping you're being sarcastic

(3 back to back winning seasons)

by ndnpride8806 on May 4, 2011 5:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Of course he is.

by orion12 on May 4, 2011 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Blank is eager to win a superbowl and he makes strides to get the team to a superbowl level

I love it. I’m really anxious for free agency to start to see who we get on the defensive side. Hopefully a DE and a corner/safety. I’m sick of hearing other people dog our draft. Look at the post on bucsnation about how our draft sucked and it was rich mckay’s doing. Look at espn and listen to Keysean Johnson go on about how we need defense not offense. I want blank to make moves to make us better then the top teams. Philly, green bay, new england, and a few others. Keep it up Aurther Blank we will certainly be wearing a target this season.

by DEMBIRDZCUZ! on May 4, 2011 4:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Very well (all stats are from NFL.com)

2008: You’re smart to not include it as it alone almost completely torpedoes your argument that Dimitroff doesn’t know what he’s doing with its 6 starters (as if our 3 years of winning seasons and his twin awards for Executive of the Year didn’t do that already)

2009:
William Moore – Current starting SS
Vance Walker – Multiple starts, played in 26 games
Peria Jerry – Multiple starts, played in 18 games
Chris Owens – 9 games started, played in 32 games

2010:
Sean Weatherspoon – Current starting WLB
2nd round Pick previously turned into Tony Gonzales
Corey Peters – Starting DT
Joe Hawley & Mike Johnson – Likely starters in 2011 with 3/5 of our starting OL in facing FA and one heavily pushing retirement age.

That averages out to 3 or more players per year who have started for us and contributed off the bench. That number will probably increase given we are unlikely to retain all 3 O-line FAs. The fact is that these guys have started for us and contributed on the field. The fact that you are not aware of those contributions, choose to intentionally ignore them, or belittle them because they weaken your arguments is irrelevant.

The problem is that nearly all of you’re posts follow this predicable pattern:
1) State that whatever as recently happened was/is a huge mistake destined to blow up in our faces
2) Insult the Front Office for the previously mentioned mistake and what you see as other past failings
3) Insult other fans when they disagree with your doom & gloom predictions by calling them “kool-ade” drinkers (an unpleasant reference to religious fanatics including men, women, and children who committed mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana). Obviously, having hope in this team’s recent track record of success justifies such derision in your mind.

But the single greatest discrepancy in your argument is how this influx of mediocre talent you blame on Dimitroff has helped produced the greatest streak of sustained success in Falcon history. You simply can’t explain how the hole-strewn roster Rich Mckay, Jim Mora Jr, and Bobby Petrino left us with somehow to combined with the two plus years of horrible Dimitroff personnel management to produce a 13-3 team poised to make playoff runs for years to come.

by Leon07 on May 4, 2011 6:53 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

I think this post (and other recent ones) have way toned down the "insult" factor

I still don’t generally agree with him, though.

BUT… You’re wrong to include Jerry and Peters and Walker as starters to back up your numbers. Babineaux is one starter at DT. There is only one other spot. Jerry was intended to be the starter, but has been injured. Walker got 2 “starts”, but is a role player only. Peters was the bona fide starter at the other DT spot last season (with 15 “starts” and the bulk of the snaps). We’ll have to see how it shakes out in 2011, but I still think you can only count one of those guys.

On the other hand, you also didn’t mention Reynolds or Adkins as possible starters (depending on Free Agency), and I think you could. Whopper Dawg is technically correct that the ‘09/’10 drafts haven’t produced many starters (yet): Moore, Spoon, Tony G, and Peters by my count. But more of those guys will probably have bigger roles in 2011.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on May 4, 2011 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

I freely admit that there is some honest debate as to what consititutes a "starter"

Given the nature of this discussion, namely that the players Dimitroff has drafted are incapable of contributing anything at the NFL level, I chose to classify anyone who has statistically registered a start for the Falcons and has the corresponding tackles, sacks, etc. to go with it as a starter-caliber NFL player.

You are certainly correct that some of these guys have yet to fully win a position battle to such an extent that they can be expected to make the starting lineup game after game sans any injuries. They may in the future or they may only make their money by coming off the bench and playing for us; we don’t really know the trajectory of their careers at this point.

Again, my main point was that these guys are playing and they are helping us have winning season after winning season and playoff berths as they are able. And dismissing their contributions because someone simply doesn’t like the current management isn’t really fair, imo.

by Leon07 on May 4, 2011 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions

the players Dimitroff has drafted are incapable

Not my point. My point is, given the genius status that folks are subscribing to TD, I expect big things out of him. First draft, I would give an A, mainly due to Ryan. Turner and TD trades/signings – A. Robinson – Incomplete, I don’t think he is worth the money. Signing Jenkins to a big money contract – F.

The last two drafts have been lacking in production on the field, you have to admit that if you are honest at all. 2009 1 and 2 didn’t play. Injury. Guess what both had injury problems in college. A lot of risk there that came home to roost.

If you are right about Jerry,’s number of games, 18, he is averaging less than 1/2 tackle a game, he has 8 in his NFL career. Not what I would call first round material. More like, what?, say 6?

Owens is a complete waste of a third round pick. Green Bay abused that guy when he went in as the nickel. I hope I never see him on the field again.

Spoon may be OK, we’ll see how he rebounds from injury.

Peters is a bit of a player, just a shame that we had to spend another high pick on a DT due to Jerry’s performance.

Hawley and Johnson haven’t seen the field yet, essentially. Will they be starters, we hope so, but right now that is guess as to if they have that quality.

Jones will start. He will have to regardless due to huge price of draft choices given up for a no 2 receiver. You won’t get another starter out of the 2011 ever. And the chances of getting a starter out of 2012 are low.

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad TD and Smith (who I think has more to do with the recent success than TD) are here. And I commend TD’s overall performance all factors considered. But if you would reasonably look at it, you have to agree that you wanted a lot more out of the 2009, 2010, and 2012 drafts. I know I did. Compare those draft results with 2008. HUGE difference. Don’t expect a 2008 every time, but IMO we are in a real dry spell for DRAFTS.

by Whopper Dawg on May 4, 2011 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions