Is Mike Smith Too Soft?

It was plain to see that many times this season the team just was not prepared. Many times they still won due to being the better athletes, but when facing equals or better athletes, they got beat. Case in point….. the 2nd game versus the Saints. They had just come off a nice win over JAX and sure it was before Christmas and some guys needed rest, but he gave them extra days off??? Days that they could have met and watched film and tendencies. Not going to the mall. That is a nice thing to do…..but it is soft in that it shows he put being a nice guy b4 the team goal for the upcoming game in NOLA

…his job is on the line now, if he’s ever going to be a hard-ass, this will be the time.

Smitty was like the guy u first took that rusted out Corvette to. He got the dings out primered it and got the possums out of the muffler. But is he gonna be the guy you have blueprint your engine and install the state of the art sound system? Probably not.

Like the rest of this team, he has to evolve. He has to hold players AND coaches accountable sometimes and he did come close a few times this season if you read between the lines. Does that mean putting them in stocks and throwing tomatoes at them? No, well maybe…but probably no(yes!). But it does mean that when your idiot D coordinator runs up to you after the Seahawks storm back into a game they never should have been in to the point that they would have WON if they hadn’t run out of time, to shake hands with a sh!t eating grin on his face, you don’t shake his hand! You just keep trotting away from him and that grin will be gone and he’ll know he’s gonna get reamed when the cameras are off.

I’m sure Smitty knows that there’s a problem and is working on fixing it. God…how many times did he say that or something like that all season???

Mike Smith is what I call a WIP. Work in Progress. The guy has never been a HC at any level and he is learning year by year how to handle the many difficult aspects of being an NFL HC. In listening to Coach Smith give interviews and answer questions the one thing that stands out to me at least is his lack of articulation. As a successful NFL HC you have to be able to communicate effectively on many different levels. I get the impression Coach can get a little dull in his presentation. We get the same speech after each win or loss and the team is probably getting the same dull responses in the locker room. The great coaches know how to change up the presentation, to stimulate the minds of their players and make the players buy in and play balls out every week like its them against the world. I just don’t get the sense that Coach Smith has the communication skills to pull this off. Obviously Coach Smith is a good HC and can turn a team around and put it on a winning path. My question is does he possess the skills to take a team to the ultimate level, the level at which all players buy in and commit to one another for a run at greatness. In listening to him speak I just don’t feel it yet. Therefore he remains in WIP status.

is a good motivational tool you have a long path in head of you Caleb.

I don’t think Smith is too soft on the players. I do think he was to soft on his coordinators.

I have to question if there is something concerning with Smith’s health? He had the issue after the CAR game and he was very reserved this season compared to the three before it.

I think he doesn’t motivate his players enough but you could also put that on the players(especially the vets). For some reason his teams don’t show up in big games. Maybe that is a issue that can be fixed or maybe when need to call Sam L Jax again.
RISE UP M%&#F*&% RISE UP

it’s that different folks have different motivations. I’ve seen the one-dimensional beat-em-up leader summarily described by, “if all you have is a hammer, everything’s a nail.” The truth is, not everyones a nail. Some are, to be sure, but there are those that will sit down like a stubborn mule when that guy hammers on them, simply because it’s the wrong way to motivate them.

I’ve found leading a team of ten or fewer can be challenging, trying to find the unique style to motivate each of them. I can only imagine how difficult it is to motivate a team of fifty plus. But the HC doesn’t have to do that, and that’s one reason I agree with mwalex above. The HC should require his coordinators, who in turn should require their specialy coaches, to find the unique motivators for the team at the position level. The head coach should create the atmosphere for that to happen, and demand it from his staff. If they don’t get it done, then it’s time to shed a flaccid approach and stern up. (Had to use your word, Hawk).

The entire team is just content and that starts up top. Everyone was so in love with themselves after last season after the #1 seed and the almost the entire offense going to the probowl.Smitty had just gotten his contract extension. It’s as if everyone just forgot about the GB stomping and thought they had nothing to work towards.

But he’s got to make players accountable. Got to kick their asses sometimes. It’s a great motivational tool. That’s why Belichick and Coughlin are winners because they do this type of thing…

And yeah, maybe Smitty could take it up a notch sometimes. But I’ve sat right behind the Falcons bench a few times at games and I can tell you Smitty can tear into players when required. I particularly remember him going nuclear at Brent Grimes a couple of years back. Tirade went on for at least a minute. There’s fire there, for sure.

Throughout history “great leaders” have been studied, compared, weighed, & measured. There have been loud leaders, quite leaders, brilliant leaders, simple leaders, forceful leaders & subtle leaders. The common thread between them is not their tactics, rather their commitment/focus/preparation and a healthy dose of being in the right place at the right time.

The only thing he needs to be is AUTHENTIC! If he starts copying someone else the players will see right thru him and will lose respect for him. Let him blaze his own path. When Smitty’s success comes the wannabes will be asking their coaches to copy him and they won’t be able to.

Not only that but he isn’t THAT great of a coach imo, especially for a guy who is supposed to be a defensive minded coach, yet his defense is the main problem with the team ever since he came on board! He doesn’t hold anyone accountable and never has, I mean he thinks Grimes is a savior at CB for heaven’s sake! That little dude is picked apart by good QB’s with tall receivers quite consistently!! It’s time for Smith to be fired, if the team falls far short of the Super Bowl yet again in the 2012 season. He makes VERY questionable play calls that have cost his team way too many times as well. He hasn’t made it clear to his usually gifted GM that not nearly enough roster moves are being made to fix the glaring holes on the defensive side of the ball, which has been obvious to fans for several years now!! It’s time for TD to get back to using the draft more wisely and get FAR superior talent so some of the dead weight (most all on the defense) can be cut from the roster. Then maybe Smith can work on fixing his defense properly, which could have been done last season if they hadn’t spent so much to get Julio Jones! If the Falcons can get a defense that is as talented as their offense is, they would be SB bound imo. Smith needs to get more accuracy from Ryan also, that would be my only issue offensively, and getting the oline to be able to pick up ONE yard, when the game is on the line might be another!!