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The Falcons take a no frills approach to player interviewing at the combine

Fact: Thomas Dimitroff puts his hand up on his hip, when he dips, you dip, we dip

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

For your run-of-the-mill football fan, combine highlights are fun to read about. But they're highlights, and we're really just privy to the end results, as opposed to the process. Earlier today, the Falcons gave us an inside look at their no frills interview room. Dimitroff himself gave the tour, and as an added bonus, he had something interesting things to say about the interview itself.

We have the player sit down at a very basic set up. We start firing out the questions. Asking about his family situation, about his world in general. Honestly let the player, and the prospective Falcon, talk about what football means to him, what life means to him, what agitates him, what he enjoys, what he wants to do when football's all finished ... we also get him up here on the whiteboard, and ya know, we give him a little five or eight minute Q and A as far as system goes, and each player will talk to us about his specific system, whether it's offense of defense.

Look, I'm sure many teams take a substantially similar approach. But it's interesting to hear, from Dimitroff himself, how the Falcons approach the interview room. A couple thoughts. First, the Falcons do put considerable emphasis on character. They're willing to overlook poor decisions, to a degree, but they're very interested in your background, future plans, and psychology. Second, the Falcons, just like all NFL teams, value football intelligence. You can be a great kid, but if you're lost on the whiteboard, you have no place at Flowery Branch.

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