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The Falcons are in active recovery mode following a drubbing in
Dallas, a 40-point loss to the Cowboys in which the Falcons
scored three points and converted one third down for a first
down.
"You want to move on as quick as possible," a stone-faced Smith
said in his brief media huddle on Monday afternoon at Flowery
Branch. "We were outcoached. We were outplayed."
It's typical for coaches to return home from a Sunday game and
plot through the night with a goal of gameplan completion for
the quick turnaround with just three days between kickoffs.
Atlanta didn't hold a full or normal on-field practice and will
go lighter than usual all week.
There was little joy in Smith's office judging by his outward
demeanor on Monday.
Atlanta's loss was painful in multiple ways. Perhaps the most
pressing matter emanating in Smith's closed-door planning
meetings before facing the New England Patriots on Thursday is
the status of utility weapon Cordarrelle Patterson.
He's undergoing tests for a sprained ankle and not likely to be
on the field for the Falcons, who are still without top wide
receiver Calvin Ridley (personal).
Patterson, 30, was injured early in the Falcons' blowout loss
and collected just 39 yards from scrimmage before exiting.
Patterson has 303 rushing yards, 473 receiving yards and seven
total touchdowns this season.
Smith said he again directly addressed one other matter coming
out of Sunday's loss: the defensive line shoving Cowboys'
interior offensive linemen in the victory formation after
kneel-downs under the two-minute mark.
"Look, they kicked our butt. Take it fair and square," Smith
said.
Matt Ryan had a disastrous statistical line against former
Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn on Sunday: 21.4 quarterback rating,
nine completions.
New England improved to 6-4 on Sunday with a dominant win over
the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots and renowned defensive
mastermind Bill Belichick were again a step ahead of an opposing
quarterback.
During his weekly radio show on Monday morning, Belichick said
he had already taken notice of rookie tight end Kyle Pitts. He
called the versatile weapon "a problem" for the Patriots.
"Very hard to match up against," Belichick said. "I was reading
through some of the Atlanta comments and you hear them comparing
him to a cross between Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones, and I'd
say that's about right. That's what it looks like. He's one of
the superstars of the NFL already.
"I'm sure he'll break all the rookie tight end receiving
records. I think he's on pace to, but he'll be right there. This
guy's got a tremendous career in front of him. He can play every
position. He plays end of the line of scrimmage, he can play in
the slot, he can play outside. He's got a great skillset. He's
competitive, he'll block. He's good after the catch. He's a
matchup nightmare."
--Field Level Media
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