re: How fired is Mike Smith

Smith's clock management issues aren't anything new, but they'll be magnified this season when a 6-10 Falcons team misses the playoffs when they should have been 8-8 if not for horrible misuse of timeouts against Detroit and Cleveland. That game yesterday was over when Smith called that timeout with :51 left; the ending was very predictable. Smith came to Atlanta with a reputation as a good defensive coach, but they haven't had a good defense since he's arrived. His playoff record is an insult to the word atrocious. I'm not positive, but I would guess that he owns the worst beating a 1 seed has ever taken in the playoffs. He had another team score two whole points in a playoff game and fail on 3 fourth downs when less than a yard was needed. His team was powerless to stop San Francisco's running game in the 2012 NFCCG, again at home. His teams are not tough enough to compete with the big boys in the NFL, and that's why a change is needed.

If it weren't for Matt Ryan's unusual ability to morph into Tom Brady in close games with the ball and less than a minute remaining against some really bad teams, Smith may have already been launched. If Ryan doesn't somehow get the Falcons in FG range against Seattle in the divisional round in 2012, and the Falcons lose 28-27, maybe he would have been fired after that debacle (I call it a debacle because no 1 seed should EVER blow a 20 point lead at home to a 5 seed).