The totals are in. In Monday’s hour-long introductory news conference for Raheem Morris, the Falcons coach and their general manager Terry Fontenot used some form of the word “collaborate” no less than 22 times.
They vowed to collaborate with each other, with owner Arthur Blank, with scouts, assistant coaches and the entire Falcons organization. There was a lot of elaborating about collaborating.
By contrast, in their separate introductory news conferences in January 2021, Fontenot and then-coach Arthur Smith spoke of collaboration (from the Latin for “fancy-pants buzzword for ‘work together’”) a paltry four times, all by Smith, suggesting that the Morris-Fontenot team will be 450% more collaborative than the Smith-Fontenot pairing.
All hail the collaboration!
It is all well and good. Better to have a coach and GM in lockstep than sinister non-collaborators. They will make arguably the biggest decision of their tenure – who will be the starting quarterback of the 2024 Falcons and beyond? – by process of collaboration.
“Obviously, it’ll be a shared vision between myself, Terry and our coaching staff and the people that we’re going to involve in that whole process,” Morris said.
A plus for the Falcons regarding their quarterback identification – Morris and Fontenot have experience with picking a No. 1 quarterback. A minus – it didn’t go well for either.
Let’s start with Morris from his three-year tenure with the Buccaneers (2009-11). In its first draft with Morris as head coach, Tampa Bay used the 17th overall pick on quarterback Josh Freeman in 2009. Tampa Bay even traded up to make sure they got him. At the time, Morris was completely behind the pick, saying he fought for Freeman in the draft room and even might have taken Freeman had the Buccaneers held the first overall pick (which would have meant selecting him over Matthew Stafford).
“Whenever you got a chance to take a franchise guy, a guy that you know, a guy that you have a unique relationship with, a guy that you trust in and believe in and think he’s going to be the guy that’s going to take you to the next level, you go get him,” Morris was quoted as saying in the Bradenton Herald.
If you don’t remember Freeman, that’s probably because he did not prove to be the franchise quarterback Morris believed he would be. He started 61 career games – 40 of them during Morris’ three seasons – and was 25-36. He never was selected for a Pro Bowl or started a playoff game, though he ranked sixth in the NFL in passer rating in 2010, his second season.
As for Fontenot, he (along with Smith) made the decision to go with Desmond Ridder as the No. 1 quarterback going into the 2023 season, a choice that ultimately cost Smith his job. In his preseason endorsement of Ridder, Fontenot said that all players in the NFL are talented, but that the difference between success and failure usually was their character. Having observed Ridder’s performance over the final four games of the 2022 season and his commitment to improvement in the offseason, Fontenot said he was “very excited” about Ridder.
“We believe in the makeup and the maturity,” Fontenot said.
Smith and Fontenot were spot-on about Ridder’s maturity. The only problem is that he showed it in postgame interviews as he accepted responsibility for costly interceptions.
Furthermore, in making their fateful choices, both Freeman and Fontenot were privy to information that they likely won’t have this time around. Morris was the defensive coordinator at Kansas State for Freeman’s freshman season and was convinced to draft him in part because of what he saw that year. Fontenot not only did the legwork before drafting Ridder in 2022, but then saw him practice and play for a full season before he and Smith decided to put their chips on him.
Which leaves us here – for all of Morris’ and Fontenot’s attributes, both of them swung and missed when they were charged with making their franchise’s biggest decision even with rare insight into the players, the same one that they’re about to make over the next few months. Collaboration is great, but the value of it goes only as far as the collective expertise of the collaborators.
It would be one thing if the Falcons go after Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has proved himself at the NFL level. Even a trade for the Bears’ Justin Fields would come with knowledge of his ability as a professional. But if the Morris-Fontenot tandem seeks a quarterback in the draft, what do Falcons fans have to place their trust in that they’ll get it right?
Collaboration?
All this said, Morris was 32 years old and a first-time head coach when he made the call on Freeman. He is now 47 and has spent time with three franchises, one of which won a Super Bowl with him on the staff. He undoubtedly is wiser and more knowledgeable now than then. Also, after Stafford, the 2009 draft was a really weak one for quarterbacks.
As for Fontenot, he presumably has learned from the experience of deciding on Ridder and then watching it unravel. Mistakes can be the best teachers, after all.
And, there’s a lot of gray area. The success or failure of a quarterback can involve a lot of factors beyond a coach’s control.
Further, we’re evaluating Fontenot and Morris on only two points of data, one of which is 15 years old. And, not insignificantly, there is no shortage of evidence that when it comes to picking the right quarterback, nobody really knows what they’re doing. Sometimes it’s just good fortune and timing.
The Falcons were fortuitous to have the No. 3 pick and a need for a quarterback in 2008, when Matt Ryan was the top prospect at the position. Had they been in that situation a year earlier, they would have been saddled with all-time bust JaMarcus Russell.
The right quarterback is out there somewhere. Whether the Falcons can get him in their uniform will be up to Morris, Fontenot and probably a lot of luck.
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