Arthur Blank, fans, and everyone involved with the Falcons wants to win right now.
The club’s owner didn’t fire Arthur Smith to be patient with Raheem Morris. Of course, I don’t think the 2024 campaign will ultimately decide Morris’ fate, but the overarching expectation is to improve upon the 2023 season, which would mean eight or more wins.
Morris inherits a much more enviable situation than his predecessor. The Falcons were expected to compete last year, but quarterback play held the team back. Some might point to Arthur Smith as the single biggest factor in Atlanta’s shortcomings. I don’t think that’s the case.
If you still need proof that quarterback play was the most significant culprit, Arthur Smith, Raheem Morris, and Arthur Blank have acknowledged as much.
Blank said there wasn’t a single head coaching candidate candidate he spoke to who didn’t define the quarterback situation as “something that needs work.”
“It’s very clear to everybody — all of our fans, all of you, anybody throughout the NFL — is that this is a position that we need to figure out how we’re going to get better in 2024 and beyond that as well, whether that be trades, free agency, the draft, whatever it may be,” Blank added.
Smith believed the Falcons’ quarterback play held the team back too. It was the exact pitch he gave to Blank to convince the organization’s owner to give him a fourth season.
“Part of former head coach Arthur Smith’s pitch for a fourth season in Atlanta was his belief that acquiring a new quarterback would unlock an offense with the potential to be the league’s best, according to league sources,” Josh Kendall of The Athletic writes.
And just the other day, Raheem Morris got brutally honest about it. “If we had better quarterback play, I may not be standing here at the podium.”
Many would describe the Falcons team as a quarterback away or a talented, yet underachieving roster. It’s why there are expectations for Atlanta to improve greatly in 2024. Morris described the situation as “competitive urgency.”
Raheem Morris calls the Falcons’ situation “competitive urgency.” pic.twitter.com/1jRXRQlyQ6
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) February 27, 2024
It’s not a dire situation, but the Falcons’ new regime has to know they don’t have the luxury of time. It seems Raheem Morris understands the circumstances of his new team.
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Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire
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