Some Atlanta Falcons watchers in the media keep moving the goalpost on the subject of coach Arthur Smith's job security. And while that is all fodder for discussion, the only moiving goalpost that matters is the one owned and operated by Arthur Blank.
And what does Blank offer in the way of "fodder for discussion''?
No "discussion'' at all.
Atlanta lost on Sunday at Chicago, 37-17, dropping the Falcons record to 7-9 that seems very much like "been there/done that.'' Chances are, Blank's beloved franchise will once again (for the third straight year!) end up bad enough to earn a charitable top-10 pick via the NFL Draft system.
The thin-ice playoff chances pretty much just cracked in snowy Chicago ... and owner Blank understandably does not want to be interviewed on the subject.
“He's not going to talk,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a team spokesman said.
In some ways, Atlanta was never really in this one, not even against a Bears team that - despite the excitement offered by Atlanta kid Justin Fields as Chicago's QB - isn't going to the postseason.
Starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw three interceptions. The Falcons as a whole gained just over 300 yards of offense. And the defense couldn't chase down Fields on the way to allowing a bloated 37 points.
Should Blank wait, now, to analyze it all. Might as well. After all, Atlanta is still not officially eliminated from the postseason. If the Falcons beat New Orleans next week while the Buccaneers lose to the Panthers, then the Falcons would win the NFC South title.
That - and not grand pronouncements about the coach - must be the focus. For one more week.
Therefore, we should take a break from ESPN having reported Smith's job was safe - barring a "late-season collapse." And we should take a break from it being reported Smith needed "strong performances" from his team. And now comes NFL Network stating Smith's departure would be a "surprise.''
Respectfully, if a "contending team'' loses five of its final six games and finds itself on three-year long treadmill of mediocrity, the surprise should be the automatic cementing-in of the franchise's leaders.
There is, to this point, a sore lack of "strong performances.'' This would be, with a loss to the Saints, "a late-season collapse.''
And Arthur Blank shouldn't say a word. Sit back. Wait. Take it in. Funnel the anger and the disappointment at the appropriate time. The requirement at the very least, is progress toward success. That's it. Let's leave that goalpost right there, where it belongs.
More must-reads: