Winning Ugly Becomes an Art Form for 2008 Atlanta Falcons

The NFL is full of slogans, idioms, and expressions.

"What have you done for me lately?"

"Run the ball, stop the run."

"The game's won in the trenches."

All things we've heard a thousand times.

Well, there's another one that is used often, that can also accurately describe the outcome of much of the Falcons' season:

"A win's a win."

Though Atlanta-Falcons-Examiner~y2008m12d21-falconsvikings">two Sundays ago, it wasn't just any win. It was a playoff berth-clinching win. That's the kind of win Atlanta's not seen in a while.

Last week against the Rams was another win, albeit an ugly one.

Unlike in college football, there are no points for winning with style. In the NFL, you get a win in the left column and a loss in the right. You want to have more wins on the left side than the right. That's considered a success. It doesn't matter how you get there.

Winning ugly has become an art form for the Atlanta Falcons this season. And Falcons players, I would imagine, would be the first to admit that these are often the toughest types of wins. The fact that coach Mike Smith's hair is two shades whiter now from where it started is another sign that these types of wins can take their toll on a team.

In three different games this season the Falcons have managed to overcome three turnovers on their way to wins.

Another popular NFL phrase is "turnovers lose ball games." Traditionally, three turnovers would be the kiss of death for any team's chances to win. But oddly enough, not for this team.

The 2008 version of the Falcons embody a different style. A style not seen in this city's football team in a very long time.

Yes, the '98 team found a lot of success. But they had that flashy element, with the "Dirty Bird" and the high-octane offense.

This team is blue collar. They're the guys that pass you in the morning in the break room. They're the guys that eat lunch behind the wheel, or at their desk. They're the guys that you say goodbye to when you're leaving work each day. First-one-in, last-one-out kind of guys.

It all starts at the top. Yes, even above coach Smith (but I'll get to him in a minute).

It's often said that the executives of companies earn their salaries, despite what those working beneath them may think.

They're the ones up at 4 a.m., driving to work or making an overseas phone call. They're the ones on the road, making sacrifices, missing their families. They're the ones that worked 20 hard years to build the business and get it where it is. They do earn their salaries.

This season's attitude began with owner Arthur Blank. Blank helped build a successful business in Home Depot and along the way learned a few valuable lessons. He developed a thick skin, impervious to the doubters and the naysayers. He also learned the value of hard work and, as my dad would say, "intestinal fortitude"—the guts to keep going despite what's happening around you.

Blank, after last season, could have easily given up on his team. He could have allowed former GM Rich McKay to remain in position. He could have hired a retread head coach to apathetically coach his franchise.

But instead he enlisted the help of some smart people (former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi) and he found the right guy in general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

Then they went out and eventually found themselves a head coach to build around, in Mike Smith.

The everyday-joe-ness of his name says it all. The son of two teachers, his 22-year rise to the top of the coaching world is no secret anymore.

Smith brings teaching tactics to the field every day. But with it, he's brought not only a sense of accountability, but also sensibility. He's been able to walk that fine line of treating the players with respect and dignity, but not getting taken advantage of.

And his players have responded resoundingly. They play hard every game and come prepared every day.

In so many ways the entire team embodies the nickname of it's budding star, rookie quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan earned the moniker "Matty Ice" while in high school because of his knack for making a play when his team needed it most. The name became the stuff of legend while in college at Boston College.

The nickname has followed him to the NFL. Just before his name was announced on Draft Day this year, Blank called Ryan to personally welcome him to the team.

Who did he ask for? Not Matt Ryan. He asked, "Is this Matty Ice?"

The nickname implies a certain demeanor. Ice cold. Few mistakes. In the way they play, the entire team has assumed the nickname.

They're not Hollywood like the '07 Patriots offense, yet they get the job done, scoring with a hard-nosed running game and timely down field passes.

They're not as brutally tough on defense as the '00 Ravens. They employ a decent enough pass rush that can come up big in key moments and a bend-but-don't-break style to hold teams back just enough.

They're somewhere completely in between. Effective and frustratingly efficient.

The '08 Falcons have driven their opponents crazy with their 43 percent third-down conversion rate, sixth best in the league.

And why don't you ask the Chicago Bears about the Falcons' ability to win a game with only a few (that's 11 to be exact) seconds left.

They still make their mistakes. The three three-turnover games are proof of that. But it's how they overcome them. They don't get rattled. They methodically always manage to come back. Even in the five losses this season, Atlanta found themselves in the fourth quarter of each game with a shot to win.

Smith likes to describe his team as "a 53-man roster where all 53 guys are important." He rotates players around, trying to keep them fresh. Defensive end John Abraham has benefited from the extra rest, enjoying a bounce-back season in which he registered 16.5 sacks.

That rotation-style approach is evident in no place more than the defensive line, which includes Abraham. Players like Kroy Biermann, Chauncey Davis, and Kindal Moorehead have all served valuable minutes and came up with important plays.

And just like their coach, the all-time single season tackler in East Tennessee history, they've played hard and played to win, despite the relative obscurity in which they've toiled.  

"I just think that shows what kind of football team this is," Smith said of his 53-man team. "We are able to go out and make plays when the guys are called on."

They made the plays 11 times this season, which was good enough to get them in the playoffs.

And in the playoffs they're the kind of team everyone fears: hard working, excited to be there and with nothing to lose.

This article originally appeared on the Atlanta Falcons Examiner page. To view, go here.