Arthur Smith got mad the Saints faked a knee and scored vs. Falcons, a breakdown
What Happened
Arthur Smith, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, is visibly upset after the New Orleans Saints scored a late touchdown against his team in the final game of the NFL season. The Saints, led by quarterback Jameis Winston, were already leading by a significant margin when they opted to run a play instead of taking a knee in the victory formation. The play resulted in a touchdown for Saints running back Alvin Kamara, much to the frustration of Coach Smith. On the sideline, Smith confronts the Saints coaching staff, expressing his displeasure with the decision to score a "garbage time" touchdown, saying it was "fucking bullshit" and questioning why they did it. In the post-game interviews, both coaches address the incident. Saints head coach Dennis Allen acknowledges that his team acted on their own accord, wanting to get a touchdown for wide receiver Jamal Williams, who had not scored all season. Allen apologizes to the Falcons, saying, "That's not who we are. That's not how we operate." On the other hand, Coach Smith makes it clear that he was upset by the Saints' decision, stating, "That's unacceptable. That's their prerogative. It's also my prerogative to tell them how I feel." He adds, "Whether people like that or not, oh, well. But, like I said, credit to them. I mean, they do whatever they want there." Jameis Winston, who was the quarterback on the final play, explains the team's thought process, saying, "We knew how much Jamal means to this team. And I understood from DA's perspective. But DA didn't condone that at all. However, we decided as a team to do it. And I didn't want to disrespect him. That was not my intention. My intention was to lead the team that I've been with the entire year. And we made a collective decision that we wanted to get one of our guys, who they fight with blood, sweat, and tears every game in the end zone." The exchange between the two coaches and the players' decision to score the late touchdown despite the Falcons' objections has sparked a heated discussion, with fans and analysts weighing in on the sportsmanship and competitive nature of the rivalry between the NFC South division foes.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentLast game of the season between the Saints and the Falcons,
the rivalry you always forget about, and we got drama.
We got a coach that's mad.
Saints had a huge second half.
They're up big.
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Falcons just looking to have some fun.
Throw the ball, easy interception.
Now look at number 55 on the Saints.
He's like, hey, why don't you just stay back, 65?
Be cool.
Don't do anything.
And 65 is like, yeah, all right.
All right.
And now 55 moves on to number 63, and he's like, hey, man, same thing.
Just be cool.
We don't want to have to do anything harsh.
And 63 is like, nah, fuck that.
I'm going to make the play.
55 is like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
I tried my hardest, and they don't score.
Gets tackled, goes down at the one-yard line.
No, should have been more fun than that.
So coach says, let's take a knee.
Victory formation.
Now the players, they, turns out, had a different agenda.
And they're like, sure, we'll do your victory formation,
but we're not taking a knee.
We're giving it to our guy who's going to score another touchdown.
Salt in the wound.
Jameis with a big fist pump.
They're all pumped up and excited because number 21, Williams,
he led the league in touchdowns last year.
Didn't have a single touchdown this season,
and they wanted to get their dude a touchdown,
and no one likes Atlanta, says that lady.
Look at them.
They're all excited, flexing like that's all you,
trying to give them the game ball.
They're pumped up for their dude.
They got him a touchdown.
Now, kind of a weak touchdown, but it's a touchdown,
and he's celebrating, and Jimmy Graham says,
hey, man, proud of you.
You earned that.
So it looks like they were all in on it.
The game ends.
Quarterback shake hand.
The coaches go to shake hands, and the coach of the Falcons,
former coach of the Falcons, I should say, is not happy.
He goes, why the fuck did you do that, man?
Why the fuck did you do that?
That's fucking bullshit.
That's fucking bullshit.
And now you can hear a little on the hot mic where he says,
I understand that.
You can kind of hear the Saints coach say they did that on their own
if you listen real close.
They did that shit on their own.
You can very faintly hear it, and he says,
I understand that.
I understand that you're mad.
So, I mean, one coach, former coach, says that's bullshit.
And that's fucking bullshit.
And I think his gripe is,
one, don't score on us garbage time like that just to run it up and rub it in our faces.
Two, if you're going to do that, don't go on victory formation
where some of our guys might get hurt because they're not expecting it to run through.
And both coaches obviously got asked about this after the game.
And here's a little bit of what they had to say.
That's not who we are.
That's not how we operate.
We should have taken a knee.
So, I want to apologize to them.
Look, they can do whatever they want.
There's no rules against it.
You know, like I said, we didn't stop them in the second half.
They can do whatever they want.
They asked me about getting Jamal a touchdown at the end.
I said I wanted to take a knee.
We put victory out there.
And the guys kind of wanted to get him a touchdown.
And they did that on their own.
That's not – that's unacceptable.
That's their prerogative.
It's also my prerogative to tell them how I feel.
Whether people like that or not, oh, well.
But, like I said, credit to them.
I mean, they do whatever they want there.
So, aren't the two pretty upset after –
He should be.
He should be.
He should be.
So, a pretty mutual understanding there.
One coach says, yeah, I was mad.
My prerogative to be mad, whether you like it or not.
So, I shared my opinion, you know.
I'm a man who shares my feelings.
The other coach says, he should be mad.
I agree with him.
I'd be mad too.
Hell, I am mad.
Team disobeyed me.
I told them to take a knee.
They said, nah, we want to get Williams a touchdown.
I guess.
I think that's what happened.
So, then they went and asked Jameis Winston, backup quarterback,
who was in for that snap.
And he says –
I asked the guys.
I said, guys, like, what do you want to do?
We know how much Jamal means to this team.
And I understood from DA's perspective.
So, I give him that.
But DA didn't condone that at all.
You know, he didn't.
However, we decided as a team to do it.
And I didn't want to disrespect him.
That was not my intention.
My intention was to lead the team that I've been with the entire year.
And we made a collective decision that we wanted to get one of our guys,
who they fight with blood, sweat, and tears every game in the end zone.
And I'm going to feel good about that.
I'm going to feel good about that.
We got our dude a touchdown.
Wasn't about them at all.
It was about us.
What do you guys think?
I'm sure there will be a civil conversation in the comments.
Go.
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Hopefully we get some fun stuff in the playoffs.