By: Allison Smith
August 5, 2019
On Monday, August 5, 2019, Carl Dukes and Mike Bell (from the 92.9 afternoon show “Dukes and Bell”) showed up to Mr. Arthur Blank’s office to talk Atlanta Falcon football. I can neither confirm nor deny if they were actually invited, but Mr. Blank did speak with them on a variety of topics.
This interview was the day after the Military focused Fan Day in Mercedes Benz Stadium. Tickets were $5 each and sold out, raising over $200,000 to be donated to Veterans Empowerment Organization.
Dukes and Bell started with questioning the expectations for this season for the Falcons. Mr. Blank’s expectations are for the team to be in the discussion every year, to be competitive each year. He noted the defense is healthy, the team made some good draft choices and FA pick-ups. Mr. Blank loves where the team is right now, but said, “You have to play the games.” He quipped that, “Matt Ryanplays better vertically than horizontally.” Matt is in great shape and he needs to be kept that way. Mr. Blank commented that the staple is a great O and D line to play successfully, carry you throughout the season, and into the colder climates late in the season.
Head Coach Dan Quinn said “the compass was off last year.” Mr. Blank “One of the great strengths of Dan is that he is brutally honest with himself and with me.” Dan looked at his coaching staff and evaluated and made changes. DQ brought in several guys that are familiar with Matt with great offensive minds. With Dan now calling the plays on defense – he will be able to really focus on the defensive plays and players and help with all the current and new guys. Mr. Blank doesn’t think they necessarily lost the compass, but DQ looked without filters and made necessary changes. He and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff agreed on what changes needed to take place.
Julio Jones will be a Falcon for life, and we all know his accomplishments and he will be the highest paid receiver in the NFL….and Ju will be kept healthy and ready for game 1. He is physically and mentally in great shape. There is great trust on both sides, just waiting on his agent to finish talks.
Mr. Blank thinks we have moved from protest to progress. He serves on several NFL committees to help and lead progress and believes players should use their platform to affect change. The league is definitely paying attention to the need for change and the climate of change.
Thanks to Dukes and Bell for bringing us the top interviews.
#RiseUp
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