This week's edition of the PFR mailbag addresses questions about the Falcons' future, the case for a non-quarterback MVP contender, the Chiefs' struggles and the long-term outlook of the AFC's top teams.
Kurt asks:
Arthur Smith received three seasons; the Falcons have technically seen Raheem Morris as head coach for three years if his 2020 interim season is included. Once the Falcons finish under .500 again, will he be retained? Also, Terry Fontenot has been GM for five years now. What exactly does he need to do to be fired?
It’s rare for a head coach to depart a team on good enough terms to end up returning in the same capacity. That’s what happened in the case of Morris and the Falcons, something we should keep in mind when considering how willing owner Arthur Blank will be to make any changes.
With that said, Morris’ overall Atlanta record across his two stints is 15-23. When we add in his Buccaneers tenure (17-31), there’s a growing case for him to be viewed best as a defensive coordinator moving forward. Even so, Atlanta has enjoyed strong showings (at times) on offense since Michael Penix Jr. took over as the team’s starting quarterback.
It’s crazy seeing that Stafford might finally get consideration for MVP this season. I noticed he has only gotten votes for MVP once during his career because he was always on a bad Lions team before getting traded to the Rams. But I’m thinking Taylor has a good chance as long as he keeps up his great season and avoids injury. Same for Maye, if the Patriots keep winning and he stays healthy.
If I have a vote it’s going to the Rams trainer. Whatever therapy he has prescribed for Stafford’s many ailments is clearly working wonders. I predicted Matty would be on IR by October but he’s like the Energizer Bunny that just keeps marching along.
He also was bad himself. The only MVP type season he had was that one year he threw 41 TDs. People wanting to rewrite history now that he’s got a Super Bowl window at the tail end of his career are annoying me. The Lions were historically one of the worst franchises, but he’s not absolved of that. So were the Saints before Brees or the Patriots before Brady. When Suh was there, they had one of the best defenses in the league, and he’d repeatedly s*** the bed in big spots.
Morris is a horrible HC. He got his second shot, and I think you should have seen all you need to see by now. They’ve had late leads in four out of their seven losses, and I mean very late leads. Not to mention the debacle against the Patriots along with his clock management issues. Just isn’t cut out for it. He seems like a bright guy, very articulate, but it just isn’t translating onto the field. His team also no-showed against at the time bad teams in Carolina the first time and the Dolphins. Those are the worst losses of the season ironically aside from the blown late leads.