Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff
On the decision to release seven veterans Friday:
“Today is a tough day for not only the players being released (but) the organization and the fan base I’m sure. A lot of these individuals have made their impact not only in the field but also in the community. It’s not easy to make this release but we felt through our process and comparisons within our evaluations – our coaches’ input, our scouts’ input –that this was the right decision for the Atlanta Falcons organization.”
On what kind of ‘comparisons’ the team used in making the decision:
“I firmly believe that it’s very important to take the player or players that you’re evaluating that you have questions about (and) compare them not only to other players on our team but also the other players that are potential draftable players as well as potential free agent acquisitions. You not only compare the overall talent but you go as far as comparing certain criteria that each one of these players needs to posses and we compare all those traits as well. We really dig down deep and see exactly what we’re getting from a certain player on our team versus what may be out there, again, in the draft and free agency… We spent a lot of time on that process.”
On the new coach-GM combination and how it functioned in this process:
“The process with Mike (Smith) has been great from the outset. As I’ve mentioned before, we’re very excited about Mike and his evaluation prowess. We spent a lot of time listening to the coaching staff present their evaluations (and) the personnel department and then we’ll take all that information and Mike and I will end up going in his office, or my office or in front of draft or free agency boards and continue to have our discussions. In the end, we’ll calculate all the information and come to a decision between the two of us. Again, I want to stress that’s very important – that we come to a final decision together.”
On the process of contacting the players Friday:
“Coach Smith was instrumental in actually making contact with the players. He’s touched base with all of them. He’s had great conversations, as great as they can be. They were very pointed, but all have been handled very professionally by both men – both Mike as well as the player. I will follow up and call the agents and have a discussion with what’s next and what our thoughts were. A lot of times the agents want to know exactly how we came to our decision.”
On the thought process of making moves early:
“This was very calculated… (It allows the players) two weeks prior to free agency to regroup with their agents and game plan – huddle together and game plan what the next move is going to be in their professional career. On our side, professionally, or from the club perspective I believe it gives us another two weeks prior to go into free agency to regroup, recalibrate our roster and see where I needs may be, the money available. Then we’ll kick off free agency and have sort of a clear picture on where we’re going.”
On if there will be more roster moves soon:
“I think what needs to be stressed here is evaluating and the process of working with the coaches and the personnel department is ever-changing. The puzzle is always mixed. We’re always finding a new piece to the puzzle. We’ll continue to evaluate what comes our way – possible trades, acquisitions and the draft dynamic – to make further decisions. I can’t sit here right now and say there will be no moves but I also can’t specify what moves may be out there and if, in fact, we will make more moves that would be deemed as substantial on this roster.”
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