The NFL preseason is a time of optimism for a lot of teams, sometimes without justification. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the entire league more bullish than Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees.
Pees, a veteran defensive coordinator entering his second season with the organization, gave an incredible speech Saturday about changing the culture of the Atlanta defense. Amid a host of profanities, he concluded by pledging to make the Falcons’ defense a historically great unit akin to the best defenses fielded by the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens over the years.
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“We’re changing the culture around this dadgum place,” Pees said. “It’s not going to be mediocre. It’s not going to be average. It’s not going to be in the bottom half of the league like it’s been 15 out of the last 20 years. I’m sick of that crap. We gotta take charge, and it ain’t gonna be anyone else to do it but us. I’m tired of everybody telling us how bad we are, because after a while you start believing them. You get mad at a teacher who’s telling some kid he’s stupid, right? You don’t ever tell somebody that, because pretty soon they start believing it.
“Guys around here on defense sometimes believe hey, 15th is okay or whatever. We’ve been in the top ten one time out of the last 20 years. That bulls–t’s over, okay? Sorry, I’m getting fired up today, but I’m tired of this crap. We’re going to change the culture of the defense around this frickin’ place. People are going to start talking about the Atlanta defense like they did in Baltimore, like they did in New England. It’s going to be the same s–t around here.”
You have to credit Pees for aiming high, and you certainly can’t say he lacks commitment to the cause. If you want to change the culture, laying down a verbal marker like this probably isn’t the worst way to start. Of course, results must follow, and improvement is a must after the team’s defense finished 26th in the league in yardage allowed last season.
Pees actually retired from coaching two-and-a-half years ago. No wonder he came back if he’s still this fired up about his job.
