Decisions, decisions. A head coach of an NFL football team has to make several of them throughout the course of a game. The majority go unnoticed and unquestioned, but yesterday Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith made two dubious ones that will be scrutinized all week, if not longer.

The Falcons lost 26-23 to the New Orleans Saints in an overtime thriller. Yet another highly competitive clash occurred, considering that each of the past four contests have been decided by merely three points. Mike Smith’s first questionable decision came with 4:13 left in the fourth quarter, after Matt Ryan had just thrown a twenty-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez. Down 23-20, Smith called an unsuccessful onside kick attempt rather than kicking off to the Saints. This turned out to be less detrimental to the Falcons, since they were eventually able to tie the game and force overtime. The call debated around the world today came on Atlanta’s second offensive possession of the extra period. Facing 4th-and-inches on their own 29-yard line, Smith kept his offense on the field instead of punting to the Saints. Running back Michael Turner was engulfed by defenders behind the line of scrimmage, and the game was essentially over. Four plays later, it was made official when the chip-shot field goal sailed between the uprights.

An impressive rally from a ten-point fourth quarter deficit, a bruising twenty one-yard touchdown run by Jason Snelling through seven defenders, and a 133-yard receiving performance by Harry Douglas in relief of an injured Julio Jones was all lost in six inches. With a 5-4 record, the Falcons now trail the Saints by 1.5 games in the NFC South. A rematch will take place the day after Christmas, and hopefully this loss will not lessen its importance.

What are your thoughts on Mike Smith’s fourth down decision? I look forward to your comments.