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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter followed head coach Mike Smith's lead in second-guessing a critical decision in Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. On third-and-2 from the Browns' 35-yard line with 55 seconds left in the game, Koetter called for Matt Ryan to hit Devin Hester on a go route down the right sideline in an attempt to take advantage of unproven Browns rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert. The end result was an incomplete pass and a stoppage of the clock, saving the Browns a little more time for their game-winning drive after Matt Bryant's 53-yard field goal put the Falcons ahead. "Any time a play doesn't work, trust me, everyone out there who's pulling their hair out about that call, I pull my hair out 10 million times more than that," Koetter said. "Any play that doesn't work, let alone a critical play, you're playing it over in your head 50,000 times. Like every situation that comes up, there's two, three, four plays spinning in your head that you're trying to choose between. And you have a few seconds to make the decision on what call to go with, and you have to go with it with confidence. And then when that play doesn't work for any reason, then I'm going to be the first one second-guessing it. "The play we called didn't get the job done. We make the first down there, the game is over. We're assuming Matt (Bryant) ... we're either going to run it down and kick a shorter field goal. We always think Matt's going to make it. When you don't make (the first down) and you stop the clock, it's not ideal. So, sure, we'd change it." Based on the film, Roddy White appeared to be open underneath as Ryan hurled his pass to Hester. The Falcons also could have opted to run the ball. "We were running a combination route on one side and a isolation route with Devin," Koetter explained. "That's what the play was. Roddy was part of the combination route on the other side. Matt has his keys based on what he's looking for. I'm not going to get into all that. There's a lot of factors that determine what side you're working. "One of the things that people have got to realize is, Matt Ryan doesn't have 53 1/2-yard wide vision. Once the ball is in the air in a shotgun snap, he's got to read one side of the field or another. Sometimes, you have full-field reads, but that's not in a pressure situation when they're in a five-man rush." Prior to Koetter expressing his regret, Smith took the podium Monday and indirectly admitted how calling a timeout before the third-down play with 55 seconds remaining was not the right move.
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