Arthur Smith unleashes on Dennis Allen for getting him fired

Up 41-17 over the Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints did not need to score as they were lined up with a first and goal and just over a minute remaining. They could have kneeled it out and taken the win, ready to run into the locker room to watch and see if the Bears and Cardinals could pull out wins to help the Saints get into the postseason.

In fact, New Orleans did line up in victory formation, but faked out the Falcons and pushed it in for a touchdown. Notably, it was Jamaal Williams's first TD of the season.

Disrespectful? Maybe. But think about these two teams: The Falcons and the Saints hate each other. Respect is not always something you get in this rivalry.

The Falcons and their fans hated this move to be sure, and one hated it more than anyone: Arthur Smith.

Arthur Smith goes off on Dennis Allen in postgame meet

Meeting at the 50 yard line after the game, Dennis Allen and Arthur Smith exchanged words. It doesn't take a degree in lip reading to see that Smith was hot over the final play. He took issue with the sportsmanship of running up the score on the Falcons, given that the game was won by that point.

Even worse was the fact that the Saints lined up as if they were going to kneel it down.

You could hear over the mic, Smith saying as he walked away from Allen, "that's fu--ing bullsh--." Allen said, "I understand," as they parted ways. Saints Special Teams coach Darren Rizzi got a few words in with Smith after that as well.

Smith, in all likelihood, will be fired after this game. It was reported that Smith likely would keep his job if the Falcons won, and lose it if they lost. So, Smith was understandably already annoyed over his likely end of employment in the first place, and also losing it in such an arguably disrespectful way.

On the other side, Dennis Allen seems safe in New Orleans, but his job security has been in question at times, too. Can you really fault him for trying to tack on another six or seven points with his job potentially on the line? And can you really fault him for getting one of his running backs a confidence-boosting touchdown before they potentially enter the playoffs?

Allen explained after the game that the goal was, indeed, to get Williams his first endzone visit of the year, but apologized to Smith and the Falcons for the low blow.

My take? If you don't like it, stop it. That simple. There are no victory formations on defense.