"Man, I hate when the media calls head coach's liars. Jimminy Christmas, that's just wrong."

Joe too tires of coachspeak. Only rarely — and Raheem the Dream is a refreshing exception — do coaches say anything worth two bits.

So it came as a bit of a surprise to Joe to read Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution call Dixie Chicks coach Mike Smith a liar when Smith gave praise to the Bucs for taking the Dixie Chicks to the limit Sunday.

The locker room was full of happy talk afterward — beat the Bugtussle Bovines on fourth-and-goal and you’re excited — but there was  reality interspersed. The Falcons were outgained and largely outplayed by a Tampa Bay team working behind a rookie quarterback. Their only touchdown in the first 59 minutes and 37 seconds came on a gimmick play. Their quarterbacks were sacked six times. They missed (another!) field goal. They had a punt blocked. They lost a fumble. They were lucky as heck to win.

“That was a good football team we played today,” said Smith, lying.

Whoa! So what is Bradley suggesting, that in private moments, Smith openly mocks the Bucs?