Jessie Tuggle is without a doubt, my favorite of all time, mainly because he was the greatest of my time. I grew up in Griffin, GA, which has produced a decent amount of professional players, some argue more than any other city in the state. But if you played football and were a Falcons fan, then none came close to The Hammer. Here’s a list of NFL players from Griffin, GA.

I’ve mentioned this here before, but one of my clearest, earliest memories is sitting on the floor in our living room, wearing a red Falcons helmet with white facemask, lining up all of my Falcons football cards in their positions on the field, and moving them where they went during the play while my dad and I watched the games. I was probably six or seven at the time and already a huge Falcon fan. As I grew older it just got worse/better, haha.

Of course, like every southern boy should, I started played rec ball when I was five. All of the teams in the league were named after professional teams and of course you know everyone wanted to play for the Falcons team. I’m not sure if they still do this, but back then there were actual try-outs, like mini-camps, for two days. All of the coaches ran us through drills and then they later had a draft. No, seriously, they drafted five year olds. Thinking back on it now, it sounds funny, but if there is one thing that we are serious about here in the south, besides sweet tea and frying everything, it’s football.

Well, when I was 11, I found out a little secret that my dad had been keeping. A guy he worked with was the coach for the Falcons 13-14 rec team. I was ecstatic to say the least when I got drafted by them. That first year we went undefeated and won the championship. At the banquet dinner, after they handed out the trophies, they tld us they had a surprise guest for us. It was Jessie ‘The Hammer’ Tuggle. This was 1992, so we all knew who he was. He was freakin huge, larger than life to all of us twelve and thirteen year olds. He was awesome, encouraging us all to keep playing and stay in school, and all that jazz, not that any of us could hear it because OMG A REAL FALCON PLAYER IS HERE! He signed a bunch of our jerseys, helmets, and football cards. I still have my card too, sealed and locked up.

It was really unfortunate that he played on a lot of losing Falcons teams, because he was always fun to watch play. And since I was born before he was famous as a Falcon, I’m not named after him, but back that’s the reason so many people spelled it wrong. I eventually just started saying, “Jesse, not like Tuggle.” I think I’m rambling now, but those memories most definitely stand out and stick with me and are just another reason outside of his outstanding play that make him my all time favorite. Keith Brooking comes very close to being another hometown favorite being that he’s from Senoia, a stones throw west of Griffin, plus he went to GT, so it’s like he hit the triple crown.

Here’s some more Hammer links:

Here’s an interview with Tuggle.

This and this is for you Dave.

Enjoy!

It wasn’t the stats, it was watching the man hit guys so hard they didn’t want to run between the tackles.

mike vick hands down

There have been so many since I started following the Falcons in 1970…and Dredd and striped shirt named many of them.

First and foremost has to be Tommy Nobis- hard hitting, in on every play. Like Dredd says, it is truly one of the great mysteries of our time why he isn’t in Canton.

William Andrews- rock solid and always dependable for short yardage, and when the other team wasn’t careful he would break one. I actually met him in 1990 and got his autograph, classy guy.

Jeff Van Note- as a resident of Kentucky, I was always proud that the UK product was with the team, anchoring the O-line for what seemed like decades.

Jamaal Anderson- his stiff-arm was a thing of beauty.

Chris Miller- he was a hell of a QB, pity he couldn’t stay on the field.

Tom Pridemore- he wasn’t the biggest of fastest safety around, but when he hit you, you stayed hit.

Harmon Wages- I don’t remember him very well, but he was a fan favorite in the early 70’s, and hearing his name reminds me of the first game I ever attended, in which he saw a little action.

Steve “Peachtree Bart” Bartkowski- got religion not long after he got that nickname, but I always thought it was cool. He wasn’t terribly mobile- I think I could have sacked him- but when the line gave him time, he could pick you apart. He was QB during that late 70’s-early 80’s period that cemented my fandom, throwing to Alfred Jenkins and Wallace Francis.

Michael Haynes, Andre Rison, Drew Hill- all the “run & shoot” receivers were fun to watch.

Guess I’ll stop now, before I start naming entire rosters…

Still hoping more folks will weigh in, but good choices across the board, even if I don’t necessarily agree with all of them.

Jamal Anderson would probably be my #2

To do this, I’m going to have to expose myself as a bit of a Johnny-come-lately… My first real memories of the team was the Glanville era. Even in the Super Bowl year I didn’t really follow the Falcons too closely – I had always been more of a college ball fan. I didn’t become rabid about the team until the abortion that was the 2007 season (really, Scout’s Honor – I swear it was 2007 and not 2008).

So while I do remember liking guys Andre Rison and Terrance Mathis, I’d have to say my all-time favorite player would have to be Keith Brooking. I was/am a huge Tech fan, so naturally I loved it when the Falcons drafted him. This past season kinda sucked for him (especially 3rd and 16), but he was pretty great in his prime: 5 straight Pro Bowls…

True story: In middle school, my best friend’s dad was good buddies with Jessie Tuggle. Sadly, I never got to meet him (some friend, huh?).

What I can say without hesitation is that my “favorite” current Falcon is Jerious Norwood. I said that I thought I sounded like Matt Ryan’s mom on another post – please never get me started on Norwood, because it would be 10x worse… I also love to watch Erik Coleman. I know he’s not regarded as a particularly “special” player, but he’s just fundamentally solid. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time – I especially like watching him perfectly time his blitzes…

…it’s criminal the Falcons haven’t pushed harder to get him into the Hall of Fame.

My favorite all time is Claude Humphrey. He was like a man possesed. A beast tearing and ripping away to get to the QB or whoever had the ball. If you never saw him play the game you missed something.