The Scale of Falconliness, Special Teams Week: John James

by Jason Kirk on Aug 3, 2010 1:00 PM EDT in The Scale of Falconliness

Who's the ultimate Falcon? And who's the ultimate anti-Falcon? That's what we're going to find out with our summer project: the Scale of Falconliness. We'll rate former Falcons on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most Falconly. The rule: minimum of three seasons with the Falcons for coaches, five seasons for players.

Time to take a look at the man who best defines an entire decade of Atlanta Falcons offense.

John James, Punter (1972 - 1981)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Three Pro Bowls, two more than any other Falcons specialist.
Played more games for Atlanta than any other kicker or punter, 24 more than Morten Andersen.
Punted for 35,633 yards as a Falcon, by far the most ever. (Second and third place punters Billy Lothridge and Dan Stryzinski combined for 36,504.)
This is incredibly depressing, but he holds the NFL single season record for most punts per game. In 1977, a 14-game season, he punted 105 times (that's 7.5 per game, or one punt every eight minutes). His next season proved the Falcons '77 offense was no fluke, as his 109-punt 1978 is fourth on the 16-game list.
Sixteenth on NFL all-time punt yardage list.
Finished in the top seven in yards per punt for six straight years. Led the NFL in punting yardage four times.

Wasn't really that brilliant of a punter. He once led the league in total punting yardage despite only averaging 38.8 yards, and his career average is only seventh on the Falcons' all-time list.
Played three years for the Oilers and one for the Lions.
Some of you may be concerned that he attended the University of Florida and is currently the executive director of Gator Boosters, Inc.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is John James?

1

1 votes

2

0 votes

3

1 votes

4

5 votes

5

7 votes

6

10 votes

7

23 votes

8

12 votes

9

4 votes

10

8 votes

71 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Goodness...I just don't know...

7? I admit that I really don’t know anything about this guy. I could’ve abstained from voting, but what is the fun in that?

One punt every 8 minutes…Exciting stuff there!

Since we’re voting on special teamers is Biermann eligible?

by Jman781 on Aug 3, 2010 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

the 1977 Falcons

had to have the worse offense in sports history.
Even todays’ Bills, Rams, Cheifs, 09 Redskins, 06 Raiders 06 Bucs, 07 Falcons and Browns were better than the 1977 Falcons offense combined.

My life is multiplied and then divided by zero.

by brotherbrown on Aug 3, 2010 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Grits Blitz...

Watched the video posted on the site regarding the Grits Blitz…It’s sad how good the D was compared to how dreadful the offense was…If only we could have THAT D with this year’s O…

by Jman781 on Aug 4, 2010 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

19-0

Kiss that 72 Dolphins!

My life is multiplied and then divided by zero.

by brotherbrown on Aug 4, 2010 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Punters are awfully underappreciated; they only get called on when things are bad, and the best they can ever do is to “not screw up.” There are no heroic punts.

Imagine the pressure involved in being the punter for a dismal offense like the one we put up in ‘78. To be called on as often as he was could only make the punter’s job even worse, and more intense. This guy’s got nerves of steel, man. I’d wear a John James jersey.

by Mad Molecule on Aug 3, 2010 1:43 PM EDT reply actions

okay

there are only a couple of us Falcoholics who have ever seen John James play or even remeber who he is. He was the best at this position that we have had to date. and yes I am that old that I actually went to a game and saw the guy play.

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Aug 3, 2010 3:32 PM EDT reply actions

December 16, 1979 I saw him kick.

It was O.J. Simpson’s last visit as a player to Atlanta (he had 12 yards on 2 runs). Steve DeBerg outplayed Steve Bartkowski (gulp), yet Atlanta pulled out the win, 31-21. William Andrews had 63 yards on a rushing day where the Atlanta Defense was luckier than good. Bubba Bean had 19 yards on 2 carries, and Haskel Stanback had 2 TD’s on 6 carries.

And, yes, Alfred Jenkins led Falcons’ receivers with 48 yards on 3 receptions. There was only one punt return by SF – 6 yards… by Tony Dungy.

by Mnemonic on Aug 3, 2010 5:08 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Whoa, flashback of awesome.

Tony Dungy, eh? That’s really cool stuff.

"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham

by Zippo729 on Aug 4, 2010 5:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Yup, flashback.

I just remember, as a kid, how cool it was to cheer for a guy named Bubba Bean.

by Mnemonic on Aug 4, 2010 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Consistent

Yes, I am also one of those old coots who remember him. He did his job with consistency. Don’t hold that 38.8 against him…Remember he was punting for the Falcons of the time and did not have long to get the ball off.

by CaptK on Aug 3, 2010 10:32 PM EDT reply actions

Average

From what I remember, when James had the chance, he generally pinned the other team inside the twenty. Inside the 5 a lot of the time. That may have cut down on his average. When a punter kicks the ball into the endzone from say the 40 yard line, it counts as a 40yd punt. It should be counted as a 20 yard kick.

by BEZERKO on Aug 4, 2010 8:03 AM EDT reply actions