The Three Most Important Atlanta Falcons Ever?
by Dave Choate on May 21, 2011 1:00 PM EDT
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I wanted to call your attention to this Yahoo! Sports post by Hobson Lopes, a fan contributor for the network. I do so because his take on the three most important players in Atlanta history is an interesting one.
To answer your first question right off the bat, I don't agree with the list. Here's who he had:
1. Deion Sanders
2. Keith Brooking
3. Steve Bartkowski
I'll buy Sanders, but I have a harder time with Bartkowski and especially Brooking. You can make a very reasonable argument for Bart, who was a very good quarterback playing on a sub-par team, but what about Tommy Nobis, Claude Humphrey, Mike Kenn, Jamal Anderson, et al? I think they belong in the conversation.
So let's have that conversation right now. Do you agree with Lopes, or would you choose three other players when you went to make your own list? Sound off!
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I didn't
I love the guy, but I’m thinking he’s more top 5-10 than 3.
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by Dave Choate on May 22, 2011 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions
The guy was my idol growing up. I saw him live in L.A. a couple of times.
As Ive said before, loved the guy so much, I wanted a debilitating knee injury just so I could have a scar like Bart. I was a disturbed child. If the Smiths had had half a brain and had actually given him 5 decent linemen instead of the 2 or 3 he had, we’d have a couple of Lombardi’s. When we kept him upright, he was as good as anyone in the NFL. He threw for 30 TD’s twice in a season when it was a rare occurrence. Easily #1 in my book. As for Brooking, he’s off the list for me just because of that way too groomed facial hair in the pick above.
1- Deion Sanders
2- Jamal Anderson
3- Michael Vick
"In a dog eat dog world, you must have the mentality of a Pit Bull." -Phil Jackson
Those are my three, too.
1. Deion – The most recognizable Falcon, in my opinion.
2. Anderson – Had to include someone from our lone SB appearance—he’s the best one from that squad and carried us to the big game.
3. Vick – See #1 above. He was a star for the Falcons and brought us into relevance. Then, they Falcons’ and Vick’s worlds were torn apart; however, both the player (I believe) and Falcons changed for the better because of it. When we have multiple championships later on with Matty Ice (who may be added to this list, eventually) and Co., we’ll point to Blank’s and the management’s decisions after dealing with the Vick situation as, collectively, the pivotal moment in our history.
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
by Jman781 on May 22, 2011 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
random thought
I have a thought about how people want to credit Vick with how we are now. To me, it seems they just want to praise him regardless. They cant let him go or acknowledge what disaster he brought to the team. Saying he is so great because he caused us to become a better team is like telling your wife you are so glad Susie Rottencrotch gave you the clap because you never would have dumped her otherwise and than you met your wife. Just a thought in my weird brain.
Dont cloud the issue with facts!
by muuzilla on May 22, 2011 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Where in the article
Does it mention the influence must be positive?
Sometimes, unfortunately, it takes a disaster for change to occur.
Plus, Vick’s entire tenure here cannot be ignored due to his unceremonious end.
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
by Jman781 on May 22, 2011 2:18 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Writers and fans rarely go out of their way to celebrate individuals who have brought the most embarrassment and devastation to their respective teams.
While not specifically stated in the article I assumed from its tone and its negative reference to both Vick and Bobby Petrino that it was focusing on the players who’ve had the greatest positive legacy with the Falcons.
As for Vick’s early achievements in Atlanta, I perhaps look back on them in a harsher light than others due to what might have been. Vick was a unique talent and a very exciting player to watch. He certainly made the Falcons more fun to watch for both long time fans and the wider NFL audience, even if he didn’t lead the franchise to a level of consistent success year after year.
However, what may get over looked is that the Falcons made vast investments and concessions to Vick that bit us in the ass when he chose to spend part of his income to finance an interstate dog fighting ring. We invested a considerable percentage of our salary cap in him personally, we made coaching and staff decisions aimed primarily at developing Vick as a QB, we based our franchise’s public image on Micheal Vick the person, and we tailored our roster both in the draft and Free Agency in many ways to suit his style of play. All of which, again, helped send us into the gutters of the NFL when he went to federal prison.
It’s easy to forget that fact (and only remember his reel of highlights) because somehow Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff managed to pull of a near miracle by revamping the entire organization and making the Falcons respectable both on and off the field – something I thought would take years at the earliest – in little more than an offseason.
So I don’t ignore Vick’s tenure here. I merely think it left us far worse off than it ever benefited us.
a miracle??
It’s not like they drafted an entire team. It’s just one era ending and another beginning, nothing more nothing less.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Teams who endured far fewer setbacks have taken years to return to competitiveness and respectability in the NFL.
At the end of 2007 we had to replace our jailed QB, our quitter head coach, and our inconsistent GM. Its hard enough to fix just one of those problems much less all three at the same time.
It wasn’t just an “end of an era” where an older player/coach/gm moves on and his younger replacement takes over. It was a year long cavalcade of incompetence and embarrassment where just about everything that could go wrong did. If we hadn’t hit such a home run on Ryan, Smith, and Dimitroff we would have had a lot more 4-12 seasons.
No, I'm not saying other teams...I mean ours
Don’t get me wrong, but other teams didn’t have veterans already on the team helping the young rookie not take on everything, or Rich McKay going from GM to team president. TD and Smith got the pieces needed to make an immediate splash and that’s exactly what happened. I wasn’t surprised by the falcons 2008 playoff push….I expected it.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
I have a thought about how people want to credit Vick with how we are now. To me, it seems they just want to praise him regardless.
No matter what way you look at it Vick is one of the most important players in Falcons’ history. Credit Vick for the most ticket sales in Falcons’ history, expanding Atlanta’s fan base. Credit Vick for the most jersey sales by a Falcons’ player in the team’s history. Credit Vick for the amazing plays, and single handed victories. Credit Vick for being the first opposing quarterback to beat the Packers on the road on the playoffs, earning Atlanta national exposure the team otherwise never would have had. For those reasons alone Vick should be one of the top three most important Falcons’ ever.
"In a dog eat dog world, you must have the mentality of a Pit Bull." -Phil Jackson
This
We’ve already discussed whether Vick was “falconly” or not. This is a completely separate discussion.
No one can tell me, for good or bad, Vick was not important for this franchise. Those who do are equating importance with being “falconly.”
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
by Jman781 on May 22, 2011 2:15 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Horrible owners who can derail a franchise for decades at a time are also unquestionably important to a team.
That doesn’t mean that their “contributions” should be celebrated simply because something better came along later.
Will you stop.
You’ve been unfairly spinning my argument.
I am not “celebrating” anything.
If you have a personal vendetta against Vick, fine. That doesn’t mean, objectively, he didn’t provide some good for this franchise. My mere acknowledgement of this fact is not the equivalent of putting on a #7 Vick Falcons jersey and creating a shrine for the man.
Additionally, one cannot simply ignore a major, yet devastating, “disaster”, and believe the franchise would be in the same place had said disaster not occurred. Not to be crass, but do you think that WWII is not important to German history? What about the U.S. before and after the Civil War? I apologize for equating football with war, but since you are flippantly throwing around the word “disaster”, it’s an apt analogy.
The Falcons not only benefited while Vick was here, but they ultimately benefited from his departure, even if the departure was a black-eye for the team. The fact is, had Vick not gotten in trouble, we’d never have changed our F.A. strategy and Matty Ice would be playing for another team. Thus, Vick not only brought the Falcons into relevancy, and his departure paved the way for our current team.
Please quote where I imply I am a huge Vick fan or anything close. Please. You owe me that much. How is this celebrating anything? I am not a fan of Vick, but I will not let my personal opinion of him blind me.
Objectively look at our ratings, our record, our attendance, and our merchandise sales while Vick was here. Look at the change in strategy when signing players. Look at Matty Ice. All of these things were due, in part (emphasis on “in part”, for he’s not the sole impetus for our success) to Vick, whether you like Vick or not. Why struggle with a make-believe alternate reality where Vick didn’t exist and the Falcons are a solid franchise despite of him instead of, partly, because of him?
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
I'll still never forgive Brooking
for biting on that play action fake on 3rd and 18 in the Arizona playoff game. Unbelievable…
"My parents do a lot of things behind the scenes that go unnoticed"- Cam Newton, Heisman acceptance speech.
by TurnerTheBurner on May 21, 2011 3:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
dude catches way too much flak for that
What was it, 10+ years of being a standout Atlanta sports and community figure (not of the michael vick or eugene robinson variety) is suddenly undone because of one play?
bull. the guy was great. Top 3 in the franchise’s history, maybe not, but its time to get over 3rd and 16.
by VT89 on May 21, 2011 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
and mine!
I cant put Jamal on here because he was only good for a little bit. Brooking gave over a decade to the team, and for 1 play and 1 game after we let him go…at least he didnt have a “special” bottle or kill dogs or never study for a game.
Dont cloud the issue with facts!
Jamal was the 90's William Andrews.
Maybe not even that impressive, considering his length of service, the hold-out, and Andrews’ general awesomeness.
Whoa there
I’m not nullifying his Falcons career because of one play.
He was a great linebacker for us for most of the decade. Made a few Pro Bowls, a great leader on the defense, and a great guy in the community. I do LIKE Keith Brooking.
But he’s a seasoned veteran. Rookies bite on play-fakes on 3rd and 16. Not Pro Bowl players.
It was a very bad play that happened at a very unfortunate time for the team, how bout that.
"My parents do a lot of things behind the scenes that go unnoticed"- Cam Newton, Heisman acceptance speech.
by TurnerTheBurner on May 22, 2011 2:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Agree.
100%
The vitriol spewed toward Brooking is unfounded. He’s a great Falcon. Period.
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
misunderstood
Now, I don’t think that all of Brooking’s great service for the Falcons was undone by that one play, it’s just that that was one of the last impressions that everyone has of him in a Falcons uniform. Especially because it ended a PLAYOFF run. He didn’t help things by the way he carried himself against his former teammates, when they played later.
A lot of the other players that people are naming had things in common: 1) they were long-term, high-level performing, Falcons and that’s pretty much all that they were remembered for, or 2) when they were Falcons, they were playmakers. QBs are ususally franchise faces and touch the ball on almost every play, so win or lose, they get the fame or the blame. Deion, Prime Time/Neon Deion,….. nuff said. Jamal Anderson, for 1 season, he was great, led the team to the Super Bowl and had a dumb endzone dance named after him. Brooking….well, he was never a real playmaker. He never really stood out from the rest, other than the fact that he was always just a little too good to let go or replace.
There have been many that have worn the Falcons jersey, and more than a few that have been excellent on and off the field (for example, Warrick Dunn). I just can’t look back at Brooking’s career with the Falcons and see where he was so outstanding that he could be labeled as one of the 3 most important Falcons ever.
I'm crazy but here's my personal fav's!
1. Chris Chandler
2. Keith Brooking
3. Terrance Mathis
With Tim Dwight as an honorable mention!
Couldn’t agree more with The Burners Comment about the Arizona game, I’ll probably never forgive him for that either, but he gave us so many good years I can’t 86 him because of one horrific play.
Nothing personal...
But Terrance Mathis is not near the top 3 most important players in our franchise.
I’ll buy Chandler, if only because he was QB in 1998, but Mathis?
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
I'm pretty young
1. Keith Brooking
2. Warrick Dunn
3. Noriaki Kinoshita
Short-term memories
Deion, yes, Bartkowski, maybe, but Brooking, give me a break. Does anyone remember a guy name Jessie Tuggle? For a long time, he was probably our best, and most consistent, player for a few seasons. Also, I’m sure that he wouldn’t have fallen for a pump fake from an injury prone QB that could run the 40 in about 2 minutes and cost us a game in the playoffs.
1. Jessie Tuggle
2. Keith Brooking
3. Terrence Mathis
No way does Jamal Anderson or Vick make this list. The former had 1 great season and a few average one’s and Vick didn’t take being a Falcon seriously at all and almost single handedly ran our franchise into the ground.
by captainamerica* on May 21, 2011 7:47 PM EDT reply actions
really guys?
1. Tommy Nobis
2. Deion Sanders
3. Michael Vick (due to the destroying and rebuilding of the franchise)
by birdwatch on May 21, 2011 8:36 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'm changing mine.
But not much
1. Tommy Nobis- 1st Falcon ever. Who could be more important than that?
2. Michael Vick. Important because had he stuck around we would have continued in mediocrity imho. His shenanigans led to franchise restructuring from top to bottom. Vik is in a way respo
by birdwatch on May 22, 2011 2:55 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
continuation ... stupid smart phones
Vick is in a way responsible for the (awesome) team we have now. Without his fall from grace and betrayal, AB most likely wouldn’t haves taken the steps he did.
3. I can’t think of a player with an impact equal to those two above, so I’m going with Mr Home Depot, Arthur Blank. His passion(and money) has taken this team to previously unreachable heights…
I know some very good people were left off, but I feel these 3 had more impact on the franchise itself. As opposed to impacting a season or game
by birdwatch on May 22, 2011 3:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
considering this is most important
no best, most consistent or even greatest we have to take into account one thing, how important were they to the teams ‘98 season. That was the Falcons best season and our only superbowl trip. based on that Both Jamal anderson and Morten Andersen have to be in there. The 3rd is where it gets tricky but for me it has to be Nobis. He was our first ever draft pick an amazing LB and was the falcons for our first like 10 season. Nobody out it better than Norm Van Bronklin ’That is where our defense gets dressed’.
u say
Its not about the best but then say it has to be about the best season? That’s contradictory
by birdwatch on May 22, 2011 2:52 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
not really
it may have been I worded it badly. What I meant to say it was it’s not about who is the best player to ever wear a falcons jersey, however the players that were important in our first ever trip to the superbowl. The goal of every team in every season is win the superbowl, and considering we’ve only been once we have to take into account the players that were important in getting there.
A change
I thought I would stir things up a bit. I believe Nobis has to be in the top 3. How about William Andrews and Jeff Van Note?
Mine
Nobis – Face, heart and soul of the franchise for the formative years. Maybe the best player the Falcons have ever had.
Bart – The first franchise worthy (and maybe only to date) QB for the Falcons
I think those two are head are above the rest.
Deion – hell, he left
Anderson – no longevity
Andrews – my choice for number 3, if hadn’t gotten hurt, he may have been a HOF. Really , he was that good IMO.
Ryan – too early
Brooking – Very good solid player, but certainly no better than Humpreys
Humpreys – See Brooking
Kenn – A lot of cred here, all pro and standard for the league at left tackle for years. No problem including him.
Van Note – See Kenn.
Tuggle – What a warrior, I would throw him in the group too, and certainly above Brooking. You could tell if Jessie made the tackle, the back or pile would move backwards.
Tom Pridemore – He doesn’t belong, but he was one mean SOB, for you guys that don’t know him , he was a safety and I swear he would left them catch the ball so he could hit them. Part of the Bruise Brothers under Glanville.
by Whopper Dawg on May 22, 2011 2:12 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Too Early
in his career for that designation. Call me back in another three.
by Whopper Dawg on May 22, 2011 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
True. All too often we are in a unreasonable rush to judge a player's potential or legacy on a very short amount of time in the NFL.
If you struggle early – you’re a bum who’ll never amount to anything. If you have some early success – you’re destined for perpetual NFL stardom and every team who passed you over should fail themselves in the town square in repentance.
Some great players take time to develop while other guys flash for a season or two and then are never heard from again. Matt Ryan has had a great start and everything seems to point to him being a great Falcon QB for years to come. But we should wait until he has a few more years of on-the-field accomplishments before we crown him a GOAT. Doesn’t mean he won’t be, but he has to actually earn it first just like everybody else.
My top three most important falcons...
- Arthur Blank
- Thomas Dimitroff
- Mike Smith
by FLA_Falcon on May 22, 2011 8:41 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
I like where you're headed...
1. Tommy Nobis
2. Thomas Dimitroff (I know the article said players, but come on)
3. Michael Vick
Nobis, as Mr. Falcon, is pretty much a gimme. Easily the best player on our team throughout the 60s and 70s. And, as the first player ever drafted by the Falcons, I’d say he was pretty damn important, too. Also, he’s still in the Falcons’ front office…how could he be more important?
Thomas Dimitroff, to me, is clearly one of the most important Falcons ever. Our last three years, the only three under his reign, have been three of the most successful years ever for the Falcons. Never before had we had back to back winning seasons – we now have three consecutive. Never before had we won the #1 seed outright, til last season (in 1980 we won it on a tiebreaker with Philly). You could point to Matt Ryan as the reason for this success, or Mike Smith, and I wouldn’t say you were wrong. I think TD deserves credit as the architect, however.
And to my own chagrin, I can’t deny that Mike Vick is without a doubt one of the most important players in Falcons history. I cannot stand the guy, and I don’t think I’ll ever truly forgive him for what he did to this city, and this team; but, while he was here, he put the Falcons on the map like they’ve never been before, even more so than when Prime was here. Conservatively I’d estimate a third of our fanbase was hooked during the Michael Vick years, and I really don’t think that you can underestimate his importance as a Falcon.
My revised list.
1. Billy Joe Tolliver
2. Bear Woods (come on…he’s GOT to be on the list)
3. Freddie Falcon
"Insert witty and/or funny quote here" ~ The Person Who Spoketh Said Quote.
1. Tommy Nobis (Mr. Falcon) has to be No. 1
2. Mike Kenn- Everybody’s All Pro Left Tackle for years. Would already be in the Hall of Fame if he had not spent his career with the Falcons. Sorry about that fact but it is true.
3.Claude Humphrey- Ditto on the Hall of Fame. Also sorry about that fact.
The truth is had all three of the above players been fortunate enough to play for a more popular team than our Falcons, all would be in the HOF.
by Smor99 on AOL & Falcon Message board on May 22, 2011 10:54 AM EDT reply actions
Nobis, Tuggle, Bartkowski.
Sanders was a money grubbing flash in the pan that did his best work with other teams.
You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.
I had a lot of fun rooting for him during his days playing for both the Braves & Falcons
maybe I was too young to be that critical, but I can’t help but feel a serious blow to my nostalgia with that comment.
These are my 3
I don’t remember seeing Nobis play because I was under 10 years old when Nobis hung up the cleats, but anyone who scare Larry Czonka…
Bartkowski was my idol growing up, and The Hammer brought back my love for professional football.
No Nobis?
Then this list is automatically horseshit.
And on a related topic, Brooking was a horse’s ass after he left, so screw him.
Bart and Sanders, yes
Brooking. NO. Nobis, YES!
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on May 23, 2011 12:01 PM EDT reply actions
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