The Scale of Falconliness

The Scale of Falconliness: Scott Case

by Jason Kirk on Oct 28, 2010 12:00 PM EDT in The Scale of Falconliness

Earn that 25, William Moore. Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images Sport.

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.

Scott Case, Defensive Back (1984 - 1994)

Falconly

Unfalconly

During his eleven years as a Falcon, he excelled as a starter at every secondary position at one point or another.
Led the NFL in interceptions in 1988 with ten. Made the Pro Bowl that year, because duh.
Played the third-most games of any Falcons defender, and ranks fourth all-time in interceptions.
Second all-time in tackles as a Falcon, though [same old caveat about late-'80s record-keeping, which was impressively run by a broken Speak 'N' Spell].
Leads all Falcons defensive backs in sacks, with 7.5.
The hardest-hitting Falcons defensive back ever? You aren't likely to find many old-timers who'll dispute that one. If Scott Case had played in an era in which Dunta Robinson's hit was worth $75,000, he would've needed to play with sponsor logos on his jersey just to break even.
That's right, for our latecomers -- he went from being a ten-pick cornerback to a 100-tackle safety. Anybody got a list of other NFL players who've done that?
Lives in Buford, Georgia.
Business partners with fellow former Falcons safety Tom Pridemore, who's also slated to be Falconly'd one of these days.

Played his final year for the Dallas Cowboys.
Won a freaking Super Bowl that year.
I don't mean to imply winning Super Bowls in unfalconly.
Well technically it is, for now.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Scott Case?

1

2 votes

2

2 votes

3

2 votes

4

0 votes

5

3 votes

6

2 votes

7

4 votes

8

29 votes

9

49 votes

10

107 votes

200 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness: John Zook

by Jason Kirk on Oct 27, 2010 12:00 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.

John Zook, Defensive End (1969 - 1975)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Never missed a game in seven seasons as an Atlanta Falcon.
1973 Pro Bowler.
In 1971, he put up as many sacks as Hall of Famer Alan Page. Page became the first-ever defender to win the NFL MVP award, and Zook did not. The awesome part: nobody knows how many sacks that is. What did they do back in the '70s, relay oral histories instead of print box scores?
Had his own bannered cheering section at Atlanta-Fulton County: the Happy Zookers.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Recorded the first safety in Atlanta Falcons history.
His college coach, Pepper Rodgers, who's somehow popped up at least three times in this series, once said Zook "never played but full speed from snap one to snap hundred. He was the most full-speed player on every snap that you could imagine."
NORM VAN BROCKLIN once forcefully proclaimed the Zook-Claude Humphrey connection the NFL's best defensive end combo.
"THE ZOOKER HAS BEEN OUR MOST CONSISTENT PLAYER," RAGED NORM VAN BROCKLIN.

Spent his last four years as a St. Louis Cardinal, and not the ones Dave roots for.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is John Zook?

1

2 votes

2

0 votes

3

0 votes

4

0 votes

5

3 votes

6

5 votes

7

10 votes

8

29 votes

9

20 votes

10

46 votes

115 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness: Bob Whitfield

by Jason Kirk on Oct 26, 2010 12:00 PM EDT in The Scale of Falconliness

Bob Whitfield jog-walks into action. Jamie Squire, Getty Images Sport.

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.

Back to it!

Bob Whitfield, Tackle (1992 - 2003)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Twelve years as a Falcon.
Missed only one game as a starter in his first 11 seasons.
1998 Pro Bowler. 1998 was kind of a big year for the Birds, thanks in significant part to Whitfield.
Matt Winkeljohn's Tales from the Atlanta Falcons Sideline has 181 pages spanning the first 40 years of Falcons hist'ry. Fourteen of them are pretty much nothing but cussy Bob Whitfield quotes on the following:
- Dealing with his lazy eye
- Hanging out at the Gold Club with Jamal Anderson
- Gambling with MC Hammer on a team flight
- Defending himself to the media by invoking O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton (after giving up three penalties in three minutes)
- Developing his patented "jog-walk" to throw off hustle-conscious coaches
- Throwing pro wrestling moves on Aundray Bruce
- Assuming Eugene Robinson's arrest was a Mad TV skit, and on and on.
Instituted Falconly tradition of romancing "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast members, as proudly continued by Kroy Biermann.
On the All-Time Atlanta Falcons Madden Team, held down both starting tackle spots.
Founder and CEO of Patchwerk Studios, one of Atlanta's finest hip-hop factories. How Atlanta is it? OutKast, Ludacris, Killer Mike, Cee-Lo, T.I., and Crime Mob have recorded there, so. And everybody else too, from Britney Spears to Cher.
Bob Whitfield knows Cher. This should go in a third column entitled "Wow!" but we don't have one.
During his brief tenure as a New York Giant, earned the nickname Headbutt Bob for his actions in a game against the Saints. Say no more. Left column.
July 19:

In the LA Coliseum with local role players trying to bring a NFL team to Los Angeles! http://tweetphoto.com/33766369less than a minute ago via UberTwitterBob L. Whitfield III
whatupbob
July 30:

@msenna never, these fools out in Cali wanna grow weed in the LA Coliseum, not play football.less than a minute ago via ÜberTwitterBob L. Whitfield III
whatupbob

Instituted tradition of Atlanta Falcons left tackles getting flagged like blog comments.
Did more holding than Atlas.
Inspired more yellow laundry than Lance Armstrong.
Gave up more yards than Kelo v. City of New London.
Played a few games for the Jaguars and Giants at the end.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Bob Whitfield?

1

3 votes

2

0 votes

3

5 votes

4

5 votes

5

5 votes

6

11 votes

7

38 votes

8

31 votes

9

33 votes

10

47 votes

178 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness, Inside Linebackers Week: Tommy Nobis

by Jason Kirk on Sep 9, 2010 2:08 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.

Stand up.

Tommy Nobis, Middle Linebacker (1966 - 1976)

Falconly

Unfalconly

The first-ever Falcon.
Drafted by both the Falcons and the AFL's Houston Oilers. Nobis was from Texas, yet chose Atlanta. Not even a recorded message from space by a Gemini 7 astronaut imploring Nobis to "sign with Houston" swayed him.
Two-time Falcons Player of the Year. Led the team in tackles nine times.
Holds the unofficial record for tackles in a season with 294 in his 14-game rookie year, which works out to 21 per game. We know old Falcons tackle record-keeping integrity was iffy/hilarious, but let's be serious -- you can only pad a stat so far, folks. As Len Pasquarelli notes: "even if Nobis made just half as many stops as those for which media guides credit him, that still would be an unbelievable season [Falcoholic's note: 10.5 per game, 16 game season: 168 tackles]. By comparison, the NFL's top tackler this past season, San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Patrick Willis, had 152 in 16 games."
Eleven years with the Falcons, tied for sixth all-time.
Five-time Pro Bowler (the first Falcon Pro Bowler), second-best of any Falcon. 1967 All Pro (the first Falcon All Pro). 1966 Rookie of the Year (the first OK YOU GET IT.)
1960s All-Decade team.
No other player ever has worn #60 for the Falcons. The team's first retired number.
Inaugural Ring of Honor member.
The 49ers' Ken Willard, a four-time Pro Bowl fullback, wrote in after reading a Playboy article on Dick Butkus: "When you get around to writing a story on the best linebacker in the NFL, may I suggest Tommy Nobis of Atlanta."
49ers coach Jack Christiansen, a Hall of Fame defensive back: "I don't know how much Nobis got paid, but whatever it was, he was underpaid."
Dan Reeves, Cowboys running back for eight years: "I certainly took my share of hits. Unfortunately I remember some of them, particularly the ones from Falcons linebacker Tommy Nobis. He should be considered a worthy candidate for the Hall of Fame."
NORM VAN BROCKLIN, POINTING TO NOBIS' LOCKER: "THERE'S WHERE OUR FOOTBALL TEAM DRESSES."
Dolphins Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka: "I'd rather play against Dick Butkus than Nobis."
Not to start shit, but nobody ever said anything like the previous five quotes about Jessie Tuggle.
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. Not really relevant, but SI named him to their college football All-Century Team.
In a 1970s poll by ABC, he was named the second-best athlete of the '60s behind O.J. Simpson.
Tommy Nobis has never led police on a 30-mile-per-hour chase across Los Angeles.
Founded the Tommy Nobis Center in 1975, giving work training to people with disabilities. It's grown from an office on Bells Ferry Road into a network including six cities in four states. Also works with the Georgia Special Olympics.
Apparently a Hawks fan.
Was basically a character from Mad Men. Hello, ladies.
Never left the team. Joined the front office, and is currently Vice President of Player Development.
His nickname for the past four decades and forever: "Mr. Falcon."

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Tommy Nobis?

1

6 votes

2

0 votes

3

0 votes

4

1 votes

5

0 votes

6

0 votes

7

0 votes

8

1 votes

9

5 votes

10

197 votes

210 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness, Inside Linebackers Week: John Rade

by Jason Kirk on Sep 8, 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.

John Rade, Linebacker (1983 - 1991)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Nine years as a Falcon, good for 18th all time. Wore red and black his entire career, until Jerry Glanville occured. Then he wore black and red.
Glanville was his favorite coach, and Deion Sanders was one of his favorite teammates. That's about all I need to know about John Rade.
Falcons team captain at some point. Work with me, internet.
Team's leading tackler in 1987 and 1988, with four 100-tackle seasons. (Again, the 1980s tackle stat monster rears its generous head.)
After retiring due to various knees, went back to Boise State to retake classes he'd blue 80'd through as a young student-athlete. Rade ended up banging out a 4.0 and earning a finance degree. He chalks his post-football studiousness up to how hard he had to work to master an NFL defense. (Therefore, we can conclude Falcons coach Dan Henning's defense was at least as confusing as Boise State's finance program.)
Currently a high school football coach, teacher, and athletic director. Albeit not in Georgia.

Much like Buddy Curry, was never recognized by peers or media as an especially noteworthy player.
Missed at least one game in six different seasons due to various knees.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is John Rade?

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0 votes

2

0 votes

3

0 votes

4

3 votes

5

5 votes

6

8 votes

7

20 votes

8

23 votes

9

9 votes

10

4 votes

72 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness, Inside Linebackers Week: Jessie Tuggle

by Jason Kirk on Sep 7, 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.

If the Spirit leads you to vote 9, that's between you and the Spirit. But don't vote Hammer a 9 just because you know who's on deck for Thursday. Vote with your heart.

Jessie Tuggle, Inside Linebacker (1987 - 2000)

Falconly

Unfalconly

14 years as a Falcon, 209 games played -- both third all-time and first among non-offensive-linemen. Until his last season, missed only three games.
Five Pro Bowls, tied for second among all Falcons.
1997 Falcons Player of the Year.
More tackles than any other Falcon of the recorded-tackles era. 694 more, in fact, but recorded tackles from the early '90s need to be taken with a grain of stat salt. More sacks and forced fumbles than any Falcons non-lineman, and at least those stats are hard to screw up. Three more defensive touchdowns than any other Falcon -- second all-time among all NFL players in fumble return touchdowns. Three different sites claim he holds the NFL record for most tackles in a decade, but I don't know about all that. Holds the top five single-season tackle totals in Falcons history, if you're into that kind of thing.
#58: retired. Inaugural Ring of Honor member. Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
1998 NFC Champion, 1991 .
In 2000, the Packers offered him a larger contract than the Falcons did, but he chose to retire in Atlanta. (See, this is why I put stuff like "Played for the Packers for one year" in the right column on all these things.)
Born in Griffin, Georgia. College Hall of Famer at Valdosta State -- in fact, he's the best athlete in the history of Valdosta, Georgia, which was named the winningest sports town in America by ESPN (see Hammer presenting/accepting the trophy made up by the Mothership for whatever this contest was all about).
Lives in Duluth, Georgia. I think. Still hangs around Valdosta for stuff like this and the Branch for stuff like this. Does Atlanta charity stuff. Attended Friday Night Lights a few weeks ago with Ball Hawk and me. That last sentence was worded deceptively.
Not afraid to make drastic fashion sacrifices in service of Falcondom.
Debate his Falconliness all you'd like, but you cannot dispute his Atlantaliness. Here he is conducting the pinnacle of all Atlanta activities: complaining about Atlanta traffic to the AJC.
His son Justin briefly started at quarterback for Boston College, which may remind you of somebody.
One year ago, The Falcoholic community voted him the greatest Falcon of all time, which makes this entire thing look kind of redundant, but it's not, and if you have five minutes I can explain why.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Jessie Tuggle?

1

5 votes

2

3 votes

3

1 votes

4

0 votes

5

0 votes

6

0 votes

7

1 votes

8

3 votes

9

14 votes

10

278 votes

305 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness, Inside Linebackers Week: Buddy Curry

by Jason Kirk on Sep 6, 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.

Let's face it, family: we're not going to make it all the way through all the worthy names in Falcons history this time around. We haven't made it to John Zook, Bob Whitfield, or Scott Case yet, among several others, so it's safe to say we'll be back to evaluate more in the future. We can pick it back up next offseason and maybe work through a couple during the bye week, but this week will probably be about the end of Round 1.

Of course, there are two names we couldn't finish Round 1 without. Today's isn't one of those two, but he is a nice young man who once played alongside Lawrence Taylor at UNC.

Buddy Curry, Inside Linebacker (1980 - 1987)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Eight years as a Falcon. No years as a non-Falcon. Except for the ones before he joined the NFL.
In his first seven years, missed only one stretch of games.
1980 Defensive Co-Rookie of the Year, along with his Falcons linebacking associate Al Richardson.
Still lives in Atlanta I think, doing good deeds, being fan-friendly at draft parties, running a local football camp, and hanging out with teammate Bobby Butler.
The internet also alleges he runs some sort of business here.
Endured almost the entire '80s, the lost decade of Falcons football history.

Never was thought of as the most incredible football player of all time -- isn't near the Falcons leaderboards in any stat, and earned no Pro Bowls or any other kind of distinction after 1980.
Some of you may be concerned that his son plays for Auburn.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Buddy Curry?

1

2 votes

2

1 votes

3

1 votes

4

1 votes

5

5 votes

6

24 votes

7

22 votes

8

23 votes

9

13 votes

10

16 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed

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The Scale of Falconliness, Cornerbacks Week: Rolland Lawrence

by Jason Kirk on Sep 2, 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.

Rolland Lawrence, Cornerback/Returner (1973 - 1980)

Falconly

Unfalconly

Eight years as a Falcon. Never did he miss a game, and never were his talents employed in the service of another NFL team. More games than any other cornerback.
1977 All Pro, Pro Bowl, Falcons Player of the Year. I say again: he was the team-elected Player of the Year for the greatest statistical defense in NFL history, sure. But it was a defense that left its corners isolated like none other in history. First rule of gameplanning, insane defensive coordinators edition: you don't blitz nine freaking guys unless you have an absolute shutdown corner, and even then you only do it when you're at your craziest which is every other play since you're Jerry Glanville. Revis Island is a gotdamn archipelago compared to Lawrence Planet THIS SENTENCE MADE NO SENSE.
Also contributed to the 1978 and 1980 playoff teams.
All-time Falcons interceptions leader with 39. That record's safe for a while, folks -- he's 32 ahead of the highest current Falcon. Record-holder for pick return yards, too.
Nine interceptions in 1975, the second-best single season in Falcons history. In fact, Lawrence had five of the top 16 picksiest Falcons seasons. Kind of sounds like pixiest. I apologize, Mr. Lawrence.
Top ten in return yardage in 1976.
Also played a little baseball and basketball, making him at least somewhat Deion Sandersly and Brian Jordanly.
Answers to "Bay." Though he lives in Pennsylvania, he still makes it out to Atlanta from time to time.
A man of peace.

Why don't you just let us know when you find something that belongs here.

Current standings after the jump:

Poll

How Falconly is Rolland Lawrence?

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1 votes

2

1 votes

3

0 votes

4

0 votes

5

0 votes

6

4 votes

7

6 votes

8

13 votes

9

14 votes

10

47 votes

86 votes | Poll has closed

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The Falcoholic -

Scott Case, Defensive Back (1984 - 1994)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is Scott Case?

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9

10

John Zook, Defensive End (1969 - 1975)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is John Zook?

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9

10

Bob Whitfield, Tackle (1992 - 2003)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is Bob Whitfield?

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10

Tommy Nobis, Middle Linebacker (1966 - 1976)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is Tommy Nobis?

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9

10

John Rade, Linebacker (1983 - 1991)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is John Rade?

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9

10

Jessie Tuggle, Inside Linebacker (1987 - 2000)

Current standings after the jump:

How Falconly is Jessie Tuggle?

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4

5

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7

8

9