Speaking of Canal Street Chronicles, I have to give a big hat tip to Sunil for his recent post on Pete Prisco's Top 50 players article. This is a fancy way of saying I lazily jacked a story idea from him, which I'm sure he'll appreciate.
Anyways, without reading this article I readily assumed that there was only going to be one or two Falcons on the list. I further narrowed down that list to either Alge Crumpler or DeAngelo Hall, and I was half right there as well. His choice is the only reason why I really have beef with his article, but we'll get to that later. Drumroll, please:
It's definitely nice to see our boy DeAngelo up there, even though his assertion that he "does get beat once in a while" smacks a bit of understatement. Prisco clearly needed a Falcon for this list, and I won't disagree for a second that Hall is a talented guy. On the other hand, he's already in danger of becoming overrated. He makes way too many mistakes out there to be considered an elite corner, so while I can't fault Prisco for including him I am questioning slotting him above a guy like Rashean Mathis. If Hall can put together another good season with a little more consistency, I'll probably be lobbying to see his name higher next year.
I am a little annoyed that Tony Gonzalez made the list ahead of Alge Crumpler, especially at this stage in their careers. Gonzalez was once a terrific tight end and has since become merely a good one who doesn't block particularly well. Contrast him to Crumpler or someone like Jeremy Shockey, who are great receiving tight ends who also throw excellent blocks. That smacks a little bit of putting a veteran up there just because he always deserved it in the past, which annoys me. Lord knows we already have the Pro Bowl for that.
Given that, I do hope Prisco looks through his list next year and finds room for more Falcons. That means guys like Jerious Norwood, Michael Boley, and (please?) Michael Vick need to attract his attention. For the sake of the fanbase, I hope they can.