The Falcoholic Staff Spotlight: Evan Birchfield

If you’ve read our Staff Spotlight features this summer, you may have noticed that we were missing one. So here I am to feature one last talented contributor to The Falcoholic, because it would be weird if Evan Birchfield wrote his own.

Hi everyone, I’m Evan Birchfield! I’ve been writing for The Falcoholic since November of last year, and I appreciate you all for reading my articles. I was born and raised in Western North Carolina, but now reside in Central Florida. Aside from being a lifelong Atlanta Falcons fan, I enjoy anything historical, going to the beach, golfing, and going to theme parks.

I asked Evan some questions, so let’s get started.

How did you become an Atlanta Falcons fan, and how did you start writing for The Falcoholic?

I have been a Falcons fan since 1996. I was six years old, and my dad, who is a lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan, took me down to watch the Falcons and Vikings play. He thought I might become a fan of his team, but it backfired, and I became a Falcons fan. Not that either franchise has really done better than the other, but I really do love calling myself a Falcons fan. Week 1 is going to be very interesting for me and my father though.

A quick story; I was lucky enough to be at Matt Ryan’s first NFL game, the preseason game in Jacksonville. At the conclusion of the game, my dad and I stuck around taking pictures of the stadium. Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank walked over with his entourage and talked to me and signed my Matt Ryan jersey. I’m not sure what my response was, but he asked me “What did you think about our young quarterback?” — that’s a special memory of mine.

As mentioned above, I started writing for the site towards the end of last year. Previously I wrote for Rise Up Reader and did FanPosts on TheFalcoholic.com. Jeanna, Dave and the rest of the great team really are as professional as they come. Although they can be fun and engaging, behind the scenes they really do care about the team and providing readers with excellent, unbiased analysis. Additionally, I manage The Falcoholic’s Instagram account which you can follow if you’d like @The_Falcoholic.

You run social media for Atlanta Falcons’ DT Jack Crawford – how did that come about, and what all does it entail?

So, I got to know Jack previous through a contest I won for a signed football. Needless to say, I never got it and people on Twitter took notice and kept mentioning it and for a solid year, it became a drama. Jack followed me and we began talking a lot and I even was able to meet him at the Falcons vs. Jaguars preseason game prior to the 2018 season. I have some social media experience, like creating and managing Disney Annual Passholder on Facebook, so I took over his social media, and we’ve been friends ever since. Jack’s a very genuine guy, and he’s exactly the type of player DQ loves. High motor, tough and wants to win. I was excited to see him have a career year in 2018, and I look forward to another positive step in 2019. You can follow his Facebook page by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on the 2019 offseason and preseason so far?

The offseason went basically as I expected. No massive free agent signing, some small depth moves and that was that. The 2019 NFL Draft was a bit shocking, I never expected the team would take two offensive linemen in Round 1.

The preseason is basically just that. The Falcons currently on a 12-game losing streak in the preseason is odd, if not funny. I don’t think a team could try to lose that amount over the years and be successful, but here we are. If you follow my writing or on social media, you know I’m vocal about the kicking game. I won’t go on a rant here, but I am very concerned at that position. It’s a mental head-game, the kicking position, and the second you lose confidence, you’re done. I think the team would be too stubborn to admit fault and bring back Matt Bryant, but a man can dream.

What are your thoughts on the New Orleans Saints?

Hate them. I don’t like them, and I imagine they don’t like me. Their fanbase is so predictably lame it’s funny. Spent years being a joke and they create a bounty system to win a tainted ring and they think it means something. Their head coach was literally banned for a full season due to what they did. You ask any Saints fan, and they’ll excuse it as “everyone does it!” — but I guess they were the only ones who got caught, right?

What’s your outlook/prediction for the 2019 season?

It’s tough to say right now because our depth has looked horrible this preseason. Not to return to the Matt Bryant thing, but not having a reliable kicker will be an issue for this team in 2019. In past years, the Falcons offense would march down field and stall in field goal range. At least when we did that, we knew we were good for 3 points. Now the offense will need to get closer and even then, it won’t be automatic.

I’d say a solid 10-6 season is in the works. Although, I could easily see things fall apart and us go like 8-8 or thing go better than expected and we go 12-4. The first two games will be a big test as we face two NFC opponents, the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles. You’d like to start off 2-0, but if we go 0-2 watch out! Also, Austin Hooper is in for a big season.

What would you like The Falcoholic’s readers to know about you?

I appreciate you all reading my Staff Spotlight and any of the articles that have posted on the site. I also am a huge fantasy football enthusiast, so if you ever want advice or just to talk, make sure to follow me on Twitter at @EvanBirchfield. I’m excited to start the season writing for The Falcoholic and engaging all of you, thanks for reading!

That wraps up the final edition of The Falcoholic’s Staff Spotlight. We all at The Falcoholic appreciate each and every one of you for reading our content and visiting the website. If you missed any of the past editions of The Falcoholic’s Staff Spotlight, you can view them by clicking the links below. Thanks for reading, Falcoholics!

Allen Strk | Jeanna Thomas | Carter Breazeale | Cory Woodroof | Adnan Ikic | Eric Robinson | David Walker | Matthew Chambers | Dave Choate | Kevin Knight