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perhaps if he hadn't whiffed on THAT block and allowed a sack, he'd been MVP.....js

Gritz here. Bottom line is the old me was spending far too much time on here. Real life did intrude. My friend Knight was right on the mark too regarding my pop. He died last August after a 10 year fight with Alzheimer's. My mom survived his passing, but I'm the only sibling in town and a lot of the care of the both of them has been my responsibility. Posting on a football message board became extremely trivial all of a sudden. As for Supes, at the end of the day he kind of feels the same way. He's personally doing very well. He and I are still best of friends. I still go to his place every Sunday to watch the Falcons. He said to me a couple of weeks ago "When I found myself having the same exact arguments with the same exact people I had to ask myself what in the **** I was doing."

Koetter's response can be viewed two way's, or maybe a little of both. 1. totally class act 2. WTF are you dumbazz's doing we have to play them twice this year.

My ex son-in-law (still family cause he's my granddaughter's daddy) is working on the fireproofing of the new stadium - he's been taking a few pics and sending them to me . I really liked this because it seems like it's getting REAL!

The same Steelers where Big ben threw for 3 TDs in the playoffs and Matt had 9? Ben had 4 INTs and Matt none? Ben threw for an average of 245 yards a game and Matt 338? Ben had an 82.6 QBR and Matt 135.3? Those Steelers?

Two Short Years ago(three offseasons), we did not have: DE/OLB - Vic Beasley - #1 passrusher DT - Grady Jarrett - rising star DT - Dontari Poe - two time all-pro DE - Takkarist McKinley - crazy motor WLB - Duke Riley - makes plays at 100mph MLB - Deion Jones - Derrick Brooks HOF clone SLB - DeVondre Campbell - large man that can move SS - Keanu Neal - Kam Chancellor clone - MonsterMash hitter CB - Jalen Collins - still developing corner w/ size and is improving CB/S - Brian Poole - very good nickel player DE - Adrian Clayborn - decent #3 type passrusher Other Role Players: Derrick Shelby(DT), Courtney Upshaw(DT), Brooks Reed(DE/OLB), Damonte Kazee(CB/FS), CJ Goodwin(CB), Deji Olatoye(CB) That is an INSANE amount of talent to add in three offseasons on one side of the ball. Basically only real holdovers of significance are Trufant, Alford and Ricardo Allen. I am not putting Hageman in there yet as of being significant - he certainly could be. I still marvel at this. What changed? Dan Quinn changed EVERYTHING. We knew he was a good coach - but DQ's ability to articulate to scouting staff/GM and Pioli what he needs - traits, speed, size, competitive toughness - A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Assuming Duke/Takk move into starting roles at some point in 2017 - you are talking 8 starters. These are heady times to be a Falcons fan.

We really making a big deal out if this

I dont have a issue with it.

I actually think the Bucs' response is kinda clever, lol. If you're gonna dish it out (we started it with "Are you nervous about something?"), gotta be willing to take it too.

Dope article ..Must read but its 3 things about this article that i liked and talked about this a couple of times recently during falcons convos with friends. 1. LSU players are undeveloped coming into the league and i love that... I was told this by a scouting buddy a couple of years ago.. For every Adams or Patrick P or Honey Badger.... You have a Kwon Alexander, deion jones, jalen collins, and Danielle Hunter... I think Duke will also be one of those guys.... They get highly recruited guys stacked on top of each other so you can find good value in guys who just havnt had the chance to truly play until there last year. 2. rich Mckay said we knew we was getting Deion because no one else was taking him that high... The is the perfect reason why i no longer look at rounds.. But more of skillset and fit... I remember dallas had deion jones and keanu neal rated as 3rd rounders on there draft board 3. Ive said this before... Deion Jones is what everybody thought Myles Jack would be...Just a steal the FO and Coaching Staff found... I think Duke will also be a steal and i like how his high energy fits with Jones laid back approach... Man i love with the FO and Coaching Staff is doing

Gritz was on FB today. He is having it kind of hard guys. You all know his father passed away and he is still hurting about it. It changed him as a man, so things that mattered really don't anymore. Keep him in your prayers and thoughts.

This was posted in the mini-camp thread but I thought it deserved its own because, bah-gawd does Teco look like a brick ****-house right now. With his burst, no one is going to have a fun time trying to tackle this dude the way he's looking now.

I've been telling anyone who will listen that the Falcons will win 2 of the next 5 Super Bowls. That's what I honestly believe.

Congrats this is the dumbest **** I've read in a while.

He co-sponsored an event in town today. My wife told him that I had desperately wanted him to sign with the Falcons. He looked her in the eye and said, "I almost did. It was close." He re-signed with KC at the end of February, which was before the legal tampering period. We'd clearly made our interest known through back channels, though. I think he was our Plan A this off-season.

Screw individual achievements, Had either of them kept getting the ball the falcons would have been super bowl champs.

I'm glad to see this. Great for the both of them.

Please stay humble and grounded.

340? He's gonna have to have a few more Happy Meals if he's gonna catch up to Kelvin Benjamin...

How? When he went to prison we went 56-24, had our fiirst franchise back to back, won two division championships and went to the playoffs in four out of five seasons, including an NFCCG game. WTF you talkin bout Willis?

Allen: Defense ‘is going to be amazing’ ATLANTA-FALCONS By D. Orlando Ledbetter - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 0 Atlanta Falcons secondary coach Marquand Manuel talks to safety Ricardo Allen (37) during an NFC Championship NFL game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, January 22, 2017. The Falcons defeated the Packers 44-21. (Kevin Terrell via AP) Updated: 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, 2017 | Posted: 1:11 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, 2017 FLOWERY BRANCH — Kicked to the curb just three years ago, Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen has successfully made the transition from cornerback to free safety and is now an entrenched NFL starter. He played 1,101 defensive snaps (99.1 percent), most on the team last season, in just his second year at free safety. Drafted as a cornerback in the fifth-round of the 2014 draft out of Purdue, Allen was cut and then made his way back up to roster through the practice squad. Critical to his transformation was the arrival of coach Dan Quinn, who converted him to free safety. The position had been a black hole on the defense since Thomas DeCoud slipped from Pro Bowl status after the 2012 season. The free safety in the Falcons defense is required to cover a lot of ground and, if things go wrong as they sometimes do, he’s the last line of defense. With Allen’s improved play last season, the Falcons made some strides. But he knows there’s more work ahead for him and the unit when they report for training camp on July 26. “We go from a year where we had so many people on our defense who played one or two years in this defense or in the NFL in general,” Allen told the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during last week’s minicamp. “It just comes with the experience and with more reps. Related Falcons report for training camp on July 26 Cover 9@9: Matt Ryan to stay on the move Falcons’ Freeman on Super Bowl: ‘If I would have stayed in the game, I would have got MVP’ Trufant ready to lead in the secondary Collins gives Falcons’ secondary options “I feel like we are going to be so much more faster and explosive as a defense.” Allen started all 19 games and made 104 tackles, had five pass breakups and four interceptions. He cut down his missed tackles total from 19 to 11. He has followed that up with a strong offseason. “Ricardo is playing out of his mind,” defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel said. The Falcons started second-year players linebacker Vic Beasley, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and cornerback Jalen Collins in the Super Bowl. Allen was also just in his second year as a free safety. Rookie safety Keanu Neal, and linebackers Deion Jones and Devonte Campbell also started the Super Bowl. The unit understandably stumbled about at times last season while showing flashes of toughness and guile. The Falcons were plus-11 in the turnover ratio, which was tied for fourth-most in the league. The defense had 12 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles. However, the rest of the numbers were sub-standard. They ranked 26th in rushing yards per play (4.52 yards), 28th in passing yards per game (266.7), 26th in sacks per pass attempts (5.19), tied for 29th in first downs per game (22.4), 26th in third-down conversion percentage (41.78), 32nd in red-zone percentage (72.73) and 27th in points allowed (25.4). Too much youth? “That was a lot of it,” Allen said. “You are kind of learning on the run. You are learning while you’re going through the trials and tribulations and stuff like that.” With those lessons learned, Allen believes the defense will make a big leap in 2017. “This year, it’s more of we know what we are going to see,” Allen said. “We know that we’ve seen it all. We were blessed enough to play later than a lot of people, so we’ve got a couple more games than a lot of people. It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be really good.” Allen is not deterred by the fact that NFC South teams spent major resources stockpiling offensive weapons. Tampa Bay added wide receiver DeSean Jackson in free agency and drafted Alabama tight end O.J. Howard in the first round. New Orleans signed seven-time Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson, drafted running back Alvin Kamara and signed wide receiver Ted Ginn, a deep threat. Carolina added running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the draft. “It’s always going to something,” Allen said. “ Every year, no matter what, you’re going against some of the best quarterbacks in the league, best running backs in the league and some of the best wide receivers and tight ends. Every offense in this (division) can easily score 28 points a game. As a defense, we have to take that as a challenge.” Allen believes the defense has a secret weapon. “We go against the best offense in the league every day,” Allen said. “Therefore we have to come out here and try to improve ourselves in practice and that will make the games easier. I typically don’t worry about what other people are doing, but we’ve got plenty of weapons over here that we’ve got to worry about in practice every day. “If we can take care of what we have to take care of in practice and go against Julio (Jones), Matt (Ryan), (Taylor) Gabriel, (Mohamed) Sanu, (Devonta) Freeman, (Tevin) Coleman and the fullback and all of the tight ends that we’ve got, we shouldn’t have any problems matching up with anybody when it comes to game time.”

Stay tuned for his tax day sequel....

One of their posters dropped this. Cracked me up.

Where the hail is all this melodrama coming from? Dude wasn't even here for a decade. He was here for six years in which he went 38-28-1 as a starter. That was the franchise winningest record as a starter after its first 41 seasons. With no Oline and Brian Finneran as a #1 WR. Four other Falcon QBs combined for a 9-20 record on the same six squads. He led two teams to the playoffs and went 2-2 in the postseason while reaching an NFCCG. During that time he was voted to three Pro Bowls and made the franchise relevant internationally, garnering numerous prime time games, bringing in millions in merchandise and selling out six straight Domes. How exactly is that setting a franchise back for a decade? Yall boys better get ready for Vick to be a Falcon for a day. I guarantee you Blank is gonna do it. He already had him in the Dome riding on the back of convertibles with Roddy White. Make no mistake about it, Arthur Blank loves him some Michael Vick. He is not suffering from the Vick issues most of TATF suffers from. Trust me.

The undrafted defensive back had an awesome rookie year, and looks to improve his versatility in year two. by Matthew Chambers@FalcoholicMatt Jun 18, 2017, 8:00am EDT Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images I fully believe Dan Quinn could coach up a team of football bloggers into a pretty decent defense. This is on display with Brian Poole. Scouting reports call him slow, short, and a bad tackler. Despite being undrafted, Poole shot up the depth chart in a way we never saw under Mike Smith. He had a fantastic rookie campaign, and plans to become a bigger part of the defense. Per Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Poole will have a shot at both corner and safety duties. As another athletic, versatile piece of Quinn’s defensive unit, Poole will see time at cornerback and safety in 2017. “Wherever the team needs me at,” he said. “That’s not really my call. My job is to come out and execute wherever they put me. I just want to polish up on, you know, every aspect of my game. Really just put it all together.” The secondary is jam packed with talent. The team will start three Pro Bowl-worthy players in Desmond Trufant, Robert Alford, and Keanu Neal. Jalen Collins is expected to sub in on nickel, with Poole, Ricardo Allen, and rookie Damontae Kazee pushing for free safety and dime work. Quinn likes Poole if only because he wants to fight. “I knew Poole was going to be amongst us when in training camp I saw him counting in line, not for who he didn’t want to go against, but because he wanted to go against Julio (Jones),” Quinn said during his coach’s show last November. “… That told me right then and there the competitor that he is. As opposed to backing off, he wanted to go challenge it. I’m not saying he went up there and stoned him. However, it spoke a lot to the confidence that he had in himself to say ‘I want to try it against the best.’” The article points out that Poole was very versatile. He had 10 pass deflections and 11 quarterback pressures. That’s a pretty awesome combo, and should help him push for snaps. He could start at safety or even push Collins for some nickel work. https://www.thefalcoholic.com/2017/6/18/15824370/brian-poole-to-play-at-safety-and-corner-jalen-collins-ricardo-allen-desmond-trufant-ricardo-allen

I think we should take a moment to give one more thanks to Paul Worrilow. He came in as an UDFA, started for us for years, and then, despite knowing it would cost him his job, he took Debo under his wing and taught him a little of that outstanding hard work Worrilow always had. Worrilow got where he is because he worked harder than everyone else. He was never an athletic freak or football IQ genius, he just outworked everybody else. If Debo puts in as much work as Worr did, he's going to be the best LB'er in the league.

If we'd had Clayborn and Shelby, we hoist the Lombardi. If Mack had been healthy, we hoist the Lombardi, Sigh... still, think the Falcons are going to show the panthers the proper way to recover from a super bowl loss

Ehh, this is one of those where you can kind of read into it what you want. Saying a coach isn't "stuck in his ways" is kind of a canned response.

If Free hadn't fractured Alex Mack's leg we wouldn't have lost. If Free hadn't whiffed on that block we wouldn't have lost. As honest as hes being, it doesn't help the team from a trust standpoint. Teams that point the finger, even when justified, tend to fall apart. I think its time to admit Free is more like his agents than we want to admit.

It's definitely a left hook to Shanahan who is no longer with us. It also shows that he isn't over it. The more I hear this stuff, the happier I am that Shanahan is gone. I think more and more players are blaming him and if he were still here, I think that would increase the likelihood of a hangover

Poole is a player. just plug him in and tell him what to do and he'll die trying. can't ask for more than that.

Sadly, the United States have been at war for most of it's existence. The longest period of peace was 1935-1940. Let that sink in. Support our troops. Bring them home. Viet Nam 1971.

For some reason the thought of him running a route made me think of this gif...

The Atlanta Falcons will be a powerhouse this year and for the next two. We will win the next three Super Bowls - like Secretariat won the Triple Crown.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- On Monday, June 12, Falcons owner Arthur Blank will honor two of the most iconic players to ever wear the red and black. Roddy White and Michael Vick will be honored in a special retirement press conference and reception to recognize the contributions and impact both men made to the Falcons organization and the city of Atlanta. “We consider all former Falcons to be Falcons for life, and part of our family,” Blank said. "Both men have made a huge impact on my family, our franchise and this city and we are thrilled to be able to honor both Roddy and Michael’s wishes to retire as Falcons, and celebrate their careers.” Neither former Falcon will sign a contract or take a current roster spot to signify their retirement. “We do not need a contract in place to consider them a part of our family and honor their decision to retire as a Falcon,” said Blank. The Falcons traded up for Vick in 2001 and, in doing so, made the former Virginia Tech star the first African American quarterback taken No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. After appearing in just eight games as a rookie, he quickly became a household name. Vick generated excitement throughout the city of Atlanta and every NFL fan – young and old - while creating a new fan base for the franchise with his captivating style of play. Fully entrenched as the Falcons starting quarterback heading into his second year, Vick led the team to a 9-6-1 finish and a shocking 27-7 Wild Card playoff win over Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers at Lambeau Field. It was a historic upset, as Vick’s Falcons became the first team to ever beat the Packers at home in the playoffs. During his six seasons in Atlanta – from 2001 to 2006 – Vick was named to three Pro Bowls and completed 930 passes for 11,505 yards and 71 touchdowns. Vick, a legitimate dual-threat as a passer and runner, also rushed for 3,859 yards and scored 21 touchdowns on 529 runs as a Falcon. Vick is the only quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1000 yards in single season. Vick went on to play seven more seasons in the NFL, including a five-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. His last two seasons were with the New York Jets (2014) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2015). As the 27th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Roddy White brought another dimension to the Falcons offense. White’s first touchdown, on his path to becoming the franchise leader in touchdowns, was a 19-yard reception from Vick against the Packers during his rookie year. White’s toughness and consistency also played a large part in the development of quarterback Matt Ryan. White played 11 seasons in Atlanta and still owns several Falcons receiving records. In 171 games from 2005 to 2015, he amassed 808 receptions, 10,863 yards and 63 touchdowns – all franchise records. White’s best season came in 2010, when he led the NFL with 115 catches and had a career-best 1,389 receiving yards. He was eventually named first-team All-Pro and was selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls, the last being in 2011. He was the fifth player in league history to record three consecutive seasons with at least 90 receptions and 1,200 yards (2010-12). He set a franchise record with six-straight 1,000-yard seasons and caught more passes (480) than any other player in the NFC during that span. After sitting out the 2016 season, White announced his retirement from the NFL on April 14, 2017.

Forgive is one thing. Him being honored by a team he brought so much grief and embarrassment too. That's what people don't get. This isn't a league where everyone gets a trophy. He has done nothing to deserve to be honored. People forgiving him is not the issue, it should be left in the past, and he doesn't deserve to be honored, forgave or not. People think he is being hated on because he hasn't earned that right. It's just a lame way of excusing his poor career as a falcon for a some good moments. No one really hates Vicks, I don't, but this team honoring him is a disgrace.

I'm not going to say either of you are wrong for your feelings on Vick, you are not. What he did was sick and reprehensible and I was upfront banging the drum for his release, however, I feel he has done his time (literally and figuratively), he has done a ton of work within the animal abuse community and PETA to raise awareness for animal abuse, (deservedly) lost everything he had, and has shown himself to be truly rehabilitated from his prior actions. Add to that what he brought to the franchise and I, for one, am glad to see both being honored in this manner but I believe in forgiveness and second chances so /shrug Both are Falcon's icons, so that is cool in my book.

At a vintage toy store in Chicago...