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Who are your all-time favorite Falcons?


Farmer

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Farmer (6/4/2008)
falconfansince66 (6/4/2008)
Farmer (6/4/2008)
Just wanted to talk about something positive. 

.....2. Keith Brooking - Mr. Falcon

In order to set all Falcon fans straight, there has only been ONE "Mr. Falcon" and that is Tommy Nobis.  As much as I admire and respect Keith Brooking's career in Atlanta, he pales in comparison to the best LB to ever wear a Falcons uniform.  In fact, nearly every single Falcons player pales in comparison to him.  He was THAT GREAT!

 Here's just a few examples of my reasoning: 

  • Was the first ever player drafted by the Atlanta Falcons organization in the inaugural 1966 season. Tommy quickly became the first ever Falcon voted to the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. The stellar middle linebacker was named the NFL Rookie of the Year for his efforts.

  • "Mr. Falcon" led the team in tackles in nine of his 11 seasons, earning five trips to the Pro Bowl

  • After his 46th consecutive NFL game, he underwent knee surgery in 1969 and another one on the other knee in 1971. Known for his toughness, Nobis came back from both surgeries to earn another Pro Bowl spot in 1972.  Knee surgeries in the late 60's/early 70's were always a long trip to the DL and not always as successful as the present day methods.

  • In a poll conducted in 1970 by ABC to pick the best athlete of the decade of the 1960's, running back O.J. Simpson was number one, and Tommy Nobis was number two in the entire country.

  • Tommy had an astronomical 294 total combined tackles as a rookie, still the team's club record.  (NOTE: 14 Game Season!)

  • Tommy also intercepted 11 passes during his professional career, returning two for touchdowns, and getting fined $100 each time for throwing the ball into the stands.

  • His uniform #60 was the first one the Falcons ever retired and it's been worn by only him during the team's 30-plus years of existence.

  • Dolphins running back Larry Csonka: "I'd rather play against **** Butkus than Nobis."

  • Former Falcons head coach Dan Reeves: "As a running back for eight seasons in the NFL, I certainly took my share of hits. Unfortunately I remember some of them, particularly the ones from Falcons linebacker Tommy Nobis. "Mr. Falcon," as he is known in this part of the country, should be considered a worthy candidate for the Hall of Fame. I played and coached on some great teams while I was with Dallas. Those teams consisted of Hall of Fame members like Bob Lilly, Roger Staubach and Tom Landry. I feel that Nobis' contributions on the field merit those of the Cowboys Hall of Fame players. Before the days of mass media and cable television, the play of Nobis stood a good chance of being missed due to the Falcons lack of success during his tenure. I think we need to count on the members of the media to help keep his legacy alive and teach our younger fans of his playing days. If you talk to the players of his era, they will certainly name Nobis as one of the game's most fierce competitors."

So whenever you're considering calling anyone besides Tommy Nobis, "Mr Falcon", you'd probably be best advised ask Mr Nobis if it's okay first!

I would agree with you, I just wish I could've seen Nobis play.  I just think of Brooking as "Mr. Falcon" b/c he's never left Atlanta.  Maybe "Mr. Atlanta" would be a better title.

You do make a valid point, "Mr Atlanta" would fit Brooking pretty well.  I wished everyone could have seen Nobis play.  He was like a ball-seeking missle and he would bring the lumber, er whole lumberyard...

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ok having only followed the nfl for bout 5 years, and being from ireland where we get to watch the colts and pats every week on sky sports cos their the winning teams and favorites, i'm drawing on some limited knowlage. however i have tried to read a fair bit of falcon history and things on past atlanta teams of years gone. so these are my all time favorite falcons, picked on being the best and how much they helped the team and such...

Morten Andersen K - personal all time favorite

Deion Sanders CB

Tommy Nobis LB

Jessie Tuggle LB

Bob Christian FB - never saw him play but he rocked the first game of madden i owned, shame he always retired after the first season

Keith Brooking LB

well thats a top 5 anyway, im getting too caught up in this and would spend the whole night at this if i dont stop now

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eoin daly (6/5/2008)
ok having only followed the nfl for bout 5 years, and being from ireland where we get to watch the colts and pats every week on sky sports cos their thewinning teams and favorites,i'm drawing on some limited knowlage. however i have tried to read a fair bit of falcon history and things on past atlanta teams of years gone. so these are my all time favorite falcons, picked on being the best and how much they helped the team and such...

Morten AndersenK - personal all time favorite

Deion Sanders CB

Tommy Nobis LB

Jessie Tuggle LB

Bob Christian FB - never saw him play but he rocked the first game of madden i owned, shame he always retired after the first season

Keith Brooking LB

well thats a top 5 anyway, im getting too caught up in this and would spend the whole night at this if i dont stop now

When Fb Bob Christian didnt play, INJed , we lost!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bump. What a great line of posts!

Someone actually remembered Billy Rickman. That kid had no real athletic NFL level

talent and shouldn't have been on the field, but MAN would he ever catch a ball that

NOBODY, not even Mathis would catch. He wasnt electric, and doubtful anyone bought

a ticket to come see him play, but let me tell you, I remember *jumping* out my seat

screaming "YES" when he'd catch the uncatchable ball; MANY times...

Tom Pridemore... What a Demon!

I'd probably have to have a top 20 or 25 list, 10 is just too few...

Funny, though. 3 of the most talented athletes and most fun to watch, I personally

wouldn't put on an "All Time Atlanta Falcons" list because they either weren't team

players or were just plain dip-sticks (taking nothing away from their abilities):

Vick

D-Hall

Prime Time <--- Had a jersey, sat on row 1, high 5'd the man 6 or 8 times...

My all time favorite though is still William Andrews. Taking nothing away from Jamal,

I dont think we've seen an RB (not even Riggs) with this type of talent on the Falcons

roster...

My "most heart" award: Jesse "The Hammer" Tuggle Man, did he ever deliver.

Biggest hitters though (taking nothing away from Jesse or Fulton, etc) would be between

Scott Case and Tom Pridemore. HOLY CRAP.

Like Bartkowski, and he might be at the bottom of my list, but he was Mr. P.R..... I really

liked the touch that Chris Chandler (in his prime) put on the ball...

WR... Did anyone mention Michael Haynes? What a burner! Missed a few that I surely

wished he'd caught....

Tim Dwight... When he had the ball you always felt that a TD was possible...

Bob Christian! What a lead blocker!!

Tarrence Mathis... Heart, soul, character... And he caught the damned thing!

Buddy Curry. I saw him all the time, and never saw him without 3 or 4 (literally) HOT

women around him. What a dog! :-) Just great all around play.

Jamal would be on my list, with many others!

Great lists guys!!!

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The Falcon Ace (6/5/2008)
falconfansince66 (6/5/2008)
burdman (6/5/2008)
MIKE VICK #1!!!!!!!

Hall of Shame....

Would explain why he had some sort of serious issue with Matt Ryan...

No i dont like Matt Ryan because he's overrated, plain and simple. yeah everybody who likes Vick automatically hates Ryan AND everybody who likes Ryan hates Vick right? See how dumb u sound

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1. William Andrews

2. Michael Vick/DeAngelo Hall

3. Deion Sander

4. Jamaal Anderson

5. Jessie Tuggle

6. Jamaal Anderson

7. Andre' Rison

8. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

9. Alge Crumpler

10. Steve Bartkowski

11. Scott Case

12. Patrick Kerney

13. Michael Haynes

14. Tim Dwight

15. Tim McKyer

16. Dan Reeves

17. Jerry Glanville

18. I can keep going but that's enough lol

I love my team!

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I had season tickets from 1966 to 1979 before I moved out of state so it has been a pleasure to watch many outstanding players.

Nobis, anyone who had the ball in his hand was looking for #60

Steve Bartkowski, arm strength? his Cal Bears quarterback coach, Paul Hackett said Bart threw from one endzone to the other 100 yds!! A great gentleman whether there was a crowd or just one fan.

Alfred Jenkins, Alfred Jackson, Terrance Mathis!

Art Malone, an awesome runner, was one of the best ever at picking up the blitz!

Jim Mitchell,a great tight end, Was nicknamed "Meat" by Coach Norm Van Brocklin on the Bob Neal Falcons show (don't ask me why I don't want to know) 

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1. DeAngelo Hall - Personal reason...he inspired me to play CB in highschool.

2. Michael Vick - I really hate how he messed up his NFL career, but I always think what could of been.

3. Patrick Kerney - Good character guy...and brought alot of energy to the team.

4. Kieth Brooking - Always gettin bashed, but ppl forget that he still gets his 100+ tackles every year, he is a TRUE FALCON, he wouldnt look good in any other uniform.

5. Michael Boley - Most likely my new favorite player...but replacing a favorite player is hard and takes time. One of the top LBs in the NFL...period.

*Honaray Mention*

6. Justin Griffith - Great Blocker, fast for a FB, Great Receiver out of the back field, great character and still young...I still think getting Mughelli is a downgrade over Griffith.

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L (6/4/2008)
Hate to say it but i loved watching vick play.

Dude your not the only one, Vick was fun to watch period, especially when he got pissed and nobody could stop him. but alas hes a idiot.

Other Falcons I liked. below.

Bartkowski

Gerald Riggs

Scott Case

Terrence Mathis

Bob Whitfield

Tony Martin

Chuck Smith

Lester Archembeau

Travis hall

Brady Smith

Ray Buchanon

Bobby hebert

Deon Sanders

Patrick Kerney

Keith Brooking

Chris Chandler

Warrick Dunn

Dwight Smith

Jamal Anderson the RB ;)

OJ Santiago

Jesse Tuggle

John Abraham

Im sure I will think of some more. :P

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doc17mo (6/27/2008)
cutshot (6/27/2008)
Mike Kenn-The best OT in Falcon history.

Todd Weiner, Bob Whitfield, Jamie Dukes, Lincoln Kennedy and Jeff Van Note may have a problem with that statement to name a few.

I'm sure Van Note would agree as I do that Kenn was the best OT in Falcon History.  One season, Kenn played with a broken arm in a cast and still got it done.  I think he struck even more fear into defensive linemen with that huge 'sledgehammer' of a cast he was wearing.

Van Note was a CENTER and the best Center in Falcon History.  Jamie Dukes was a Guard but I believe Bill Fralic was our best Guard ever.  As for Weiner, not a chance vs Kenn.  Kennedy wasn't too shabby either but he was definitely no Mike Kenn either. 

If only we could have all these guys in their prime at this moment!  Ryan would have all day and Turner/Norwood would literally have a 'freeway' in which to run!

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falconfansince66 (6/5/2008)
Here's one for the ages!

Running Back - Eric Dickerson  YES, He was an Atlanta Falcon AND he's in the NFL Hall of Fame!

DANG!!  You stole mine!:)  Others to wear the Falcon uniform...Brett Favre, also, no one's mentioned Eric Metcalf yet.  Anyone for Travis Hall, the Alaskan Woodchopper?  He was Pat Kerney before there was Pat Kerney.

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falconfansince66 (6/4/2008)
Farmer (6/4/2008)
Just wanted to talk about something positive. 

.....2. Keith Brooking - Mr. Falcon

In order to set all Falcon fans straight, there has only been ONE "Mr. Falcon" and that is Tommy Nobis.  As much as I admire and respect Keith Brooking's career in Atlanta, he pales in comparison to the best LB to ever wear a Falcons uniform.  In fact, nearly every single Falcons player pales in comparison to him.  He was THAT GREAT!

 Here's just a few examples of my reasoning: 

  • Was the first ever player drafted by the Atlanta Falcons organization in the inaugural 1966 season. Tommy quickly became the first ever Falcon voted to the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. The stellar middle linebacker was named the NFL Rookie of the Year for his efforts.

  • "Mr. Falcon" led the team in tackles in nine of his 11 seasons, earning five trips to the Pro Bowl

  • After his 46th consecutive NFL game, he underwent knee surgery in 1969 and another one on the other knee in 1971. Known for his toughness, Nobis came back from both surgeries to earn another Pro Bowl spot in 1972.  Knee surgeries in the late 60's/early 70's were always a long trip to the DL and not always as successful as the present day methods.

  • In a poll conducted in 1970 by ABC to pick the best athlete of the decade of the 1960's, running back O.J. Simpson was number one, and Tommy Nobis was number two in the entire country.

  • Tommy had an astronomical 294 total combined tackles as a rookie, still the team's club record.  (NOTE: 14 Game Season!)

  • Tommy also intercepted 11 passes during his professional career, returning two for touchdowns, and getting fined $100 each time for throwing the ball into the stands.

  • His uniform #60 was the first one the Falcons ever retired and it's been worn by only him during the team's 30-plus years of existence.

  • Dolphins running back Larry Csonka: "I'd rather play against **** Butkus than Nobis."

  • Former Falcons head coach Dan Reeves: "As a running back for eight seasons in the NFL, I certainly took my share of hits. Unfortunately I remember some of them, particularly the ones from Falcons linebacker Tommy Nobis. "Mr. Falcon," as he is known in this part of the country, should be considered a worthy candidate for the Hall of Fame. I played and coached on some great teams while I was with Dallas. Those teams consisted of Hall of Fame members like Bob Lilly, Roger Staubach and Tom Landry. I feel that Nobis' contributions on the field merit those of the Cowboys Hall of Fame players. Before the days of mass media and cable television, the play of Nobis stood a good chance of being missed due to the Falcons lack of success during his tenure. I think we need to count on the members of the media to help keep his legacy alive and teach our younger fans of his playing days. If you talk to the players of his era, they will certainly name Nobis as one of the game's most fierce competitors."

So whenever you're considering calling anyone besides Tommy Nobis, "Mr Falcon", you'd probably be best advised ask Mr Nobis if it's okay first!

AMEN to that Bro ! I watched Nobis whole career and I agree with you 100 % If anybody deserves to be called Mr. Falcon , Tommy Nobis is THE MAN ! It's just a shame that he never played in a playoff game with the Falcons , thought we should should have made the playoffs in 1974 when we finished 9 and 5 and would have made it if we had beat the Bills at home ( and another team , I forgot ) at took care of business . But the man deserves to be in the Hall Of Fame , I just hope they don't wait too long to induct him .

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