12:54 am January 16, 2011, by D. Orlando Ledbetter
110115 Atlanta - Atlanta Falcons Eric Weems returns a kickoff for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers for a 14-7 lead during 2nd quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
With the game Pro Bowl being played the week before the Super Bowl, the Falcons coaching staff will coach in the NFC squad in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu.
The Falcons had seven players selected for the game and have two first alternate.
Running back Michael Turner, fullback Ovie Mughelli, quarterback Matt Ryan, tight end Tony Gonzalez, wide receiver Roddy White, defensive end John Abraham and special teamer Eric Weems were all selected for the all-star game.
Also, right tackle Tyson Clabo and kicker Matt Bryant are alternates and could go if players in front of them get injured or reach the Super Bowl.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter
The AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter has the inside story on the Atlanta Falcons
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
135 comments Add your comment
JoJo
January 16th, 2011
9:50 am
Enter your comments here
SAINT'S FANS are freeloaders
January 16th, 2011
9:53 am
Hey Saint”s queer , if you came here and didn’t go home then please leave. If, that’s not the case then please come get your 200,000 residents who came here and stayed. We are sick of paying their freeloader checks. As for your anti-Falcon post, we got knocked out by the team who will represent the NFC in the bowl. YOU got knocked out by a 7-9 team. WHO DAT LOSER ? DAT BE YOU !
FALCLOWNS are ABL (ALWAYS BE LOSERS)
January 16th, 2011
9:53 am
Rise up? Missed your Viagra pill last night, FALCLOWNS….you are the ’softest’ 13-3 team in history….how embarrassing….at least when my SAINTS were the #1 seed, we ruled…NFC South, NFC Championship, SB44 Win! That is what REAL teams do….keep admiring our RING for another year….your smack talk was HOLLOW….btw, great fan support in the 4th qtr….pathetic…oh yea, you need to tell Artie Blank, Mikey Smitty and Melted Matty Ice to cancel their SB parade plans…they can always watch the film from the SAINTS parade last year….LMAO…WHO DAT! WE DAT! YOU AINT DAT!
FALCLOWNS are ABL (ALWAYS BE LOSERS)
January 16th, 2011
10:00 am
@ SAINT’S FANS are freeloaders – how are you this morning, redneck or are you a ghetto dweller from south fulton?? sounds like both…. Man, it must STING to know that YOU HAVE NO RING! Say what you want about the SAINTS….we don’t care….so, just go back to loving your first cousin, i mean wife, i mean sister and forget about last night…also, if you want, i can post pics of our SB Ring, Lombardi trophy and parade celebration…it is the closest you will EVER get to that experience, loser….what a puppet…i write and pull the strings, you dance….NO RING, NO RING, NO RING, EPIC FAILURE, EPIC FAILURE, EPIC FAILURE….your loss is much WORSE than ours…getting humiliated and owned in your own DOME, just as we did to you a few weeks ago..national media is having a field day over YOUR LOSS…man, I bet that hurts….LMAO, stay classy, redneck….
FALCLOWNS are ABL (ALWAYS BE LOSERS)
January 16th, 2011
10:03 am
News Flash – thousands of dead pigeons reported in atlanta….cause of death appears to be by flying blocks of cheese……more to come….WHO DAT! LMAO…..48-21…what a friggin embarrassment….NFC SOUTH FRAUDS! #1 SEED? RISE UP? What a joke….must really sting to NOT HAVE A SB RING!
christophorm
January 16th, 2011
10:03 am
All you young Falcons fans ,we use to say in the 1970’s “Go Falcons and take the Hawks with you”…go and watch the Atlanta Falcons in 1980 Atlanta vs dallas in the playoffs in Atlanta….they are and always have been chokers.Don’t pull for a team because it’s your state.pick out one you like for yourself.I was born in Georgia but realized early that this team will never do anything…..GO SKINS !
G in GB
January 16th, 2011
10:06 am
Wow,
What a game by the Pack! I rolled in here last week to see what the opposition was saying about the upcoming game. There was a ton of confidence on your side of the ball Falcons fans (deservedly so after going 13-3). What is surprising to me now is how many of you have gone “Chicken Little”. The sky is not falling. You ran into a buzz-saw who refused to fold.
Fumble by the Pack turns into a Birds TD, no problem, we drive and score to tie it.
Weems takes the kick-off to the house. No problem, we go 92 yards and score to tie it.
Williams gets a pick to stop a drive and Rogers goes 80 and scores. Up by 7.
Falcons driving before the half and get greedy looking to get 5 yards closer for the field goal try with 10 ticks left and no timeouts and Williams pick sixes Ryan.
Packers start 2nd half with a touchdown and there is a stampede for the exits.
What the Packers did to you team is what you’ve been doing to everyone all year long. Your team is like a boa constrictor. It’s a slow, methodical death and it has to be painful to have it happen to you when you have been doing to everyone else.
Don’t freak out. You still have a far better than average team who is on a huge upswing. Anyone who thinks coaches should be fired and wholesale changes should be made to that team should go watch soccer. Ryan will learn from this as will the coaching staff. I see allot of similarities with the Packs progression and where the Falcons should be headed.
GO PACK!
christophorm
January 16th, 2011
10:09 am
packer fans…remember this: I hate jay culter…he throws to many picks…he is a cry baby….he’s a bad sport….He gonna break your hearts HAHA !
Richie D
January 16th, 2011
10:23 am
C’mon haters really? I can’t believe these posts. Aaron Rodgers played his best game ever tonight and NOONE would have beaten the Pack tonight. It was a surreal performance. The Falcons also chose to play their worst game of the season, so combine the two and you have the blowout hat happened tonight.
I give the Pack all the credit in the world, but I will say dont talk about rings yet. You are playing great right now and I hope you ride it to the SuperBowl, but take it easy. The knocks on Ryan are unwarranted. He made one VERY poor throw for the pick 6, and playing from that far behind with a defense flyin at ya isn’t easy. I think we’ll see this matchup of Rodgers v. Ryan for years to come, both solid young teams.
Good luck to GB, and Falcon fans that are sitting here giving up o the franchise because we lost one game relax. It was a bad loss and it stings for sure, but we have the best team we’ve had around here ever. Three years, two playoff appearances, one division crown and a YOUNG team. DeCoud and Moore will only get better, Grimes improved like crazy this year, Spoon and Dunta were a rook and a vet in their first years in the defense. We need to address the d-end position and get Ryan another weapon on the outside for sure. Douglas was a disappointment this year.
And The Flynn as ICE comments really?! Matty ICE resides in the atl, always will. He got that name because of his already having 8 4th qtr comebacks to win in three years. Now although Rodgers is great, he plays well with a lead. And check the stats because Rodgers has led such a comeback ZERO times, so hopefully he doesnt have to play from behind.
Sid
January 16th, 2011
10:27 am
Hey Darrell, you’re gonna have to go cover the Falcons coaching staff in Hawaii aren’t you?
NELL
January 16th, 2011
10:27 am
ALLRIGHT RODNEY LET’S HEAR YOU BRAGGGGGG NOW!!!!!!!!! TALK YOUR S#*T NOW ROLL WITH IT.WE GOT THE RING YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A PLAYOFF WIN.DON’T FELL GOOD ON THE OTHER SIDE.SEE S#$T HAPPENS, NOT FOR ATLANTA LOL!!!!
Falco
January 16th, 2011
10:28 am
If I hear “Matty Ice” one more time………I may choke somebody. Guy is a joke with a weak, weak arm.
Sid
January 16th, 2011
10:30 am
I have to admit it is pretty hilarious for the Who Dat nation to come on here and try to trash talk the Falcons. We won the NFC South, you got taken out of the playoffs by (snicker) Seattle.
*************************************
When they came out of the tunnel I swear I thought to myself, they do not look like they are fired up, looking somewhat timid. Christopher Owens didn’t lose us this game………..at least not all by himself. The Packers dominated in every facet, they wanted it more than we did. Aaron Rogers got hot at the right time of the season. We all knew our defense has improved but still 22nd ranked against the pass. So it was a fun year, winning the NFC South an accomplishment and naturally we all wished our A game had of showed up last night. Congrats to Green Bay more than likely the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. So none of us wanted to lose like that, not so much embarrassing as it was like being strip searched in public. Maybe that trip to Hawaii appeared a little more appealing than Arlington in February. We beat Green Bay in a playoff game at Lambeau, they just returned the favor. Congratulations to the Talon Razor Sharp Atlanta Falcons on an excellent season. So, who do you like in the draft……………..?
PeachtreeTiger
January 16th, 2011
10:31 am
Maybe they need to change the Ryan’s name to “Matty Dry Ice”. This team always folds like a cheap tent in big games and against good competition. They got spanked by the Saints and now Green Bay. Thank goodness they can beat teams like Carolina.
Falcon fans were duped into thinking this was a good team by the weak schedule the Falcon’s played. The coaching staff and the players, especially Mr. Dry Ice don’t know how to win big games and choked, plain and simple. This team has no leaders. Now they are left with a crappy draft and tough season for 2011. This team will go no where for a long time.
Richie D
January 16th, 2011
10:33 am
Falco chill out. Hes younger and just as much upside as the QB that outplayed him last night. ICE is warranted, he’ll be fine and so will we
Richie D
January 16th, 2011
10:37 am
Peachtree really? We beat the saints, ravens, gb, bucs twice (same record as you) and what a shame we dont get to play min twice and det twice…
At least talk intelligent when you speak about football. And our schedule was the second toughest opponents win% in the nfc, and tougher than yours
SAINTS I'AM
January 16th, 2011
10:40 am
HOW DOES IT FEEL RODNEY YOU MADE IT HARD FOR YOUR TEAM. ATLANTA WON’T BE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL.WE WERE THERE, WE KNOW THE FEELING YOU DON’T AND WON’T. NOT IN 2011.SUPER BOWL CHAMPS KNOW ABOUT HAPPY FEELINGS FEELS GOOD.
Sid
January 16th, 2011
10:44 am
PeachtreeTiger
January 16th, 2011
10:31 am
********************************************
I wouldn’t exactly say we got spanked by New Orleans 17-14, and we win that game if not for Turner’s goal line fumble.
Go Falcons!!
Sid
January 16th, 2011
10:46 am
SAINTS I’AM
January 16th, 2011
10:40 am
*************************************
You’re such champions that you got knocked out of the playoffs by (snicker) Seattle.
Go Falcons!!!
Gen. Wm. T. Sherman
January 16th, 2011
10:52 am
The only thing more pathetic than the Falcons play last night, was their fair weather “fans” who filed out early. Very, very weak. You don’t deserve the team you have.
SAINTS I'AM
January 16th, 2011
11:03 am
SID WE ARE THE 2010 SUPER BOWL CHAMPS WE WEAR THE RING YOU GOT KNOCKED OFF BY CHEESE,BUT A LOST IS A LOST DOESN’T MATTER BY WHOM.GO SAINTS GO!!!!!!!.WE STILL HAVE NEXT YEAR.
RM
January 16th, 2011
11:10 am
Hopefully BVG will not be on the staff coaching the Pro Bowl b/c he should be let go today. That was the most pathetic performance by a Defense that I have seen in a long time. He did not make any adjustments against Rogers quick passes. No pressure on the QB and the secondary is flat-out terrible. Robinson is a huge bust and don’t even get me started on Owens. Heck, even Aikman commented that BVG didn’t have a clue.
Loserville USA
January 16th, 2011
11:19 am
Ryan…. Pro Bowl???
Rodgers…. NOT???
Proof this game was fixed……NFL knew Rodgers would be in the Super Bowl so there was no reason for him to be picked.
Mr. Blank better do something quick to re-energize the fan base or we’re looking at 4-12, 5-11 next season. Seen it happen many times. 1981 Falcons went 3-0 to start the season and then…. UTTER COLLAPSE and fail.
We’re now going to find out A LOT about the Atlanta Falcon organization. A LOT!
Curtis
January 16th, 2011
11:21 am
Explain to me how can dome team can be slower than a team that play on the grass and cold weather? How can beat a team that can score in less than a minute?
I have always thought that the Falcons though successful, is to slow and grinding for a dome team; most dome use speed to beat visiting teams. Falcons style of offense will never beat elite teams like New England, GreenBay, New Orleans and so on. They need young fast defense lineman, linebackers and defensive backs. Mike Turner is good for clock management but Falcons need a fast running back that get to the outside and catch passes. If the Falcons don’t change they will be forever falling short in playoffs.
GB Do or Die
January 16th, 2011
11:36 am
You guys have a great team. Young QB chocks in the playoffs. Which one didn’t?
Your biggest problem is you, the fans. Empty the stadium at end of the third? You will never see that in GB, even with the scores reversed, the temp below zero, and the wind blowing like stink. It’s your team, you’re in a climate controlled dome, you’ve paid for the ticket, hang around and show a litte support!
Good luck next season. Hope to see you on the tundra at playoff time.
Saints fan
January 16th, 2011
11:44 am
FALCONS where pathetic we should’ve had home field n I bet da seahawks would’ve gotten crushed just like da Falcons lol again pathetic
Green Bay... LLO
January 16th, 2011
11:49 am
We got our butts kicked. But Atlanta is far superior in each and every way to the dump that is Green Bay. It’s right there… next to Buffalo and pretty much all of northern NJ… a dump. While we have a wide variety of teams to cheer for, they have only one thing… the Packers. That’s it. There’s pretty much NOTHING else outside of the Packers that there is to do in your life in Green Bay. I’d rather be from ATL and be a Falcons fan of a team that got our butts kicked then be from anywhere near Green Bay. Have fun in your dump.
NuclearJim
January 16th, 2011
11:59 am
Ownes needs to be banned form the Falcon’s facilities and have all his Sh#$ piled by the roadside. The man is not worthy of playing another down in the NFL, let alone wit the Falcon’s. Arthur need to srtongly consider refunds for the so called “game” last night. Pathetic defense, led by Ownes. What a LOSER that bast**d is.
Falcons73
January 16th, 2011
12:09 pm
Another stellar post after the most devastating loss in Falcons history…thanks DOL.
Packers Fan
January 16th, 2011
12:14 pm
RISE DOWN!!!!!!!!
Packers Fan
January 16th, 2011
12:15 pm
So much for Project 119. GO PACK GO!
Big Easy
January 16th, 2011
12:20 pm
Im a big Saints fan . But last night I was a big Packer fan . Go Green and Gold. Really hope you go all the way to the big game. Thanks for kicking some Falcon butt.
Packers Fan
January 16th, 2011
12:21 pm
Matt Ryan who do you play next? Oh…. I know couch. HAHAHA I hope the couch don’t sack you like the Packers did. Go ahead and get marry because you are a chump. You a just season player not a playoff player when the light come on. You Falcons don’t need respect. You are sorry just like Trent Dilfer said. Where you Roddy White and your big mouth? Well….. let me said one thing to you shut your mouth up.
Packers Fan
January 16th, 2011
12:24 pm
You are welcome Big Easy!!!!!!! The Packers were the the number one seed and the Falcons were a 6 seed.
Asheville Dawg
January 16th, 2011
12:33 pm
Now that football is out of my system for another year, when do pitchers and catchers report?
They were who we thought they were.
Den
January 16th, 2011
1:16 pm
What a d@m joke these peoples should be fired , from the head coach down everyone of them should be fired after last night clinic.
falcon
January 16th, 2011
1:20 pm
Glad to hear that the Falcon’s coaching staff will be going to Hawaii. Is there any chance they can leave Mike Mularkey over there?
Mac
January 16th, 2011
1:22 pm
Since the Falcon coaching staff is coaching the NFC..There is NO Way The NFC wins this game!
AFC by 14 Points!!
Den
January 16th, 2011
1:25 pm
Please stop calling this kid Matty ice , until he accomplish something in the NFL like a championship he is just Matt Ryan a good QB with potential to become great if the falcons organization bring in better players .
Gen. Wm. T. Sherman
January 16th, 2011
1:26 pm
Shocking to see an empty stadium in the 2nd half. Falcons are a very good team, but their “fans” don’t deserve them.
Hocice
January 16th, 2011
1:28 pm
This was a
Hocice
January 16th, 2011
1:34 pm
Embarrassment plain and simple. Out coached,Out played.If you do not have a defence the Falcons will always be a first team out in the playoffs. Need a defensive secondary.
falldown1
January 16th, 2011
1:50 pm
It’s a sure WIN for the AFC after what I saw from the FALCANTS!!!RODGERS and WILLIAMS deserves to be in the PRO BOWL!!!! instead u send MATTY ICECREAM and GRIMES what a joke!!!!!!
YoYoJoJo
January 16th, 2011
2:12 pm
Seems like the Falcons staff shouldn’t be coaching anyone. With all their injuries, the Packers coaches still managed to put together a great game and team. I think they should be coaching, not the jokes of the NFC.
Pepe
January 16th, 2011
2:27 pm
it hurts…i’ll move on tomorrow. here’s hoping the pats go down some how.
hangman
January 16th, 2011
2:32 pm
UGA and the birds should swap Defensive coaches. Grantham is use to the PRO type and VG, well, he use to do good at the college level.
hangman
January 16th, 2011
2:38 pm
Hell NO! If I was any of the coaches or the selected players, I wouldn’t want my face seen on television or in public right now. Pitiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pitiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pitiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Loserville ATL
January 16th, 2011
2:56 pm
New nickname for Ryan is Matty “Slush”…new slogan for team nest year…Falcons “Lie Down”.
wreckmaniac
January 16th, 2011
2:57 pm
Coach of the year awards must go to the Bear and Packer staffs. Three years ago these teams were mediocre to poor, made key changes especially at QB, and are now among the top 4 teams. Great job.
Atlanta under new leadership and with Ryan have become an elite team but are obviously not among the top 4. Atl is among the top 6 or 8 teams.
Loserville ATL
January 16th, 2011
2:58 pm
How the heck is Matty “Slush” going to the Pro Bowl ove Aaron Rodgers…”Slush” could not even hold his clip board.