Tyson Clabo added to the NFC Pro Bowl team
Announcer Wes Durham, center Todd McClure and tackle Tyson Clabo. Wonder if this trio won the Karoke competition. (By Jimmy Cribb/Atlanta Falcons)
Falcons right tackle Tyson Clabo was added to the NFC Pro Bowl team on Thursday.
Clabo, who was the first alternate along the offensive line, will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters. The Falcons will have eight players in the game. Also, head coach Mike Smith and the staff will coach the team.
Clabo will join teammates defensive end John Abraham, tight end Tony Gonzalez, fullback Ovie Mughelli, quarterback Matt Ryan, running Michael Turner, special teams specialist Eric Weems and wide receiver Roddy White in Hawaii on January 30, 2011.
The eight players is a league-high and franchise record.
In 2010, Clabo was part of an offensive line that averaged 341.1 yards of total offense per game and allowed just 23 sacks, which was the third fewest in the league.
Additionally, Ryan enjoyed his finest year as a pro throwing for 3,705 yards and 28 touchdowns with Clabo playing at right tackle.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter
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65 comments Add your comment
SeenThisB4
January 20th, 2011
7:31 pm
First!
SirReal
January 20th, 2011
7:33 pm
Big deal about him getting picked. Dahl is about the only solid one on the line, My birds got exposed. We arent that good collectively and that line overachieved in 08.
Tyson Clabo
January 20th, 2011
7:46 pm
I rock. Happy to be in the Pro Bowl. I deserve it
GEORGIA
January 20th, 2011
7:50 pm
birr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
swampfox59
January 20th, 2011
8:31 pm
Go Birds. sireal u are misfake
No hope now
January 20th, 2011
8:36 pm
“In 2010, Clabo was part of an offensive line that averaged 341.1 yards of total offense per game and allowed just 23 sacks, which was the third fewest in the league.
Additionally, Ryan enjoyed his finest year as a pro throwing for 3,705 yards and 28 touchdowns with Clabo playing at right tackle.”
See, its the things like this thats making it hard for Smitty and TD to do the smart thing in letting murlarkey go. I can sit up here and say as I falcon fan that I do think we’re overrated in some areas. Has anybody seen nfl.com lately? Theres this thing that maddne has picked us as a top 5 o-line. I DON’T SEE IT. We only gave up 23 sacks? 3rd lowest? IMO its a smoke screen ITS TURNER WE SHOULD THANK FOR THAT. THe run game takes pressure off ryan, AS WE SAW EXCULSIVELY SATURDAY NIGHT that this o-line can give up sacks and be pressured easily against top 15 defenses. But it looks like clabo is the guy we’ll keep, and let dahl and blalock go. I actually like Dahl the most. I want a new LT, and in order for that WE NEED TO MOVE BAKER TO RT. But it isn’t gonna happen if we keep clabo. Coordinator of the year, and ryans numbers, and things like that give murlarkey is credit, BUT ITS TOO MUCH CREDIT. Does anyone not know we finished 16th in offense??? THE SAME NUMBER OUR DEFENSE FINISHED UNDER??? The offense is getting worse and the defense is getting better
Thomas Cianfrogna
January 20th, 2011
8:47 pm
Congratulations to Clabo…Yes, you deserve it from your performance during the majority of the year. What the heck happened down the stretch and in the playoffs is beyond me.
Singletary
January 20th, 2011
8:56 pm
I hope we keep Blalock, Dahl & Clabo.
I think our offense could have compensated if the BVG made corrections at half time. It is just insane to keep doing what you have been doing and expecting a different result.
Why are we unable to ever change a game plan? A consistent 20 yard doughnut hole in the defense would allow even the worst QB to complete passes to an unstudied receiving corps.
I’m not saying we would have won, but the competitive portion of the game would have continued at least into the fourth quarter. Check out Gregg Easterbrook’s analysis on ESPN’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback. I agree.
Delbert D.
January 20th, 2011
10:11 pm
Good for Tyson Clabo. Over the whole season, the guys picked for the team did very well.
Otis the Drunk
January 20th, 2011
10:40 pm
D.Orlando….what circumstance (injury, other?)occurred causing the need to replace Jason Peters? Just curious but congrats to Tyson.
Tweets that mention Tyson Clabo added to the NFC Pro Bowl team | Atlanta Falcons -- Topsy.com
January 20th, 2011
10:45 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by You Post Atlanta, Jeff. Jeff said: Tyson Clabo added to the NFC Pro Bowl team http://bit.ly/ghFqXS [...]
JSS
January 20th, 2011
10:59 pm
The AFC defensive ends just started to polish up the MVP trophy when they heard the news!
Richard Simmons
January 21st, 2011
1:23 am
JSS, you’re a d-bag.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 21st, 2011
2:16 am
Jason Peters is terrible.
(How many words has this blog blocked? Seriously…)
FalconUGAFan
January 21st, 2011
5:52 am
Congrats Tyson..well deserved…
@JSS you are a big fraud. You spout your dribble about being such a humanitarian with Haiti and act as though you are the blog police then you make stupid little comments about people that are simply doing their best to do their job. No one is impressed here by you, except for you. Grow up.
robertussen
January 21st, 2011
6:01 am
@sirreal how many false starts did dahl get called for this year. clabo is our best o-lineman. dont be surprised if he gets his contract extended and dahl does not. dahl just has a rep for being nasty but clabo is for real and is solid at his position. like i said dont be surprised when mike johnson or joe hawley replaces dahl next year.
BigGAdawg
January 21st, 2011
6:14 am
Well deserved Congratulations to Mr. Clabo!!!
jss and sirreal = sackless jerks.
Enough with your infantile whining and bitching.
Slink back down to your basement bedrooms and tell mommie it’s time to turn off the computer. And no more airplane glue for either of you.
JSS
January 21st, 2011
7:39 am
Sigh… My, my my… You’re a bitter bunch over here! Nothing like visiting the “Protective Bunker” to see how the other side “whines and curses.” Come on “Snarky Central,” can’t you take it? I know it has been a LONG WEEK for you since reality came crashing just before halftime… Still, lay on down on the couch the next 9 days and then enjoy the sight of your QB wearing a headset in sunny Hawaii while signalling in plays from your OC to your team’s former QB!!! Hey, but I have some good news for you, you might get to see Brees, the other QB, and Little Lord Fountaroy of Flowery Branch run for their lives when those speed rushers come flying around Mt. Clabo! That should be entertaining as all get out!
@ FalconUGAfan…
“You spout your dribble about being such a humanitarian with Haiti and act as though you are the blog police then you make stupid little comments about people that are simply doing their best to do their job.”
Hurting young person? Look, I’ve never claimed to be a “humanitarian.” It is called just doing the right thing for the right reason. You people have learn not one darn thing over the past year about “real” life. You think I care what you think about me? Sorry to tell you this, but it is NO! But, you’ll never slink on here and tell a bold faced lie about me or how I lead or have led my life… So keep propping up “real frauds” like “Atlanta Peach.” She crawled off just like every rational person knew she would if the Falcons failed… “Clap, clap, clap!!!”
Hey, how many days till the lockout begins?
FalconUGAFan
January 21st, 2011
8:09 am
Not young. Old Falcon fan so I’ve suffered for many years with lousy teams. I lived more “real life” than you can possibly imagine in many different countries. So don’t make assumptions about me.
You disparged a guy that didn’t deserve it. He works hard everyday and deserves some accolades. Dismissive statements such as yours are just plain wrong. Who the heck is Atlanta Peach?
Season Ticket Holder
January 21st, 2011
8:24 am
The NFC will lose the Pro Bowl because Mike Smith and his Offensive Coordinator will constrict the NFC’s talant with conservative plays.
HJones
January 21st, 2011
8:33 am
Last night, I watched the Falcons-Packers game again. It was worse than I had thought immediately after the game and on Sunday. I don’t understand how management (Blank, Dimitroff, McKay, Smith) can think of this effort and not fire someone. In particular, I am speaking of Mike Mularkey and Brian Van Gorder,
The Atlanta Falcons are a business, and with every business that I have been associated, heads would roll for a failure of this magnitude. I would add to the failure the New Orleans game on Monday night. These were the two most important games for the team, and both were lost. If I were Arthur Blank, I would be livid that this effort caused the Falcons fans to vacate the Dome at the end of the third quarter. If I were Coach Smith, I would be embarrassed to have either of these guys on my coaching staff at the Pro Bowl, and I would not take the heat for these so called coordinators.
No Hope Now, you are correct about the statistics and awards maybe saving Mularkey’s job. Statistics mean nothing as only POINTS win games. I don’t believe Michael Turner takes the heat off Matt Ryan; it seems to me throughout the season that the running game worked after the passing game was established. The RULES in the NFL favor a passing team.
In most football games, it is difficult to determine if the players or the coaches are responsible for a awful effort. In the Falcons-Packers game, it is obvious that it was a complete coaching failure. Most fans recognize this fact, and are saying this – even before Mike Smith said it. Never have I seen such shock and anger by the Falcons fans. This awful effort had been waiting in the wings all season as we know how predictable the offensive play calling has been. On defense, we have seen the soft zone with eight to ten yards between the other teams receivers and our defensive backs. I was at the 1980 game between Atlanta and Dallas and a coaching failure of “sitting on the lead” lost that game. The Falcons-Packers game was the most embarrassing game I have ever seen as a Falcon fan.
I read that Dimitroff has said the Falcons need more explosive plays. Coach Smith has indicated the same. How do you do that? It is not the nature of Mike Mularkey to use this type of offensive plan. Will Mike Mularkey be told by Smith and Dimitroff to be different. It doesn’t work this way. People’s way of doing things don’t change on a dime. Mike Mularkey doesn’t know how to run this type of offense, he never has and will not.
Of all the statistics, two tell the complete story about the Falcons offense: 1) last in the NFL in all plays over 20 yards and 2) next to last in pass plays over 20 yards. You can’t defeat the good teams with this type of effort. These statistics negate all of the other offensive statistics cited by those that brag on the Falcons offense. These statistics mean that other teams can control the Falcons offense by defending basically THIRTY YARDS in front of the ball.
Friday links and schedule « Sports 180 with Josh Ward & Will West
January 21st, 2011
8:36 am
[...] Knoxville native Tyson Clabo, now with the Atlanta Falcons, has been added to the Pro Bowl. (AJC) [...]
falcon
January 21st, 2011
8:40 am
I’m really hoping someone hires Mularkey away from Atlanta. He was supposedly under consideration for the HC jobs in Cleveland and Denver. Maybe something else will turn up.
SirReal
January 21st, 2011
8:49 am
@Robertussen How many drives did Clabo kill? There are plenty of linemen out there better than him. I like Dahl b/c of that nastiness. Isnt that what football needs? I’ll take a blind rage every now and then. Ask Paul Boudreaux who he think’s is the better of the two.
@BigGadawg I can like and dislike whoever I want to on the team. I dont think he’s that great. thats MY opinion. Clabo’s better than Spam Baker but thats not saying a whole lot either.LOL When I watch film, I like what I see from Dahl more than Clabo. Dont you have your fav lineman? Everyone has their personal preferences. I dont call you a jerk b/c you support a trashy college program thats descending. You probably didnt even go there like half of UGAs fans. Get a life sir.
SirReal
January 21st, 2011
8:55 am
@swampdog59 Cant forget you either. You guys kill me making excuses for the team. I’ve supported this team my whole life and many would agree that ATL’s line are a bunch of overachievers. They arent that solid. Lets face the facts. Why do you think we are developing lineman, for depth? NO, to compete for starting jobs bc they know the line is collectively trash. You guys kill me just b/c someone decides to criticize something, he’s the worst person on earth. Thats a sad existence you all lead.
JSS
January 21st, 2011
9:23 am
FalconUGAFan
January 21st, 2011
8:09 am
“Not young. Old Falcon fan so I’ve suffered for many years with lousy teams.”
You might be getting what you deserve, ever thought about that?
“I lived more “real life” than you can possibly imagine in many different countries. So don’t make assumptions about me.”
You don’t want to compare visa stamps in passports with me, it’s a “losing hand!” You definitely don’t to get in the life experiences pool either… So much for that “assumption” young man, spin the joke wheel again…
“You disparged a guy that didn’t deserve it. He works hard everyday and deserves some accolades.”
Clabo does work hard, but he’s no more “entitled” to accolades than any other right tackle in the NFC… As overrated as Jason Peters is, Clabo is on shelf below him… What does that say?
” Dismissive statements such as yours are just plain wrong.”
He took up trying to be “Dahl Lite.” Taking cheap shots after the whistle, playing on the edge of the rules… That doesn’t impress, it is weak like that patches beard…
“Who the heck is Atlanta Peach?”
Someone about as relevant as you…
Note to Clabo…
Enjoy Hawaii, go to the North Shore… And when you get back, frame the jersey and put the Pro Bowl money in the bank… You won’t be seeing that game again, and you won’t playing again for quite a while once the owners lock you out!
johnny
January 21st, 2011
9:27 am
At least he won’t have to get owned by Clay Matthews again!
mountain_jim
January 21st, 2011
9:30 am
I just read that Easterbrook column the poster recommended above and it’s spot on . I have argued all year in here that Mularkey is underutilizing his talent and not showing enough variety in play-calling and schemes, but DLed kept defending him. Easterbrook wrote:
the last play of the first half was among the worst coaching errors TMQ
has seen. And it wasn’t Atlanta’s only coaching error. Down 35-14, Atlanta defensive coordinator Brian vanGorder panicked and started calling lots of blitzes, which only led to big plays for the Packers. Scoring to pull within 42-20 at the start of the fourth quarter, why didn’t the Falcons — desperate for points — go for two? Maybe because their coaches had quit on the game.
elroy
January 21st, 2011
9:33 am
it’s amazaing how some people (JSS, SirReal) share their negaive thoughts & try to seem like they are intelligent. ofcourse they only do that to get under the skin of people. D-Bag is the proper term for those type of people.
mountain_jim
January 21st, 2011
9:34 am
Read the whole thing:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/110118_tuesday_morning_quarterback&sportCat=nfl
Easterbrook lays it out how the play that killed Atlanta was both a horrible call by the OC and how Ryan should have just spiked it or threw it out of bounds and kicked the FG. After that play, the game was over. Mularkey put Ryan in position to fail there, and he dutifully and poorly executed a horribly chosen play-call.
No hope now
January 21st, 2011
9:39 am
@ Hjones I agree. I was hoping murlarkey would’ve been let go. I didn’t want to watch the game over because I know I would’ve thrashed my tv. At first I overreacted saying we need to fire BOTH COORDINATORS. But thats too much after a 13-3 season. A lot of falcons fans aren’t impressed with BVG. I actually am to tell you the truth. THE DEFENSE IS GETTING BETTER. Our defense has gotten better ever since 08. ITs rising, players are buying the system and scheme. Grimes is the epitome of that. HES GROWN INTO THE SYSTEM. Stephen Nicholas played lights out this season. It made me question if we even needed sean weatherspoon. C4 PROVED TO US HE ISN’T A BUST. I mean, this defense is super young and to finish 16th overall and 5th in scoring “D” is impressive. I think BVG doesn’t call aggresive play calling like a dom capers or dick leabeau is because of personnel issues. THESE PLAYERS HAVE TO CRAWL BEFORE THEY WALK.
The exotic blitzes and scheme likes a wade philips or rex ryan, you have to have the personnel for that. And with that being said, SOMETIMES THE PLAYERS JUST DON’T EXECUTE. Monday night games against the saints, WE MISSED LIKE 15 SACKS. AGainst rodgers, we missed like 5 sacks. IS THAT BVG’S FAULT OR THE PLAYERS?? BVG is calling the right plays, but when your players are missing plays on your cream of the crop plays there isn’t much you can do but drop back 20 yards TO NOT GIVE UP THE BIG PLAY. Jerry, Weatherspoon, Peters, etc. When these young gusy step up next year, Our defense will be top 10 IMO.
With that being said I was hoping murlarkey would’ve ben let go. The offense is too predictable and stale. And I disagree, I believe the run sets up the pass IN THE OFFENSIVE SCHEME WE HAVE. Rules have nothing to do with it. Its 1-1-2 for murlarkey everytime. Run, run, pass PERIOD. Turner carries the load. And your right, Dimitroff and Smitty want more explosive plays AND THOSE STATEMENTS SCARE ME BECAUSE MURLARKEY IS THE REASON THERE ISN’T ENOUGH EXPLOSIVE PLAYS. Its like they don’t realize what the problem is. Matt Ryan throws 3700, 28 td’s a, 9 INTS in a predictable dink and dunk offense. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HES LET LOOSE IN THE WEST COAST, has better protection, and more offensive weapons?? MURLARKEY IS HOLDING THE OFFENSE BACK. ANd its too late, Josh McDaniels is hired somewhere else, musgrave is gone, AND MM IS STILL HERE. Its done, can’t go back now. I wouldn’t be surprised if we went 8-8 or 9-7 next year, THE OFFENSE IS GETTING WORSE WHILE THE DEFENSE IS GETTING BETTER. But we’re an offensive team……
BirdDirty
January 21st, 2011
9:41 am
Mike Mularkey and Brian Van Gorder must go. They are the 2010/2011 version of Greg Knapp and Ed Donatell. If Mike Smith doesn’t shake up his coaching staff, those two will be the reason for his downfall. Mark my words. The Super Bowl was right there for the taking and we dropped the ball. Inexcusable!!! Many of the NFC heavyweights had down years and we didn’t capitalize.
PMC
January 21st, 2011
9:54 am
Great for our guys. They played thier tails off this year. It’s disapointing that they are playing in the pro bowl but I’m happy for them to go. They deserve it.
Lay off the coordinators people. 13-3 in the NFL is not easy to do, they are still working with the personnel they have. They can’t do some of the things you want them to do yet. They don’t have the ability to win that way.
3 winning seasons in a row is a good start for a historically terrible franchise. They need continuity. They need more speed on offense to open it up. They need more talent at DE to be able to attack with the front 4. Corey Peters is a home run. Peria Jerry was still getting over his knee injury this season and Vance Walker can play. Not to mention Babs is a potential All Pro at DT. They are good inside, but they need at least one potentially 2 worthy starters at DE. They also need at least one more fast outside linebacker and truely they need better depth at MLB too. It depends on what they do this offseason as to whether they need to upgrade at Nickle or not. This defense is not quite there yet.
On offense, even though they had probowlers this year on the line they could upgrade talent wise at every position. They need a great young TE. They need speed and size at WR2. They need at least one quick and durable young RB that can catch the ball out of the backfield.
It’s still a process. They played over their skis this year. The talent level was ELEVATED by the coaching, they aren’t holding them back.
This is the best overall staff we have ever had in this city. Don’t let a bad performance and or a plodding style make you want to run them off. They don’t have equitable talent to Green Bay, it’s not even close. They are a really fast team, we couldn’t afford mistakes and we got a lot of them. Let the team grow and have some patience.
FalconUGAFan
January 21st, 2011
9:54 am
Clearly we need to open things up on offense. It is vanilla and stale. That was a great article by Easterbrook….
Defense…now that is a different animal..No hope now is right…We had many opportunites to sack both Brees and Rogers, but we missed them….I see guys flying into the backfield but they don’t wrap and they are out of control. Granted both of those guys are pretty mobile but we have to finish the drill.
PMC
January 21st, 2011
9:57 am
Greg Knapp? Seriously?
I know it was boring as hell to watch but come on man. They averaged 25PPG.
This wasn’t a bad offense, it just took forever to score.
FalconUGAFan
January 21st, 2011
10:02 am
Agree PMC..I’m not advocating blowing things up….I would just like to see the field stretched a bit as I’m sure the Falcons do too…. I know they tried but HD did not deliver on all occasions. I do recall Jenks getting a few decent mid length catches though….
PMC
January 21st, 2011
10:17 am
I think Douglass is almost in the same boat as Jerry. When he’s right, we know he’s got speed and quickness. He didn’t play like he did his rookie year this year. I have to imagine he’ll get that quickness back hopefully by next season. But, that said, I do think we’ve got to find another WR with really good speed and some size. A stretch the field TE would be really nice too.
ProBowlDeacs
January 21st, 2011
10:45 am
Former Wake Forest Demon Deacon congrats to Clabo and Mughelli!
STRETCH
January 21st, 2011
10:47 am
Wow, this many players going to the pro-bowl but sitting at home!
Mike Jay
January 21st, 2011
11:02 am
This blog is awful… It has eaten my lst two non inflamatory post. What a joke
Ueeediot
January 21st, 2011
11:15 am
This blog gets worse and worse.
Now playing up to the competition in the league and overachieving are negatives.
Winning 13 games, the NFC South and having 3 winning seasons in a row is a sign that the team just isnt on the right track.
Fools.
Your QB is working at close to a .690 winning percentage. Better start ramping up the hate now and get him run out of town before he does something you cant complain about.
The Falcons are averaging over 20pts a game and winning 13 games is now considered lucky (and according to some columnist in this town….they shouldn’t have even won that many). What a joke.
In the NFL every single yard, every single point is earned. The only luck you have in this league is the luck you make.
A columnist on this very paper said we should have lost the 49ers game. No. We won that game because throughout 60 minutes we played better. You want to think it came down to one play. But that’s absolutely untrue. This is how ESPN has ruined football (and baseball too). There isnt one game, one career, or one season that turns on a single play.
The 2010 Falcons are not as bad as the GB game and they aren’t as good as the Arizona game.
All I expect is for the team to not pinpoint a player in the draft, but to draft the absolute best athlete on the board, and to win at least 10 games and repeat as NFC South Champs. I absolutely expect a playoff win next year.
SirReal
January 21st, 2011
11:45 am
@elroy actually im not little man. I’m always on these blogs and if you check past ones, you’ll see that I dont do that to “get a rise” out of anyone. Im a grown man and I can say what I want. He still gets a check no matter my opinion.lol I dont like the LINEMAN Clabo. That says NOTHING about him as a PERSON. He’s probably cool to hang out with. You are defending him like you guys are BFFs. Stop the feeble mindedness please. Plus,I used to be an O-LINEMAN so know what it takes to play the position. You’ve probably never taken the field beyond Pop warner….if even then. (mommy was probably too scared to let you play huh?lol)
Tweets that mention Tyson Clabo added to the NFC Pro Bowl team | Atlanta Falcons -- Topsy.com
January 21st, 2011
12:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mid-Day Mayhem and Atlanta Falcons, D. Orlando Ledbetter. D. Orlando Ledbetter said: Tyson Clabo added to the NFC Pro Bowl team http://t.co/nnlX1kO [...]
PaulWarfield
January 21st, 2011
12:19 pm
I read today in the ajc where the early exit bothered Arthur Blank. The early exit shouldnt bother ANYONE on the falcons coaching staff/management team because they were the ones that failed to retain the personnel who would have made a difference and impacted the team to victory. Secondarily, the Falcons offense stunk against the Packers, matt ryans turnovers notwithstanding. Ryan usually is surehanded and he was entitled to have a bad game. I noticed ryan didnt apologize to the fans as some of the other superstars did. The Falcons are going nowhere because they currently have the best talent they ever had: 13-3 record indicates that. The problem is that the Falcons need specialists (SHUT DOWN CORNERBACK:[James Foxworth] and they dont have what they need to advance; i.e.; exhibit A: FORMER FALCON SHUT-DOWN CORNERBACK [James Foxworth] signed a lucrative deal with the Baltimore Ravens because the Falcons were pinching pennies, were too cheap and refused to spend the money to make themselves a championship calibre ballclub. The Falcons had one [JAMES FOXWORTH] 3 years ago during ryans rookie season, but the falcons brass were TOO CHEAP to sign him to a lucrative contract and THUS THE EARLY EXIT IN THE PLAYOFFS. Chicago during the offseason needed help on the defensive line so they spent the money to sign high-priced free agent and future hall of famer JULIUS PEPPERS to a lucrative deal. Chicago spent money and thus are in the final four during championship weekend. Lesson to be learned: If you spend money on the front end, you will advance out of the back end. If you are too cheap to spend money then you will languish in obscurity and go backwards as a franchise.
JSS
January 21st, 2011
12:27 pm
@ SirReal…
It is like “Hometown News” where your parents send an article to the local edition when you make the Dean’s List or your Boy Scout troop goes to Washington to visit their member of Congress… These guys and girls here always need affirmation!
Do you think Freeney, Babin, and Mathis really aren’t a little more geeked up now?
JuniorBridgeman
January 21st, 2011
12:27 pm
The Falcons should have been more explosive on offense because they currently have seven (SEVEN) future hall of famers on their roster: John Abraham, Roddy White, Mike Jenkins, Jerius Norwood, Mike Turner, Snelling, Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzales. With all of this talent, the Falcons should have been running more sceen plays and opening up the offense by throwing the ball down the field more: 10-50 yard pass plays. Instead the Falcons insist on their dink and dunk offense of two and three yard pass plays which accomplishes nothing. then when you get to third and long you throw the ball desparately down the field. The Falcons should have hired during the offseason either Mike Martz or Mike Shanahan (control freak) to be their offensive coordinator. By having a professional offensive coordinator either of those guys would have turned a stale offensive into an explosive powerhouse offense.
RTR
January 21st, 2011
1:04 pm
Good news! Roll Tide and Go Falcons!
JSS
January 21st, 2011
1:18 pm
Clabo on a diet during the lockout…
http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Sarah/oldjoy.jpg
JSS
January 21st, 2011
1:20 pm
See you whenever the NLRB finally mediates a resolution to the owners stupid power grab…
RTR
January 21st, 2011
1:29 pm
JSS-
-Players can ask for more money, but owners cant ask for more games?
-Players can be idiots with all their millions, but owners wanting to create a legacy are “stupid power grab”?
The players are just as much as the problem here as are the owners. Dez Bryant can go spend around 25 grand on a meal for his team and he’s allowed to complain he’s not making enough? Most people would live to have that much salary in a year.
WreckingBall
January 21st, 2011
1:42 pm
Paul Warfield: I agree with you. If the OWNERS and MANAGEMENT had to do it over again and lets say they end up spending an extra $60 million dollars on an impact players salary, but that extra money RESULTS IN A VINCE LOMBARDY trophy for the city and the Falcons, do you think they would have been better off to spend the money, but instead be tightwads, pinch pennies and clutch their purses and instead get kicked out of the playoffs in the divisional round. I dont know if they think they would have been better off spending the money or not. I know that the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers are all tightwads and cheap and they will never get anywhere until they learn to spend their money wisely.
RTR
January 21st, 2011
2:35 pm
D-LED:
We know that every other year Arthur likes to spend some money on Free Agents. I believe (dont hold me to it) that Big Play CJ will be a free agent out of Detroit. What are the chances we would go after him?
Roddy is getting older and Calvin will be in his prime. Hes an Atlanta boy who family still lives down here. I would be the first to buy his jersey if he came to town.
Sid
January 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
Yes, a free trip to Hawaii, that was the real prize.
DrJ
January 21st, 2011
3:06 pm
Congrats to Clabo!
Now we can display our talents at the Falcon Bowl in Hawaii. I sure hope that Ryan can display his arm strength with some perfect Long Ball strikes to Roddy.
I have heard so much about his arm that I can’t wait for him to show what he can or cannot do. If he does toss one out there, it better not go sailing or fluttering at the end. All in all, I hope our guys look good.
ShempHoward
January 21st, 2011
5:22 pm
I can think of only TWO reasons why the Falcons didnt win a superbowl this year and it was pointed out by several bloggers but not by just one. Reason #1:The Falcons should have hired one of the two premier offensive minds in the business, either Mike Martz OR Mike Shanahan to be their offensive coordinator; and 2:the Falcons should have signed former cornerback specialist and shut-down cornerback James Foxworth during the offseason, [WHO IN MY OPINION WAS THE SECOND BEST CORNERBACK THE CLUB HAS EVER HAD BESIDES DIONE SANDERS]. The Falcons failed in signing Foxworth when Foxworth’s agent was trying to work out a deal for his client. The Falcons decided it was too much money so the entire season got wasted: a #1 seed in the entire NFC, along with a wasted 13-3 record which meant nothing as the Falcons got stomped by Green Bay in the playoffs divisional round. Had the Falcons spent the money to lock down, in my opinion, the absolute best shut-down cornerback the team has ever had since Dione Sanders and the best one since Rowland Office, then the Falcons would have pushed past the Packers since the Falcons have a better overall roster than the Packers and the Falcons would have catapulted themseleves into the superbowl game once the Falcons disposed of the Bears in the NFC title game. Thank you Thomas Dimitroff for your infinite wisdom and recklessness in ruining our football team.
Thomas Cianfrogna
January 21st, 2011
5:29 pm
@PaulWalworth or however you spell that. I believe you are referring to Dominique Foxworth. Yeah, I wanted to retain him also. I do think he spent much of the season on the injured list if that lessens the pain. We desperately need a nickel back as we got owned in spread formations from GB. It really hurt that Williams was hurt for the game…really hurt.
I am sick of hearing how guys are competitors and how we are in a process. In big games, it just seems like we come up with excuses how the Gonzalez, Turner, and White were keyed on. Who cares? The great players perform under these conditions…I mean really perform. They were all absent near the end of the season. Roddy had a great game against Cincin because he was upset at what 85 and company were saying. Why couldn’t he do this during the playoffs? Look, he had a great season, I just don’t think Finneran, who I’m a huge fan of, should have been a prime target in the GB game..and he was. He was the only guy getting open.
Additionally…what about a speed back? Norwood can’t make it through a season…We need some speed in the backfield to help Turner out.
No hope now
January 21st, 2011
6:32 pm
@ paul warfield and shemphoward. YOU GUYS ARE OVERREACTING TO WHY DIMITROFF MADE THOSE DECESIONS. No. 1, The guy name isn’t JAMES FOXWORTH. Its dominquie foxworth, No. 2 FOXWORHT ISN’T A SHUTDOWN CB. See when your not used to have something and it shows a little flashes, YOU CAN’T LOOK AT IT LIKE ITS THE ONLY OPTION. Foxworth had a good year COMPARED TO THE OTHER CB’s on our roster at the time. But he didn’t have a lights out year. He wantd a big contract. Dimitroff let him walk and we got a 3rd rounder for him. No. 3, foxworth went to the ravens and his 1st year there LED THE NFL IN PI CALLS. Foxworth hasn’t had a good year with the ravens yet. And he didn’t play this year because he tore his ACL. For the money the ravens paid FOXWORTH HASN’T DELIVERED. That my friend is a good judgement call on TD parts.
No. 4, its a good thing we let him go because WE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SIGN DUNTA ROBINSON WHO IS BETTER THAN FOXWORTH. Foxworth WAS NOT AND IS NOT a shutdown CB. The same thing is about to happen to grimes, it wouldn’t surprise me if we let grimes go, BECAUSE HE JUST HAD A ARGUABLY PRO BOWL YEAR, and will want his money. We might as well go for Nnamdi. The second best CB in the league, AND TRUE SHUTDOWN CB. Grimes is better than Foxworth. Foxworth was a rental, NOT A LONG TERM NEED. The real disappointment is us NOT KEEPING MUSGRAVE but keepin murlarkey. Im sorry but your opinion on keeping dominquie foxworth isn’t strong.
SirReal
January 22nd, 2011
8:52 am
@JSS Man, those guys are licking their chops at the chance to blow past Clabo.LOL
hbcuclassics
January 22nd, 2011
8:36 pm
2011 HBCU Draft Board – WRs (1-5)
1. Raymond Webber 6′2, 218 WR Ark-PB
AP/FCS All-American, Walter Payton Award Finalist
led NCAA 101 rec. 1,429yds 10TDs 129.9ypg.
only receiver w/ more receptions is Jerry Rice.
Coach: Monte Coleman (don’t be stupid on this one)
2. Ricardo Lockette, 6′3, 199 WR/KR FVSU
2009 DII 200 Meter Champion
23 rec./232 yds. 4.39-4.41/40yd. dash
Mentor: Terrence Mathis – track guy
3. Ronnie Childs 6′2 195 WR Albany State
BASN All-American, All-SIAC, SIAC Champ 11-1
45 rec./ 22ypc./12TDs – (all he does is catch TDs)
4. Jeremy Franklin 6′3, 199 WR/KR JC Smith
3x All-CIAA, JC Smith All-time leading receiver
55 rec/823 yds/5 TDs – fierce, beats up DBs.
5. Larrone Moore 6′0, 185 WR/KR Delaware St.
25 rec. 450yds 4TDs, 18.8ypc – another track guy
2x Maryland 4A 100m champ, 55m Maryland State champ
4.29-4.36/ 40yd dash (has Deion-like speed)
http://www.hbcuclassics.com
Ken Strickland
January 22nd, 2011
11:41 pm
What good does it do to have a WR that can stretch the field if we don’t have an OC willing to take advantage of it? It’s the same as having a speed demon like RBJNorwood, yet we don’t throw to him and insist on running him almost entirely between the tackles. What we need more than more speed at WR and RB, is an OC with the knowledge and/or willingness to take advantage of it.
Last yr as a backup rotational DE, and receiving little help from DE JAbraham, KBiermann registered 5 sacks. This yr, as a starter, and with tons of help from DE JAbraham, he managed only 3 sacks. It’s certainly not a lack of talent that’s keeping our sack totals and pass DEF down, but rather the underutilization of that talent.
Falcon James
January 23rd, 2011
9:09 am
Enter your comments here
Falcon James
January 23rd, 2011
9:10 am
Clabo deserves the spot. I think Dahl also should have been picked. He one mean machine. Maybe if we lucky Baker will make it next year. He was first in the league in holding calls.
PaulWarfield
January 24th, 2011
3:18 pm
Whether his name was james foxworth or dominique foxworth. All I know is that from what I saw (and my eyes didnt deceive me) Foxworth literally shut down everybody he came in contact with. I dont remember foxworth drawing any pass interference calls when he was with the Falcons. In addition, when foxworth was playing cornerback under ryans rookie season, foxworth’s contributes HELPED GREATLY FOR THE TEAM TO ACHIEVE AN 11-5 RECORD. This year without Foxworth our record was even better at 13-3. My point is that in the playoffs you are going to face only the best teams in the league. You will face extremely potent passing attacks. My contention is that if the Falcons had Grimes (the Defensive Player of the month in the NFL for December) on one side and we had Foxworth on the othersie the Falcons against green bay would have completely shut down their passing attack. It would have helped if Matt Ryan had a good game and the Falcons offense was a factor, which it was not. Right now I dont know what it will take to make the Falcons a winner again because I am afraid the Falcons next season will go back to 4-12 campaigns and they will have to rebuild all over again. I see no hope at all for the Falcons and they look like a doormat all over again. In my opinion if the Packers (a team we beat earlier in the season) can come into the Georgia Dome and put up 48 points against us, we have no shot at all of having a good team the NFL and I dont trust the management team at all for the decisions that they are making.
ShempHoward
January 24th, 2011
5:11 pm
Paul Warfield: I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Falcons are just interested in making money BUT will not spend enough to put a competitive team on the field. Also, the new management team has failed to add enough qualified coaches to impact the team positively. [why didnt the falcons hire either mike martz OR mike shanahan to run our offense as offensive coordinators instead of the hugely underqualified mike mularky whose offensive schemes got us burned time and time again]. Had the Falcons management team done that the Falcons would have been world champions this year with all the talent they haveI realize that most fans are ungrateful and disappointed after a steller 13-3 season. What is making fans angry is that they know during ryans rookie season we faced a very weak arizona team in the playoffs and that team went on to the superbowl. IT COULD HAVE BEEN US IN THE SUPERBOWL INSTEAD OF ARIZONA. THIS YEAR WAS A COMPLETE WASTE WITH OUR GAUDY 13-3 RECORD AND NO SUPERBOWL APPEARANCE TO SHOW FOR IT. OUR TEAM SEEMS TO BE IN THE SAME BOAT AS THE OTHER 31 TEAMS WHO FAIL EVERY SEASON. BUT MORE THAN THAT THE THING THAT TEARS ME UP THE MOST IS THAT THE SAINTS BEAT THE FALCONS TO A VINCE LOMBARDI TROPHY. THE 1998 FALCONS BEAT THE SAINTS TO A LAMAR HUNT TROPHY BY WINNING THE NFC TITLE GAME AND WINNING THE CONFERENCE, GETTING TO THE SUPERBOWL BEFORE THEM, BUT THAT TEAM LOST IN THE SUPERBOWL BECAUSE OF THE FRAUDULENT BEHAVIOR OF EUGENE ROBINSON (who had been given an award for having the best character in the nfl league about 48 hours earlier—whan an irony).
AdamWest
January 26th, 2011
4:29 pm
The Falcons played SCARED against Green Bay (IN THE PLAYOFFS). The Falcons defeated Green Bay during the regular season AND TOOK THE STEELERS TO OVERTIME IN THE SEASONS OPENER. The Falcons played both superbowl participants tough this year and definitely could have made it to that bowl event. Maybe next year will be our year, but it burns me up that New Orleans got their superbowl trophy ahead of us and we should have had three in altnat falcons history already: 1980, 1998 and 2010. I hope that we dont continue coming close and keep saying these are all the years WE SHOULD HAVE WON IT. That is not satisfying at all to keep coming up short.