Archive for January, 2013

101128 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith celebrates on the sidelines with tight end Tony Gonzalez after he caught a Matt Ryan pass for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 10-3 lead over the Green Bay Packers in the final seconds of the 2nd quarter at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

By MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez is sticking to his pledge that he’s “95 percent” certain he will retire after the season.

That means Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game against the Seahawks, his 260th when including the playoffs, could be his last in the NFL.

“It’s one and done if we don’t win, (so) for me, this could be it,” he said. “There is no tomorrow. There is no saying, ‘We’ll get them next year.’ It’s about going out there and finishing on the right note.”

Gonzalez, 36, is winding down a career that’s still going strong. He recently was voted to his 14th Pro Bowl team to add to a …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Tony Gonzalez sticking to his ‘95 percent’ retirement pledge »

Mike Nolan, Mike Smith and Dirk Koetter (Curtis Compton/CCompton@ajc.com)

FLOWERY BRANCH — In his first playoff game in the NFL, Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter helped Jacksonville post a monumental victory.

On the way to the AFC title game, Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Smith, helped the Jaguars post a 31-29 victory over Pittsburgh on Jan. 5, 2008.

Koetter was quick to note that with the victory the Jaguars became the first team to beat the Steelers at home twice in the same season.

Things went downhill for Jacksonville after that big win. They lost to Tom Brady and New England 31-20 on Jan. 12, 2008 and haven’t made it back to the playoffs. Smith would move on and become the Falcons’ head coach.

Koetter later followed, joining the staff last offseason. He’s now preparing for his third playoff game and hasn’t been a part of the Falcons’ recent playoff failures.

“This is what you play for,” Koetter said. “This is why you’re doing it, to still be playing …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Koetter, Smith have had some playoff success together »

Alge Crumpler in action against Carolina. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

Who: Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler

What: NFC wild-card game, Falcons vs. Packers

When: Jan. 4, 2003

Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis.

Score: Falcons 27, Packers 7

What happened: The Falcons punched a hole in the Lambeau Field mystique.

The way people were talking, the Falcons might as well have stayed in Atlanta.

Certainly the Falcons, a team from a Southern city that played in a dome, couldn’t win at Green Bay in January. This Atlanta team, with flashy quarterback Michael Vick and losers of three of its past four games, wouldn’t be the opponent to sully the Packers’ 11-0 playoff record at Lambeau Field.

If any of the Falcons thought the same, Crumpler said that changed when the team got to Green Bay.

“For some reason, it wasn’t very cold in Green Bay,” he said. “Once we were able to get over that, we were able to focus on the game.”

Until that day, the closest the Packers had come to losing at Lambeau Field …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons playoff rewind: Alge Crumpler helped conquer Lambeau Field »

Big Boi figured it was his duty to go to ESPN’s studios and defend the Falcons.

So the Atlanta hip-hop legend, whose real name is Antwan Patton, showed up on ESPN’s “First Take” program this week and declared: “The Super Bowl has got to come through Atlanta.”

“I’m here as an ambassador,” Big Boi said. “We are ready.”

When host Skip Bayless cited the Falcons’ recent playoff failures and asked Big Boi why he thought it would be different this time, he cited the “spirit of the city.”

“It’s about the city and the energy the city has got right now,” he said. “Atlanta is turned up.”

Big Boi, however, said Falcons’ players should shun certain entertainment options before the game.

“As long as everybody stays out of Magic City and Diamonds of Atlanta, we are going to be good,” he said, referring to two of the city’s famous strip clubs. “Wait until Monday to go. Everybody stay home.”

Big Boi suggested that Magic City should have “Seahawks night” on Saturday to entice the players from …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Big Boi defends team, warns players to avoid strip clubs »

The Seahawks, in need of a kicker after Steven Hauschka was placed on injured reserve this week, ended up signing long-time veteran Ryan Longwell.

Ryan Divish of the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune writes that Longwell’s career can come full circle if he can make a big kick for the team he rooted for as a kid:

RENTON — All Ryan Longwell has to do now is kick the winning field goal in this Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons to make the story complete.

The previous Sunday evening, he was sitting on his couch in Orlando, Fla., thinking about the upcoming Walt Disney World Marathon that he and his wife were scheduled to run this weekend.

A day later, he was at the Virginia Mason Athletic Complex where he was among four players trying out for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider.

On Tuesday, he was introduced as the new kicker for the Seattle Seahawks, replacing the injured Steven Hauschka, who was placed on injured reserve with a …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: View from Seattle: New Seahawks kicker Ryan Longwell is home again »

There are plenty of tickets available on the secondary market for the NFC divisional playoff game between the Falcons and Seahawks on Sunday at the Georgia Dome but the team is warning fans about counterfeit tickets.

The Falcons issued the following guidelines today:

• The NFL Ticket Exchange (www.nfl.com/ticketexchange) is the only resale marketplace endorsed by the NFL, providing fans with the opportunity to purchase seats listed by Falcons season ticket holders or other fans.
• When buying from an individual or through other online exchanges, do not be lured away from the website by the seller.
• Fans choosing to buy tickets through an online auction are advised to choose a seller with a long and continuous history of satisfied customers.
• Fans should never pay with a cashier’s check or wire money to the seller, as there may be no way to get money back if the tickets are not received. Fans are advised to pay with a credit card or through PayPal, which offer some amount of …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Team cautions on counterfeit tickets »