Teams Atlanta Falcons - The Dirty Birds

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Falcons claim Wayne Gallman and waive Qadree Ollison


Falcons waived RB Qadree Ollison.
He has been replaced on the roster/as the No. 2 back by plodding veteran Wayne Gallman. It is surprising after Ollison spent the entire summer as Davis' backup, but the Falcons clearly were not impressed. Ollison has youth on Gallman, but Gallman has far more experience. A 2019 fifth-round pick, Ollison is not a great athlete by NFL running back standards and has never bettered eight carries in a game. His phone is not going to be ringing off the hook on the waiver wire

 

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Arthur Blank has no plans for the Falcons to not be in his family

Posted by Mike Florio on September 3, 2021, 12:59 PM EDT

Most NFL teams operate as family-owned businesses. When the person in charge no longer is able to run the business, another family member must take over.
In a recent interview with Jeff Schultz of TheAthletic.com, Falcons owner Arthur Blank peeled back the curtain on current league protocol regarding the potentially sudden change that can happen, if the primary owner of a team either dies or becomes incapacitated.

“We are required once a year to submit a succession plan to the NFL,” Blank said while explaining that he has no plans to transfer the team outside of his family.
“The league went through difficult [family estate] situations with the Saints, Denver and Indianapolis,” Blank said. “I’m sure [late Broncos owner] Pat Bowlen, God bless him, is flipping in his grave because of the difficulties with his family. It’s not a happy thing. [Late Saints owner] Tom Benson, you know what happened. It was ugly.”

The NFL also had a multi-year problem with the Titans, after the passing of team founder Bud Adams. His estate failed to give control over the team to any specific branch of his family tree.

The submission of a succession plan minimizes the chances of additional messes. Every team must have a succession plan in place, and that plan must be given to the league. Blank has one. Every owner has one. Ideally, the presence of that plan — updated annual — will avoid future problems when it’s time for control of a team to pass from one family member to another.

Last year, the league created a rule that allows teams to be fined $10 million and individual owners to be fined $2 million for failure to comply with the rule mandating that one person hold the minimum amount of equity in the team and, most importantly, possess final say over any and all matters on which the various teams periodically vote.

 

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And that there is the end of Atlanta's history

Nothing of note happened after January 22 2017

 

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Im halfway thru....

Julio Jones stats are so
Greatest ever WR production, better than Rice.

The 2010 Falcons, finish 13-3, but the analytics of that team, was worse than the 0-16 Browns. Amazing.

That 2013 playoff. 20+ pt lead in the 4th qtr, blew the lead with 30 secs left, but Ryan magic, FG to lead by 2, only 8 secs left, kick it deep, squib it, right? Nope, onside kick from the ultra-conservative Mike Smith, Seahawks recover but luckily they cannot do anything. But that couldve been such a vile loss.

 

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Following week NFCCG ... Leading 17-0 vs Niners, and blow the game.

2015 -- Start 5-0 and 6-1, and only team to not make playoffs. Dan Quin in a game down 4, a minutes left, with a 4th and 1 on the 1 yard line, elects to kick a FG. Loses game by 1 pt. Analytics, Falcons had 35% chance of winning if theyd even taken a knee on that play, but only 17% chance of winning if theyd kicked the FG.

 

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Falcons get smashed by Panthers in game 1 of the season, but somehow are the team that ends the Panthers hopes of an unbeaten season in week 15. These are the Falcons ...a team who blows leads, who find new and creative ways to lose, but also contrarily somehow do things totally unexpected, like that 13-3 season despite being one of the worst teams ever analytically.

Always crazy shit.

Only team to ever lose a game on a pick-2. Remember that so well, up by 1 and barely any time left, go for 2, INT, lose game.

2016 -- One of the greatest ever teams statistically to make the Super Bowl , smashing teams every week and thru the playoffs. Striking fear into all.

Ends on that note. Final episode will be spent on that SB game and whatever else. Probably 2020 will be talked about too, all those blown games at the end.

After watching this documentary, it seems as tho the Falcons are literally cursed. So improbably even statistically for so many things to go wrong as they have in their history. Never know, those Louisiana folk known for their Voodoo.

 

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Final episode....

 

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90min long finale.

Only 10 or so minutes in but its so far heavily setting up a political angle. Patriots and newly elected Trump being friends, Kraft and Trump, Belichick and Trump, even Brady and Trump....from years ago, and the racist angle of Trump. And the predominantly white New England vs the predominantly black Atlanta. Super Bowl 51 a contest between the evil empire of Patriots/Trump and the lovable underdogs.

Now theyre gonna start talking about the game, but 80 mins left to talk about a 60 min long football game, i am guessing theres gonna be a lot of talk about external things, politics, and what not

 

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Covered the first half.
Notable statistical point.... in every single play of 50 SBs to that point, James Harrisons INT td was a 13.9 expected points play....meaning, with the ball on Steelers goalline, the Cards EP was 7, but the result of the play was 7 the other way, so 14. This particular play towers over every other scoring play in SB history. 2nd best was Raiders Willie Brown INT vs the Vikings. 3rd all time at 10 EP was Alfords INT late in the 2nd half in SB 51. It was an historic play in SB history.

Mention is made of all the premature celebrating being done by Alford as he showboated into the endzone from 20 yards out. You could also see it in the opening TD by Freeman.

Focus on Tom Brady with his head down on the sideline. He "ate shit" as he dived at Alford and missed.

Second half ....

 

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Teams leading by more than 7 pts at the half were 26-0 in the SB. No team has come back by more than 7 to win. ESPNs win percentage at this point in the game was 96.7%. Going back thru every game in the post merger history, a team with a three score lead at half has won the game 96% of the time.

 

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Win probability rose to 99.4% after the Coleman TD, and a 28-3 lead half way thru the 3rd qtr.

 

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Patriots burn 6 and ½ minutes to get their first TD, almost like they just want to avoid a total blowout. At 28-9 (missed PAT), and a failed onside kick, and a play later Falcons in FG range, barely a minute left in the third, win probability still cemented at 99.5%. Leading by 18 with 16 minutes left. A FG now would kill the contest for sure in win probability.

 

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The Jake Matthews holding call the first big strike. Pushes them out of FG range. Pats again eke away yards but also time on the ensuing drive but two big sacks after having a 1st and Goal, results in only a FG. If the Pats had scored a TD there, only 11 pt difference with a chance. But 28-12 with half the 4th already over, sheesh. The Pats hopes of a comeback keep getting blunted. Time ticking away. Now the Falcons drive into Pats territory.

Coleman subbing in for Freeman is a big strike two. On a key 3rd and 1, totally looking the other way, letting a pass rusher in to sack Ryan.

 

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Play dissected on that. If Freeman had just done his job, it wouldve been the KO blow. Robinson in a one on one with Butler absolutely torched him and was wide open deep, Ryan loading up to throw to him when that sack happened. Grrrr.

 

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Despite everything that is happening, the win probability only keeps rising. Now 99.7% after that sack. Because instead of winning say 37-12, late scores at this point of any game, or super bowl, is only going to mean a respectable loss on the scoreboard, a 37-19 or 37-25 type of result, as has happened a couple times in previous SBs with late scores by the losing team. Still nothing to really worry about, not even a thought still (losing the game) win probability-wise

 

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A reason why tho for Falcons losing this game in hindsight is how much time the Pats last few drives have taken vs how little time the last few Falcons drives have taken. Something like 16 mins vs 3 or 4 mins. So Falcons D is starting to get gassed.

Falcons shouldve been killing the clock more. This is the downside to having a high potency quick strike type of offense - you score points quickly or go three and out quickly, putting a lot of fatigue on your D, as opponents usually conduct long methodical drives to ensure points are scored, even at this stage of games, late in the 3rd thru to midway into the 4th. Cant afford to go 3 abd out, they must put pts on the board first to have a chance.

 

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28-20 with 5 mins left. Still 89% win probability.

Falcons race up the field. Freeman to the 50. Julio with that all-time grab on the sideline.

With the ball on pats 20, 8 pt lead in FG range, under 4 mins left, win probability shoots up to 98% let alone factoring in Bryants successful FG percentage on 40 yard FGs that season.

This is it, after showing a bit of wobbly knees, a FG now would essentially guarantee a win.

Falcons run play, loss a couple yards, no sweat, clock still ticking, even after a Ryan 12 yard sack on 2nd down, theres only 3:50 left on the clock. Pats burn a TO. Pick up 5 or so yards on a play now would burn another TO, and still reasonable distance for a FG to end the game.

Sanu indeed picks up such yards but a holding call by Matthews for the second time, knocks the Falcons out of range.

All they had to do after the Julio catch was pound the ball for three plays and take the short 30-40 yard FG. Wouldve ended the game, Pats wouldve burned all their TOs in the process. Doesnt matter if each run play was a negative 1 yard result. Game over.

Instead, now Pats have 2 TOs and 3 mins only down by 8. Idiot Shanahan.

 

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Still 95% win prob tho. Pats on own 9. First play couldve still ended it all. Shows how much Pats were up against that win probability. A near sack in the endzone, a duck that lands between three falcons, especially Poole, who had he not slipped wouldve easily been right there to grab the INT.

 

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Never before in 150 games had Brady thrown 4 incompletions to Edelman. But after another deflected pass that couldve been an INT had another Falcon been around, thats now 7 straight incompletions to Edelman.

Three times in six plays, Bradys passes wete tantalizingly close to being picked off. Now, a very risky pass to Edelman again, Alford right there for the INT, he cant snag it, ball pops up, this tine tho Neal and Allen are right there to mop up.

What ensues has to be the #1 greatest SB play imo. The absurdity of what happens next is beyond imagination. Alford dropped the INT but now that hes on the ground all four of his limbs play a part in Edelman somehow still snagging the catch. Even with his foot in Edelmans face the first time, Edelman drops the ball, but it bounces off Alfords leg enough that even tho blinded by the foot in face, the ball doesnt hit the ground but bounce back into Edelmans fingers, so he blindly gets the ball back in his hands, only for Alfords foot again to smack Edelmans face causing the ball to drop from his hands, literally an inch away from the ground, Edelmans blind again, and that foot in his face moves away an inch allowing a final sighting of the ball for Edelmans fingers to find the ball a literal inch off the ground. All this further compounded by Neal and Allens hands, arms and legs impacting ball trajectory and aiding Edelmans own body momentum and blinded hand placement to proximity of the ball.

A lot of super slo-mo analysis of this play, it is beyond incredible.

Narrators describe this final drive as Satans handiwork in full transparency. So many popped up passes that couldve been INTd and then that particular play, with the hundreds of moving parts allowing such a ridiculous catch. Theres nothing anyone could have done, its such an otherworldly interference on a play for that to happen, its impossible otherwise. Thousands of such plays of tipped passes and bodies colliding, an incompletion is the result.

Even after all that drama, Falcons still have 93% win probability at the end of that play.

 

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Only a couple times all season had the Falcons offense not scored on four consecutive drives. In the SB, they had another one in this second half, and meanwhile their defense on the four drives the pats had in the second half, allowed two FGs, two TDs, AND two 2 pt tries. O-8 both sides of the ball. All they needed was to be 1-7 and the game wouldve been over. Anything....a FG after the Julio catch, or any of those 2 pt tries.

The win probability drops from 85% one play after the Edelman catch, but plummets to 39% after the tying 2 pt try. Game now headed for OT...

 

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A spiel about the stupidity of the NFL OT rules. Sudden death makes sense in a game like hockey or soccer where both teams possess the ball in OT multiple times. But in sports like baseball and basketball, a full fifth period occurs, not sudden death, because possession is determined, and football should likewise have a full fifth period. Or, at the very least, no matter if the offense scores a TD the other team should be given a chance to respond.

 

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The gane done after 60 mins of this episode. Still 77 mins left of the documentary.

Its interesting. The aftermath. Falcons fans trying to exit the arena is like a customs process, so many checkpoints, implemented since 9/11. Waiting for an uber in a single file with thousands of Falcons fans in front, waiting for 55 mins in that queue before their turn to catch a ride.

A discussion about "Harambe 00" Falcon jersey wearing fan directly in front of him in that 55 min queue.

And then we enter what the last 70 mins is about ...

 

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That last 70 mins is actually epic and quite deep. The nature of sport and the fan, how they have no say in the results but they still feel like theyre responsible for the losses (not wearing certain lucky charms etc). Also, philosophically analyzing the franchise's entire history now that the story has been told, going back over moments thruout those six episodes, to shed light on what it all means, the identity it has displayed, culturally embedded into the franchise despite thousands of players, coaches, GMs, owners, passing thru the place.

 

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Go into the unlucky circumstance of the playoff loss to Eagles during Foles run. How the franchise is synonymous for losing games in new and unlikely ways thruout its history. Go into the many 2020 games of such. And compounded is that statistically, teams lose games mostly by missed FGs, but Koo had the third best ever season by a kicker in NFL history in 2020, yet the Falcons kept finding new ways to lose. Even when things happen to decrease odds of losing, new ways invented.