The Atlanta Falcons have been a dismal franchise for a very, very long time. Make no mistake about it. How many franchises can say they traded away Brett Favre? Every once in a while they stray from their usual selves and make it to the playoffs. Yet, usually the Georgia Dome remains the stomping ground for NFC-West rival San Francisco. In his days as a 49er, Steve Young took care of business before the local band performed at the halftime show. Falcons fans were left to see incumbent back-up Elvis Grbac mop up the rest of the victory. Grbac not only played, but he looked like a star against the hapless Falcons defense. Young, and every other opponent of the Falcons in the 90’s, circled the date they played the Falcons. Why? Because the lowly Atlanta franchise has an underachieving reputation. It was not a game. It was a scrimmage against a team that nobody cared about.
The “Dirty Birds” teased fans in 1998 when they made the franchise’s only Super Bowl run, going 16-3. Although the Denver Broncos handily defeated them, most believed the Falcons were there to stay at the upper echelon of the NFL. The real Falcons returned in 1999 and were met face-on with disaster. In their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, oft-injured quarterback Chris Chandler was knocked out late in the contest. With time winding down, Morten Anderson missed a 40-yard field goal, a kick that would have tied the game. The season finished in a downward spiral. Pro-Bowl running back Jamal Anderson tore his ACL in a gruesome injury against Dallas on a Monday night affair, the team’s second game of the season. Anderson, who sat out the rest of they year, never reached his Pro Bowl form in 2000. So goes the tale of the Falcons: a 5-11 season in 1999 followed by a 4-12 season in 2000. Attendance dropped to an average of a generous 40,000 fans a game. The Falcons were again drowning in their own sorrows.
Then came Friday, April 20th,, 2001. The Atlanta Falcons did the unthinkable: they made the right move. The Chargers agreed to deal the No. 1 pick of the 2001 NFL Draft to the Falcons in exchange for their first and third round picks of 2001, their second round pick for 2002, and speedy return man Tim Dwight. Although Dwight was a fan favorite, he was a small price to pay for the #1 player in the draft, quarback Michael Vick. Vick is more than just a talented QB for Atlanta fans. He is hope. A savior. The franchise reborn. While Vick will most likely sit and learn during his rookie season, his potential for years to come is endless. The former Virginia Tech Hokie has athleticism unlike anything the NFL has ever seen. Couple that with an accurate deep ball and a strong build, and Atlanta sealed its future on Saturday.
Vick made every Falcon fan forget the drafts of the past, which were mediocre at best. In 1997, the Falcons traded down and drafted cornerback Michael Booker with the eleventh pick in the draft. Booker was just released in 2001. The extra pick they received in exchange for moving down, a second rounder, was running back Byron Hanspard, who also was waived in 2001. Nathan Davis, the second of the Falcons’ two picks in the second round, was inactive for all of the 1997 season. Reporting to training camp overweight for the ’98 season, the defensive tackle told head coach Dan Reeves he no longer wanted to play and quit the team. It couldn’t get any worse, right? Atlanta’s third round draft pick, tight end O.J. Santiago, was traded during the 2000 season to Dallas for a conditional fourth round draft pick. None of the Falcons top four picks in 1997 made it past the 2000 season. Seattle, who moved up via Atlanta, picked Pro Bowl cornerback Shawn Springs.
The 1998 draft yielded sub-par results as well. While first-round pick Keith Brooking has shown promising signs, second-rounder Bob Hallen has failed to live up to expectations. Drafted as a guard, he has been switched to both center and tackle. Third-rounder Jammi German, who was a questionable draft pick coming off an injury-plagued college career, has seen time merely as a third and fourth-string receiver. The lone steal in the draft, Tim Dwight, was traded to the Chargers.
Reeves’ worst draft, however, is arguably the 1999 draft. Defensive end Patrick Kerney registered only 2.5 sacks his rookie year. The Falcons also dealt away their 2000 first-round draft pick for their second-round pick in 1999, Reggie Kelly. Kelly, who caught only a handful of passes in his first two years as a Falcon, is still a developing player. The Ravens, who traded for the 2000 pick, took Jamal Lewis with the fifth pick. Lewis eventually helped the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship.
Vick alone will not take the Falcons to a Super Bowl. However, with a supporting cast, he and the Falcons can compete with the best the NFL has to offer. While a risk can raise the franchise to new heights, it can’t lower them anywhere they haven’t been before. Vick has opened eyes in Atlanta. Falcon management has told the city of Atlanta they are willing to make moves to succeed, something they have not done in their 35-year history.