He was an hour outside of London when the bell began to toll. Arthur Blank was flying home from a Kenyan safari on his private plane, scheduled to land in England to refuel, when the pilot left the cockpit, a sheaf of paper in his hand.

"You need to see this," the pilot said.

It was a transmitted copy of Michael Vick's federal indictment. The date was July 17, 2007. The football team on which Blank had lavished so much money and care was about to unravel as completely as any football team ever has.

One year later, the Falcons owner speaks of 2007 as "the season that never ended. Every day there was another twist to the story —- there was the Michael Vick story, and then there was the Bobby Petrino story. It was like someone kept adding another stick of wood to the fire."

Then, after a pause: "But fires do burn out."

This fire, alas, had a wickedly long tail. Within five months, Blank would find himself without both the quarterback he'd supported and befriended —- some say coddled —- and the head coach he'd hired for the express purpose of maximizing the quarterback's singular skills.

Blank regards 2007 as "another reminder that even though you work hard to try to build a roster of players capable of handling the pressures of being a professional athlete both on and off the field, the work carries no guarantee." Of Vick, he says: "On the football field, he could cope."

Would Petrino's system and guidance have enabled this quarterback to realize his massive potential? "Clearly the answer we felt was, 'Yes.' But whether he would have proved he could play at a very high level —- a consistent level —- we'll never know."

Early indications were encouraging. Vick's offseason workouts led to in-house speculation that the Falcons could average 30 points a game, a prognostication that would have left them second to New England in scoring. But Vick never played a down for Petrino, who left under cover of darkness for Arkansas after 13 games.

What if, Blank is asked, Petrino had had Vick at his disposal and the Falcons would have started 4-3 instead of 1-6? Would the grumbling about Petrino's methods have been silenced?

"It's possible, but to be frank, the issues Bobby had with the players and communication started from the very beginning. ... The players from the get-go felt disconnected. We would have had to win a lot of games for [pacification] to take place."

For the owner, what was the nadir of the season without end? Receiving the indictment? Seeing training camp begin with Vick in court in Richmond, Va., and PETA protesters outside the gates at Flowery Branch? Watching Vick address the media after pleading guilty? Having Petrino bolt the day after Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail?

"It was the day [Aug. 24] we received the document," says Blank, referring to Vick's pre-plea statement of facts. "A lot had been speculation up to then. ... Even after the indictment, Michael was still saying, 'I'm innocent; you'll find that out.' ... The reality was that what Michael had been saying was not true. It was difficult when Bobby left, but I didn't have a six-year relationship with him."

About Vick: "People say we shouldn't have supported the quarterback that much, but what about New England [with Tom Brady]? What about Indianapolis [with Peyton Manning]? With Michael, as spectacular as he was —- not always great —- with that kind of exciting player, he becomes in many ways the face of the franchise."

The former face of the Falcons sits in a Kansas prison. A radically different team —- new quarterback, new coach, new general manager —- will open training camp next week. Of his reconfigured club, Blank says, "I have tremendous expectations this team will play hard and play well. ... There'll be a lot of energy, a lot of discipline. We'll surprise a lot of people."

Already the summer has yielded one bit of cheer. The 2008 Blank family vacation passed without untoward interruption. "We went to Italy for 10 days," he says. "We didn't get any pieces of paper over there."

mbradley@ajc.com