The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is counting down the Top 50 players in Atlanta Falcons history during the franchise’s 50th anniversary season. No. 40 is safety Scott Case.
Years played for Falcons: A second-round pick out of the University of Oklahoma in 1984, Case was one of the hardest hitting players ever to wear a Falcons uniform. Barely, 6-foot and 178 pounds dripping wet, the 32nd overall pick played 11 seasons in Atlanta and finished his career with one championship year in Dallas, the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XXX in 1995. His best season came in 1988 when he led the league in interceptions with 10 and earned his only Pro Bowl selection. While many of his seasons with the Falcons ended with losing records, Case would stir up the sometimes small crowd at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with some ferocious hits. He finished his career with 960 tackles and 30 interceptions.
Jersey No.: 25
His impact on the team: Case's gritty hard-nosed play might not have translated into as many wins as he would have liked, but his fearless play gained the respect of fans, coaches and teammates alike. Atlanta enjoyed just one winning season with Case patrolling the secondary, coming in 1991 as the Falcons finished 10-6 in the regular season. That year Atlanta earned its first playoff win since 1978 (franchise's first playoff appearance and victory) with a 27-20 win over division rival New Orleans in the wild card round. Eventual Super Bowl XXVI champion Washington would end the Falcons season with a 24-7 defeat in the divisional round.
On whether he missing playing football: "I will have to say this is the time of year when my juices get flowing. I still love the game. I get out to the Oklahoma-Texas game every year which obviously is a big deal and still take my boys. But I don't miss the pain of the game."
On the favorite Falcons team he played on: "The team (1991) when (Jerry) Glanville was there and we went up and lost in the playoffs in Washington and they (Redskins) went on and won the Super Bowl. The offense was high octane and Jerry allowed me to be a hybrid type of guy; a safety, a linebacker and someone that also blitzed the quarterback. It was a blast."
On his favorite teammates: "Well, I got to play with Deion (Sanders) and see some of the incredible things he did. A lot of people don't realize that he was a top notch receiver. I have a lot of teammates that I liked but if I started naming them I would leave some out. But what was funny was many of them hardly practiced during the week but every Sunday they lined up to play."
Where he is now: Case, now 53, lives in Suwanee with his wife Connie of 32 years. They have four kids: Kelsey (30), Kyler (27), Cody (26) and Kallie (22). All the Case kids went to Buford High School, Cody played football at Valdosta State and they have nine state championship rings among them. Kallie played on the University of Alabama softball team that went to the College World Series in 2012. Case is currently business partners with ex-Atlanta Falcons teammate Tom Pridemore at Pride Utility Construction Company.
50: Chuck Smith
49: Michael Haynes
47: John Zook
46: Ken Reaves
45: Lynn Cain
44: Justin Blalock
43: Bobby Butler
42: Tim Mazzetti
41: Buddy Curry
40: Scott Case
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