Dirty Birds Dispatch: A word from the ‘fans’
Happy Thanksgiving!
We received a lot of email after last week’s quarterback news and from our story about the franchise facing a possible reboot after the season.
So this week, we’ll get right to the mailbag.
EXTENDED MAILBAG TIME
📬 Reader Michael Hughes: The Falcons play in a palace named the best dome stadium in America and simply state-of-the-art. … Great vibrant city, Atlanta, the showplace of the South. The definition of cosmopolitan and now part of the big boys club (NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, etc.) and when they are winning, Mercedes-Benz is ear-piercing loud.
Bad decisions. Bad coaching. Losing has drained the die-hard fan base here and overseas, as I have met die-hard Falcons fans in Europe during travel. Yet the consistent losing takes the wind out of the Falcons fan base. A good Falcons team would make metro Atlanta swell in joy and pride. Falcons merchandise would skyrocket, the city would have a nasty great swagger. … Arthur Blank is a great owner … but must fire Raheem Morris. (Seven) straight losses is unacceptable. He has proved nothing with a hell of a lot of talent … Bijan (Robinson), (Kyle) Pitts, Drake (London), Tyler (Allgeier) and Jessie Bates (III).”
My response: If losing has drained the “die-hard” Falcons fans, what do you say to the longtime Cleveland Browns fans who have been through 42 quarterbacks? They continue to support their team and show up for games. What do you say to the “die-hard” Detroit Lions fans, who went though five decades of losing after winning the NFL title in 1957. They continue to support the team like “die-hard” fans do. Yes, the Falcons have issues and need to get things turned around. But if you are a “die-hard” fan, you stay with your team through the lean and the boom years.
- Surgeon discusses what Penix faces after surgery
- John Abraham’s Hall of Fame case
- Drake London doubtful for Jets game
📬 From reader Charlie Johnson (to AJC columnist Ken Sugiura): Ken, I enjoy your commentary and have been a LONG-SUFFERING FALCONS FAN (probably longer than you have been alive), but we’re in such a bad place now I wish Mr. Blank would shock the world and fire everyone involved with the Falcons. He might reach out to coach Saban and see if he would take over everything football-related and lead the search for a new coach, etc. If you just focus on the QB room, you can see how inept the front office is and how poorly this staff develops talent. In a league designed to make everyone competitive, the Falcons continue to fall short. I hope you will consider asking your readers to vote on if is it time to blow up everything FALCONS and hope for a better future. Thanks for considering my ramblings and pass this along to Orlando!!! Best regards, Charlie Johnson.
My response: Thanks for reading.
📬 From reader Michael Koblentz: Just because he is a billionaire, that does not mean he knows a thing about football. While I admire his progressive politics as opposed to his fascist-leaning deceased partner, he should sell the team and leave it to someone who understands how to build a great team. The buck stops with him, and he can hire five more GMs and coaches and we will have the same results.
My Response: Thanks for reading.
📬 Reader Brad Bridwell: The best commentary in the NFL halftime report last week was from Matt Ryan. Former Falcons always get a raw deal.
I remember my dad’s season tickets when (Steve) Bartkowski was the quarterback, but funny how many empty seats there are at home games. He’s 93 now, and I was a high school quarterback.
Falcons have no loyalty since Arthur Blank held up a championship soccer trophy. Sell the team.
My response: No, I love Mr. Arthur Blank. He wants to win.
Even more from the mailbox after a short intermission.
WHERE TO WATCH (AND LISTEN)
This will be the 15th meeting between the Falcons and Jets. The Falcons lead the series 9-5. In the last meeting, Desmond Ridder led the Falcons to a 13-8 victory Dec. 3, 2023.
Kickoff arrives at 1 p.m. Sunday.
📺 On TV: Fox
- Play-by-play: Kenny Albert
- Analyst: Jonathan Vilma
- Sideline: Megan Olivi
📻 On local radio: 92.9 FM The Game
- Play-by-play: Wes Durham
- Analyst: David Archer
📡 On national radio: Compass
- Play-by-Play: Chris Carrino
- Analyst: Brian Baldinger
TALE OF THE TAPE
Here’s a closer statistical look at the Falcons-Jets matchup, with league rankings in parentheses.
FALCONS — JETS
19.9 (27th, tie) — Points/Game — 19.9 (27th, tie)
329.7 (18) — Total Yards/Game — 281.5 (29)
120.0 (13) — Rush Yards/Game — 135.8 (7)
209.7 (18) — Pass Yards/Game — 145.7 (32)
28:49 (25) — Time of Possession — 28:53 (24)
22.6 (15) — Opponent Points/Game — 26.5 (27, tie)
323.5 (16) — Opponent Total Yards/Game — 321.6 (14, tie)
133.1 (26) — Opponent Rush Yards/Game — 127.9 (23)
190.4 (8) — Opponent Pass Yards/Game — 193.7 (10)
+6 (7 tie) — Turnover Margin — -13 (32)
MORE MAILBOX TIME
📬 From reader Don Dennard: Great recap about a long and complicated history. Nice reporting and insight. Thanks for the summary.
My response: Thanks for your kind words. Thanks for reading.
📬 Reader Paul Ferdinands: I read your column today, hoping that the headline was intended to be sarcastic (because I’m not sure there is anyone in the Atlanta area, other than maybe Arthur Blank, who doesn’t think the entire organization needs to be cleaned out from top to bottom). I have watched Falcons games since my family moved here in the mid-’70s, and I have been a season-ticket holder continuously since the first season at the Dome. I have (insanely expensive) club seats now. My view is that the coach and GM should have been fired after last season, so given the continued ineptitude this season, it is way past time for a “reboot.”
I’m sure the coach and GM are nice guys, but nobody wants to hear the coach explaining anymore about how the team got outcoached and/or outplayed, and how they have so many things that need to be “fixed.” It is almost impossible to convince people to accompany me to the games (despite the fact that I shower regularly and use deodorant), and there is no resale market for Falcons tickets (at least not anywhere close to face value). Rather than continuing the rant (lol), I will just finish by saying that please, for the love of God, get rid of Rich McKay, too. Thanks for your good work at the AJC and your dedication to Atlanta sports!
My response: Paul, thanks for sharing.
📬 From reader Bob Flipse (to sports editor Rod Beard): Rod, I read with great interest the articles by D. Orlando Ledbetter and Michael Cunningham on the Falcons “reboot” and Michael Penix. One could add to both (in my opinion): Generally, the really good guys — quarterbacks and coaches — start good out of the gate or at least show something.
Raheem Morris seems nice enough and he certainly knows football. But his game plans don’t win often enough, as his sub-.500 winning percentage over his career attests. Joe Gibbs was always Joe Gibbs and won Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. Don Shula was pretty much always the Don and went to Super Bowls with four quarterbacks. And Bill Parcells was Bill Parcells and won with Jeff Hostetler and Phil Simms. Once the good guys get rolling, they keep it rolling. Yeah, in today’s NFL we know you have to have that QB to tip the scales. All I am saying is I was disappointed when Raheem was hired, and I am not surprised at the results.
Moving on to Michael Penix. Man, the guy goes straight back to pass almost every time and the rushers have to know where to find him. Jared Goff is having a tougher year without Ben Johnson to be sure, but he reads defenses and slides one way or the other the moment he gets the ball. The better QBs generally show something in the first year, and Year 2 is often tougher once they all have tape on the guy (see CJ Stroud). Some of it with Penix is coaching, I believe, as look what coaching did for Josh Allen and his formerly wild mechanics. The guy generally throws missiles now but can’t cover enough for that bad defense (see Dan Fouts, Dan Marino …). But sadly, Michael is not showing me the goods to show he really has “it,” and then there are the injuries.
At any rate, there may be some fodder here for a follow-up article and I’ll be sure to look. Thanks for your time if you got this far. Thank you.
P.S. I began reading the Miami Herald around 1957, delivering it around 1962, and had the good fortune to be regaled with Edwin Pope’s writing on a regular basis. I remember as well the great Furman Bisher and loved his articles on golf. It makes me sadder than you can imagine to hear of the demise of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution print edition in six weeks. I bought yesterday’s Sunday edition as a piece of nostalgia for those days gone by. My best to all.
My response: I’m not ready to pull the plug on either project. I know the Falcons don’t want to be like the Browns and have 42 starting quarterbacks since 1990.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Dirty Bird Dispatch. Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at dledbetter@ajc.com. Follow @DorlandoAJC on X, too.
See you next week.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
