Defensive John Abraham, who played three seasons with the team during the 2010-19 decade, heads up the all-decade defensive team which was announced Monday.
Abraham was acquired in a trade with the New York Jets in 2006. He would go on to terrorize tackles in the NFC South until the 2013 season.
Over his final three seasons, Abraham had 13.5 sacks in 2010, 9.5 in 2011 and 10 in 2012. He was not re-signed and went on to get 13.5 sacks with Arizona the following season.
Overall, Abraham finished his career with 133.5 sacks, including 68.5 in seven seasons with the Falcons.
Abraham, who played at South Carolina, was drafted 13th overall by the New York Jets in 2000. The Falcons sent their 2006 first-round draft pick to the Jets (29th overall) for Abraham.
Since not re-signing Abraham, the Falcons have had only one player to post a double-digit sack season. Vic Beasley had 15.5 sacks in the 2016 Super Bowl season and he was selected as the other defensive end on the All-Decade team.
Here's a position-by-position look at the defensive team:
Defensive end: John Abraham
Defensive end: Vic Beasley
Defensive tackle: Grady Jarrett
Defensive tackle: Jonathan Babineaux
Linebacker: Deion Jones
Linebacker: Curtis Lofton
Linebacker: Sean Weatherspoon
Cornerback: Desmond Trufant
Cornerback: Robert Alford
Safety: William Moore
Safety: Ricardo Allen
Flex: Brent Grimes
Five spots also were awarded to special-teams players. Kicker Matt Bryant, punter Matt Bosher and long-snapper Josh Harris were locks.
Bryant was 259-of-296 (87.5 percent) on field-goal attempts as a Falcon. He missed only four extra-point attempts in his career in Atlanta, finishing 386-of-390 (99 percent).
The following players were selected to the special-teams unit:
Kicker: Matt Bryant
Punter: Matt Bosher
Returner: Devin Hester
Long snapper: Josh Harris
Special teams player: Eric Weems
The offensive team will be released July 20.
Here’s a look back at how the franchise has fared over the decades.
2010-19: In the franchise's most successful decade, the team went to the playoffs five times and reached Super Bowl LI. The team posted an 89-71 regular-season record and went 4-5 in the playoffs. Coaches Mike Smith and Dan Quinn combined to post the first winning mark over a decade in franchise history.
2000-09: The team went to the playoffs in 2002, 2004 and 2008, in Matt Ryan's rookie season. The 2002 team made history by giving Green Bay its first-ever playoff loss at Lambeau Field. The Falcons posted a regular-season record of 75-84-1 and went 2-3 in the playoffs.
1990-99: Jerry Glanville (1991), June Jones (1995) and Dan Reeves (1998) took the team to the playoffs in this decade. The 1998 team won the NFC title and reached the Super Bowl before losing to Denver. The regular-season record was 72-88. The team went 3-3 in the playoffs.
1980-89: The highlight was going to playoffs at 12-4 in 1980 and losing to Dallas. The 1982 went to the playoffs with a 5-4 record in strike season. The franchise lost 11 or more games five times during this bleak decade. They posted a 57-94-1 regular-season record and were 0-2 in the playoffs.
1970–79: The Falcons posted their first winning season (7-6-1) in 1971. They went to the playoffs for the first time in 1978 and posted a 60-81-3 regular-season record for the decade. They were 1-1 in the playoffs.
1966–69: The Falcons got off to a slow start with a 3-11 first season. In 1969, they went 6-8 for their best season of the 1960s. They posted a 12-43-1 record.
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