Give yourself a pat on the back, Falcons fans. You’ve really been through it. It’s been a hell of a year for this franchise, and all we can hope for is that the scar left by the 2007 season will soon fade away. It’s been 12 months since the unraveling really began – a year ago this week, Michael Vick and three others were formally indicted on dogfighting charges.
Sure, there were holes in the dyke before that – a certain water-bottle incident, a special salute to a section of fans after a home loss to New Orleans – but July 17, 2007 is when it all came crashing down. In this space, we’ll look back at the painful year that was. Come on, join us! It’ll be therapeutic.
WHEN THE LEVEE BROKE
The 2006 season was a letdown. Many felt the team underachieved at 7-9 and another season with no playoffs, and Jim Mora, Jr., took the fall.
Enter Bobby Petrino, a man who had bounced from job to job with alarming frequency. He continued that personal trend, but his premature departure, while scrutinized mercilessly, might have been good for the franchise. He had long before lost the respect of his players, and team morale actually seemed to improve after his resignation. Defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas stood in admirably until the season’s completion.
I won’t rehash the revolving door that was the Falcons quarterback position in 2007, but you have to have some sympathy for the three individuals that found themselves under center last year. Hard-luck Joey Harrington mostly struggled, and the Byron Leftwich Experiment (no, that’s not a bad progressive rock band) fizzled out quickly. The Falcons found some consistency late in the season with Chris Redman, who even led them, bless his heart, to a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot victory in Week 17 over the Seahawks. Redman threw four touchdowns as the Birds got their fourth victory of the season, Thomas’s first as a head coach. Players celebrated, Thomas got the Gatorade shower; but all that joyfulness must have been a macabre sight for the fans, who knew that a 3-13 record would have ensured the Falcons getting the No. 2 pick in the draft. Was this a franchise doomed to self-sabotage?
OFF THE MAT
Alright, Falcons fans, take a deep breath. I’m getting to the positive stuff.
Gone are running back Warrick Dunn and rock-solid tight end Alge Crumpler, guys who truly exuded character and class. But also gone are bust Jimmy Williams and the cancerous DeAngelo Hall. Maybe all we had to do was unload all the Hokies …
Owner Arthur Blank brought in GM Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith, and it was clear this duo was on a mission. Dimitroff and Smith used the April draft to make it known that the team was distancing itself from the quarterback and the events that started the team on a downward spiral a year ago at this time. Turns out that Week 17 win wasn’t so harmful after all, because the Falcons won the tiebreaker for the third overall pick, and quarterback Matt Ryan was clearly the guy they wanted. Ryan has done everything – and I mean everything – right. His first right move was to grow to 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. Beyond that, he’s said and done all the right things. He’s mature, and probably more NFL-ready than many of the quarterbacks that have been taken No. 1 or No. 2 recently.
Running back Michael Turner was the biggest free-agent signing of the offseason. He’s quiet and hard-working – the perfect successor to Dunn. When I talked to Turner earlier in the offseason, he reminded me that in his rookie season with the San Diego Chargers the team achieved an eight-game turnaround from the year before. That might be too much to ask this year, but I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ll see an improved record and overall product.
What a difference 12 months makes. Last year, you couldn’t find an optimist in Falcons Nation with a pair of binoculars. This year, fans seem to be looking forward to Sept. 7, the home- and season-opener against the Detroit Lions, instead of dreading it. As that other quarterback fades farther and farther out of view (wasn’t he in the news recently? Something about bankruptcy?), it’s time for us to focus on the new faces that will lead the Falcons into the “After No. 7 Age.”
Ewalt can be reached at aewalt@scoreatl.com.
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