Getty ImagesThe Falcons went decades without consecutive winning seasons. They’ve now had five in a row.
Which means that plenty of their recent players will be candidates for the team’s Mt. Rushmore.
But there were others who are faces of the franchise, especially since today’s team hasn’t matched the accomplishments of the 1998 team: A Super Bowl berth.
So cast your votes below for four Falcons who make it onto your Mt. Rushmore. We’ll announce the winners on Thursday’s edition of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN.
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This list is garbage! Where is Jeff George?!?
Where’s Bobby Hebert?
I’m gonna get picked on for this but Mike Vick has to be on there…he was their franchise guy for years and his style attracted a whole new market of fans..
Others Jamaal Anderson? Warrick Dunn? Too soon for Matt Ryan?
No offense, Falcon fans, but that list of candidates is really weak. How many years have you been in the NFL? Looks more like the Carolina Panthers list.
Just put Deion up there four times. The rest of this list is average at best.
No mathis?
Benedict Sanders does not belong
Holy slim pickings.
BAD MOOB RISON
Tuggle, Sanders, Ryan, Roddy
Tommy Nobis
Steve Bartkowski
Jeff Van Note
Michael Vick
Brett Favre is the best Falcon ever!
No Claude Humphrey??
Kind of a weak list for a franchise that has been around for 47 seasons. It’s the same weak sauce that the upcoming Bengals list will be.
How’s everyone forgetting Jesse Tuggle?
It has to be Sanders, Tuggle, Ryan, White.
Bartkowski just misses out, Sanders, the only Falcon HoFer (and barely) is a lock. Tuggle’s play was consistent and he deserves much more than what he got. White and Ryan have been historic and have brought the most success with them no matter the other offensive guys on the field — and they have won.
Seeing this list explains a lot about the Falcons.
You know your franchise sucks when Vick and his dogs have more notoriety than anyone in your franchise history.
Wow…none of these guys deserve Rushmore-like recognition (while other teams like the Steelers could reasonably fill several mountains many times over). Atlanta should trade their 4 Rushmore slots to Pittsburgh for future considerations.
Vick, Ryan, Sanders, Tuggle
The list is not indicative of the person who constructed it having much familiarity with the history of the Falcon franchise.
Tommy Nobis
Jeff Van Note
Claude Humphrey
Alfred Jenkins
why the hell would anyone vote for vick? he disrespected the owner, the league, and his fans slash season ticket holders by bein a dumbars. he doesn’t deserve to EVEr again be recognized in Atlanta for anything but a failure!
Billy “WHITE SHOES” Johnson????
Steve Bartkowski
Tommy Nobis
William Andrews
Jeff Van Note
Bill Fralic 4X Probowler and 80s all decade starting guard ??
Fulton Kuykendall
He was a great LB for the Falcons.
IMO Vick dissed the Falcons so he should not be considered at all.
My 4:
Nobis
Tuggle
Kenn
Bartkowski
Tommy Nobis
Jessie Tuggle
Jeff Van Note
Roddy White or Terrance Mathis
@tommysaint lol at a saints fan ragging on anyone. You morons have maybe 1 player that deserves it
I want Michal Vick and 3 dogs he executed
I voted for three, as I could not come up with a deserving fourth.
And how is Claude Humphrey not on this list? I guess some fans can’t remember past last Thursday.
The Falcons are one of many teams which should have ceded spots to other teams. That list is pitiful. I would never vote for him for anything, but Deion is the only arguably great player on the list and it’s not because of his work with the Falcons.
How are William Andrews, Claude Humphrey and Alfred Jenkins NOT on this list?
Not that I’d put all of them in the top four, but they all deserve consideration.
Eugene Robinson!
Gotta be the architects of that sick 1977 ‘Grits Blitz’ defense…the greatest defense in NFL history (no, not the steel curtain, or doomsday, or da purple people eaters…grits blitz)
1) Leeman Bennett
2)Jerry Glanville (asst. coach, Defense, 1977)
3) LB coach, 1977
4) DB coach 1977
Shouldn’t you have to at least won a Super Bowl, at a minimum, to have a “Mt. Rushmore”? And seriously, Andre Rison, Michael Vick and Arthur Blank? Too bad OJ never played for the falcons cuz he’d have completed the perfect dirty-jail-bird foursome. Worst franchise ever.
I read the first five or six names, and fell asleep.
Where is William Andrews? I don’t necessarily agree with Dieon as he was not a lifetime Falcon. Jamal Anderson was a flash in the pan. Alfred Jenkins deserves a spot as he was the Roddy White of that era.
For all of you making fun of the Falcons Mt. Rushmore, trust me, as a lifetime Falcon fan…we know exactly how weak it is.
Arthur Blank has to be on the list because without him as an owner, we would be still be a horrible franchise without back to back winning seasons.
Ok, it has to be Steve Bartkowski, Jessie Tuggle, Deion Sanders, William Andrews and Mike Vick.
That’s the Top 5. But I will give Matt Ryan a few more years and he will probably replace Bartkowski. But here’s why I picked them:
1. Steve Bartkowski. He was the face of the franchise for many years. He was a good-enough quarterback, but he WAS the Falcons. People watched to see him play.
2. Jessie Tuggle. Jessie Tuggle was the center of that killer linebacking corps that landed the Falcons in the Super Bowl. He was a consistently good-to-great player and arguably a HOFer.
3. Deion Sanders. Went into the HOF as a Falcon. He created the persona and the Falcons were successful with it. He created (with Jamal Anderson) the Dirty Birds.
4. William Andrews. Simply put- the greatest Falcon running back ever.
5. Mike Vick. Controversial, but he made watching the Falcons fun and exciting when he was here. He put the Falcons back on the map with his huge arm and fast feet. Arthur Blank bought the Falcons in large part to Mike Vick and what financial benefits he brings.
Surprised Morten Andersen isn’t on here.
Kind of a sad list there.
That list is a testament to decades of futility. The Falcons are a sad organization.
Yea this list is pretty weak. I think Warrick Dunn wouldn’t be a bad person to throw on the list. But of all these people, I truly think Vick should be on here. He was the reason they sold so many tickets those few years. (Well maybe not “so many” tickets, but definitely the reason they sold any tickets.)
Deion no only because in my mind he’s more of Cowboy then anything else. Nobody else really sticks out.
Hm… William Andrews isn’t even mentioned? One of the best running backs ever…
How is Fulton G. Kuykendall not on list list?
Since the pickin’s are so slim, why not consider some more of the earlier guys. Other than Nobis, they had.
Junior Coffey
Cannoball Butler
Paul Flatley
Billy Lothridge (for his punting, not his QBing)
Yes I really remember these guys. Yes I’m partly kidding. Wait, let me look at the list again….
This is such a sad list. Come to think of it, all of the NFC South has a pretty sad choice of candidates.
Bartkowski was a great player. Too bad he was surrounded by weak players, just as they have been for decades. Awful list. Their best players left and went elsewhere for greater glory like Sanders.
Hahahahahahahha the failcons really suck Jamal Anderson needs a explanation
CLAUDE HUMPHREY isn’t on the list. You guys know nothing about the Falcons if you didn’t include him. Nothing
Honestly, Deion Sanders is and should not be apart of the Falcons list. He was not there long at all. His time was mostly spent with the Cowboys. Jessie Tuggles is the only obvious answer here. Matt Ryan can’t win the big show, Roddy White has a short stat list for his age, Jamaal Anderson was a beast but his knees killed his career too soon. This list is horrible. And I’m speaking honestly. I’m a Saints fan and we have alot more better players then this.
Nobody cares that Gonzo isn’t mentioned. Best tight end ever…remember him?
Oh, well, not my team, but I can’t believe his name has not come up.
If Matt Ryan wins, will his Matty Ice bust on Rushmore melt into a puddle annually every January? I’d like to know before placing my vote. Thanks ahead of time.
glennsyank13 says: Jun 3, 2013 3:59 PM
This is such a sad list. Come to think of it, all of the NFC South has a pretty sad choice of candidates.
———————–
The Falcons and Panthers may have few to talk about, but the Saints have two Hall of Famers in their history already (Rickey Jackson and Willie Roaf), and Drew Brees is well on his way. As for Tampa, they already have two (Selmon and Sapp) and Brooks, Barber and Lynch all have a good chance of making it too. Not a fan of any of these teams, but Saints and Bucs at least do not have to stretch that far to get to four “faces.”
No Travis Jervey?!
I didn’t see the puddle of water that represented Matty Ice when he melted.
nobis, van note, tuggle and sanders.
I understand falcons fans’ reluctance to put deion sanders on their mt rushmore, but his five years in black, red & white were pretty darn spectacular.
Vick,Sanders , Tuggle and you pick one.
Nobis
Bartlowski
Mike Kenn
Jeff Van Note
as much as i love tony gonzalez he belongs on kansas citys mount rushmore not atls
roddy white
deion sanders
jessie tuggle
tommy nobis
For you saints homers if you have so many players better than the falcons list please explain why the falcons saints all time record is 47-41 falcons. I’m waiting ……
Deion Sanders, Jamal Anderson, Mike Vick, Andre Rison, Mike Smith
How long do Falcons fans want to be known as the team who drafted the best defensive back ever who left their team to go win super bowls? Why would he be a face of the Falcons Franchise? Did he send them a “thank you” super bowl ring each time he won it?
To think this team had Brett Favre, Deion Sanders, and Andre Rison in the early 90′s and let them all go? ridiculous what could’ve been …
Dion Sanders was only a pro bowler 3 of his 5 years with the Falcons. Two of those years the Falcons finished 6-10. they only finished above .500 once in his 5 year stint in Atlanta, and the year they did, they didn’t even win the division.
So again… what is Dion Sanders doing on this list?
As a huge Falcons fan, I can admit we have had very little to be proud about until recent years and ’98…. Of all of the people/players associated with this team, no one has done more than Arthur Blank.
1. Arthur Blank
2. Claude Humphrey
3. Primetime
4. Tuggle/Bartkowski
William Andrews
Jeff Van Note
Tommy Nobis
Steve Bartkowski
Honorable Mention:
Warrick Dunn
Michael Turner
Matt Ryan
Jesse Tuggle
Deion Sanders, Jessie Tuggle, Steve bartkowski, Arthur Blank and jeff van note!!
I voted for Tommy Nobis, Deion Sanders, Jessie Tuggle, & Matt Ryan. Honorable mention are Jamal Anderson (RB), Steve Bartkowski, William Andrews, & Jeff Van Note. The Falcons had some bad teams in their 40+ year history. The list is thin, but there are a few players that deserve to be in the HOF. Only downside is the losing seasons.
Did whoever made this list for PFT just list whichever Falcons players/coaches/admins they could and throw them on a website? That checklist above is horrible. Gerald Riggs? William Andrews? Bill Fralic?
Also, MV7 doesn’t deserve to be on this list unless he’s getting hit by a rock. He did NOTHING for The Falcons except sell jerseys.
Billy White Shoes Johnson, Gerald Riggs,
This list just shows exactly what this city (ATL) is:
Style over substance…. sad but true.