The Falcoholic
Do you agree with their choices? Who’s missing?
Twenty-five years. It’s been 25 years since the new millennium started, and the game of football has transitioned into a completely new era than when the 2000 Baltimore Ravens held 75% of their regular season opponents to 14 points or less.
Offenses have never been more dominant than in the past quarter century, and one of the teams that found unprecedented success because of their offensive output was the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta was top-10 in points scored seven times (2002, 2008, 2010-2012, 2016, 2018), matching their mark of seven times before the year 2000. Six out of those seven times, they made the playoffs and, for the first time in franchise history, went to the playoffs in back-to-back years.
One of the key components of that success was the health of the passing game. From 2000, the Falcons ranked 10th in the NFL in EPA/dropback and dropback success rate, according to rbsdm.com. While that is impressive, the real game-changing move occurred in 2008, when the franchise acquired Matt Ryan. During Ryan’s tenure as a Falcon (2008-2022), he led the Falcons to the fifth-best EPA/play, seventh-best success rate, fifth-best EPA/dropback, and fourth-best dropback success rate.
But Ryan couldn’t do it on his own. He needed guys who could get open and do something with the football once it was in their hands. While guys like Roddy White, Harry Douglas, and Calvin Ridley were all key components to the passing game, two pass-catchers in particular made sure that Ryan’s transition to the NFL was a successful one, and both of them were recognized in ESPN’s Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder’s All Quarter Century Team. There was also a third, controversial Falcon named in this article that contributed a good bit to Atlanta’s passing success.
If we look at every player’s three best seasons by receiving yards this quarter century, no wideout’s top three years matched Jones’ total of 5,141 — four yards ahead of Johnson. If we do the same exercise for each player’s five best seasons, Jones again sits at the top. Best seven? Still Jones.
Also, with all due respect to Matt Ryan, Jones did not have a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to him the way other receivers on this list did. Though he never won a ring, Jones’ miraculous sideline grab in Super Bowl LI helped the Falcons get awfully close to one.
Once Thomas Dimitroff made that fateful draft-day trade to acquire Julio Jones in 2011, the stage was set for the Falcons to compete, not just for playoff spots, but for championships. Jones’ run from 2014-2019 was a run of consistency that you simply don’t see. Five straight years of 1400+ receiving yards, and missing the...
