Season of Change

By Joe Cooper

The Atlanta Falcons have made several off season moves so far.  First was releasing Dan Reeves from his contract. 

Personally, I hated to see Dan go, but I agree that the time had come to make a change.  No matter what, Dan did some great things for this organization.  He also was the only Falcons head coach so far to lead the birds to the Super Bowl.

Next the Falcons did something that was sorely needed.  They hired a GM in Rich McKay.  McKay joins the Falcons from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was general manager for nearly nine seasons.  He began his tenure with the Buccaneers in 1992 as vice president of football administration.  McKay is also widely known for his draft pick and free agency record.

With the firing of Reeves comes the hiring of the new head coach.  The Falcons announced on January 9^th that they hired Jim Mora as their new head coach and named Greg Knapp as the new offensive coordinator.

Now something happened that is hard for some Falcons fans to believe.  Not only did they hire a GM in McKay but they also hired an assistant GM in Tim Ruskell. 

Then Mora pulled what many are calling a coup when he hired Gibbs as Offensive line coach.  Gibbs is considered the best in the business when it comes to o-line.

Other new coaches this year will be Ed Donatell, defensive coordinator; Chris Beake, linebackers coach; and Brett Maxie defensive backs coach.

Remaining on the staff from the Reeves staff will be Dennis Allen, defensive assistant; Rocky Colburn, assistant strength and conditioning; Joe DeCamillis, special teams coordinator; Bill Johnson, defensive line;  Mike Johnson, quarterbacks; Al Miller, strength and conditioning; George Stewart, wide receivers; Emmitt Thomas, senior defensive assistant/secondary; and Ollie Wilson, running backs.

It has been a season of change with our beloved Falcons and time will tell if the change is good.  McKay and Mora have good track records and Mora has assembled what looks like on paper an all-star staff.  Hopefully, the potential for greatness is realized. 

One final note.  I want to send out a personal thanks to Dan Reeves for all he did as an Atlanta Falcon.  There were ups and downs during his tenure but one thing remained constant with a Dan Reeves coached team.  They never quit on him and that is a testament to the man that Dan Reeves is.  Thanks Dan and good luck in whatever endeavor you undertake next. 

Thanks Dan.

February’s Fan-atic's Meeting  

We will have a meeting in February and it will be at Corky’s near Gwinnett Place Mall on December 9th at 7:00 p.m. 

No guest speaker is announced at this time but we are working on it.

Directions to Corky’s and Phone Number: 770-564-8666

From I-85N

·        I-85N to Exit 104 (Pleasant Hill Road.

·        Take a right and proceed approx. 6/10^th of a mile.

·        Turn right onto Sweetwater Road.

·        Corky’s will be on the right

From I-85S

·        I-85S to Exit 104 (Pleasant Hill Road.

·        Take a left and proceed approx. 6/10^th of a mile.

·        Turn right onto Sweetwater Road.

·        Corky’s will be on the right

New Officers Announced

Elections were held during the December meeting and the new officers were announced at the January meeting.  The officers are:

President – Joe Cooper

Vice-President – Mike Scarce

Secretary – Gail Clancy

Treasurer – Ray Brown

The officers will serve for a 2 year term.

Also some committee chairs were announced as well.  They are:

Special Events – Rod Beard

Membership – Chuck Ruffino

Telephone Committee – Miriam Hunt

Media Relations – Aaron Brooks

Raffles – Juanita Mulligan 

The following chairpersons are still needed:

Tailgate coordinator

Newsletter editor 

If you are interested in heading these committee please send an e-mail to falcon_fanatics@yahoo.com.

New Dues Structure for 2004

The dues for the club have remained the same since the club was incepted; however, the costs of running the club has increased.  With this in mind, it was voted at the January meeting to change the dues structure. 

The new amounts for dues for 2004 are:

It was discussed and voted that the 2004 membership dues are as follows:

For couples with same address, singles and families -

$20.00 without any shirts

Additional $5 for each T-shirt ordered.

Additional $28 for each golf shirt ordered.

These dues will take effect with the April renewals.

Moving/Change of Address or E-mail

If any member has a change of address or e-mail or is planning to have a change of address, please let Joe Cooper know so he can update the records so that he can make sure you continue to get your newsletter.  Thank you.

Spotlight on a Falcon Fanatic

Robert McNally is one of the most loyal and yet one of the most distant Falcon Fanatics. Robert lives in Killnadeena Loughrea, Galway County, Ireland and although he is only in his mid-twenties, he has already been a Fanatic for several years.

Robert practices his art, as a chef, and enjoys his work.  When visiting the Atlanta  area, he stays with a friend in Madison or another friend in Conyers, who is a priest with St. Pious Church of Conyers. Robert also visits his uncle in Conyers.

After visiting Georgia, Robert says it seemed natural to become an Atlanta Falcon fan and a Falcon Fanatic. Each time he visits Georgia, he goes to a game and he still remembers the excitement and cheering at the first two Vick games and an Atlanta Falcon/Chicago Bear game. He is looking forward to the coming season and the excitement of a healthy Michael leading the team to a prosperous season.

Robert says professional football is very popular back home and he also likes to follow the college bowl games and Georgia and Georgia Tech. Baseball is also very popular in Galway and Robert is helping to develop a league in his off time.

He is looking forward to the coming season and the excitement of a healthy Vick leading the team to a prosperous season.

We look forward to seeing Robert at the tailgate party on his next visit to Atlanta.

Has the Ink Ran Dry?

As editor for the Fan-atic Flyer, I strive to bring you a quality newsletter that you will enjoy and find useful information.  I hope I have achieved these aspirations to this point.  But I must admit it is hard. 

I want to publish an eight-page newsletter every month and that takes material.  As evident by the Year in Review article, I am grasping at straws now.  Trying desperately to fill up space.  I wrack my brains until they hurt sometimes (not hard to do, just ask my wife).  In case you haven't got the point so far, let me spell it out for you.  I NEED HELP.

That's right, here's your opportunity to be a writer.  Don't worry about winning a Pulitzer Prize.  I'll write the award winning articles (ok so that was a little ego trip…very little).  Just be creative.  By now you should have a grasp of what type of articles and columns that is presented in this newsletter. 

Several columns depend on reader contribution such as the Fan-atic Spotlight.  (While mentioning that it occurs to me that I could just make up things about each of you.  So save me the trouble and send an article about yourself to me.)  Write an article on your favorite or most memorable Falcon experience.  The key is just write something. 

Please submit any article, recipe, photo, trivia, fact, etc. to falcon_fanatics@yahoo.com.

Did You Know…

Washington Redskin's receiver Art Monk was the only receiver in the NFL to catch 100 passes in a season from 1965 through 1989.  He did this in 1984.

Sacks were not an official stat in the NFL until the 1982 season.

Have any interesting NFL Facts?  Send an e-mail to Falcon_Fanatics@yahoo.com. Put Did You Know… as the subject.

Its Trivial

1 - Who was the only Falcon in franchise history to pass for 30 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons?

2 - In what year did the brothers Shannon and Sterling Sharpe jointly participate in the NFL Pro-Bowl in Honolulu?

3 - Which team was Vince Lombardi head coach for after he left Green Bay?
 

4 - What was the original name of the Chicago Bears?

5 - Who caught Terry Bradshaw's last touchdown pass?

6 - Who were the members of the Rams' defensive line known as the 'Fearsome Foursome'?

Answers will appear in next month's issue.

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