2018 Atlanta Falcons Season
The 2018 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 53rd in the National Football League, their second playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (the venue for Super Bowl LIII) and their fourth under head coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons attempted to be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium as an expected Super Bowl contender. However, the Falcons were riddled with injuries, losing 7 starters to IR with the Falcons stumbling to a 1–4 start. Following a 31–17 loss to the Saints in Week 12, the Falcons fell to 4–7 and failed to match their 10–6 campaign from 2017. With a 34–20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons fell to 4–9 and suffered their first losing season since the 2014 season. Despite beating the Arizona Cardinals 40–14 in Week 15, the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2015 with a win by the Minnesota Vikings. However, they were able to end their season with a 3 game win streak to finish 7–9. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NFC South
The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The NFC South currently has four member clubs: the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers belonged to the AFC West () and NFC North, NFC Central (–), while the other three teams were part of the geographically inaccurate NFC West. The NFC South is one of two divisions to have each of its teams make a Super Bowl appearance since the 2002 realignment (along with the NFC West): Tampa Bay (2002 NFL season, 2002 and 2020 NFL season, 2020), Atlanta (2016 NFL season, 2016), Carolina (2003 NFL season, 2003 and 2015 NFL season, 2015) and New Orleans (2009 NFL season, 2009). Also since 2002, each team ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 Atlanta Falcons Season
The Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League and the seventh under head coach Mike Smith. The Falcons were defeated by the Carolina Panthers in week 17, officially eliminating them from postseason contention for the second straight year. As a result, Smith was fired after his seventh year as head coach, after two straight years with a losing record. The 2014 Atlanta Falcons were featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks. As of 2022, the only member of the 2014 squad still a Falcon is Jake Matthews. 2014 draft class * Note: The Falcons traded their sixth- (No. 182 overall) and original seventh- (No. 220 overall) round selections to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' fifth-round selection (No. 168 overall). Staff Final roster Schedule Preseason Regular season :Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs. New Orleans Saints Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals Week 3 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; the stadium also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, they played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina during its first season. The team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Along with the New England Patriots, it is one of only two teams representing multiple states. The Panthers were announced as the league's 29th franchise in 1993 and began playing in 1995 under the original owner and founder Jerry Richardson. The Panthers played well in their first two years, finishing in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dontari Poe
Dontari Poe (born August 18, 1990) is a former American football nose tackle. He played college football at Memphis and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs 11th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. Though primarily a defensive lineman, at 6 ft 3 in and 346 lbs, he is also known for being the largest player to either rush or pass for a touchdown while also having a 100% pass completion percentage, passing TD, and rushing TD. High school career Poe entered Wooddale High School in Memphis, Tennessee, without any prior football experience. His coach, Cedric Miller, had spotted Poe practicing with the marching band in the summer before Poe's freshman year at Wooddale, and told him to report to football practice the next day. By his junior season, he was an all-state honorable mention defensive lineman and credited with 63 tackles and eight sacks. Besides his hometown school Memphis, he was recruited by Auburn, Colorado, and Mississippi. Ole Miss invited him to their annual Ju ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Defensive Tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the largest and strongest of the defensive players. Depending on a team's individual defensive scheme, a defensive tackle may be called upon to fill several different roles. These roles may include merely holding the point of attack by refusing to be moved, or penetrating a certain gap between offensive linemen to break up a play in the opponent's backfield. If a defensive tackle reads a pass play, his primary responsibility is to pursue the quarterback, or simply knock the pass down at the line if it is within arm's reach. Other responsibilities of the defensive tackle may be to pursue the screen pass or drop into coverage in a zone blitz scheme. In a traditional 4–3 defense, there is no nose tackle. Instead there is a left and right defensi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded the second-most victories of any NFL franchise, only behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on September 20, 1919 and became professional on September 17, 1920, and moved to Chicago in 1921. It is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding in 1920, along with the Arizona Cardinals, which was originally also in Chicago. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side, adjacent to Lake Michigan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Taylor Gabriel
Taylor James Gabriel (born February 17, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Abilene Christian, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He also played with the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears. Early years Gabriel attended John Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, where he played football, basketball, and ran track for the Jaguars athletic teams. In football, he was a three-year letterman at wide receiver, cornerback, and kick returner. He was an All-District selection as a junior after he had 47 catches for 588 yards and four touchdowns. He earned Class 5A TSWA All-State as senior in 2008 after totalling 90 catches for 1,354 yards with 13 touchdowns for a 4–7 team with the school’s first playoff bid. He was also named APSE second team all-state and was the District 11-5A MVP. College career Gabriel enrolled to play college foot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matt Bryant
Steven Matt Bryant (born May 29, 1975), nicknamed "Money Matt", is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers in 2000. A Pro Bowler with the Falcons in 2016, he has also been a member of the New York Giants, Frankfurt Galaxy, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Florida Tuskers, and is among the most-accurate kickers in NFL history. Early years Bryant was born in Orange, Texas. He played football and baseball at Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas and holds the record for the longest field goal. College career After graduating from high school, Bryant attended Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas where he was two-time NJCAA All-American and a member of the 1994 national championship team. He then signed with Oregon State University and later transferred to Baylor University, where he played in the 1997 and 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Specialized role The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Prior to the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Lou Groza, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blidi Wreh-Wilson
Blidi Bertrand Wreh-Wilson ( ; born December 5, 1989) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at University of Connecticut. Early years Blidi attended General McLane High School in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, where he was a four-sport star in football, basketball, track and soccer. He played for the General McLane Lancers high school football team and for General McLane's 2007 PIAA AAA Basketball State Championship team, which in the same year won the PIAA AAA Football State Championship. This made General McLane the first high school in PIAA history to accomplish such a feat. Wreh-Wilson was not on the football team as he was on the soccer team. Switching fall sports in his senior year from soccer to football, Wreh-Wilson was an honorable mention all-state pick as a senior. Rated only a two-star recruit by ''Rivals'', he committed to Connecticut over an offer f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnovers through hard tackles, interceptions, and deflecting forward passes. Other members of the defensive backfield include strong and free safeties. The cornerback position requires speed, agility, strength, and the ability to make rapid sharp turns. A cornerback's skill set typically requires proficiency in anticipating the quarterback, backpedaling, executing single and zone coverage, disrupting pass routes, block shedding, and tackling. Cornerbacks are among the fastest players on the field. Because of this, they are frequently used as return specialists on punts or kickoffs. Overview The cornerback’s chief responsibility is to defend against the offense's pass. The rules of American professional football and American coll ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |