We have a major retirement in Pro Football as star Wide Receiver Julio Jones has decided to hang up the cleats.

Jones starred at the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the 2009 BCS Championship team. Drafted sixth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2011, Jones’ combination of size, speed, and vertical leaping would become a nightmare for opposing secondaries throughout the 2010s.

Compiling 2,157 Yards with 18 Touchdowns in his first two seasons, Jones suffered an ankle injury in his third season (2013) that held him to only five contests, but when he returned healthy in 2014, he went on a six-year stretch that set him apart from the rest of the league’s wideouts.  From 2014 to 2019, Jones was a perennial Pro Bowl Selection with two First Team and three Second Team All-Pros.  He led the NFL twice in Receiving Yards (2015 & 2018), receptions once (2015), Yards per Touch three times (2015, 2016 & 2018), and Yards from Scrimmage once (2015).  This astounding stretch led to an All-Decade nod.

Jones had a hamstring injury in 2020, and his time with the Falcons appeared to be ending.  Traded to the Tennessee Titans, Jones chased a Super Bowl ring with the Titans, but by this point, his age and injuries had caught up.  He played two more seasons, one with Tampa and one with Philadelphia, and exited the sport with 13,703 Receiving Yards and 66 Touchdowns.

Jones last played in 2023 and is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029.  In our 2024 pre-season Hall of Fame Monitor, Jones was ranked #9.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Julio Jones the best in his post-playing career.

2024 2023 Pre-Season Rank #149.  Peak Period: 2020-24

Chris Lindstrom has slowly turned into one of the best Guards in football and is on a three-year streak of Pro Bowls and Second Team All-Pros.  Considered one of the top Guards on a one-on-one, Lindstrom could be a First Team All-Pro this year.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will look at how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Atlanta Falcons have announced that they will be inducting Matt Ryan and Arthur Blank into their Ring of Honor this season.

Ryan was the third overall pick in 2008, promptly took over the starting job at Quarterback, and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year.  The most successful QB in franchise history, Ryan won the 2016 MVP and brought the Falcons to the Super Bowl, where they fell to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  He threw for 59.735 Yards and 367 Touchdowns for the Falcons.

Blank purchased the team in 2002. Under Blank, the team has a record of 178-176-1 and has appeared in two NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl.

They will become the 13^th and 14^th names in the Falcons’ Ring of Honor, the first time that names have been inducted in five years.  They will join William Andrews, Steve Bartkowski, Tommy Nobis, Jessie Tuggle, Jeff Van Note, Mike Kenn, Claude Humphrey, Deion Sanders, Gerald Riggs, Warrick Dunn and Roddy White.

Blank’s induction ceremony will take place on September 22 at their home game against Kansas City, while Ryan’s will occur on October 3 against Tampa Bay.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Matt Ryan and Arthur Blank for this impending honor.

Undrafted from Colgate, Eugene Robinson had one of the longest careers of any Defensive Back.

Signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Robinson made the squad as a rookie and would become a starter at Free Safety, a position he held until the millennium.  Robinson was a dominant ballhawk, recording 57 Interceptions, including a league-leading nine in 1993.  He was also one of the better tacklers of his time, recording 1,413 in total with four seasons exceeding 100.

Robinson made his first Pro Bowl in 1992, his second in 1993, and there were other years when he could have easily been considered. After 11 years with the Seahawks, Robinson signed with the contending Green Bay Packers and helped them win Super Bowl XXXI. He intercepted John Elway in Green Bay’s Super Bowl XXXII loss to Denver. 

The Safety then signed with Atlanta, where his veteran leadership and outstanding defence helped the Falcons make the Super Bowl, meaning that Robinson went to three straight and the second time facing Denver.  It was a horrible performance by Robinson, who allowed an 80-yard Touchdown by Rod Smith, and missed a tackle to Terrell Davis that led to a long gain.  Robinson was arrested the night before for solicitation, which was especially ironic as he won the Bart Starr Award for outstanding character and leadership.

Robinson played another year in Atlanta but was never forgiven by a large segment of the Falcons fanbase. He had one final year in Carolina before hanging it up, and we wish he was more known for his great games and not Super Bowl XXXIII. 

Ok.

This should be one of the more interesting debates, though we think it won’t be discussed as much as it should be.

Why would this be? As good as he was, Matt Ryan rarely was in the public eye and never went mainstream like other great Quarterbacks. He quietly went about his business, was drama-free, and did his job well. Ryan is the greatest quarterback in Falcons history but is not even the most beloved or known today.

Statistically, Ryan has all the goods.  At the time of his retirement, he was in the top ten in Passing Yards (62,792), Completions (5,551) and Touchdown Passes (381) and was 14^th all-time in Approximate Value.  Even in this era of inflated pivot stats, these numbers are remarkable! 

Ryan also had the individual accolades.  Taken with the Third Overall Pick in 2008 from Boston College, Ryan won the AP Rookie of the Year Award, was a three-time Pro Bowler and was consistently in the top ten annually in significant passing statistics.  In 2016, Ryan was the consensus MVP, leading the NFL in the major passing categories and was the best Quarterback in the National Football League.  He took the Falcons to Atlanta to the Super Bowl, and they had a chance to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  At halftime, they were up 28-3, and the legacy of Ryan looked complete, but the Pats overcame that deficit, and Atlanta was denied. 

Had Ryan won the Super Bowl with the Falcons, would we have a debate?  Quarterbacks are judged on how many rings they have, and Ryan has none.  If he falls short, that will be why.

Devonta Freeman was a BCS National Champion at Florida State and was Atlanta's Fourth Round Pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He played off the bench during his rookie season. In his second season, Freeman led the NFL in Touchdowns (14) and Rushing Touchdowns (11), accumulating 1,642 Yards From Scrimmage. This remarkable performance earned him his first Pro Bowl and a Second Team All-Pro honors. It seemed like the Falcons had a talented player on their hands.

Freeman was named to the Pro Bowl again in 2016 after amassing 1,541 Yards From Scrimmage and 13 TD. However, he failed to reach 1,000 Rushing Yards during the 2017 season, and due to a pile of injuries, he only played two games. Freeman was never the same again after his injuries, and the Falcons released him after the 2018 season. He played for two more years, one with the New York Giants and one with the Baltimore Ravens.

Freeman's career statistics include 50 Touchdowns with 6,993 Yards From Scrimmage.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #77, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #131. Peak Period: 2019-23

Justin Simmons enters his second year with the Atlanta Falcons after eight years in Denver, the last five of which saw him named to the Pro Bowl and/or secure a Second Team All-Pro.  The co-leader in Interceptions in 2022 (6) has 32 career picks going into this campaign.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #80, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #112. Peak Period: 2018-22

Matt Judon’s four-year streak of Pro Bowl appearances ended in 2022, when the then-New England Patriot suffered a torn bicep.  Judon had four Sacks in four Games in 2023 and 15 the year before, but if he returns to double-digit Sacks in 2025, it will be his fourth team, the Miami Dolphins.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #78, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #61, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #121.  Peak Period: 2016-20

The run of Kirk Cousins in Minnesota was underappreciated as he earned three of his four Pro Bowls and 171 Touchdowns in purple.  Cosuins departed to lead Atlanta, who promptly drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the First Round.  The writing was on the wall.

Cousins had his least accurate season as a starter, allowing an NFL-high 16 Interceptions, before he was relieved for Penix.  Cousins begins the season on the bench, and at age 37, his best days are likely done, though his overall numbers (42,979 Yards and 288 TDs) are nothing to be ashamed of, and if he gets significant time, he can break 45,000 Yards and 300 TDs, which is high-end company.

Only Mike Kenn played more Games (251) than Jeff Van Note (246) did with the Atlanta Falcons, and for nine years, they would play on the Offensive Line together.  Van Note played at Center after being drafted in the 11^th Round of the 1969 Draft, and over his 18-year career (all with Atlanta), he would only miss four games due to injury.  

One of the more popular Atlanta Falcons of his day, Bill Fralic, was the second overall Draft Pick in 1985 and immediately caught the attention of the Falcons fanbase as an All-Rookie Selection.

A 15^th Round Pick from Widener, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson would become one of the most exciting players in the National Football League almost as soon as he arrived.  Chosen by the Houston Oilers, Johnson played at Wide Receiver (accumulating 4,211 Yards with 25 Touchdowns over his career), but it was as a Returner where he excelled and made magic happen. 

While it can be argued that Andre “Bad Moon” Rison will always be best known for his tumultuous relationship with Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes (she infamously burned his house down), we here at Notinhalloffame.com think of Rison as a flashy Wide Receiver who backed up his smack talk.

Jessie Tuggle went undrafted out of Valdosta State, but the home state Atlanta Falcons would sign him, and it would lead to a 209 Game career, all of which were in the Peach State.  Tuggle was at Inside Linebacker for years before moving to Middle Linebacker, but regardless of where he was in the interior, few NFL players could tackle more efficiently than he could. 

Michael Vick may be best known in some circles for his dogfighting ring that cost him two years in the NFL, but prior to that the first overall pick from Virginia Tech was one of the most exciting players in Football; in fact, some would argue for a time he was the most exciting the player in the game. 

A first round pick out if the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Roddy White lived up to expectations in a career that was only spent with the Atlanta Falcons.  The go-to option for Atlanta for years, White had a six-year run (2007-12) where he never fell below 1,100 Receiving Yards per season and would have a pair of 1,300 Yard seasons peaking at 1,389 enough for second place overall in the NFL that season (2010).  He would also finish atop the leaderboard in Receptions and be named a First Team All-Pro.

We have another significant retirement in the National Football League as former Wide Receiver, Roddy White, has officially called it a career.

A first round pick (27th Overall) in 2005 out of UAB, White would become a bona fide star in 2007 where he would secure his first of what would be six consecutive 1,000 Yard seasons.  The following season, White would rattle off four straight trip to the Pro Bowl, the best of which was in 2010, where he would be named a First Team All Pro and lead the NFL in Receptions.  

White ends his career with 10,863 Receiving Yards, all of which were with the Atlanta Falcons, the most in franchise history.

White did not play in 2016, after being released by Atlanta after 2015.  For those (Ok, us) wondering about when he will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which will be in 2021.

Of course, we will soon be adding him to our 2021 Futures. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Roddy White on an excellent gridiron run and we wish him the bet in his post-playing career.

Michael Vick entered the National Football League with a lot of fanfare as the number #1 pick in the 2001 Draft.  He exited with a comment to ESPN columnist, Josina Anderson, where he stated, “I’m willing to say yeah, I’m officially retired.”

While this is not exactly the glorious departure that people envisioned in 2001, this is a still a career worth taking a look at and maybe even asking the Hall of Fame question. 

Drafted out of Virginia Tech, Vick would become the Falcon’s permanent starter in his sophomore year.  The Quarterback would dazzle the fans of the NFL with arm and his legs and would be named to his first Pro Bowl.  Vick would become a bona fide star in the National Football League and one of the most recognized players in football.

The Falcons were a good team, but not one that was built to go deep into the playoffs.  That being said, the dual threat of Michael Vick terrorized opposing Defensive Coordinators and made planning against Atlanta a very interesting proposition.  He would be with Atlanta for four more seasons until 2006 and would go to two more Pro Bowls.  Notably, in ’06, he would become the first Quarterback to rush for over 1,000 Yards. 

While 2006 would be a great year, the following two would not be as he would be sentenced for promoting a dog fighting ring that would land him in jail.  He would be suspended from the NFL and missed two years form the game and it was uncertain whether he could ever be a football player at an elite level, let alone the star that he was.

As he was released by the Falcons, Vick was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, predominantly because of the mentorship of Tony Dungy.  Serving as the backup to Donovan McNabb, Vick paid his penance and was named by his teammates as the nominee for the Ed Block Courage Award.  The following season, Vick took over as Philadelphia’s starting QB and was named to his fourth Pro Bowl and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

That would be Vick’s last great season, though he would remain in the NFL with the Eagles for three more seasons and would play with the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers before playing his last game in 2015.

With this now acknowledged retirement, Michael Vick will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, an institution that Vick feels he belongs in based on how “he changed the game”.



While he did usher in an era of more mobile Quarterbacks, a place in Canton might be hard to envision.



Regardless, we know we aren’t the only ones who were entertained by watching him play and we wish him the best in the next stage of his life.

Last month, regular contributor, Spheniscus and I debated the Hall of Fame merits of those who were on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Now that the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 has announced their class has done the same.  We were hopeful to do this prior to the announcement of the actual inductees, but life, as it often does simply got in the way!

Saying that, we felt it was worth our time to take a look at the 2016 Nominees and debate whether they should have gotten in (or not) and look to the future of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In the first incarnation of our Football list, how could we we forget about a legendary Atlanta Falcon?  Granted, there have not been that many in the past history of the Falcons, but we may very well have forgotten about a solid Linebacker in Tommy Nobis who was easily the first bright spot of the Southern franchise.

As one of the finest linebackers in collegiate history, Tommy Nobis was the first draft pick (and first overall of 1966) for the expansion Atlanta Falcons.  Nobis was a feared tackler and was the star of the early Falcons defensive squads.  He was a Pro Bowler in his first three seasons and would lead the Falcons in tackles on nine occasions.