Sean Weatherspoon was the choice at the midpoint because he was the one player that consistently was playing at a high level. And I think he is one of three candidates deserving of consideration by year’s end. The other two are John Abraham and Brent Grimes.

It’ll be hard to pick Grimes simply because he missed a couple of games at the end of the year, and the Falcons didn’t exactly fall apart. But Grimes played really well, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The simpletons out there will see that he only had one interception this year instead of the five he had in 2010 or six in 2011, and think he wasn’t as good. But he was arguably better. Teams learned their lessons and threw at him less, so the opportunities for the big plays weren’t always there. But he still was a disruptive guy that played at a high level every time he stepped on the field. The fact that he was able to effectively contain Calvin Johnson is proof positive enough that Grimes played at a high level.

And many people will look at Abraham’s final numbers and see a dropoff in his sack totals and think similarly that Abraham was not as good. But don’t let the relatively minor drop-off in sack production fool you, Abraham was a better football player in 2011 than he was in 2011. That is evidenced by an increased number of hits and pressures, as seen with Moneyball. Abraham was the only Falcons lineman up front that could be relied upon to get pressure on a relatively consistent basis. I would not say he was a one-man army, but certainly he would have qualified as a militia.

So that basically leaves me to stick by the midseason pick of Weatherspoon. Along with Grimes, he was the Falcon defender most deserving of being in the Pro Bowl, but he obviously got snubbed. Weatherspoon just was all over the field this year. He made plays as a pass rusher, in coverage, and versus the run at critical points in games throughout the season. And ultimately that’s exactly what you’re looking for in a MVP, someone that steps up in the big moments and makes the big plays.

For the first half of the season, I picked Tony Gonzalez as the offense’s most valuable player. Primarily because Gonzalez through the first 8 or so games was the only player that consistently played at a high level nearly every week. Gonzalez’s performance sort of tailed off as the season wore on. That’s not meant to be a knock on him as he still continued to play well, just that he did not stand out above and beyond other players. And that is probably more due to those players stepping up their play than probably any fall off from Gonzalez.

That leaves me with a bit of a quandary on who to pick as the team’s most valuable player on offense for the entire season, and my choice is Matt Ryan.

Ryan was who I considered the most disappointing player in the first half of the season, mainly because expectations had been so high for him and he was underwhelming in many of the early games. But as the season wore on, Ryan’s play picked up to the point that I would say he was probably the most consistent guy playing at a high level in the second half of the season. Ryan did not have a huge year this year, but he was generally very solid to good.

Early on the year, I think part of Ryan’s struggles hinged on all of the new weapons like Julio Jones into the offense, as well the inconsistency of the blocking. Once the Falcons were able to stabilize their running game and line, I think Ryan was able to settle in. And I think the one thing we learned about Matt Ryan is that he is not a guy that thrives when he is in stormy waters. But for the most part I think he was able to steer the boat to safety.

Here are some Moneyball stats worth considering to nail the point home: In the first half of the season, Ryan’s TD-INT ratio was 12:9. In the second half, it was 17:3. For the year, Ryan had 66 poor throws. 37 of them came in the first half of the season on 276 passes (13.4%). In the second half, he threw 29 poor throws on 290 attempts (10%). And he nearly doubled his number of 20+ yard completions, with 27 in the second half compared to 14 in the first half of the season.

Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez was the lone member of the team to be named to the 2012 NFC Pro Bowl team. Although it’s certainly possible that more could wind up being named to the team at a later date as injury fill-ins or alternates.

Gonzalez currently ranks third among all tight ends in the league in terms of receptions (79) and fourth in yards (867). His 7 touchdowns also are good enough to tie him for third-most among his position group. It is the 12th time he’s been named a Pro Bowler in his 15-year career, and the second time since joining the Falcons three years ago. He was a Pro Bowler last year. Earlier this season, Gonzalez moved into second place all-time among all receivers in terms of career catches.

Corey Peters: up and coming

Here are my picks for the Falcons players most deserving of these superlative awards through the first half of the 2011 season:

Offensive MVP: Tony Gonzalez

This was tough because in recent games, Michael Turner is probably the most valuable player on offense. When Turner runs well, the Falcons tend to win. But I thought Gonzo is deserving because he’s been consistent throughout the entire first half of the season. Turner was pretty average through the first 4 games of the year, although part of that could be blamed on the changes up front. But he just didn’t look like the same Michael Turner that he has been in the past month. He’s now running harder than he was early on, and thus part of his struggles were on him. With that said, Gonzo has been money throughout the year, particularly in the redzone where he is basically our entire redzone offense. Another reason for putting him here, is because I was one of those people that thought after last year, Gonzo was done. Still a solid, productive tight end, but no longer one of the best at his position. Boy, has he shown me I was dead wrong. He still has the best hands in the business, and while his explosiveness isn’t what it once was, he still has made a number of big plays at critical moments in games.

Defensive MVP: Sean Weatherspoon

If you had to pick one Falcon defender that is truly deserving of making the Pro Bowl this year, then it’s definitely Spoon. He’s been playing lights out all year long, making plays vs. the run, as a pass rusher, and in coverage. He’s been a valuable every down defender. While Spoon hasn’t been perfect, like Gonzalez on offense he has made his presence known in virtually every game. While he flashed this level of ability early on as a rookie, he’s taken things to a brand new level. And if he maintains this level of play in the second half of the season, he should definitely be on his way to Hawaii. If I had to choose a runner-up, it would probably be Brent Grimes. But he’s not having quite the impact he was having a year ago, partially because teams are not throwing at him as often as they did a year ago. But Grimes is staying playing at a fairly high level, just isn’t getting as many opportunities to make those big, game-changing impact players like he was a year ago.

Special Teams MVP: Matt Bryant

Who else would you pick? “Money” Matt Bryant has been everything his nickname indicates he should be.

Read more…

Ryan and White celebrate the game-winner in 2010

Recapping news and headlines involving the Falcons from the week of June 12…

Roddy shows up

Roddy White participated in his first player-organized workout on Tuesday this week. White had been absent at the player-organized Falcons workouts this off-season thus far this season. Per quarterback Matt Ryan, White showed up in good shape and was productive in his first practice. Last week, White was in his hometown of James Island, SC for a youth football camp. (Source: D. Orlando Ledbetter, AJC)

Sanders to represent Falcons in HOF

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that 2011 inductee and former Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders sent in his Falcons helmet along with a game ball from 1990 to Canton as part of a special exhibit that will be devoted to the 2011 inductee class.

Sanders was a first round pick by the Falcons in 1989, starring for five seasons with the Falcons before joining the San Francisco 49ers in 1994. He then played five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, and then joined the Washington Redskins in 2000. Sanders initially retired, but came out of retirement to spend two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens in 2004 and 2005. Sanders made 8 Pro Bowls during his 13-year NFL career, including 3 in Atlanta.

When he left Atlanta in 1993, he was the team’s all-time leader in punt return touchdowns, kickoff return touchdowns, and kickoff yardage. Those records have since been eclipsed. He currently sits seventh all-time on the Falcons interception leaders list with 24, as well as tied for the lead with 3 interception return touchdowns.

The gameball comes from a 38-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on a Sunday Night matchup on October 28, 1990. In that game, he returned a 79-yard punt for a touchdown, which continues to hold the record for longest in team history.

The 2011 class will be enshrined at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium on August 6, 2011. Sanders will be inducted along with defensive lineman Richard Dent, running back Marshall Faulk, linebackers Chris Hanburger and Les Richter, tight end Shannon Sharpe, and NFL Films founder Ed Sabol. (Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame)

Falcons promote Polk

The team announced that they had promoted pro scout DeJuan Polk to pro personnel coordinator. Polk first joined the organization in 2006 where he worked as a pro personnel assistant. He became Midwest regional scout in the college scouting department in 2008 and then moved back to pro scouting the following year.  (Source: Jay Adams, AtlantaFalcons.com)

Babineaux gets a Day

Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux is being honored by the Atlanta City Council for his off-field and charity work. Monday, June 20 will be declared “Jonathan Babineaux Day.” Babineaux contributes to over 50 Atlanta-area charities and non-profit organizations. He made donations exceeding $50,000 worth of Falcons home game tickets, some of which were awarded to deaf and blind children in order to experience their first NFL game. Babineaux, along with his brother Jordan, a defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks, established the Babineaux Family Foundation in 2005, which raises funds for lupus research. The brothers’ foundation will host its seventh annual golf tournament on Saturday, June 25 in Beaumont, Texas. Proceeds will benefit the Lupus Foundation, area student scholarships, and local community development. (Source: Sarah Baldwin, CBS Atlanta)

Dunn awarded with Jefferson

Falcons minority owner and former running back Warrick Dunn has been honored with the Jefferson Award, one of the country’s highest honors for community service. They were created in 1972 to be a Nobel Prize for public service. Along with 16 others, Dunn will receive the award in the category of Outstanding Athlete in Service and Philanthropy at a gala in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 21.

Dunn started his Homes for the Holidays program in 1997, his rookie season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to honor his late mother’s dream of homeownership. Through his foundation, Dunn has awarded over 100 homes to single-parent families in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Tallahassee, and Tampa areas. Dunn’s mother was a Baton Rouge police officer that was gunned down while off-duty in 1993, two days after Dunn’s 18th birthday, leaving him in charge of the care of his five siblings.

Dunn joined the Falcons in 2002, and played six seasons with the team. He retired after the 2008 season, a year after re-joining the Buccaneers. He bought a minority stake in the Falcons organization from Arthur Blank in December 2009.

Last year, Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was honored in Dunn’s category, and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning won the award in 2006. (Source: Heather Dinich, ESPN)

Every year on the FalcFans.com Forums, we hold voting for various awards which we call the FalcFans.com Awards including who is the Falcons Most Valuable Player overall, on offense, defense, and special teams. If you wish to cast your vote, please log in or register on the forums. There is just one more week left before voting expires.

The Falcons continued to garner postseason honors with four members being named to the Associated Press’s All-Pro team. Wide receiver Roddy White and defensive end John Abraham were both named first team All-Pros, while running back Michael Turner and fullback Ovie Mughelli earned second team honors.

White was also named to the PFW/PFWA All-NFL team earlier this month. This is the first time White has been honored by the Associated Press. He held the most votes among the wide receivers with 47 out of 50 AP voters casting him on their ballots. Abraham earned his 2nd 1st-team All-Pro honors, last receiving it in 2001. He received 21 votes for second most among defensive ends.

Turner had the third most votes among running backs with 8, but also received one vote as a fullback. Mughelli had 13 votes, second most among fullbacks.

Also receiving votes from the Falcons were kicker Matt Bryant, running back Jason Snelling, offensive tackles Tyson Clabo and Sam Baker, as well as defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux and cornerback Brent Grimes. Bryant received 4 votes out of 50 AP voters, fifth-most among kickers. Snelling received 1 vote, placing him seventh among fullbacks. Both Clabo and Baker received a vote each, with twelve other offensive tackles receiving more votes. Babineaux also had a single vote, placing him tied for sixth among defensive tackles. Grimes had 3 votes, seventh-most among cornerbacks.

Falcons corner Brent Grimes will join eight other teammates and his coaching staff in Honolulu this week, as he’s been added to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster due to the absence of Charles Woodson. Woodson bowed out because his team, the Green Bay Packers, will be in the Super Bowl, to be played on February 6.

This marks the first Pro Bowl for Grimes, who was tied for the team lead with 5 interceptions this year and among the league leaders with 23 passes defended. Offensive tackle Tyson Clabo was also added to the NFC squad last week as a replacement. They will be joined by the Falcons coaching staff and seven other teammates for the all-star game that will played this Sunday in Honolulu.

Falcons offensive tackle Tyson Clabo has been added to the NFC’s Pro Bowl team since Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters pulled out of the game. Clabo was the first alternate for offensive tackles.

He will be the eighth Falcons player to play on the squad, as well as joining the team’s coaching staff in the all-star game that will be played later this month.

Pro Football Weekly.com in conjunction with the Pro Football Writers of America announced their All-NFL team, not to be confused with the All-Pro teams announced by the Associated Press. Two Falcon players made it: wide receiver Roddy White and specialist Eric Weems. No Falcons made the PFWA team a year ago, although Michael Turner and John Abraham did earn honors in 2008.

White led the league in receptions (115) and was second in receiving yards (1,389). Weems led the Falcons with 16 tackles on special teams, as well as being one of only two players in the league that returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns during the regular season.

Both White and Weems also earned Pro Bowl bids, along with five other Falcon players. They will be familiar with the coaches of the NFC squad, as it will be helmed by Mike Smith and the rest of the Falcons staff. The Pro Bowl will be played in two weeks in Hawaii.