Sanders signs one year deal with Falcon

[Patspsycho]

per Adam Schefter tweet.

Amount not disclosed.

Wishing all the best for him.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

I wish James good luck. Must be psyched to sign w/ another good team. Falcon's GM Dimitroff remembers his roots, and does the Pats a favor by keeping Sanders out of Jets land.

 

[NEPatriot]

That didn't take long. I'm glad for Sanders. He's going to a great organization. Not the Pats, but still a great organization.

 

[Froob]

Good for him, wish him well.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Not surprised that Sanders signed so quickly. He's one of the better players that will be cut around the league, makes sense that other teams would pursue him aggressively. If he hadn't signed with the Falcons, he was scheduled to meet with the Chiefs next.

 

[Ring 6]

That didn't take long. I'm glad for Sanders. He's going to a great organization. Not the Pats, but still a great organization.

The Falcons are a great organization? I'm surprised at that comment, could you elaborate?

 

[NEPatriot]

The Falcons are a great organization? I'm surprised at that comment, could you elaborate?

Arthur Blank is one of the more influential owners in the league. While not at a Kraft level, he does have influence. Rich McKay and Thomas Dimitroff form an excellent president/gm team. Dimitroff has brought some of the "Patriot Way" with him. I think that Mike Smith is one of the more under rated coaches in the league. The team has been re built and is now one of the top teams in the NFC. More over, they're not built to win for a season or two. Flowery Branch is one of the best training complexes in the NFL. It doesn't hurt that Atlanta is one of the most popular cities for players to live. I might be biased, but these are my thoughts.

 

[jcdavey]

blank always struck me as a weirdo, like the videogame character andrew ryan, from bioshock...just extremely weird, and from a different era

 

[supafly]

blank always struck me as a weirdo, like the videogame character andrew ryan, from bioshock...just extremely weird, and from a different era

Lol. I agree, Blank does seem a little odd to me too. Eccentric or something, I can't put my finger on it.

But I agree with ATLpatsfan that the Falcons are a solid competing NFC team with a somewhat decent leadership front office. He certainly could have gone to a high number of 'worse' places.

I don't know if I'd place them in the upper-echelon of well run organizations, but they probably make it in my top 10 or 12 for sure.

Personally I am kind of glad that he went to the NFC in a way. Not that he's some 'great' player etc, but this way I can quietly root for him on some out of the way team like ATL. I really liked Sanders, and thought that he was one of the good role players that make up the chemistry of the team. It was a shame to see him go, and somewhat puzzling at this moment in time with our current depth at FS.

 

[Salva135]

The Falcons are a top-flight organization that recovered tremendously from the Vick fallout so quickly, and Arthur Blank was likely a major factor. They drafted Matt Ryan as a prototype franchise QB and by all means he is one, and the Falcons are NFC contenders. They are easily one of the best organizations in the league. Snatching Dimitroff alone tells you how smart they are. The NFL Network uses them in their ubiquitous promo commercial, they are legit.

 

[NEPatriot]

Lol. I agree, Blank does seem a little odd to me too. Eccentric or something, I can't put my finger on it.

But I agree with ATLpatsfan that the Falcons are a solid competing NFC team with a somewhat decent leadership front office. He certainly could have gone to a high number of 'worse' places.

I don't know if I'd place them in the upper-echelon of well run organizations, but they probably make it in my top 10 or 12 for sure.

Personally I am kind of glad that he went to the NFC in a way. Not that he's some 'great' player etc, but this way I can quietly root for him on some out of the way team like ATL. I really liked Sanders, and thought that he was one of the good role players that make up the chemistry of the team. It was a shame to see him go, and somewhat puzzling at this moment in time with our current depth at FS.

I just did a quick search of NFL organization rankings. Of course, the lists are subjective. I do have some personal knowledge of the Falcons organization.

Green Bay Packers are best NFL organization in 2011 rankings - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

 

[supafly]

I just did a quick search of NFL organization rankings. Of course, the lists are subjective. I do have some personal knowledge of the Falcons organization.

Green Bay Packers are best NFL organization in 2011 rankings - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Nice link. I'm not sure that I fully agree with the New Orleans Saints being as high as they are, but like you said--the list (and most are) is subjective.

Atlanta is a top 8, I would have had them between 8-12 myself, probably right around 10.

If they can do a little better on the road to match Ryan's great home play, they could certainly be a contender for the next 4-5 yrs, maybe more.

I fully expect them to be one of the NFC's top few teams this yr, and I think Brent Grimes is incredibly underrated as a CB there.

 

[Gumby]

Blank is a good owner.

Even before he decided to go to Foxboro and intern up to bob kraft (not literally); he was already a creative owner. Before him falcons couldn't sell out their games so he created the HALF-SEASON tickets (4 game packages). To make a season-ticket type experience more affordable.

And he has openly said he models his franchise on bob kraft's operation because he admires the Pats/Kraft so much.

Best of luck to sanders.

 

[Gwedd]

I'll jump in and add my own best wishes to Sanders as well. Atlanta is a good team with a good front office and owner. Arthur Blank treats folks like family, and wants them to succeed because if they do, he profits and so do all the vendors and side businesses associated with the Falcons.

Atlanta, like any bog city, has it's problems, but it's still a great city and Georgia is a nice state with good people.

I wish Sanders well unless he's playing New England.

 

[DemBirds]

Hey people, Falcons fan here. I just stopped by to get a little more info on Sanders and saw the thread. Kind of hard to believe that the idea that the Atlanta Falcons are a top tier NFL franchise was questioned. Especially when our GM, one of the best in the league, came from this organization.

I don't know how many people realize it but in the 3 seasons Dimitroff and Smith have been with the Falcons, they've won Sporting News' Executive of the Year award and Coach of the Year award 2 times a piece. We have one of the most experienced coaching staffs that gets more out of their players than they probably should. They turned 2 undrafted offensive lineman into all-pro quality players in Tyson Clabo and Harvey Dahl (Now with St. Lewis.) and undrafted/NFL Europa CB Brent Grimes into a Pro Bowler.

Players have begun to notice and want to play for this organization. They aren't quite where the Patriots or Steelers are yet but in the last 3 seasons the Falcons have the third most wins in the NFL behind just the Patriots and Colts. The most consistent team in the NFC to say the least. They just need to get over that playoff hump. Over half of our starters have 3 years or less experience so I'd say that's pretty dang impressive.

Anyway, I looked forward to seeing James Sanders compete for us this year and hope to see the Pats in the Super Bowl, I think it'd be a helluva game.

 

[Gumby]

Hey people, Falcons fan here. I just stopped by to get a little more info on Sanders and saw the thread. ...

:welcome:

10 characters

 

[Calciumee]

Good luck James!

At least he is out of the conference!

 

[Sparetire]

I like james, i wish him well. also, if the patriots wont win the SB (god forbid) i'll root for atlanta right away (after ill trash my place down), its a great organization and i like mattyice since he was at BC.

 

[Rob0729]

Not surprising. Dimitroff was in the Director of College for the Pats when James Sanders was drafted. He might have been a Dimitroff pick.

 

[Sicilian]

Hey people, Falcons fan here. I just stopped by to get a little more info on Sanders

Welcome!

As for Sanders, the general consensus (removing a few extreme outliers) is that he is a solid rotational safety. Not someone you want starting full time, but he's smart and works hard. He won't stand out most of the time, not a ball hawk or a guy who lays wood on receivers, but he'll generally be where you want him to be and make the plays he should. He also benefits from some positional flexibility, as he's played both FS and SS for us here. He was also the signal caller for the secondary for most of the time since Rodney left us, so he's able to grasp the nuances of defensive systems.

Overall, I think you'll like having him on your team, so long as he's playing somewhere around 50% of the snaps and not much more.