Tag Archives: Atlanta Falcons

NFL

Settle, John


Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1989, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o The Carolina Panthers
Sent: 5/10   Receieved: 5/20   (10 days)

Nobody cared when John Settle graduated from Appalachian State in 1987. The knock on him was primarily based on the fact he went to a small school so he didn’t face ‘big time’ competition and that he just wasn’t big enough to play at 5’9″, 207. (I mean the only thing John did was set the school’s rushing record mark and finish ranked 3rd all time in 1-AA history.)  John would contact a few suitors and the Falcons would sign him to a free agent contract.

Behind starters Gerald Riggs and Rick Badanjek,  John didn’t get much playing time under head coach Marion Campbell his rookie year. He’d carry the ball 19 times for 72 yards and also grab 11 receptions out of the backfield for 153 yards in 1987.  1988 however was a totally different deal for Settle, as he’d start at runningback for the Falcons (after the team traded Gerald Riggs to Washington). John started all 16 games for the team and ran for 1066 yards. In addition Settle also had 68 receptions for 570 yards. His rushing totals were the highest for a free agent RB since the AFL-NFL merger and John was named to the Pro Bowl squad. In 1989, as the Falcons virtually abandoned the run, Settle rushed for 689 yards. He’d have his second season with 1000+ yards from scrimmage when you included his 316 yards receiving.

1990 saw a coaching change for the Falcons though as former Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville came to town. Glanville installed the Red Gun offense, signed Mike Rozier, drafted Steve Broussard, and decided to give 1989 prospect Keith Jones more playing time.  Settle suited up for only 6 games that season. He’d sign with the Redskins in 1991 winning a Super Bowl title there but didn’t suit up during the season. Settle retired after the 1992 season and went into coaching in 1994 working with his alma mater at Appalachian State.

He’d join Bill Belichick in Cleveland on his offensive staff working with runningbacks in 1995 serving the team through 1998, and in its transition to Baltimore. Settle then joined the Fresno State Bulldogs as their runningbacks coach- a position he’d hold for 8 seasons. Afterwards John’s next stop was in Wisconsin with the Badgers where Settle helped coordinate the first ever trio of 1,000 yard runningbacks in the same season. Finally, in early 2011, John was be hired by new head coach Ron Rivera to coordinate runningbacks for the Carolina Panthers.  He responded to my TTM request in a quick 10 days.

Of note about John is that while Appalachian State he played for little known then head coach Mack Brown his freshman year. He is considered a member of the Bill Belichick coaching tree and while playing for the Falcons did not appear in Tecmo Bowl or Tecmo Super Bowl.

John had some nice cards here and these 3 were his most solid and complete looking cards. The ProSet 1989 card is a really nice full body shot of him dodging a would be Ram tackler while the 1990 card is a shot featuring his running style gunning to place a stiff arm. I also liked his Fleer 1990 card and how he bursts out of the top of the card borders.  Also on a side note, I’d love to see the Falcons return to the ‘red look’ from the 80s, but they seem quite content with their current black look.

G/Gs    46/29    Att 439      Yds  1801     Avg 4.1     Td  10   Lg 62  |
Rec  118     Yds  1039       Avg   8.8     Td  3      Lg  36

NFL

Schaub, Matt

Card: Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity 2009
Acquired: TTM 2009, Texans Blitz
See also: matt schaub (2)

Firmly entrenched now as the Houston Texans starting quarterback, Matt Schaub was originally taken in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft to be insurance for Mike Vick in Atlanta. An incredibly accurate passer at Virginia, Schaub held many Cavalier and ACC records upon graduation.  Schaub would quickly establish himself as a budding quarterback, starting 1 game in 2005 against the Patriots where he threw for almost 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in relief of the injured Vick. He’d also see playing time in mop up duty in 4 additional games.

In early 2007 the Houston Texans traded the Atlanta Falcons 2 second round choices (07,08) and swapped first rounders so that the Texans could lock up Schaub. The Texans’ and Matt Schaub’s timing coming together was fortuitous, as incumbent starter David Carr was released the same day as the trade was consummated (making Schaub the de facto starter), and shortly thereafter news broke about Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting. Although early on the reviews on Schaub were mixed due to injuries, Schaub did establish team records for passing in a game (497), team record, (with marks of 8-8 and 9-7,) passing yards (4,770) and all of the other relevant Houston Texans passing records.  Schaub’s 4770 yards in 2009 led the NFL and he was Pro Bowl MVP in 2010.

Matt is a good mid-range passer- excellent for the West Coast System that the Texans employ. He’s got good vision and is a leader on the field. Matt stands tall in the pocket but has been prone to be completely oblivious to his surroundings (which is often just as much the fault of his line) checking down and rechecking down receivers instead of scrambling upfield. Defenses have already made this adjustment, daring him to scramble by dropping sometimes off into deep zones. I’d also like to see Matt be able to audible more to take advantage of mismatches at the line of scrimmage.

Otherwise, since Schaub has arrived the Texans have become a dangerous offensive team especially when paired with Andre Johnson. He’s a great budget buy in Fantasy Football leagues, and helped me win my fantasy football league 2 years ago handcuffed to Andre. Like many Texans I am still awaiting an autograph from Matt Schaub as part of a major autograph blitz. Things continue to look up for Schaub as the Texans in 2011 hope that he will lead them into the playoffs for the first time.

I really like this card and I think Donruss hit it out of the park with their design taking Leaf’s previous series and really ramping it up. It does feel very trendy for the time with the worn look, but is it timeless? There’s good use of white space and while I’m not the biggest fan of the type family “Birth of a Hero”, it suits the design well. The gold reflective surface is nice, but I have never been a fan of high gloss cards since they make players’ signatures smear and pool.

So I had a little fun at the end of 2008, putting the Apex Card together. -If only I had access to high resolution imagery. Oh well. It was still a fun exercise taking a Texans photo of Matt and then changing the colors of his uniform to my fantasy football team, the Pasadena Riders, who won the Fantasy Football Championship in 2009.  While my team did not fare as well in 2010 (4th out of 12 teams), I still managed to make the playoffs again despite not having Andre or Matt on my team. Futura and usage of small caps came in handy here with Pro Set being a definite influence on the design. I manipulated the uniform by placing Matt on a mask, then colorizing him separately utilizing the color tool in Photoshop. Originally it had FANTASY IMPACT written across the card too, but I thought it was a bit over the top so I removed it in the end. There’s still some artifact ‘bitmappery’ I still need to clean up, but overall not a bad first stab.

G/Gs 91/55   Att 1965   Comp  1270    Pct  64.6     Yds   15204    Td  81    Int  52    Rat  90.9

Arena, NFL, NFLE

Agee, Mel “Big Bopper” (1968-2008)

Card: Star Pics 1991
Acquired: TTM 1992, C/o The Indianapolis Colts

Widely regarded as one of the best defensive lineman to come through the University of Illinois at 6’5″, 300,  Mel Agee was a stand out player while playing for the Fightin’ Illini notching 15 sacks. With a nice burst and a good first move off the line, the Colts made the “Big Bopper” their 6th round draft choice in 1990, and he’d make the roster of the team making 29 tackles and a forced fumble mainly on mop up duty and starting in just one game his rookie season.   His 1992 season was pretty much lost in the lineup or injured as Mel suited up for one game but did not make a tackle.

1993 saw a shift of addresses to Atlanta for the Bopper. He’d have his best season playing in Atlanta’s 3-4 set up, making career highs with 43 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 7 starts.  1994 and 1995 would see Agee slide into the background again, and by the end of that season he’d retire.

In 1998 his number was dialed up by the Frankfurt Galaxy of the NFLE and Agee made 2 sacks before returning stateside to play for the Arena Football League. Over a 5 year career with the Tampa Bay Storm Mel made 8 receptions for 51 yards and 5 TDs. He’d also make 25 tackles, 9 pass blocks and 3 fumble recoveries before finally retiring in 2002.  Tragically, in 2008, Mel passed away of a sudden heart attack.