On Sunday, Arthur Blank was inducted into the Falcons Ring of Honor, joining Steve Bartkowski, Deion Sanders, Warrick Dunn, William Andrews, Gerald Riggs, Jeff Van Note, Jessie Tuggle, Tommy Nobis, Todd McClure, Mike Kenn, Roddy White, and Claude Humphrey.
For all of the mediocrity on the field, Blank has been as good as any owner in any league for the city of Atlanta. The co-founder of Home Depot has done more for the city than just about any single person has in history, but let’s not forget that the Falcons have been average at best during Blank’s tenure.
And somehow, everyone forgot that he was close to making the biggest mistake in Falcons franchise history. Worse than hiring Bobby Petrino, Arthur Blank was the driving force in Atlanta’s pursuit of Deshaun Watson. He better be glad the Browns ponied up a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
First and worst of all, Watson is universally despised for what he allegedly did off the field. There have been only a few players that were disliked as much as Deshaun Watson, but this is the NFL. Fans, teams, and the league itself will overlook just about anything if the player is good enough. It’s sick and twisted, but it’s true. The only problem is that Watson has been as bad of a player as he is a human being (allegedly).
Through three games this season, Deshaun Watson has thrown for 551 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions, completing a career-low 57.8% of his passes a career, good for a putrid QB rating of 71.4. He’s been downright horrendous. His 22.5 QBR is the second-lowest in the league. Can you guess who’s the lowest? The recently benched Bryce Young.
Not only did the Browns give up a treasure chest of draft picks for Watson, but they also gave him $230 million fully guaranteed, so moving on isn’t simple. Cleveland still owes him nearly $100 million and continues to face backlash stemming from his off-the-field allegations, the most recent being a suit from a woman who is accusing Watson of sexual assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Suffice to say, the Falcons and every other club dodged a $230 million bullet. So while he threw himself a party on Sunday, which I admit is a hilariously awesome move, Arthur Blank was still the driving force in the club’s pursuit of Watson, which coincided with pushing Matt Ryan, the greatest quarterback in franchise history, out of Atlanta.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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