Atlanta, GA

Five looming questions for the Atlanta Falcons off-season: Have they been answered? | Sporting News

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2024

Five looming questions for the Atlanta Falcons off-season: Have they been answered? | Sporting News

The 2024 off-season has a chance to be a transformational one for the Atlanta Falcons. With the departure of Arthur Smith, the Raheem Morris era of the Falcons makes its beginning and it has gotten off to an explosive start.

With the overhaul of the roster, building this team in the image of the three-headed monster of Morris, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, Atlanta has come out of the first wave of the off-season as the betting favorites to win the NFC South, according to DraftKings Sportsbooks.

Before the off-season started, the Falcons had five questions looming that they needed to answer for it to be called a success. We look into whether or not these five looming questions have been answered.

1) Did you upgrade at Quarterback?

Answer: Yes, maybe too much…?

At the end of 2023, 30 quarterbacks had 320+ quarterback plays, according to rbsdm.com. Desmond Ridder ended the year 24th in the league in adjusted EPA/play. The quarterbacks worse than him?

Washington’s Sam Howell
Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett
Minnesota’s Josh Dobbs
New England’s Mac Jones
Carolina’s Bryce Young and
New York’s Zach Wilson

The only player out of that list still on their 2023 team is Young, and that’s because the Panthers invested a first-overall pick on him. The Falcons had to upgrade at quarterback…even if they did it questionably.

Atlanta did everything in their power to secure Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins, including giving him a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, but the Falcons weren’t done there.

With Cousins coming off a season-ending Achilles injury and backup Taylor Heinicke not giving much confidence in his abilities in his play last year, Atlanta took quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. with the eighth overall selection in this year’s draft.

Was it overkill? Could be. But if this goes as the Falcons believe, Atlanta is set at the quarterback for at least the next half-decade to a decade.

2) Did you address the pass-rush?

Answer: Unconventionally, but yes.

Over the past decade-plus, the Falcons’ pass rush has been virtually non-existent. How much? Since 2014, only 41 teams have had less than 30 sacks throughout an NFL season. The Atlanta Falcons are the owners of six of those teams. The next team on the list is Oakland/Las Vegas, with three seasons.

The Falcons pass-rush needed help, even if they did get over the 40-sack mark for the first time since 2004 last season. So, did they? The answer is yes, but unconventionally, the word of the year for the Falcons’ approach to team-building.

With the Falcons selecting Penix at eight, they forwent the opportunity to add a potential premium pass-rusher in the draft, and they didn’t add a pass-rusher at all in free agency. And after losing roughly 13 of those sacks in the losses of Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, there had to be some sort of answer.

Their answer was to add more to the defensive line rotation with not one, not two, but three draft picks spent on the interior of the defensive line. The player with the most upside? The long, athletic Ruke Orhorhoro. The player with the most potential to have an immediate impact? The versatile, powerful Brandon Dorlus. Then, there’s the massive mountain of a man in Zion Logue, who could find a role as a nose tackle.

The Falcons also added one of the potential steals of the draft in Bralen Trice to add to the edge rush rotation, but this off-season showed that they are taking a large bet on those on this roster taking massive steps into their development. 2022 second-round edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie is the top returning sack-getter with 6.0 from last season. If Ebiketie can reach/get close to that double-digit sack total, the Falcons could get to and beyond that 40-sack mark.

Is 40 sacks a low bar? Absolutely, but we have to start somewhere.

3) Who is playing cornerback on the other side of A.J. Terrell?

Answer: Work in progress…

Speaking of bets that this year’s team is making on last year, the Falcons seemingly refused to address the CB2 position. A.J. Terrell is in a contract year and has been teetering between elite and good status since his breakout 2021 season. He’s talented and worthy of that extension, but he and safety Jessie Bates III can’t do everything.

Atlanta made a few signings, adding Antonio Hamilton, Sr., Kevin King and Anthony Johnson to the roster throughout free agency. However, the second cornerback position is up for grabs for most of the cornerback room.

Mike Hughes and Clark Phillips III both have claims to the position as Phillips played admirably in his opportunities last season, while Hughes showed flashes of solid play the last time he was a full-time starter on the outside in 2021, as a Kansas City Chief.

Filling out that other spot is still a work in progress, but they have at least tried to address the situation. How well did they? That remains to be seen.

4) Did Drake London get some help in the wide receiver room?

Answer: Absolutely

Drake London led all Falcons receivers with 905 yards receiving last season. The next wide receiver? Mack Hollins with 251. London hasn’t needed help like this since 1666, and it came in droves this off-season.

Atlanta brought in former Chicago Bears receiver Darnell Mooney in the first wave of free agency, then found a way to pull off the rare player-for-player trade as they acquired receiver/offensive weapon Rondale Moore for quarterback Desmond Ridder, both of which needed a fresh start.

Even with these additions, the Falcons weren’t finished. They drafted Illinois’ outside ball-winner Casey Washington in the sixth round as another potential draft steal.

It was clear that the word of the off-season for the receiver room was speed, and they added plenty of it. With this overhaul, London got plenty of help, and this offense got a much-needed face-lift that could help them compete for a playoff spot in 2024.

5) Did they do enough to overtake the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South?

Answer: On paper? Yes

Quarterback Baker Mayfield was overlooked as a signing to the Bucs last season as they were seen as a rebuilding roster in the wake of Tom Brady’s departure. Instead, Tampa Bay won nine games, including five of their final six, to take the NFC South for a third consecutive year.

After outfitting this roster with offensive weapons galore, the Falcons got rid of Smith to get the modern-day mold of a contender: A Shanahan/McVay-type offense and a quarters-heavy, bend-but-don’t-break defense. Was that enough to overtake them for the division? On paper, yes.

Games aren’t played on paper. The Bucs retained a large part of their core, including Mayfield, star wide receiver Mike Evans and star safety Antoine Winfield, Jr., making them as formidable as they were last season. If the Falcons’ plan goes as planned, it won’t matter. Atlanta will have too much talent for Tampa Bay to overcome.

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Atlanta, GA

Atlanta ranks 78th on WalletHub’s most diverse cities list

Published

10 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Atlanta ranks 78th on WalletHub’s most diverse cities list

ATLANTA – A new study suggests Atlanta may not be as diverse as many people might expect — at least when compared with cities across the country.

What we know:

According to a new report from WalletHub, Atlanta ranked 78th out of 501 U.S. cities in an analysis measuring diversity across several categories. Researchers looked at five main factors including socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household and religious diversity.

Atlanta performed best in religious diversity, ranking 9th, and socioeconomic diversity, where it came in 45th. But the city placed 178th for cultural diversity and landed near the bottom — in the 400s — for both household diversity and economic diversity.

It’s worth noting the study focused only on the city of Atlanta and did not include the broader metro area, which could paint a different picture of the region’s diversity.

By the numbers:

Some other Georgia cities also appeared on the list. Sandy Springs ranked 38th, Roswell placed 57th, and Columbus came in at 103rd. Meanwhile, Johns Creek ranked 94th overall and finished 500th in income diversity, one of the lowest marks in that category.

Dig deeper:

The study found the most diverse cities in the country were Silver Spring, Maryland; Gaithersburg, Maryland; Arlington, Texas; Germantown, Maryland; and Houston, Texas. At the other end of the list were Bangor, Maine; Brattleboro, Vermont; North Platte, Nebraska; Keene, New Hampshire; and Rochester, Nebraska.

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Atlanta, GA

Former Atlanta Watershed intern speaks out about illegal detention

Published

23 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Former Atlanta Watershed intern speaks out about illegal detention

ATLANTA – One of the five city employees that the inspector general said was illegally held against her will is speaking out publicly.

Briana Jackson said she felt like she was in jail and was even told she could not go to the bathroom during the three-hour ordeal.

The employees were detained because a watershed official could not find her wallet. The city officials have been disciplined.

What they’re saying:

Jackson lost her job and said the incident has set her back financially.

Briana Jackson is a single mother who said her life was finally back on track when the city of Atlanta hired her for an apprenticeship. That was until one of her supervisor’s wallets disappeared.

“It hurt. It hurt. I cried so hard for days and nights behind that,” Jackson said. “They suspected me as being the new intern, as being a person who stole the wallet.”

Jackson said the false imprisonment she encountered at the City of Atlanta Watershed Department was not only wrong.

She said it robbed her of her confidence, and she believes it is why she was fired one week later.

What they’re saying:

Jackson took FOX 5 Atlanta back to April 2024 when Watershed Manager DeValory Donahue could not find her wallet.

“The next thing I know, everybody in the office is being rounded up and put into this conference room,” Jackson said. “We are asking what is going on, nobody’s telling us nothing.”

Jackson said she and the other employees felt intimidated, primarily because she didn’t know what was going on.

She said an Atlanta police officer guarded the door and even restroom privileges were temporarily suspended.

“An hour or two passed by, we’re like, ‘Can we go to the restroom?’ The officer goes off, and he’s like, ‘I’ll ask somebody’ and I’m like, ‘Why do you have to ask somebody if we can go to the restroom?’” she recalled. “I’m actually scared.”

“I was the last person in the room, and I was sitting in that room for three hours,” she explained. “They were searching through my things without my consent.”

“I just felt like I was in jail. I didn’t know what to do really,” she added.

Jackson, Senior Management Analyst Charles Hobbs and three others were subjected to what Inspector General LaDawn Blackett concluded was an abuse of power and false imprisonment.

Dig deeper:

Following the IG investigation, the city told FOX 5 Atlanta, Atlanta Watershed Management Deputy Commissioner Yolanda Broome, who was promoted after this incident, received a warning and mandatory training.

Watershed Manager II DeValory Donahue received a warning and mandatory training, and Director of Safety and Security Sterling Graham received a warning and mandatory training.

Three senior investigators got written reprimands and mandatory training, but Jackson said she lost her life-changing opportunity with the city of Atlanta and would like to get her job back.

“I feel like I was really bullied in that situation and nobody told me about this case that was happening,” Jackson said. “I was trying to change a lot for my daughter, get a house and things like that. At that apprenticeship, I was making $900 a week. It was just taken away from me like that.”

“Nobody even called me for a second chance to come back to work at the city of Atlanta. It is like they kicked me to the side, and nobody even cared,” she said.

What’s next:

The city confirmed that the governing board for the Office of Inspector General is scheduled to take up this issue on March 17 at City Hall.

The Source: Brianna Jackson spoke with FOX 5’s Aungelique Proctor for this story. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used sourcing an investigation by Atlanta Inspector General LaDawn Blackett and other city officials.

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Atlanta, GA

8 St. Paddy’s Day things to do in Atlanta that don’t involve green beer

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Things to do

Watch dance, listen to music, eat and enjoy Irish contributions to American life.

Atlanta Irish Dance performers will appear at several locations on St. Patrick’s Day, including Marlay House Irish Pub in Decatur and Glover Park Brewery in Marietta. (Courtesy of Atlanta Irish Dance)

By Felicia Feaster – For the AJC

2 hours ago

Sure, you could spend your St. Patrick’s Day drinking Guinness and Jameson and spend the next day feeling like a torn stocking. But this St. Patrick’s Day in Atlanta, there are a number of other ways to celebrate on the days leading up to, and on, the March 17 holiday with Irish music and dance, authentic stews and puddings, an Irish-accented cemetery stroll and even a charitable event in the mix.

Enjoy a beverage and Irish dancing

Atlanta Irish Dance performers participate in the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day parade the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. But dancers will also get their jig on at several locations on St. Patrick’s Day, Atlanta Irish Dance co-founder Emma Burke said, including area retirement homes, Marlay House Irish Pub in Decatur and Glover Park Brewery in Marietta.

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Play golf in the Shamrock Scramble

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Watch wrestling at an Irish pub

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Experience a day of Irish music

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Visitors to historic Oakland Cemetery can check out the Hibernian Benevolent Society area to appreciate the history of Irish people in Atlanta. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Visit notable Irish Atlantans at Oakland Cemetery

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Watch the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Parade

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Murphy’s owners Matt McCarthy, executive chef, and his father, Gregg, former chef at the restaurant. The Virginia Highland eatery will serve authentic Irish favorites on St. Paddy’s Day. (Natrice Miller/ AJC)

Enjoy an Irish family meal

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St. Baldrick’s at Fadó Irish Pub — Buckhead

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