Aching Throbbing Lamenting

I chose those three words for the title of this post because I wanted words that begin with A, T, and L. But I can think of a lot of other words - some of which aren't very nice - that don't begin with those letters that would be more appropriate to describe the feelings of fans of the Atlanta Falcons in the aftermath of Super Bowl 51.

A, T, and L together, of course, form the familiar and widely accepted abbreviation for Atlanta. Not exactly known as the city of sports champions, Atlanta ended calendar 2016 having celebrated only one championship in 170 seasons in the four major North American sports leagues. That came in 1995, when the Braves won the World Series 4 games to 2 over Cleveland (another city that knows a thing or two about failure in sports). Topping the list of futility? That would be the Falcons, titleless in all 50 of their seasons (during the last 30 or so of which I have been a fan) in the NFL as of the start of the 2016 season. But on the final day of the 2016 season there were the Falcons, flying high and poised to finally fill their empty trophy case.

Never have I been so happy to be so wrong. The Falcons finished 8-8 in 2015, and I didn't think they had improved going into 2016. But I certainly did think their 2016 schedule was going to be much harder than 2015. When the '16 schedule came out and had road trips to Oakland, New Orleans, Denver, and Seattle - and a home game against defending NFC champ Carolina - in the first 6 weeks, I thought they were going to start 0-6. That's why I picked them to finish 5-11. But when they instead started 4-2 (and it would have been 5-1 if the refs had called that pass interference penalty on Richard Sherman like they should have), I started getting a little excited. And when they beat Green Bay to get to 5-3, I was like, "Wow. This could get really good."

And it did! The defense improved, the offense continued to dominate, the schedule got easier, and the Falcons roared into the playoffs as the #2 seed in the NFC. Then without much difficulty they disposed of Seattle and Green Bay, and then they took a 28-3 lead with just 20 minutes remaining in Super Bowl 51, with Devonta Freeman scoring the first of their 4 touchdowns (photo below). The party was already on in the ATL, and I could hardly believe it. This was really happening. The Falcons really were the best team! But then .....

Baseball has its Damn Yankees; and in the NFL it's the Damn Patriots. The Patriots just always beat you. You may have more talent, but the Patriots just laugh at that. They beat you even if you have more talent. They often beat you just by being smarter than you or sometimes simply by letting you beat yourself. They also have been known on occasion to bend and break the rules to beat you. But mostly they beat you because 17 years ago they lucked into drafting a player who turned into (arguably) the best quarterback ever.

When it was 28-3, I was just feeling so good. Not only were the Falcons going to win, they were going to give the haughty Patriots a well-deserved ass kicking too and shut up all those irritating fans of theirs for once. Three times during the regular season the Falcons had blown big leads (losing to the Chargers, hanging on against the Panthers and Saints), so I knew the game wasn't 100% over yet. But for heavens sake, there was no way they could blow this one.

You have to give the Patriots all the credit. First of all, they didn't give up; and most of all, their defense really got the job done. I thought that was going to be the key to the game, and it was. The Patriots' D held to the Falcons to just 1 for 8 on 3rd down conversions. That led to the Patriots ending up with a whopping 47 more offensive plays (93-46), not including penalties, which led to the Falcons' D running out of gas. The Falcons had 10 possessions on offense and scored only 3 TD - worse than I expected, much worse than what they normally scored, and not enough to beat the Patriots.

When the Patriots came all the way back to win 34-28 in the first Super Bowl ever decided in overtime, I was in a daze for a while, feeling kind of like Freeman was (in photo at top of page) right after the game ended. I was satisfied that the Falcons had played so well and shown they were the better team and should have won. But what good is any of that if you don't actually win? Then later, that's when all the aching - as in heartache, defined as emotional anguish or grief - the throbbing - as in physical pain repeating on a regular basis - and the lamenting kicked in full force. Especially the lamenting. Lamenting about a couple of those questionable play calls that just seemed to fuel the Patriots' rally. And about what would have happened if the Falcons had just been even a little bit smarter.

I know the Falcons are considered a team still on the rise. Maybe they'll get back to the Super Bowl one day. But I'm afraid they just let their best chance to ever win one go right down the drain. And believe me, that's a very bitter pill to swallow for any Falcons fan.

My new crystal ball (CB2, for short) of course did not have the Patriots beating the Falcons in the Super Bowl. In its first season of predicting the NFL, it had the Steelers over the Cardinals. Oh well, at least the Steelers got kind of close. And its forecast of the regular season - in my post titled "Repeat After Me" - wasn't much more accurate. It correctly picked the Bills to go 7-9 and the Steelers to go 11-5; but other than that there isn't much to brag about. The grades are in, and CB2's first report card looks just as mediocre as my original crystal ball's usually was:

AFC EAST

   predicted            actual
1. NE 11-5          1. NE 14-2
2. NYJ 9-7          2. MIA 10-6
3. BUF 7-9          3. BUF 7-9
4. MIA 7-9          4. NYJ 5-11

Nailed Bills, but not close on the other three ..... GRADE: C- ... (L8Y - the grade for the last 8 years, starting with 2015 and going back to 2008: D, D, D, C-, C, C-, B-, D)

CB2 was way off its prediction that Sammy Watkins would score 11 TD and be the AFC East player with dreads with the most TD. Watkins scored just 2 TD for the Bills. LeGarrette Blount was the player with dreads with the most, scoring 18 for the Patriots.
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AFC NORTH

   predicted          actual
1. PIT 11-5        1. PIT 11-5
2. CIN 10-6       2. BAL 8-8
3. BAL 7-9        3. CIN 6-9-1
4. CLEV 3-13    4. CLEV 1-15

CB2's most accurate forecast of the 8 divisions; only miss was Bengals ..... GRADE: C+ ... (L8Y: D+, C, C, C+, B-, C-, C, F)

CB2 predicted Sammie Coates would score his first 4 career TD, but he finished with just 2 for the Steelers. CB2 was right, however, about the Steelers not repeating as the team with the most TD scored by players with dreads. The Steelers had 11 TD by players with dreads in 2016. The Patriots and Chargers had the most with 18 each.
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AFC SOUTH

   predicted          actual
1. JAC 10-6      1. HOU 9-7
2. HOU 8-8       2. TENN 9-7
3. IND 6-10       3. IND 8-8
4. TENN 5-11    4. JAC 3-13

TIEBREAKER: Texans finished 1st due to better record in division games than Titans (HOU 5-1, TENN 2-4)

Missed Jaguars by 7 games - CB2's worst pick of the 32 teams ..... GRADE: D ... (L8Y: C+, C, D+, D-, D, D-, D-, C-)

CB2 thought rookie Will Fuller would have 7 TD catches for the Texans, but he had only 2. Fuller also scored on this 67-yard punt return to beat the Titans in Week 4. CB2 also thought the AFC South would be the division with the most TD scored by players with dreads, but it was not. The AFC South finished in 4th place with 21. The AFC West took the top spot with 40.
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AFC WEST

   predicted          actual
1. OAK 10-6    1. KC 12-4
2. KC 10-6       2. OAK 12-4
3. DEN 10-6     3. DEN 9-7
4. SD 7-9         4. SD 5-11

TIEBREAKER: Chiefs finished 1st due to head-to-head sweep of Raiders (26-10 in Week 6, 21-13 in Week 14)

Came close to nailing this, but Chiefs and Raiders better than expected ..... GRADE: C ... (L8Y: C-, C, C, D, B, A-, B, B)

If Chris Conley had scored the 5 TD that CB2 predicted him to, Chiefs would have finished in 1st place (tied) for the most TD by players with dreads, as CB2 also predicted. But Conley didn't have any touchdowns at all, so the Chiefs settled for 4th place with 13 TD.
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NFC EAST

   predicted          actual
1. NYG 9-7      1. DAL 13-3
2. DAL 9-7       2. NYG 11-5
3. WASH 8-8   3. WASH 8-7-1
4. PHIL 5-11     4. PHIL 7-9

Not bad, except Cowboys way better than expected ..... GRADE: C ... (L8Y: D, C+, D, D+, B-, D, C, C-)

Although Janoris Jenkins was outstanding in his first season with the Giants, he finished with only 3 INT - half as many as the 6 CB2 thought he would. Janoris finished tied for 6th place in interceptions by players with dreads, not 1st as CB2 thought. Stephon Gilmore (Bills) and Reggie Nelson (Raiders) tied for 1st with 5 INT.
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NFC NORTH

   predicted      actual
1. GB 11-5    1. GB 10-6
2. CHI 9-7     2. DET 9-7
3. MIN 7-9    3. MIN 8-8
4. DET 7-9    4. CHI 3-13

CB2 disappointed in Bears but even more disappointed Vikings didn't go 7-9 ..... GRADE: C ... (L8Y: D, D+, C-, C-, B-, C, B, C-)

Lions DE Ziggy Ansah did not come close to leading all players with dreads with a career high 16 sacks, as CB2 was so certain of. Plagued by a high ankle sprain, Ansah didn't have any sacks at all until getting Eli Manning here in Week 15 and finished with a career low 2 sacks. The player with dreads with the most was Markus Golden with 12.5.
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NFC SOUTH

   predicted          actual
1. CAR 11-5     1. ATL 11-5
2. TB 10-6        2. TB 9-7
3. NO 5-11       3. NO 7-9
4. ATL 5-11      4. CAR 6-10

Way off on Panthers and Falcons, but CB2 has a lot of company there ..... GRADE: D+ ... (L8Y: C-, C, D, C-, D, B+, A, D)

CB2 may have gotten nothing else right about the Panthers, but it did call Kelvin Benjamin's last-minute TD against Vernon Hargreaves in Week 17. But that TD was not the game-winner, as the Panthers failed on the 2-point conversion after the TD and lost 17-16. It also was Benjamin's 7th TD of the season, leaving him 6 behind Devonta Freeman's 13 for most TD by an NFC South player with dreads and 5 behind Packers WR Davante Adams' league-leading total of 12 TD receptions by players with dreads.
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NFC WEST

   predicted          actual
1. ARIZ 12-4     1. SEA 10-5-1
2. SEA 11-5      2. ARIZ 7-8-1
3. SF 3-13        3. LA 4-12
4. LA 3-13        4. SF 2-14

Cardinals' disastrous season ruined CB2's chance to nail its prediction ..... GRADE: C ... (L8Y: B-, B+, C, B+, D, D-, D, D-)

According to CB2, Todd Gurley was supposed to have the most TD by any player with dreads - 15. But playing for a Rams' offense that scored the fewest TD in the league (23), Gurley made only 6 house calls in 2016, which tied him for 10th place among players with dreads. LeGarrette Blount finished 1st with 18 TD.
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NFC TIEBREAKER: Lions clinched #6 seed over Buccaneers due to better record vs. common opponents (DET 3-2, TB 2-3)
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DIVISION WINNERS

CB2 picked 3 of 8 correctly ..... GRADE: C- ... (L8Y: D-, C-, C-, C, C-, D, C-, F)
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PLAYOFF TEAMS

AFC

predicted   actual
1. PIT       1. NE
2. NE       2. KC
3. JAC     3. PIT
4. OAK    4. HOU
5. CIN      5. OAK
6. KC       6. MIA

NFC

predicted   actual
1. ARIZ     1. DALL
2. CAR     2. ATL
3. GB       3. SEA
4. NYG     4. GB
5. SEA     5. NYG
6. TB        6. DET

7 of 12 teams predicted correctly ..... GRADE: C+ ... (L8Y: C-, B-, C. C, B, C-, B-, C-)
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SUPER BOWL

predicted: PIT over ARIZ
actual: NE over ATL

GRADE: F ..... (L8Y: F, D, D, A, F, F, A-, F)
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OVERALL GRADE: C- ..... (L8Y: D+, C, D+, C, C-, C-, D+, B-, D)

CB2 didn't exactly have a tough act to follow; but its initial season was a slight improvement (a very slight one) over CB's final season; so I'm rolling with CB2 (and probably right off a cliff, with what it's forecasting for 2017) for another season.
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DG

Compared to previous seasons, I saved very few photos from the 2016 NFL season. I just didn't take the time to browse through the hundreds of pictures you can find from every game. But every now and then I'd stumble on a photo worth saving by accident; and every now and then there would be a particular play in a game that I tried to find photos of. I don't have the time to do six dread galleries like I did on the 2015 season. All you're going to get is this little quickie DG right here. It doesn't do the 2016 season justice; but it's better than nothing, I guess. Of the few photos I saved these are some of my favorite shots. Hopefully you'll find some of them interesting.

We'll start off with a few sacks.

1. Jets CB Buster Skrine finished the season with 1 INT and also with 1 sack, here dropping Seahawks QB Russell Wilson for a 14-yard loss on 3rd and 11 during the 4th quarter in Week 4. Skrine's 2nd career sack almost took the Seahawks out of FG range, but they made the 53-yard FG on the next play to up their lead to 27-10 and went on to win 27-17.

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2. Drafted in 2014 (by the Packers), DT Khyri Thornton gets his 1st career sack for the Lions in Week 8 of 2016, pulling down QB Brock Osweiler for a 7-yard loss on 3rd and 9 during the 4th quarter. But the Texans kicked a FG on the next play to up their lead to 20-10 with 4:09 remaining and held on for the 20-13 win. It might be until Week 8 of 2017 before Thornton gets his 2nd sack. He's suspended for the first 6 games of the season for substance abuse.

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3. Here are views from the front and rear or DE Ryan Delaire's only sack of the season for the Panthers, as he tackles Chargers QB Philip Rivers for a 5-yard loss on 1st and 10 during the 2nd quarter in Week 14. Chargers punted 3 plays later. The Panthers won 28-16. Delaire played in only 6 games due to a knee injury, and he failed his physical at the start of this season's training camp and was released. So he'll have to get healthy if he's planning on doing any more sacking.

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4. You again? ..... That's what Bengals QB Andy Dalton must be thinking as he is sacked for the 2nd time in the 1st half and for the 2nd year in a row by DT Steve McLendon. In DG161 we saw McLendon, then with the Steelers, drop Dalton for his only sack of 2015. And McLendon got him twice in the 2016 season opener, including this one for a 9-yard loss in the 2nd quarter. The Jets' D had 5 sacks in the 1st half, but the Jets led only 16-13 and went on to lose 23-22. McLendon recorded a career high 3.5 sacks in his first season in a Jets uniform after totaling 5 in his 6 seasons with the Steelers.

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5. On 3rd and 9 late in the 2nd quarter in Week 3, Colts LB Erik Walden gets so good a jump off the snap that OT Chris Hairston (#75) barely lays a hand on him as he rushes in and strip sacks Philip Rivers (photo above) then keeps Rivers from recovering the fumble (right photo). Colts recovered, ending the Chargers' scoring chance after they had driven 64 yards to the 17-yard line and keeping the Colts' lead at 13-6.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZcMU2e7U4
Walden, whose previous career high was 6 sacks (in 2014), had 11 of the Colts' 33 sacks in 2016. But they did not re-sign the 32-year free agent, and he is with the Titans now.
Walden didn't quite have the most sacks among players with dreads. He finished in 2nd place .....

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6. The top spot went to Cardinals LB Markus Golden, shown here sacking Russell Wilson for a 9-yard loss during the 1st quarter in Week 16. Golden had 2 sacks in the game, helping give Falcons fans a nice Christmas present as the Cardinals upset the Seahawks 34-31 in Seattle, which dropped the Seahawks to the the #3 seed in the NFC and elevated the Falcons to #2. Golden, who had 4 sacks in his 2015 rookie season, led all players with dreads with 12.5 sacks in 2016.

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7. Bringing out a move he was well known for while in college at Oregon years ago, RB LeGarrette Blount hurdles over S Tre Boston on one of his 8 touches in the Patriots' 19-17 win in Week 3 of the preseason. Blount rushed for career high totals of 1,161 yards and 18 TD in 2016, but the Patriots let him go anyway. Indeed he'll have a chance for another encounter with Boston in 2017 when the Eagles, his new team, travel west to play the Chargers, Boston's new team, in Week 4.

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8. In Week 4 of the preseason - the week where the only players playing are either backups or players getting ready to be cut - Panthers S Marcus Ball helps tackle Steelers RB Daryl Richardson in a close encounter of the long dreads kind. Richardson, who hadn't appeared in a regular season game since 2013, was with the Steelers early in the season and even rushed for 7 yards on 2 carries but was let go when Le'Veon Bell returned from his suspension. After shuttling back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster with the Panthers and 49ers, Ball is back in the CFL this season.

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9. Earlier in the game Ravens rookie WR Chris Moore scored his 1st NFL TD. But the day does not have a happy ending for Moore, as CB Marcus Williams breaks up a deep pass intended for him on 4th and 8 with 55 seconds to play in Week 7, ending the Ravens' final possession of the game. Jets came back from a 10-0 deficit to win 24-16, as the Ravens lost at MetLife Stadium for the 2nd straight Sunday, having lost to the Giants in Week 6.

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10. Here's Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick once again demonstrating his preferred tackling method of wrapping up the ball carrier's neck, in this case the neck of Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams on a 7-yard run late in the 3rd quarter in Week 2. Kirkpatrick finished with 2 tackles and 2 PBU. Williams had 94 yards rushing, 38 yards receiving and 1 TD. In a battle of the unbeatens, Steelers improved to 2-0, winning their home opener 24-16 over Bengals.

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11. Jaguars rookie DT Sheldon Day tries to rip the ball out of RB Melvin Gordon's hands, but it's too little and too late. Gordon is already in the end zone, capping the Chargers' game-opening 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run on 1st and goal in their home opener in Week 2 .....

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12. ..... With the score now 28-0, the Chargers run up the score some more, as WR Travis Benjamin beats CB Davon House deep on 2nd and 8 and makes the catch for a 45-yard TD, his 2nd TD catch of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G5ETgD0_UU
Gordon (120 total yards) and Benjamin (6 catches for 115 yards) both made the dread stars list as the Chargers - in the Jaguars' latest in a long line of disastrous trips to the West Coast - won easily 38-14 .....

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13. The mood was considerably different for Melvin Gordon and Travis Benjamin near the end of the game on the same field two weeks later. With the Saints off to a 0-3 start and well on their way to 0-4, the Chargers give away the game, and both Gordon and Benjamin played a leading role in the collapse. After the Saints, trailing 34-21, punted with 6:50 remaining in the game, Gordon fumbled on the first play of the Chargers' possession. 4 plays later the Saints scored to make it 34-28. And on the first play of the Chargers' next possession it was Benjamin's turn to fumble. 7 plays after that the Saints scored again on the first play after the 2-minute warning and held on to win 35-34.

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14. The last time Colts WR T.Y. Hilton and Chargers CB Jason Verrett were on the same field they were teammates in the Pro Bowl following the 2015 season. But they most definitely were foes at Indianapolis in Week 3. Hilton won the battle and the war against Verrett. Here on 2nd and 3 in the 1st quarter, after making the catch wide open near midfield, Hilton eludes Verrett at the 47-yard line before being tackled by LB Manti Te'o at the 42 after a 24-yard gain. The drive ended with a TD to make the score 10-0. Much later Hilton beat Verrett on a short slant and made a nice run after the catch for the game-winning 63-yard TD with 1:17 to play. Hilton finished with 8 catches (on just 11 targets) for 174 yards - the first of his 6 games with 100+ yards receiveing. Verrett had 3 tackles, 0 PBU, and 0 INT .....

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15. On the final play of the game Erik Walden gets credit for his 2nd FF of the game, as Travis Benjamin tries to lateral the ball to a teammate but loses it after getting clobbered by Walden. You can't see the ball, but it was recovered by LB D'Qwell Jackson (#52), the only player without dreads in the photo on the right. In addition to Benjamin and Walden, RBs Dexter McCluster (#33) and Melvin Gordon (#28) are watching the play, which ended after Benjamin gained 20 yards to the Chargers' 38-yard line. Colts picked up their 1st win of the season with the 26-22 victory.

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16. Although he had been playing well all season, Giants CB Janoris Jenkins really made a name for himself with his success against Cowboys WR Dez Bryant in Week 14. Bryant had 7 targets with Jenkins covering him and had only 1 catch - and on that one reception Jenkins here forces him to fumble after his 10-yard gain would have been good enough to convert a key 3rd and 6 late in the 4th quarter. Giants recovered with 2:13 remaining and held on to win 10-7.

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17. We'll lead off the occupational hazard section with another encounter between Dez Bryant and Janoris Jenkins in Week 14.
Football, as violent as it did, is already hazardous enough. But on a few occasions each year for players with dreads, it's even more hazardous, because it's their dreads that become the hazard.
Early in the 2nd quarter Jenkins brings an end to a Cowboys' possession as he gets his 3rd INT of the season; Janoris gets up and tries to return the ball but doesn't get far because Bryant has a handful of his dreads - and he doesn't let go until he gets Jenkins out of bounds.
http://www.giants.com/videos/videos/Dak-Prescott-intercepted-by-Janoris-Jenkins/b9029f90-39de-4f9b-81b9-9ccf9bc7bd81
At normal size it's hard to see Jenkins' dreads in that black background. But if you save and enlarge the photo, you can see Dez's dirty deed more clearly.

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18. WR Andre Roberts scores the Lions' only TD of the game on this punt return at Chicago in Week 4, but before he gets to this house, he has to deal with TE Logan Paulsen's dastardly attempt to yank some of the locks off his head at the Lions' 37-yard line. Fortunately for Roberts he had enough of a head of steam going, and Paulsen had so far to reach that he couldn't get a good grip. After Andre slipped away, he had clear sailing to the end zone, bringing the Lions to within 17-14 late in the 4th quarter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oycxjcmrpU0
The 85-yard TD was the first of 3 touchdowns Roberts scored in his first and only season with the Lions. Hopefully he'll be taking some returns the the house for the Falcons in 2017.

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19. Another year, another game where a Redskins rookie RB with his dreads hanging out of his helmet gets tackled by those dreads by a member of the Philadelphia Eagles ..... The most egregious hair tackle of the season (that I know of) comes in Week 6 as Rob Kelley, on his first carry of the afternoon, comes to a screeching halt after a 45-gain when S Rodney McLeod gets a hold of his dreads and yanks him down at the 33-yard line.
http://www.redskins.com/media-gallery/videos/HIGHLIGHTS-Robert-Kelley-Evades-Three-Tacklers-/ddd07c05-7992-4938-83d2-176f7bfe7846
The drive ended with a TD 5 plays later to up Washington's lead to 14-0 in the 2nd quarter. This play was reminiscent of the Eagles-Redskins game on the same field in Week 4 of 2015, when Matt Jones had his dreads tackled by Fletcher Cox .....

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20. No, this is not a shot from that game in 2015. It's from the same game that Rob Kelley got his dreads yanked. Matt Jones gets his yanked by the Eagles for the 2nd year in a row, but LB Jordan Hicks can only get a hold of a couple of locks, and that's not enough to bring Jones down.
Jones rushed for 135 yards on 16 carries, while Kelley had 59 on 5 carries in Washington's 27-20 win. The 45-yard run by Kelley began the process of him replacing Jones as the team's starting RB. Jones was on the bench by Week 8; and now, after being released last weekend, Jones is with the Colts.

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21. Who's the best special teams player with dreads? Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson certainly wins this round over Giants WR Dwayne Harris on Monday night in Week 4, causing Harris to fumble and stealing one of his locks. After the Vikings go three and out on their opening drive and punt, Patterson, running down the field as a gunner, distracts Harris, causing him to muff the catch. And as Dwayne reaches down trying to recover the muff, Patterson breaks off one of his long locks (which you can see clearly if you save and enlarge the photo).
http://thebiglead.com/2016/10/03/video-giants-returner-dwayne-harris-muffed-a-punt-had-dreadlock-pulled-out/
The Vikings recovered and went on a 41-yard TD drive and never trailed again in their 24-10 win; so this was a big play by Cordarrelle, who will be making his big plays in 2017 in a Raiders uniform.

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22. Dolphins CB Bobby McCain is fortunate to avoid getting a concussion as his helmet pops off while he's tackling 49ers WR Rod Streater for a 2-yard gain on 3rd and 13 during the 3rd quarter in Week 12. McCain finished with 5 tackles and 1 PBU in the Dolphins' 31-24 win. For the 2nd straight year he played in all 16 games, finishing with 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 INT, and 6 PBU in 2016.

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23. I included a link to a video of this play in my house calls post. Browns RB Isaiah Crowell fumbles for the first time in 2016 as he is tackled by Giants DT Damon Harrison during the 2nd quarter in Week 12. This was the only FF of the season for Harrison, who was one of the most prolific-tackling DTs in the league, finishing with a career high 86 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his first season with the Giants. Crowell rushed for a career high 952 yards in 2016 in his 3rd season with the Browns .....

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24. The dab never goes out of style with Dwayne Harris ..... Two plays after Crowell's fumble, Harris scores his only TD of the season and celebrates the only way he knows how, dabbing along with WR Odell Beckham and G Adam Gettis after giving the Giants a 7-0 lead. By the way Gettis, one of the few players in the league who can say his dreads are just as long as Harris', got his 1st career start in the game, which was won by the Giants 27-13.

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25. I included a photo of RB Alex Collins scoring his 1st NFL TD in my house calls post. What you couldn't see in that photo - but can here - is that just before he gets into the end zone, he gets between the sick dreads of S Kemal Ishmael (#36) and LB Philip Wheeler, who both get blocked and can't stop him. Collins' only TD of the season helped the Seahawks defeat the Falcons 26-24 in Week 6. After being released by the Seahawks last weekend, Alex was signed to the Ravens practice squad.

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26. Here's another shot that has three players with dreads in it, as we begin the Kelvin Benjamin section of this DG with him being stopped by Kemal Ishmael and CB Desmond Trufant during Week 4. Benjamin finished with 3 catches for 39 yards and 1 TD. This was the game where the Falcons racked up 571 total yards, 300 of them by Julio Jones on 12 catches, as they defeated the Panthers 48-33.

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27. Late in the 2nd quarter in Week 1 Kelvin Benjamin tells CB Bradley Roby to "get off me", picking up 16 yards after breaking away from Roby at the line of scrimmage after catching a short sideline pass on 1st and 10. Three plays later the Panthers kicked a FG to up their lead to 17-7. Benjamin finished with 6 catches for 91 yards; while Roby had 5 tackles in a game the Broncos were lucky to win 21-20.

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28. Kelvin Benjamin takes advantage of having his helmet come off while being tackled to give his dreads a little shake as he celebrates his big 25-yard reception to convert a 3rd and 10 midway through the 4th quarter of the Panthers' home opener in Week 2. The drive ended with a FG 6 plays later to up Carolina's lead to 37-27. KB made the dread stars list for the only time all season, finishing with 7 catches for 108 yards and 2 TD in the 46-27 win.

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29. Kelvin Benjamin had several close encounters with Falcons CB Jalen Collins in the Week 16 game at Charlotte. In addition to the TD catch Benjamin had against Collins (seen in my house calls post), Jalen made the tackle on all of KB's other 3 receptions, including this one for an 18-yard gain on 4th and 2 during the 4th quarter .....

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30. Jalen Collins and Kelvin Benjamin wish each other a Merry Christmas and exchange jerseys after the Falcons win 33-16 to improve to 10-5 and officially eliminate the defending NFC champion Panthers from the playoff picture. Collins recorded his 1st career INT in the game (on a pass not thrown to Benjamin). KB finished with 4 catches (on 8 targets) for 63 yards.

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31. Kelvin Benjamin greets rookie CB Cre'von LeBlanc after the Panthers' home game against the Patriots in the preseason. The two were teammates for at least a couple of seasons at the football factory known as Glades Central High School. After being released by the Patriots at the end of training camp, LeBlanc was picked up by the Bears and became the 23rd player from Glades Central to play in the NFL.

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32. CB Travell Dixon touches dreads with LB Shaq Thompson on the sideline during their game at Tampa in Week 17. The two were teammates for three seasons in college for the Washington Huskies. A rookie in 2015, Dixon played his 1st career game in the 2016 season finale, getting on the field for 13 special teams plays and finishing with 1 tackle in the Panthers' 17-16 loss to the Buccaneers. An ankle injury early in training camp this year caused the Panthers to let him go; but hopefully he'll be back somewhere in the league before 2017 is over.

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33. A couple of former Georgia Bulldogs meet after the Rams' 21-20 preseason win over the Chiefs. RB Todd Gurley scored a TD for the Rams in the game, and WR Chris Conley was the game's leading receiver with 3 catches for 66 yards for KC - not that it meant anything. Both would go on to have slightly disappointing seasons in 2016. Conley took none of his 44 receptions to the house in his last season with dreads (for now), while Gurley rushed for 200 yards and 4 TD fewer than in 2015.

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34. I wish Julio Jones would choose one hairstyle and stay with it. It seems like Jones, who had dreads in college and for his rookie season in the NFL before cutting them off, can't make up his mind if he wants to bring them back or not. After the Falcons' 38-19 win over the Cardinals in Week 12, Jones spends a few moments with WR Larry Fitzgerald. The two future Hall of Famers between them had just 8 catches for 88 yards.
Once again this year Julio is starting out with normal, short hair. Hopefully one day I'll be able to welcome him back to the house; but that won't happen unless he shows he's going to start growing dreads and keep them growing.

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35. RBs Jay Ajayi and Melvin Gordon are happy to see each other after the Dolphins' 31-24 road win over the Chargers in Week 10. Other than LeGarrette Blount and Devonta Freeman, no other running backs with dreads made more house calls than Gordon (12) and Ajayi (8) in 2016, although neither scored in this game.
Ajayi really got cheated when for some reason he dropped down to the 5th round of the draft in 2015. While Gordon, picked in the 1st round of the same draft, has a contract worth $10.7 million (for 4 years), Ajayi's going to make just $2.5 million on his 4-year deal - even though he's every bit as good as Gordon and one of the top RBs in the league. There ought to be a law against that.     

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36. I sure wish there would have been a shot of Jalen Collins like this at the end of the Falcons' game two weeks after this one; but we all know how that Super Bowl turned out. Here on Jan. 22 it was all good for Collins, the Falcons and their fans after a surprisingly easy 44-21 win over Green Bay in the NFC championship game in the Falcons' last home game ever at the Georgia Dome. Collins made one of the biggest plays of the game. His FF at the 11-yard line and FR for a touchback early in the 2nd quarter halted a Packers drive and maintained Atlanta's 10-0 lead. After star CB Desmond Trufant went down with a season-ending injury in Week 9, Collins moved into the starting lineup and played well. Unfortunately he has moved back out of the starting lineup after being suspended for the 2nd straight year for a PED violation. The second offense draws a 10-game suspension (as compared to 4 games last year). Hopefully when he returns on Thanksgiving weekend, he'll return for good. With his talent, he has a chance to make a whole lot of money. It'd really be a shame if he ends up throwing that chance away.