The Game That SAVED Steve Bartkowski's CAREER | Giants @ Falcons (1978)

Entering the 1978 NFL season, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski was benched, and was looking like a bust. However, after winning his starting job back, in a game against the New York Giants, he was able to save his career, right the ship, and eventually become one of the greatest players in the history of the Falcons. This is the story behind the game that saved Steve Bartkowski's career
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History of the Falcons
Members of the 1978 Falcons:
Fred Steinfort
Tim Mazzetti
John James
Steve Bartkowski
June Jones
Jim Stienke
Rolland Lawrence
Haskel Stanback
Ray Strong
Mike Esposito
Tom Pridemore
Frank Reed
Ernie Jackson
Ray Easterling
Ricky Patton
Bob Glazebrook
Rick Byas
George Franklin
Bubba Bean
Tom Moriarty
Greg Brezina
Dewey McClain
Paul Ryczek
Fulton Kuykendall
Ralph Ortega
Garth Ten Napel
Ron McCartney
Jeff Van Note
Steve Stewart
Robert Pennywell
Warren Bryant
RC Thielemann
Mike Lewis
Dave Scott
Marv Montgomery
Jim Bailey
Phil McKinnely
Wilson Faumuina
Jeff Merrow
Edgar Fields
Mike Kenn
Jeff Yeates
Dennis Pearson
Billy Ryckman
James Wright
Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Jackson
Jim Mitchell
Claude Humphrey
Ken Moore
Lewis Gilbert
Wallace Francis
Leeman Bennett (head coach)

[@AngleFan45]

Honestly Atlanta needs to bring those red uni’s back as throwbacks I always loved those uniforms.

[@michaelrusso6822]

Born & raised in Atlanta, I was a huge Bartkowski fan as a kid. I was only 8 years old, but I remember watching that playoff game against the Eagles on Christmas Eve in '78. I was too young to understand it at the time, but that was a huge win for the franchise, and everybody at my house was going crazy. It didn't matter how how good or bad he played through his career, Steve Bartkowski was my favorite player.

[@rocknroll7316]

@ Michael Russo the Polish bowl Bartkowski vs Jaworski

[@TheKardiacKid]

Every time JG9 says "he would have been better off spiking the ball into the ground on every play" down your drink.

[@vintvarner16]

Crap I'd be permanently drunk and need to go to rehab...lol

[@ripk4648]

Bart was a class act. I got to meet him one time and he was so sincere. Its good to see one of the good guys have success for a change. He made the Falcons serious contenders in the late 70s and early 80s.

[@armorybrunotjr.3204]

The 1978 Wild Card Game between the Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Stadium saw Philadelphia take a 13-0 lead, but in the fourth quarter, Steve Bartkowski rallied for two touchdowns for a 14-13 win. This game made Bartkowski a legend with the Falcons. Bartkowski set career marks for passing in team history (1975-85).

[@misterresister8271]

Bartkowski's 1981 season is one of the more underrated passing seasons by a QB, he kind of came out of nowhere to throw for 3500+ yards and 31 TDs, leading an explosive Falcons offense to a 12-4 record, and performing well enough in the NFC divisional playoff game against Dallas to win, only to lose thanks to a miracle comeback by Danny White and Drew Pearson. Bartkowski also led the NFL in passing in 1983, and went 28-24-299-2-0 against the Lions in 1984 and the Falcons still lost the game. I remember when Boomer Esiason was leading the league in passing early on in the 1985 season and a reporter asked (paraphrasing) the Bengals QB how that made him feel, and Boomer scoffed in response, saying something like "I know a great quarterback who was leading the league in passing and he got benched" referring to Bartkowski who had 93 rating but was 0-5 and got benched for David Freaking Archer. I also remember when the Rams picked him up in 1986, I thought LA finally had the right QB to go with Dickerson, but Bartkowski just lost it, a disappointing end to a solid career

[@Bruce12867]

That was 1980 in which Bartkowski had that monster season. In 1981, his stats were 55.7 comp./3829 yds./30 TD/23 int. Not too shabby, but not as good as '80.

[@DolFan316]

@@Bruce12867 Bartkowski had 45 TD passes his first five seasons, then 61 his next two. So yeah, out of nowhere is the perfect description. Then he went back to being mediocre, with just 48 TD passes his final five seasons. '83 was his only other good season (a QB throwing just 5 INTs in 14 games was unheard of then).

[@chrisrifkin3670]

The Rams were where QBs went to die after Ferregano

[@richardadams4928]

I'm still salty over the Archer thing, too. Nothing against Archer, but I've always despised Dan Henning for how he wrecked that team. I guess notorious team-destroyers Nick Skorich and Marion Campbell were busy. Still can't believe they gave Campbell a second chance after he'd already failed twice as HC, one of those times WITH ATLANTA. SMDH....

[@JamesSavik]

When Bart went to the Rams, his knees were shot. The Fail-cons o-line let him get beaten to death.

[@astrostar49]

Remarkable that Mike Kenn or Jesse Tuggle's jerseys aren't also retired. Both all time great Falcons that only played for that franchise for many years.

[@jamesrfb]

Kenn and Tuggle should be in the Hall of Fame.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Just goes to show you the Falcons are a crap organization top to bottom. They can’t even retire the correct player’s numbers. Bartkowkowski had a nice career but not worthy of number retirement. Tuggle and especially Kenn should be retired, as well as Claude Humphrey

[@tohaz]

Let’s not forget Gerald Riggs…

[@nasetvideos]

I actually remember watching this game at my house as a 12 year old kid. Great job laying out the story of how this all unfolded for Bartkowski. Your channel is awesome!

[@davidthomas1467]

I was about the same age living in Atlanta at the time. I remember how miserable this team was before this.

[@chazsexington1456]

The Falcons need to go back to the red jerseys and helmets.

[@ericfitzgerald9214]

Their most recent uniform redesign is uggo

[@targettoad691]

Personally i think they should go back to the all black from the 90s/early Vick

[@DolFan316]

@@targettoad691 No. That's when their unis jumped the shark. Black logo on a black helmet? No thanks. EDIT: YT deleting stuff for no reason again, the person's comment I replied to apparently no longer exists. I agree wholeheartedly with the original comment.

[@chrisrifkin3670]

Red helmets were the best ever From a Giants fan (who was so thankful for the logo and helmet chamge in 2000)

[@PhilWorley]

@@DolFan316 They probably were trying to copy the Raiders by going all black. At the time, Raiders along with other sports teams whose colors were black(Chicago White Sox, LA Kings) was the fad in the late 80s-early90s. They made a lot money off of starter jackets.

[@markjones8817]

The Giants game was the day I became a falcons fan for life. I was in the Navy and they showed the game on close circuit TV. Good times

[@classicsports5057]

I would love to see how Bartkowki, Lynn Dickey, and Neil Lomax would have done with more modern NFL rules. It didn't help that those guys didn't have talent throughout their careers, but put guys with their abilities today and they would be lighting teams up.

[@Lawomenshoops]

Ever heard of James Lofton or Paul Coffman? Or Roy Green and OJ Anderson? Bart had some good weapons- Williams Andrews took a load off. Alfred Jenkins was a good WR.

[@gluserty]

@@Lawomenshoops I think those quarterbacks had good skill players to work with, but those teams has a whole were shaky (Falcons were inconsistent from season to season, Packers lived for 8-8, and the early 1970s Cardinals showed promise, then got cold and moved to Arizona).

[@carlhacker6852]

Just starting HS in Jacksonville, and Falcons were always on, no Bucs or Fish please, but Gritz Blitz was hard to watch with no O, but they caught fire, doing some great stuff on the channel!! Thanks...

[@jayblake682]

My all-time favorite football player. Thank you for this video.

[@fgc_teavirus9438]

I want to give a shoutout to my man at 2:38 trying to make a TD-saving tackle. 10000% effort.

[@mrmoose6619]

Great video on a topic I would never have thought about looking into. Being of Polish heritage (as Bartkowski is) I did identify with him growing up. Also, yes, the other QB mentioned is the same (Coach) June Jones who is one of the first champions of the Run & Shoot Offense scheme.

[@jpmnky]

I wondered about that. His appearance when he coached the Falcons made me think he was 60. In 1991.

[@vintvarner16]

I was a huge Ron Jaworski fan and enjoyed watching Bartkowski too, also was a huge Don Majikowski fan too, I have no polish in my family "I don't think I do"....lol ... Jaworski and Bart kind of the same cloth, cannon arms and tough, would stand in there and let themselves be hit and get back up. If a roughing the passer penalty was called back then, the qb was probably near death...lol

[@hrtvfan2870]

One of the other Falcon quarterbacks, Kim McQuilken, later returned to Atlanta working for Ted Turner (and for a time was in charge of Cartoon Network)

[@webhead8639]

Remember we had two polish Qbs with Bart and Mike Moroski. Doubt I spelt his name right.

[@rocknroll7316]

@@vintvarner16 both Polish heritage too

[@MarquisdeSuave]

Bartkowski was a good QB and all and went to a team that definitely needed a QB going into 1975 but they passed up on Randy White and Walter Payton, two of the very best players at their positions of all-time.

[@deathtowrestling2518]

Payton wouldn't have gotten much playing time in Atlanta anyway as they had Dave Hampton already and later on William Andrews.

[@billslocum9819]

In the NFL, you really have to draft to need, not only to get the best for the team, but for the drafted player, too.

[@edpinkerton7947]

Do you really believe Hampton would have kept Payton on the bench

[@harryhighland591]

You have to factor in that they traded up specifically to draft Bartkowski. The Colts had the top pick but traded it to Atlanta for the Falcons pick (#3) and George Kunz. If the Falcons had any notion of drafting Payton they could've stayed at #3 and taken him. Probably any team in Atlanta's position would've drafted a potential franchise QB over a RB or DL anyway.

[@deathtowrestling2518]

@@edpinkerton7947 Yeah, Atlanta didn't need Payton. And yeah, I do think Payton wouldn't have played much in Atlanta given they already had a solid ground game.

[@johnbrandt7024]

@JaguarGator9, I bet you could put together a good story about Atlanta's Mick Luckhurst, a kicker from Cal who kicked in the Garden State Bowl with sweatpants on. He also scored the only touchdown of his career, on a fake field goal in a playoff game. When he was of college age, He came to the U.S. from England as a rugby and soccer player who had never kicked a football. How he got from there to the NFL is a good story!

[@67marlins]

I grew up a Steelers and Dolphins fan, who quietly also admired Bum Phillip's Oilers. So I was a kid football fan, but before the days of cable and ESPN, Bartkowski was one of those players I just never appreciated. Now, I can see he had a tremendous arm like boyhood hero Dan Pastorini, and similarly got pounded behind an unfinished offensive line. I'm glad Steve is finally getting respect. Like Plunkett, Manning and Pastorini, he had to work so much harder because of the team around him. Same for Bradshaw until his Steelers team came together quickly in 1972.

[@tm-cv3qt]

This has been my favorite YT channel since I found it a few months ago. Thanks for the great stories. Keep killing it!!!

[@davanmani556]

If you can beat the Saints at their place in dramatic fashion, the Falcons fans will love you forever.

[@levikatriel]

Firstly, I apologize about not telling everyone that my previous two comments were about Official Jaguar Gator 9 vids. Secondly, Official Jaguar Gator 9 made a video about 1977’s giants team-one so bad the cowboys fell asleep while watching their film, and beat them easily.

[@bobbymoore6013]

Had to wear #10 as my high school QB and honestly was too young to remember his struggles, only the success. Great narrative. # BigBen # GritBlitz

[@reilneid6436]

Always a Bartkowski fan growing up. What a arm on that guy. I wouldn't have thought him a bust either way that went down. Great stuff as always. Plz keep it coming.👍👌🏈

[@aVerveQuest]

OT Mike Kenn played 17 years in ATL with four pro bowls and two all pro selections. Definitley a borderline HOFer, so surely good enough for Falcons ring of honor.

[@jamesage24]

#77 of the Vikings. Nice hit & tackle! Only problem was it was your teammate! 3:00

[@jamesage24]

@Matt Joseph I like how he smacked the ground after he realized what just happened.

[@DolFan316]

@@jamesage24 IKR? At least he realized his mistake. A modern player would've blamed Bryant for running into HIM.

[@DolFan316]

@Matt Joseph The worst part is, there's clearly nobody for him to block yet he runs as fast as he can anyway for literally no good reason.

[@lolol180]

why in the hell do the falcons not go back to these uniforms

[@dr.awkward9075]

At least he had a whole game. I remember when Alex Smith was with the 49'ers & he was given one final drive to do something or that's it. Luckily he scored a touchdown & saved his career.

[@trajan0707]

My dad had season tickets from 1975-1980. I was 8 years old when we started.. How I remember going to those games, and loved them.. I remember the people talking about who should start as QB. Jones or Bart. I was always for Bart...awesome times for me.. Thanks for the memories ..Great work keep it up..

[@dougdrazga4461]

Always liked Bartkowski. The Plunkett comparison made sense at the time. Off-topic, have you covered the Ray Wersching fair catch field goal?

[@misterresister8271]

I always thought that while Plunkett had an awful 2nd year, his 3rd and 4th seasons were pretty good, all things considered

[@mckgarth]

One football game didn't change his career, Spiritual growth changed his career.

[@jamesmatthews5365]

What a wholesome powerful story

[@scottconner7930]

43 Years Ago

[@67marlins81]

Bartkowski had one of the strongest arms in the NFL at the time.

[@mikepastor.k6233]

Reminded me a bit of John Elway. Could throw it through a barn door but had to hit it first. And learn to add touch.

[@johncerk2618]

The Philadelphia kicker missed a key field goal in 1978 playoff game.I remember watching it

[@mhlaw229]

The offensive line was pretty bad during Bartkowski's first 2-3 years and he took quite a beating. He missed several games due to injury, especially a knee. When the offense improved after Leeman Bennett was hired, he played dramatically better. He was a very good QB

[@richardadams4928]

As good as Bart's career was, I've always wondered how much better it could have been if those awful O-lines hadn't caused him to play most of his career on wrecked knees. Still one of the best arms I ever saw. I'm still salty over how Dan Henning unceremoniously dumped him for ... David Archer?! Really?

[@mhlaw229]

@@richardadams4928 Yes, Henning was a disaster. And I certainly agree Bart had a great arm. Good touch on his short/screen passes too. Very underrated QB due to inconsistent performance of the team. With a good offensive line, better play by the receivers and the addition of William Andrews, he was a terrific QB. My favorite as a kid

[@mhlaw229]

@@richardadams4928 I was also a Cowboys fan. The '78 playoff loss was a minor disappointment for me, but the '80 playoff loss was crushing. I couldn't believe it. The only big game Danny White didn't blow with an unnecessary sack, fumble or interception. The Falcons never recovered from that loss either.

[@richardadams4928]

@@mhlaw229 IKR? I had to decide which team to pull for, my loyalties being mixed, but I decided on the Falcons due to them being overdue. Shattering loss. On the more amusing side, I think it's the only time I can recall a 15 yard personal foul penalty on a KICKER, as Rafael Septien delivered a forearm to Dennis Pearson's head WAY out of bounds. Pearson came up laughing, so at least he wasn't hurt. I'm sure Landry thought about moving Septien to safety, but decided to stick with Waters and Harris ... 😆

[@timhunter8945]

Bad wasn't the word they sucked

[@Jdfuller82]

Nothing to do with the video but those are my favorite Falcons uniforms.

[@perleydaywilder3562]

I watched part of this one as a kid. Saw the very beginning when the Jints were up 14-0 and the very end when they blew a 20-16 lead. Definitely one from that year I would have liked to have had back, apart from the obvious one.

[@aVerveQuest]

Nice To see William Andrews honored. He was a blend of Walter Payton and Earl.Campbell. If not for injury he, along with Rickey Bell, and Billy Sims all might have had HOF careers as all time talents.

[@brianjones808]

Should have included the game with the Saints later that year. The Big Ben Right game play that gave the Falcons a miracle win at the last minute.

[@MarquisdeSuave]

Bill Fralic deserves to have his jersey retired.

[@chazsexington1456]

Claude Humphrey too

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@chazsexington1456 Especially since Humphrey's in the Hall of Fame.

[@chazsexington1456]

@@ROZAKRIU I agree. Humphrey was a beast and hugely underrated.

[@MaRkYWaHoO]

I absolutely love your videos….🤟😷

[@FredSchneider1977USA]

Steve Barkowski was a very good QB on some mediocre Atlanta Falcons teams. But when the Falcons were good offensively, Bart played very well and put up some excellent numbers and even winning games in Atlanta.

[@jpmnky]

This guy almost always gets left out of any QB great conversation. Actually most of the great 1970’s quarterbacks do, including Bradshaw and Tarkenton.

[@tadlambert1493]

Especially Tarkenton

[@chrisrifkin3670]

He kinda had a flame that burned very bright but for a very short time Was injured (the entire team was )in 1979 1980-83 was one of the best A mad bomber with one of the best deep arms I ever saw..

[@iamhungey12345]

@@tadlambert1493 If there's a QB who would done dirty by his lack of SB win, it's him. Even Marino at least received recognition. Even in convo for best QB without a championship win, Tarkenton gets screwed there as well.

[@jontoubeaux7361]

I enjoyed watching Bartkowski play in the 1980s. The real story of his "rebirth" - the "change of heart and mind" was Bartkowski putting the Lord first. He said he realized he shouldn't be number one and he should put Christ first. Sounds like he turned his life over to Jesus - and that would make all the difference in the world for him, whether he played well or started or played poorly or threw interceptions, etc. Amazing. Thank you for mentioning this.

[@usn4876]

11 knee operations ? Holy shit

[@BrentWard-zu6do]

Love bartkowski my favorite quarter back of all time

[@jamesrfb]

Steve Bartkowski was better than Matt Ryan; John Madden has said if he could build a team around anyone it would be William Andrews - imagine his career if he doesn’t injure his knee; Jessie Tuggle, Jeff Van Note, and Mike Kenn should be in the Hall of Fame - and, Tommy Nobis should have been in decades ago. Nice video.

[@kidwray4313]

Your loco for saying that

[@eagebeazthawk290]

Nice video

[@jpmnky]

I gotta say, in this era, he’d have finished out the season and been traded, or signed via free agency. And went to a situation where he couldn’t do much of anything for the rest of his career. Then again....

[@outtahere321]

I am so glad Steve was a Falcon, but I believe if he had been on some better teams at the time, he would have won a Superbowl or two. He developed into a great QB and he had a rifle of an arm.

[@Boomhower89]

Steve was great but he just didn’t have much support. He went a couple of years that they were really good in the late 70s. Unfortunately he had to go through doomsday 2 and one of the best offenses in the league from Dallas. At least he had a couple of years of hope. Poor Archie Manning didn’t even have a chance to day dream of what could be. Bartkowski was also responsible for helping to raise the pay of numerous players around the NFL. His roommate Leigh Steinberg represented the majority of the top players and then throw in Donald Trump and the USFL we had the first $million a year contract in 1983 with John Elway.

[@sifractusfortis]

Please do a video on the incredibly futile history of Chicago Bears quarterbacks after, say, 1970. (And yes, Bobby Douglass wasn't too bad...)

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

You’re sort of in luck. Just posted this today: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqrZo3ZoqMSSq7M

[@d0nKsTaH]

Its rumored that Bartkowski may come back for Atlanta this year! #Bartkowski4Ev3RBaby #SteveBartkowskiSuperBowl2022

[@iamhungey12345]

Nowadays since around mid to late 2000s, players like Bart and Bradshaw would have been given up on after couple of years as busts as QBs are now being expected to be instant hits or bust. I mean there are idiots who thinks Peyton's rookie season was among the all time worse...

[@Lawomenshoops]

A better context would be- back in the 70's QB's were brought along slowly. Most didn't start right away. It took awhile for rookie QB's to learn the offense. In many ways when the Bengals drafted Carson Palmer #1 overall and just sat him his rookie year, it was going against the grain!

[@webhead8639]

That's right. They usually took 5 yrs to get playing QB right.

[@davanmani556]

Personally, I like the NBC primitive graphics of the Falcons logo from the early 80’s: red helmet with red logo.

[@CTubeMan]

1. At 1:39, that was quick. 2. Great tackle at 3:05! 3. The Falcons actually came back to win a playoff game?

[@DolFan316]

In Philly, Dick Vermeil had a habit of wearing his teams out so much from overwork that they had nothing left for the playoffs and started fading badly over the final month of the regular season every year they did make the playoffs. And then he quit because he was literally wearing himself out too.

[@usn4876]

Ed too tall Jones on the sack at 1:39

[@karlcooper8460]

The quarterback position can be a trying position it can make anybody cry.

[@webhead8639]

I literally just won a Bart autograph Falcon jersey on Pristine Auction.

[@usn4876]

At 1:37 Ed too tall Jones getting off the ball at incredible speed for a big guy dam

[@marcus813]

Thank goodness he didn't have his revival here in Tampa the week before!

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Do a video on the argument between Jeff George and June Jones during week 3 in 1996

[@glenwest1911]

Rise up, falcons!!

[@dagjo]

Mike Kenn’s number isn’t retired? Wow!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Wow, you had gone a couple videos without mentioning spiking the ball. Today was a twofer.

[@dr.awkward9075]

...Then June Jones invented the Run & Shoot offense & LOOK AWAY HOUSTON OILER FANS! 🤣

[@tonyb4481]

As I recall ,that playoff win, against the Eagles was achieved because the Eagles had kicking issues. For some reason they used their punter as the place kicker. And he missed the game winning FG and maybe an XP as well.

[@icomenotinpeacebutwithaswo7193]

The starting kicker got hurt in warm-ups. I was at this game. Man, oh man.

[@luisvaldes1568]

by the way in 78 playoffs Falcons almost beat the Cowboys in Dallas. Staubach was knocked out. Danny White lead them back.

[@candrew14]

The Giants defense pre Lawrence Taylor probably saved a lot of careers.

[@iamhungey12345]

And that's despite having Van Pelt and Carson.

[@candrew14]

@@iamhungey12345 yep, of course their real problem was their offense. By the end of the season their defense was so worn down because their offense couldn't move the football. Doug Kotar, God bless him, was their best offensive player.

[@iamhungey12345]

@@candrew14 Not to mention with how bad their offensive line were, it's no wonder Phil Simms was injury prone. The fact that they didn't kill him was a miracle, moreso when the guy still managed to have a good career.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

So Steve Bartkowski WASN'T a BUST? I don't think that he would have been a BUST EVEN IF he SPIKED the football into the ground on EVERY single OFFENSIVE play!!!!

[@ericfitzgerald9214]

He wasn't any good. Think a long term Chris Chandler

[@DolFan316]

@@ericfitzgerald9214 It's legit shocking to me to find out he's had his number retired along with those Falcon players who really were great.

[@sirmang9032]

Bartkowski was awful until 1980. Love how this game is pointed to as the game that saved his career, yet the very next week he went back to his awful self. 17/33 188 yards 1 TD 2 INTs sacked 5 times. The only reason the Falcons went back to Bartkowski was because June Jones was even worse. Even still Bartkowski was benched later in the 1978 season and the team went back to June Jones anyway.

[@mikeb8674]

JG9, April 2032 - The Bizarre Year When Every New York Giant Offensive Lineman Retired in Training Camp

[@DolFan316]

@Matt Joseph That fight tells me Joe Judge has already lost the team before the preseason which might be a new record in terms of how fast a coach was tuned out.

[@bigdrew565]

@Matt Joseph more like a mini riot. I'm shaking my damn head. We shall see how it shakes out, I guess.

[@bigdrew565]

@@DolFan316 yeah. I tend to agree with that assessment. In all my years of watching and following pro football, I've never heard of an entire team brawling in practice. Training camp fights happen. Hell, Parcells told Lawrence Taylor to start one to prove a point about a player's physical fitness.

[@iamhungey12345]

@@DolFan316 It makes you appreciate what Coughlin had done for the team.

[@markbrian7179]

He missed a few games because of injuries early on in his career and his back-up was June Jones.

[@richardadams4928]

In his early career, his main backups were McQuilken and the absolutely putrid Scott Hunter. Watching Hunter play was one of the distinct DISPLEASURES of Falcons fandom at the time.

[@usn4876]

As a saints fan he would torch us pretty good lol. They need to bring back the red uniforms. Or make the falcon red on the black helmet. Once Drew came here he torched them on a regular basis so we got our revenge who dat

[@tennesseeridgerunner5992]

My childhood hero. Oh, and hey Falcons.... GET RID OF THOSE BLACK UNIS AND GO BACK TO CLASSIC RED!

[@luisvaldes1568]

Funny Vikings Bobby Bryant hit by team mate going down field with a pic at 3:04. And team mate is pissed.

[@bens5661]

June Jones played pro football? Huh, was not aware

[@MrGlock509]

June was our kneel down qb. Bart would start. Archer would mop up then he would come in and end the game

[@Staceyatkinson4496]

Why does that name sound familiar "June jones

[@darinkasaboski6829]

I would spike the ball on every play

[@karlcooper8460]

When he switched to the old two bar helmet is when it seemed that his career turned around maybe a coincidence just saying.

[@bjnt92281]

Turns out June Jones was a better coach than player 😄

[@chrisrifkin3670]

*sigh* All one has to do is see my Giants with blue pants on their road jerseys to know how that ended.

[@stevenbauer4799]

Did i see general bob lee in a few hilights? those poor qb's on falcons never had a chance. At 1:39 hahaha doomsday. that reminded me of a sack on slow ass bernie kosar once. Dude took like two steps back and was sacked.

[@patbrooks9823]

Bart along with guys like Bradshaw and Fouts wouldn't have made it in the current NFL as they rush guys out too soon and give up on them too soon.

[@goalscorerlajon]

There's NO WAY that you can compare the careers of Jim Plunkett and Steve Baartkoski. Jim won 2 Super Bowls, won NFL Rookie of The Year and won Comeback Player of The Year in 1980.

[@grinningchicken]

Isnt June Jones supposed to be some kind of offensive guru?

[@chrisrobinson8339]

Mike Vick was the falcons greatest quarterback.

[@imfireingmylazer]

Say the line say the line it would’ve better if he would spiked the ball on every play

[@stevenbauer4799]

Like lotsa top pick qb's Bartkowski was cursed to end up in atlanta. matt ryan as well. And lots of those '70's top pick qb's were doomed when drafted. plunkett by pats, a. manning by saints, bartkowski... bradshaw did pan out.

[@DolFan316]

Even Bradshaw had one of the all-time worst rookie QB seasons and was still being benched for poor play in Year 5.

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@DolFan316yep. everyone knows bradshaw couldn't hold his own jock up and was saved from being an all time bust with all that great talent on d and offense steelers surrounded bradshaw with. without that talent bradshaw is archie or plunkett.

[@chuckthurmond]

They literally would not have been better if they had spiked the ball on every play in 1974. I understand QB rating, but they won three games and unless the defense turned turnovers into touchdowns in those games (they actually did in one game), they would not have won three.

[@chuckthurmond]

@Matt Joseph Probably would have been a good strategy, but in the video it's said that the passing game was so bad in 1974, they literally would have been better off spiking the ball into the ground on every play. I assume that means it would have resulted in a better quarterback rating, but the team did complete 160 passes that season, and "literally spiking the ball on every play" would have been noticed by opposing defenses very quickly.

[@chriskies5016]

KZbin really needs someone better to do their captions

[@DolFan316]

KZbin just needs to be better, period.

[@johnliberty3647]

Chris Miller and Chris Chandler were better QB'S than Bartkowski... although that's arguable, however its no clear he was the best QB in franchise History before Matt Ryan. I mean no disrespect to Bartkowski because he was a decent QB with a few good to great seasons. If he was my teams Starting QB I would be happy with him.

[@iamhungey12345]

They had better teams around them and played in relatively easier eras for QBs.

[@stevep4767]

Shoud the Flacons retire Deion Sanders number 21

[@brianjones808]

I never could understand why stupidass fans turn on a dime on their heroes when they stop winning. I mean, it's not like the guy is doing it on purpose. Give him a break.

[@granvillefriel2263]

Bart played on some awful team's

[@karlcooper8460]

June Jones was a good coach/coordinator but not much of a quarterback.

[@ericfitzgerald9214]

Jessie Tuggle's 58 should ABSOLUTELY be retired. Tuggle played with them for over a decade and was the heart and soul of the 98 defense. Bartkowski was a scrub at best. They had more success under Chris Chandler and Matt Ryan.

[@deathtowrestling2518]

Chandler and Ryan had a lot more around them. You can't use team success to measure individual players

[@DolFan316]

The problem with a team retiring numbers is that there are only so many to go around and eventually they run out of available ones. This is why I don't believe in retiring any player's number. There are plenty of other ways to honor a player (team honor rolls, etc.) that this doesn't need to be done anymore.

[@karlcooper8460]

To add a little more perspective the Giants were garbage.

[@targettoad691]

0:57-1:02 Does Vick not exist or something? His 4.5 years in Atlanta were better than Bartkowski's 11. Vick never had a losing year (he went 1-2 at the end of 2001 as a rookie, and went 4-1 in 2003 after q preseason injury), led some really shallow Falcons rosters to the NFC divisional round (including that massive upset over Green Bay in 2002) twice in 3 years, with an NFC Championship appearance in that stretch. Bartowski had 3 playoff appearances, and only got 1 win. Not to mention Vick revolutionized the QB position in a way arguably not seen since Fran Tarkenton or Sammy Baugh (and yes, i know guys like Randall Cunningham existed, but Vick started the modern, dual-threat, wave of QBs we see today). I perfectly understand discounting Atlanta Vick the person based on tje dogfighting, but don't dismiss Vick's playing time in ATL.

[@deathtowrestling2518]

Vick was never a good passer in Atlanta, and he had a lot more around him than Bartkowski on offense.

[@targettoad691]

@@deathtowrestling2518 Maybe in 2001 & 2002, but in 2004-2006, he was about league average accuracy wise, and the dude might have the greatest cannon of an arm ever.

[@DolFan316]

If millions of people can be canceled from society and history altered to leave them out, then I have no problem with Vick never being mentioned again.

[@iamhungey12345]

Steve played in a tougher era for QB you know, Vick's mobility would have been an asset there but for all his arm strength it was after his prison time that he became a good passer and that was only for couple of years.

[@everythingfootball62bigtex42]

Bartkowski was average at best !! his best years was 1980, 1981 and 1983 . 1980 was the 12-4 year and should have beat the cowwboys in that nfc division game , after that that was it !!! 1 good year and 2 average yrs . there are a few other falcons that should have their jerseys retired way before bartkowski . bill fralic , claude humphreys and prime numbers should be retired before barkowski's . shit you can make a case for #7 he did just as much as barkowski did , he never took the falcons to the nfc champion ship game . im just saying