Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Reflects On Trying '07 Season

Arthur Blank Reflects On '07 Falcons Season

Falcons Owner Arthur Blank said the '07 NFL season was "the season that never ended" for the franchise, according to Mark Bradley of the ATLANTA CONSTITUION. Blank: "Every day there was another twist to the story -- there was the Michael Vick story, and then there was the Bobby Petrino story. It was like someone kept adding another stick of wood to the fire." Blank said the '07 season was "another reminder that even though you work hard to try to build a roster of players capable of handling the pressures of being a professional athlete both on and off the field, the work carries no guarantee." Blank, when asked what the "nadir of the season" was for him, said, "It was the day (Aug. 24) we received" Vick's pre-plea statement of facts. Blank: "A lot had been speculation up to then. ... Even after the indictment, Michael was still saying, 'I'm innocent; you'll find that out.' ... The reality was that what Michael had been saying was not true." Blank said, "People say we shouldn't have supported the quaterback that much, but what about New England (with Tom Brady)? What about Indianapolis (with Peyton Manning)? With Michael, as spectacular as he was -- not always great -- with that kind of exciting player, he becomes in many ways the face of the franchise" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/17).