The final road to glory has been a long one for the Atlanta Falcons’ organization, but perhaps for nobody more than owner Arthur Blank and Jonathan Babineaux (Port Arthur Lincoln).
So when the New England Patriots take the field in Houston, they won’t be the only team trying to repair its image.
Babineaux was drafted as a rookie in 2005 and he has been a consistent, durable player on the Falcons’ defensive line for 12 seasons. He has been through the darkest moments of the franchise that the other Falcons weren’t around for.
He started six games and appeared in 16 at defensive end in his first season. The Falcons went 8-8 that year under head coach Jim Mora, but that was the start of the decline of the Michael Vick era. They went 11-5 in 2004 and lost in the NFC Championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Falcons went 7-9 the following year in 2006 with Babineaux appearing in 16 games and just one start at defensive tackle and Mora left for Seattle.
In 2007, Babineaux played 14 games and made nine starts with a career-high 41 solo tackles. However, Babineaux’s improvement to becoming a top 20 defensive tackle in the NFL was not on the Falcons’ mind that year. Michael Vick got sent to prison for dog fighting in an unprecedented scandal. Vick was the most popular player in the NFL and it certainly overshadowed Babineaux’s own personal trouble with dogs. In that same year, Babineaux was accused of animal cruelty, but he was cleared of the charge according to the Associated Press. The Falcons also had another distraction when their head coach Bobby Petrino left the team after just 13 games to coach Arkansas.
But what seemed like a hurricane was just a heavy rain storm for Babineaux and the Falcons.
Atlanta hired Mike Smith as their head coach and drafted Matt Ryan at quarterback and they went 11-5 in 2008 and made the NFC Playoffs. They were competitive in a 30-24 loss to the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals. It was also Babineaux’s first year as a full-time starter at defensive tackle as he made 16 starts.
The Falcons missed the playoffs in 2009, but they still went 9-7 and Babineaux started 16 games and set a career-high in sacks with six. But Babineaux experienced more turmoil that winter when, according to Pro Football Talk, he was arrested for “possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.”
It never manifested into anything as Babineaux started 15 games in 2010 and helped the Falcons go 13-3 for the first time in franchise history. The Falcons struggled to live up to expectations in the postseason as they got blown out at home by the Green Bay Packers and the following year in 2011 at home to the New York Giants. The only silver lining was that the teams they lost to won the Super Bowl.
2012 was the best year for both the Falcons and Babineaux. While alternating between defensive end and defensive tackle and starting 16 games, Babineaux had his best all-around season and according to Pro Football Reference, he had his highest approximate value of nine. He had 25 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception, five passes defended and a fumble recovered for a touchdown. The Falcons went 13-3 and they finally won a playoff home game, which came against the Seattle Seahawks before they lost in the NFC Championship to the San Francisco 49ers.
That was the high point for the Falcons under Smith as they went 4-12 and 6-10 the next two seasons. Babineaux seemed to decline a little as well despite being making 31 starts.
Dan Quinn replaced Smith in 2015 and since then Babineaux has played in 32 games but started just 10. His current role is to provide veteran depth and experience as he displayed perfectly with three tackles and a sack in the divisional home win against the Seahawks. He also helped keep Thomas Rawls to 31 rushing yards after he had 161 rushing yards and a touchdown in his previous game against the Detroit Lions.
Babineaux may be needed for a similar performance again when the Falcons play the Patriots. The Patriots would be wise to keep the Falcons’ offense on the sideline and the best way to do that is by running the ball with LeGarrette Blount, who led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns, and Dion Lewis. If Babineaux helps minimize the Patriots’ running game, that will make it easier for NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley and Dwight Freeney (122.5 career sacks) to get pressure on Tom Brady.
Regardless of the outcome, this Super Bowl has been a long time coming for Babineaux and the Falcons.
