Arthur M. Blank is responsible for the sorry state of the Falcons. He owns the team, after all.
Blank allowed the previous front office to make shortsighted moves that still are costing the Falcons. Blank authorized the team’s recent pursuit of quarterback Deshaun Watson even though he’s facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct. Blank’s decisions set in motion the public humiliation of the best player in franchise history, Matt Ryan, and his eventual (lopsided) trade to the Colts.
When that debacle went down last week, Blank released a statement in which he noted that Ryan was the team’s quarterback for “the most successful era in Falcons history.” That’s true, even if the bar was low. Credit Blank for his part in making the Falcons a respectable franchise. Fault Blank for chasing the 2017 Super Bowl glory long after it was clear those days were over and making it much harder for them to be good anytime soon.
