Atlanta Falcons greatest years are under the guidance of Thomas Dimitroff

The Atlanta Falcons franchise has seen their greatest years of success under the guidance of general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

When you become a perennial playoff team year after year, it is easy for fans of any team to become complacent; Atlanta Falcons fans are no different. The success this team has had over the last 11 seasons under the leadership and guidance of Thomas Dimitroff should not be taken for granted – yet it is.

Last night, Blogging Dirty published an article that discussed how the Falcons faithful needed to take into account the importance of culture when looking at who the team brings in and not simply big names that create a splash across the league. Like all of the articles posted on this site, the reaction was mixed, which is great; everyone is entitled to their opinion on subjective topics.

That said, one aspect of this franchise that cannot be argued is that the franchise has grown exponentially and achieved more under Thomas Dimitroff than in any other era. When looking at success we will use the following the barometers to measure by:

• Number of head coaches
• Number of starting quarterbacks
• Wins
• Losses
• Division Titles
• Playoff appearances
• Playoff wins
• Double-digit win seasons
• NFC title game appearances
• Super Bowl appearances

While there are certainly a plethora of reasons to question Thomas Dimitroff when it comes to his draft record, he has clearly been able to do something right when putting together a team that will compete on the field every Sunday and in more years than not, make a playoff appearance.

Making the playoffs is not a something that is a foregone conclusion. Something like less than half of the teams that make the playoff’s one year will not make it the next in the NFL. For example, in 2017, the Falcons were the only NFC team to make the playoffs in both 2016 and 2017.

How good has the franchise become under Thomas Dimitroff, we will look at the franchise in six time-periods:

• 1966-1969
• 1970-1979
• 1980-1989
• 1990-1999
• 2000-2007
• 2008-2018

Remember, you cannot blame the lack of production or success the franchised faced prior to 2008 on Thomas Dimitroff – yes, this happens a lot.