Three forgotten Atlanta Falcons from the past decade

Antone Smith – RB – 2010 to 2014

There is scoring seven touchdowns in the NFL, and then there is scoring seven touchdowns the way Antone Smith did during his time with the Atlanta Falcons.

If you never got the chance to watch Antone Smith then you will probably look at his stats and wonder why he is even on this list and why he is worth remembering. Yes, he did not have crazy career stats but he was one of those players where coaches just say “get the ball in his hands.”

In his first three years with the Falcons he did not put up good numbers at all, in fact, he had negative three yards in his first three seasons.

But that all changed in 2013 and 2014 when he turned into an explosive player. Consider this, Smith had seven touchdowns in his NFL career, none of which were under 38 yards and they all came during those two years. Here are all of his touchdowns:

• Week 11 2013: 50-yard TD run
• Week 13 2013: 38-yard TD run
• Week 1 2014: 54-yard  TD catch
• Week 3 2014: 38-yard TD run
• Week 4 2014: 48-yard TD run
• Week 5 2014: 74-yard TD catch
• Week 6 2014: 41-yard TD catch

That is simply ridiculous. In 2014 it seriously felt like you could get an automatic touchdown from anywhere if you just gave the ball to him.

The sad thing for Antone is that he ended up breaking his leg in week 11 of 2014 when covering a punt and he was never the same after. Atlanta let him go on an injury settlement the next year and then he spent time with the Jets, Bears, and Buccaneers where he ended up injuring his knee in 2016 and it basically ended his career.

What Antone Smith did in 2013 and 2014 was special and he should always be remembered for it.