Atlanta Falcons center Todd McClure works out during a practice session in this file photo.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta center Todd McClure painfully remembers his last visit to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, where the Falcons also begin today’s NFL regular season against the Chiefs.
“I think they had us 35-0 at halftime,” he recalled as he sat inside his cubicle at the team’s headquarters last week. “[Jim] Mora Jr. was our coach. It was crazy, like a big-time college atmosphere. They love their Chiefs. I hope we’ll play a little better this time.”
It would be tough to play worse than Atlanta did in that 56-10 loss in 2004. But to show how swiftly NFL rosters change, McClure is the only Falcons player or coach who experienced that disaster.
Mike Smith begins his fifth season as head coach with a roster that wide receiver Roddy White proclaimed “is probably the most talented group we’ve had to this point. We can all run. Our team’s fast. I think we play fast. I think it can be special.”
Smith has made each of the past four regular seasons special, all with winning records. The Falcons previously never had back-to-back winning seasons since entering the league in 1966.