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NFL Hands Down Verdict on Falcons for “Noise Gate”

By Keith Holt

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Mar 23, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Atlanta Falcons president & ceo Rich McKay speaks during NFL meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The wait is over and we now know the NFL’s punishment for the Atlanta Falcons on the “Noise Gate” scandal.

If you are not familiar the case our Falcons were being investigated for pumping in artificial crowd noise in the Georgia Dome over the past two seasons. The team is accused of playing the crowd noises while their opponents where huddling up and trying to call plays.

For their transgression over the last two seasons the Birds will have to forfeit a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft. That is a sigh of relief for a lot of fans around the city who were worried that this may be a more impactful pick like a second or third rounder.

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The delay to next season also ensures that the Dan Quinn era will not start out short a pick in their first draft which we all hope that they make every selection count.

Along with the loss of the draft choice the organization was a hefty $350,000 by the league and team president Rich McKay will be suspended for at three months from the league’s competition committee, beginning April 1.

The NFL did not find any actual wrongdoing on McKay’s part but due to his role as president he is being held responsible for the infraction. The league found that former director of event marketing Roddy White was directly responsible for breaking the rule. (And, yes, this is a totally different Roddy White than the team’s star wide receiver.)

For most fans the money and McKay’s suspension are of little consequence, what we were really worried about was the effect on draft as this team is obviously rebuilding. To give Falcons Nation a little solace last year’s fifth-round draft choice, Ricardo Allen, ended up on the practice squad. Also picks that late in the draft are actually not that hard to obtain via a trade.

If the Falcons acquire extra fifth-round draft picks during the 2016 season the NFL will take the highest of those picks.

The organization is more embarrassed than anything that this infraction has come to light. Not to mention it really didn’t give the team much of a completive advantage as the Falcons were 3-5 at home during both seasons of the noise scandal. The good news is now the punishment has been handed down and the Dirty Birds can move on to trying to have a productive 2015 season.

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