NBC Sports: NFL 1985- Denver Broncos @ Atlanta Falcons: First Quarter

Source:NBC Sports- presents the National Football League. Today from Atlanta Fulton Stadium, the Denver Broncos vs. the Atlanta Falcons. I'm paraphrasing here, but that's pretty close to how NBC Sports introduced their NFL coverage.

"These games are always pretty fun. This was a pretty good one till Denver took over late in the game. Bartkowski is probably one of the best "bad" qbs of all time because he had an absolute cannon for an arm." 

From Classic Sports

I don't get the Steve Bartkowski is one of the best bad QB's of all-time. That's like saying someone is the best ballet dancer from Wichita: that line means nothing. Steve Bartkowski was one of the best power-arm (my line) QB's in the NFL in the early 1980s. He was Pro Bowl caliber when he had a good o-line and good receivers to throw the ball to. 

The Atlanta Falcons were at best up in down during the 1970s and early and mid 1980s, when they would have one good year or a decent year, followed by a really bad year or mediocre bad year. It's hard to play well when you're getting sacked all the time and your defense doesn't get stops. Which is what Steve Barkowski had to deal with in his 10 years in Atlanta.

As far as Atlanta Fulton Stadium: I think this is the worst of the multi-purpose stadiums that had grass. This is a stadium was good for baseball for the fans and the fans being really close to the action and it was really loud for Braves game. But especially early in the season with the cutup field for baseball and the fans being far away for football, it wasn't a good place for NFL football.