The Atlanta Falcons are likely coming off of one of their better drafts in recent years, however they find themselves making headlines for all the wrong reasons as they continue to be front and center as a result of defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich and his son Jax’s roles in the prank call received by Cleveland Browns rookie, Shedeur Sanders.
As reported, (Jax) Ulbrich attained Sanders’ cellphone number from his father’s iPad while visiting his parent’s home and Wednesday, the NFL fined the Falcons $250,000 and (Jeff) Ulbrich $100,000 for the incident, which the elder Ulbrich took “full responsibility”.
On Wednesday, following the news of the fines, Carl Dukes and Mike Bell shared their thoughts on the penalties handed out by the league, agreeing there should not be an outcry, however express their concerns of the Falcons making headlines which overshadow their draft weekend.
“Why are we in the news for the wrong reasons?” Dukes asked as he shared his displeasure in the team repeatedly getting coverage for negative headlines. “We’re not in the news for playoff runs, we’re not in the news because we got a ring, we’re not in the news because, you know what, we’ve got special players,” Dukes said, adding he believes it is frustrating for Falcons’ fans.
“At the end of the day, it feels like as a fan, this is the kind of stuff that everybody wants to discuss instead of discussing what kind of team we’re going to have,” Dukes said expressing his own frustration.