Atlanta Falcons

The Houston Police Department is expecting the worst outside the Super Bowl and is ready to combat a wave of Prez Trump protesters making noise about disrupting the game.

Our law enforcement sources say officers, in uniform and undercover, will monitor crowds outside NRG Stadium. We're told several online groups have popped up in recent days organizing protests -- some anti-Trump, some for Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock and refugees.

HPD has plenty of backup, having borrowed cops from around the country. As usual for the Super Bowl ... we're told SWAT will be posted nearby if protests turn into riots and get out of hand.

Houston Texans star Whitney Mercilus is dishing out some advice to the Falcons AND the Patriots -- stay out of Houston's legendary booty clubs ... until AFTER the big game!!!

Whitney's great -- he says the nightlife in Houston is incredible (especially during Super Bowl week) but says the party scene can be super dangerous for the Super Bowl players.

By the way, it's not like this hasn't happened before ... a group of 49ers stars hit the strip club on the Thursday night before the 2013 Super Bowl. They lost that game to the Ravens.

Two more reasons to watch the Super Bowl halftime show -- because, once again, you can BET on whether Lady Gaga will show cleavage ... and the smart money's on "Yes."

Get the bust ready in Canton, because Julio Jones has ALREADY earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame ... so says someone who's already there, Hall of Famer Mike Haynes.

The Raiders legend has touched down in Houston where he's already singing Julio's praises -- saying the ATL Falcons stud is "one of the premiere receivers of all time."

FYI, Jones is only 27 ... he's a 4-time Pro Bowler, led the league in receiving yards in 2015 and set the Falcons single game yards record with 300 in one game.

Dude's a beast ... but does Haynes think HE coulda stopped Julio back in his prime? We asked.

ATL Falcons stud receiver Mohamed Sanu has one hell of an expert helping to guide his career ... NFL Hall of Famer Andre Reed.

The Buffalo Bills legend just touched down in Houston where he'll cheer on his 27-year-old protege -- so we had to ask how he felt about Sanu, who is Muslim, refusing to answer questions about Trump at Super Bowl Media Day.

Attention, Patriots fans ... Tom Brady has given specific marching orders to ALL OF YOU to get ready for the big day.

The QB took the stage at a massive pep rally at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Monday and told fans how they should prepare for Sunday.

Thousands of people showed up to the event ... including the Greater Boston Firefighters Pipes and Drums group, which provided the tunes.

Meanwhile, over in Atlanta ... thousands of Falcons fans packed Atlantic Station to see the team buses off.

It was a crazy scene -- and it's clear both cities are FIRED UP!!!!

Here's Atlanta Hawks co-owner Tony Ressler telling TMZ Sports he's 100% riding with the Falcons to win a championship ... because his Hawks probably ain't getting it done.

We got Tony out at Madeo and asked what it would mean for the city of Atlanta to finally win a Super Bowl ... and when he thought the Hawks might raise a trophy themselves.

He said a Falcons 'ship could "only help" the city ... and as far as the Hawks, he says they'll get it done "someday," but it's clear he doesn't think that day is happening in 2017.

Listen, the guy probably ain't lying ... the Hawks are 4th in the East right now, but let's face it, it's all about the Cavs -- and LeBron James -- right now in that conference.

Here's 74-year-old cancer survivor Arthur Blank GETTIN' DOWN with his bad self after the Falcons beat up on the Packers.

The Falcons owner let the music take control of his arms ... his hips ... his feet ... everything ... while Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta" blasted from the stadium speakers.

Blank has a history of dancing after big wins -- he cut a rug in the locker room after the team beat the Seahawks last week.

Wonder what he's got in store if they beat the Pats?!

The Atlanta Falcons had some major celebrity support on the sidelines during the NFC championship -- Usher, Ludacris, Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, Da Brat and more ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Dirty Bird Nation represented strong -- and the fact the Falcons CRUSHED Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers meant everyone was in a great mood the entire afternoon!

Ray Lewis was also there!

Nothing brings people together like winning!

Message to the Atlanta Falcons ... if you're thinking of hilariously trolling Russell Wilson with Future's music at the game this weekend, DON'T ... 'cause NFL legend Cris Carter says it's a bad idea.

The Seahawks play the Falcons in ATL this weekend ... and there were rumblings the Falcons DJ would try to get in Wilson's head by piping in some Future tunes during the game.

While that would be absolutely amazing ... Carter said it was a bad idea when we talked to him out in L.A. ... with the thinking being that you don't want to poke the 5'10" bear.

Officials have determined ex-NFL player Keion Carpenter died from traumatic brain injuries suffered in a fall during his Miami vacation ... but why he fell remains a mystery.

TMZ Sports obtained the autopsy report for the 39-year-old former Atlanta Falcons safety who died on Dec. 29th.

Investigators say Carpenter had only had 1 drink on the day he collapsed (rum and pineapple juice) during an excursion with his family to Black Point Marina.

When they were leaving at 8:15 PM, he raced his son to the car ... and that's when Keion came to a complete stop by his car, grabbed the side mirror and collapsed backwards to the ground.

The report says, "He did not make any attempts to stop his fall, striking the back of his head on the ground."

His wife called 911 -- and Keion regained consciousness. He told responders he felt hot and his head was hurting. He suffered a heart attack in the ambulance and never recovered. He died two days later.

The medical report lists the cause of death as acute epidural hematoma (bleeding of the brain) due to blunt force head trauma.

But the big mystery ... why did he fall in the first place?

The report notes Carpenter had hypertension -- but took his medicine, monitored his blood pressure daily and kept a healthy diet.

There is this ... the M.E. notes Carpenter suffered "several" concussions during his football career -- though investigators did not directly link that to the collapse.

The medical examiner says the brain was not examined further per the wishes of Keion's family.

9:21 AM PT -- A rep for the M.E.'s office issued a statement about the investigation into the fall.

"During the autopsy, we looked for evidence of a medical event that could have preceded the fall. No definitive conclusion could be drawn from anything that was found."

Atlanta Falcons superstar cornerback Desmond Trufant is hinting that he could return to the field THIS SEASON should the team make a deep run in the playoffs ... but it's a MAJOR long shot.

Trufant landed in L.A. early Tuesday -- after the team placed him on injured reserve due to a bad pectoral injury. He's expected to undergo surgery either today or Wednesday.

Here's the thing ... when we asked him if there was a shot he could come back this season, he didn't say no ... instead telling us, "We'll see."

We looked into it and technically there's a chance. Our NFL sources tell us he'd be eligible to return for the Super Bowl if the team makes it that far ... AND if the Falcons don't pull any other player off the IR before then.

However, our Falcons sources tell us it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY ... because the surgery typically sidelines players for several months and the odds of Trufant being healthy enough to play by Feb. 5 are slim.

Roddy White says race was DEFINITELY a factor when a white cop put his hand on his gun in an aggressive manner during a routine traffic stop in Georgia Wednesday -- and now he wants an apology.

The ex-ATL Falcons star spoke with TMZ Sports about the incident -- claiming his heart was racing when the officer "unbuttoned the strap on his gun and he put his hand on his gun" and began walking toward his car.

Roddy said he questioned the cop about his actions -- at first, the cops cited police procedure ... but then said, "It's my procedure. I do what I want."

Roddy says he's already spoken with police and was told 2 cops had been ambushed during traffic stops this week ... and that could explain why the cop was gun-ready.

But White says he's not buying it for this particualr situation -- and says he wants to speak with the officer to get a personal explanation. He also wants an apology.

As for the cops, the DeKalb County PD tells TMZ Sports the officer involved was "floored" when he heard about White's allegations and denies doing anything wrong.

There's one rule to talking sports with T.I. ... put your money where your mouth is ... and the rap star just proved that by straight PUNKING a TMZ photog who tried to make an NFL bet on the street.

T.I. was out in L.A. when one of our photogs dared to ask him about the state of Falcons football, and more specifically how Julio Jones would do against the Eagles this week.

That's when a rich guy (T.I.) told a not so rich guy (our camera guy) to put up (money) or shut up (your mouth).

The father of ATL Falcons running back Tevin Coleman says his son "intends to play" in Denver this weekend ... despite concerns over his sickle cell condition.

Coleman had said he was considering NOT playing against the Broncos this weekend since his condition can be exacerbated in low oxygen, high altitude areas like Mile High Stadium.

In fact, ex-Steelers safety Ryan Clark -- who also has the sickle cell trait -- became extremely sick after playing in Denver in 2007 and needed his spleen and gall bladder removed.

But Coleman's father, Wister, tells TMZ Sports ... he's been in contact with his son this week and says the current plan is to suit up and play.

"I don’t think there’s going to be any problems with him playing. He’s never really had a problem and we’re not concerned."

We asked if Tevin's condition has ever been an issue -- and he told us, "He has gotten exhausted in hot weather, but he always played at a high intensity in little leagues and high school."

"He played both sides of the ball and he still had the energy to keep playing."

"WOOOO" on three ... ONE. TWO. THREE ... "WOOOOOOO!"

WWE legend Ric Flair added a little Nature Boy love to the Atlanta Falcons practice Tuesday morning ... leading the team in a pump-up speech before breaking things down in the huddle.

You gotta watch the clip ... Flair does the full "Rolex-wearing, diamond-ring wearing, kiss-stealing" ... thing.

It's awesome.

#Wooo!