Atlanta Falcons

The times they are a-changin' ... which is why a legendary NFL wide receiver thinks Julio Jones and Antonio Brown should team up to win it all.

TMZ Sports got Cowboys HOF'er Michael Irvin outside of Catch in Weho Friday night, and he tells us he'd like to see the Falcons WR and the Pittsburgh WR -- who's on the outs with the Steelers -- get together to win a Super Bowl ... because neither one of 'em has won anything yet.

We broke the story ... Jones rejected the notion of A.B. coming to Atlanta, saying his team was good as is. But, Irvin thinks if LeBron can hook up with D. Wade, and Durant can hook up with Steph to get a ring ... Julio should be a little more open to the idea.

How dope would a 1-2 punch of Julio Jones and Antonio Brown look in Atlanta?!?!

Not that dope ... according to Julio himself -- who tells TMZ Sports he and the Falcons actually don't want to see that at all.

"Nah, man. We tight over here. We good over here."

Of course, the pairing will be possible in what appears to be a matter of days ... seeing as A.B.'s antics have pretty much ended his time in the Steel City.

But, don't expect Julio to openly recruit the stud wideout to the Falcons once that happens ... 'cause when we got Julio out in L.A. -- he seemed to want no part of it.

Why?? Sure seems like Jones thinks the baggage Brown would bring to the locker room wouldn't be worth his insane production on the field.

As for the guys currently on Julio's team ... Jet spoke with us about Steve Sarkisian's firing and what he expects to see from new OC Dirk Koetter.

Gotta love Miami Beach ... Devonta Freeman sure does -- because ya can't walk 3 feet without bumpin' into a smokin' hot lady in a bikini!!!

The Atlanta Falcons running back was doing some conditioning drills on the beach when he stopped his workout to chat up a few pretty young things who caught his eye.

The 26-year-old superstar is a local -- he was a stud at Miami Central High School back in the day before taking a full scholarship to Florida State.

In fact, dude rushed for 2,208 yards and 26 touchdowns as a high school senior -- not too shabby, right?

Now, Freeman's RICH -- he signed a $41 million contract extension in 2017 ... which is why he left the workout in a sick Rolls-Royce!!

Ex-NFL star Jamal Anderson -- the guy who created the Dirty Bird dance -- was so zonked out of his mind during a Dec. arrest, he handed cops a bag of chips when asked for his I.D.

Cops were called to a gas station in the Atlanta area to respond to a limo driver who complained that Anderson stiffed him on a $50 ride around 5 AM on Dec. 23.

When cops arrived, Anderson was a mess -- stuffing his face with a bag of potato chips.

One of the officers asked for his driver's license, Anderson reached into his pocket and presented the cop a pack of cigarettes.

When that didn't work, Anderson offered up his chips. She didn't accept that as a proper form of identification either.

Anderson denied being intoxicated, but cops say he was hammered and arrested him for public intoxication. The limo driver declined to press charges over the $50 fare.

Cops also asked Anderson how he paid for the smokes and the snacks -- and someone inside the gas station said another patron ponied up the dough for the Atlanta Falcons legend.

Anderson was placed in cuffs and hauled to a nearby police station where he continued to profess his innocence.

The 46-year-old has had tons of problems ever since his NFL career ended back in 2001 -- he's been arrested multiple times for things like cocaine, DUI and exposing himself in a gas station.

Warrick Dunn says the NFL missed a huge opportunity by picking Travis Scott for its Super Bowl halftime show ... saying it shoulda been an Atlanta artist instead.

The former Falcons RB tells TMZ Sports he's got no issues with the "SICKO MODE" rapper ... but says an ATL legend could have had a much bigger impact during the SB show.

"Atlanta has its own unique feel," Dunn says.

Warrick tells us the plan from the start shoulda been to have Outkast be the headliner -- with other ATL music legends like T.I. and Jermaine Dupri joining them on stage.

"You show them the flavor of the history of all the great music that was produced that helped propel young careers today."

Dunn added that show could have "Showed America what really good music could be."

Bow Wow's gonna hate this ...

Ezekiel Elliott's keeping one of the most embarrassing moments of the rapper's life alive -- bringing back the #BowWowChallenge after destroying the guy's favorite team.

You remember the Bow Bow Challenge, right? When Shad Moss was mocked ruthlessly for posting a pic on social media implying he was flying on his own private jet ... when he really wasn't.

The scandal inspired a viral challenge of people clowning the rapper for lying. Good times.

The fad eventually died off ... but Zeke just brought it back after he worked the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The running back grabbed Dak Prescott and his right tackle La'el Collins and pretended they were off to the P.J. while the rest of the squad hit the commercial airliner.

"So this how the team go home -- and this how we go home! Bow Wow Challenge, baby!!"

Mohamed Sanu honored comic book legend Stan Lee on his cleats during the Falcons game on Sunday ... and the final product would make the Spidey creator proud.

TMZ broke the story ... the man behind the Marvel Universe died last week at 95 years old after suffering several illnesses over the past year.

Sanu -- a huge superhero nerd -- paid homage to the guy who created icons like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and Black Panther with custom cleats which he busted out to use against the Dallas Cowboys.

The artist behind the shoe design is Dez Customz -- who has done work for other huge NFL stars like Leonard Fournette and Cam Newton.

The Falcons ultimately lost 22-19 ... but Sanu won the kick game for sure.

Mike Vick would be rockin' a Super Bowl ring on his finger these days if somehow one of his teams had managed to trade for Chad Ochocinco ... so says the legendary QB himself.

We got Vick and Chad promoting WinView out in Bev Hills when we asked the two what would've happened if they were on the same team ... and Vick couldn't help but dream.

"Man, I mean, to have him, I would have probably had a ring for sure," Mike says.

Chad seemed to agree, saying, "That woulda been dope."

So, why'd it never go down?? Chad was locked in with the Bengals and Vick was entrenched with the Falcons during their primes.

"He woulda never got traded and I woulda never got traded, so we woulda had to have been drafted at the same time," Vick says.

As for how their careers went without each other and if they warrant busts in the NFL's Hall of Fame ... both surprisingly didn't seem too worried about that just yet.

"I'm not one that really needed validation," Ochocinco tells us.

Added Vick, "You leave that up to the people."

Ever wonder how Mike Vick woulda lived if he never got tossed behind bars for dog fighting??

Thanks to Jamaal Anderson ... no need for imagination anymore -- 'cause the ex-Falcons star is selling the mansion that was built for the QB!!

The crib's out in Loganville, GA ... and Vick was having it done so he could live out his Falcon-playing days near the ATL. But, he never got to move into it 'cause of his prison sentence.

The QB's loss turned out to be Anderson's gain ... 'cause the ex-NFL DE has been in the 7 bed, 7.5 bathroom PALACE for the last 4 years -- but is set to part ways with it in a move to downsize.

We're told the pad -- repped by Angel Knight of Diamond Realty Brokers -- is on 4 ACRES, has 2 (!!) full kitchens, its own elevator AND A HAIR SALON!!!

Yeah, Vick and his $62 MILLION contract weren't playin' around.

Those who are quick to get queasy should look away-- Bengals star Tyler Eifert's ankle went in a direction it definitely shouldn't have during a game against the Falcons ... and his season is likely over.

Cincinnati's starting tight end suffered a gruesome injury Sunday against Atlanta, where he was attempting to run the ball downfield ... but got pummeled by linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who awkwardly fell on Tyler's right ankle, and snapped it sideways.

Tyler was eventually carted off the field, and he appeared to be in sheer agony as they drove him away. It's almost certainly a season-ending break, which sucks for the dude since he's had a series of injuries over the last few years that have kept him from playing.

He missed the entire 2014 season to an elbow injury, hurt his other ankle in 2015 and had both his 2016 and 2017 seasons delayed due to back issues. Tyler's 2017 season ended after just two games due to another injury as well. He's never played a full 16-game season.

Asante Samuel says he doesn't need to openly campaign for the Hall of Fame ... telling TMZ Sports the facts from his career do all that talking for him!!

The ex-Patriots DB is finally eligible to be inducted into pro football's most exclusive club in 2019 -- and he says if voters are listening to his numbers, he should be in.

"The facts are the facts," he says. "If you're not going by the facts, then what are you going by?!"

What exactly are Samuel's facts?? He explains them ... and he clearly knows how his numbers stack up with some of the all-time greats.

BTW ... there's gonna be some heavy competition for spots in the '19 HOF class with Ed Reed, Champ Bailey and Tony Gonzalez all now eligible -- plus, legends like Edgerrin James, Isaac Bruce and John Lynch are also still waiting for their call.

Andre Rison sure as hell wishes Terrell Owens hadn't blown off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony ... 'cause he's telling TMZ Sports that REALLY HURT his chances at getting in!!

The legendary Falcon was one of the baddest receivers in the game ... and his career numbers stack up with just about every wideout in the Hall.

But ... he tells us his HOF candidacy -- which didn't have a whole lot of steam to begin with from NFL writers -- took a serious hit when T.O. pulled out of Canton earlier this month.

"When I hear T.O.'s argument, I know it's valid, I know it's good, but I really wish he would've went," Rison says.

"Because he does make it hard sometimes for guys like myself, who was a rough rider."

Rison says he's not going to complain about it ... he's just trying to let his numbers do the talking.

A.J. Green says he's not mad at Julio Jones for holding out in his contract dispute with the ATL Falcons -- telling TMZ Sports, "He gotta do what he gotta do, man."

The Bengals superstar WR was out shopping in Bev Hills -- and explained that when it comes to getting paid at the pro level, you gotta strike while ya can.

"The NFL stands for 'Not For Long,' so you gotta get it while it lasts."

Green knows what he's talking about -- he signed a 4-year $60 MILLION contract extension in 2015.

But, if things don't work out for Julio in ATL, Green says he's down to share some of the pass-catching workload in Cinci.

Willie McGinest has some advice for the Atlanta Falcons brass ... RELAX ... saying anyone in ATL's front office who's miffed Julio Jones is training with T.O. is wrong -- because it's actually a good idea.

Jones and Owens have been working out together this offseason, and there are reports that some of the higher-ups in Atlanta are concerned Terrell might rub off on Julio a little bit.

Willie says that would actually be a GOOD thing ... telling our guy at LAX, Owens has a lot of positive things to offer a stud receiver like Jones.

"Training with Terrell Owens I don't think is a bad thing. T.O. was one of the hardest working guys in the NFL and never had a problem with his work ethic or being in shape."

Julio Jones is gearing up for 2018 with a future Hall of Famer ... running wide receiver drills in Georgia with Terrell Owens.

The two hit up Johns Creek High School in the Atlanta area -- where they ran routes, worked on footspeed and of course, caught passes.

Jones looked great (of course) -- but 44-year-old Owens was pretty damn impressive, too!!!

Meanwhile, the newest ATL Falcons wide out -- Calvin Ridley -- was also putting in work during a military-style workout with his personal trainer in Alabama.

Ridely was the Falcons' first round draft pick -- 26th overall -- and people are expecting big things from him.

In fact, with rumblings of a rift between Jones and the Falcons ... Ridley could be the next #1 WR in the ATL.

NFL star Devonta Freeman says the New England Patriots would be the PERFECT place for Johnny Manziel to restart his pro career ... saying Bill Belichick and Co. can help him turn things around.

We spoke with the Pro Bowler about Johnny's Comeback SZN campaign ... and D.F. says "the sky's the limit" for the troubled QB ... and he thinks finding home in Foxborough would be a great football move.

Freeman says he's not surprised by the reported interest 'cause he knows how Belichick operates ... and he thinks that's the kinda atmosphere that should be surrounding Johnny.