Atlanta Falcons

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!

NFL linebacker Torrey Green says he is completely innocent in all 4 sexual assault cases -- but wants to apologize to the Atlanta Falcons for the "distraction" his legal issues have caused.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Utah State standout is being investigated for allegedly raping several women in 2015. The Falcons cut him Thursday as soon as they learned about the allegations.

Green has hired a crisis manager -- Zack Teperman of ZTPR -- who says he's 100% confident Green will not only be exonerated, but continue his NFL career.

"Our client Torrey Green would like to apologize to Arthur Blank, Dan Quinn, Jeff Ulbrich and the entire Falcons organization for this distraction and the unfortunate accusations," Teperman says.

"At this time Torrey has complete faith that any further investigation will prove his complete innocence and he will be exonerated."

"It's a shame his name is being dragged out there in the media and that this young man’s bright future in the NFL is taking a major hit."

4:15 PM PT -- A rep for the Cache County District Attorney's office confirmed Green is being investigated for ANOTHER sexual assault incident, making it 4 total.

10:55 AM PT -- Falcons owner Arthur Blank addressed the Green situation Thursday morning at training camp ... saying, "we don't want anybody connected to the organization who has those kind of accusations against them."

7:09 AM PT -- The Atlanta Falcons have cut Torrey Green. Our NFL sources tell us his release is directly related to the ongoing rape and sexual assault investigations.

An Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker is at the center of TWO separate rape investigations ... after two different women told cops he sexually assaulted them while he was a star player at Utah State.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Cache County Attorney's Office in Utah is actively investigating Torrey Green -- a 6'2", 220 pounder who signed a free agent contract with the Falcons back in April.

INCIDENT #1 (January 14, 2015) -- The accuser claims Green took her back to his apartment, pushed her onto the bed, removed her pants and began to have sex with her against her will.

The accuser told cops she was VERY clear to Green she did not want to have sex ... telling him, "Please stop, I don't want to do this" ... but he "went for it" anyway.

After the incident, the woman claims Green said to her, "You aren't the kinda girl that would report rape? Because that would ruin my career."

The woman went to the Utah State sexual assault center that same night and nurses administered a rape kit.

Green told cops the woman is lying -- insisting he stopped his sexual advances when she "hesitated" ... and says he would never have sex with anyone against their will.

INCIDENT #2 (Nov. 21, 2015) -- A different woman claims she and Green had been drinking a lot at a party when he took her to a room, locked the door and begged her to have sex.

The woman says she remembers saying "No" and trying to leave the room, but the door was locked. Next thing she knows, Green is on top of her, her pants were off and she was in pain.

The woman got a rape kit and went to police, but cops say she stopped being cooperative. The case has been kicked over to the D.A. anyway.

There was a 3rd incident involving a 3rd woman ... who claims she was also sexually assaulted by Green in November ... when he groped her several times against her will. She also went to police.

We spoke with Jacob Gordon, a prosecutor in the Cache County District Attorney's office, who told us all the cases are being reviewed for possible charges -- so far, a decision has not been made.

We reached out to Green multiple times over several days -- but have not heard back.

They're rivals on the field ... but Matt Stafford and Matt Ryan are on the same team when it comes to vacationing!

The Detroit Lions QB and the ATL Falcons QB just wrapped up a couples vacation with their smokin' hot wives in the Bahamas.

In fact, Matt Ryan's wife, Sarah, posted a pic of the 4-some with the caption, "Boats, hoes and bros."

Stafford's wife, Kelly, wrote, "Another epic trip in the books with our fav people. #doublebirds #imthekingoftheworld."

The couples are pretty tight -- and have even played in the same church basketball league together in Atlanta.