Atlanta at Minnesota


Breaking down the Falcons and Vikings


Focal Point: Anderson vs. Vikings defense


Jamal basks in big-game spotlight


Well-stocked Vikings add to arsenal


Hoard, Smith provide Vikings with flash, dash


Randall getting better with age


Viking fans might have tougher time than players


A final four to shout about

SUWANEE, Ga. -- Jessie Tuggle never considered leaving the Atlanta Falcons, even though he knew his team was holding him back.

	Jessie Tuggle says playing in Atlanta robbed him of some recognition.

"Over my career, it hurt me a lot, kept me from being recognized as an All-Pro player," Tuggle said. "I had some great seasons ... some awesome seasons, that I didn't get recognized for."

Not that he's been totally overlooked, earning enough respect from his peers to be voted to the Pro Bowl five times, including this season. Still, he might have been recognized among the great middle linebackers in NFL history on a better team.

The Falcons had a winning record only twice in Tuggle's first 11 seasons before going 15-2 this season, winning the NFC West and advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the first time. They meet Minnesota on Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl.

"This is the year I'm most proud of," Tuggle said. "We established ourselves in the NFL and made people respect us."

Tuggle went through a similar struggle early in his career.

An undrafted free agent from tiny Valdosta State in south Georgia, he needed three seasons to become a full-time starter, but by 1990 he was leading the NFL in tackles. The following year, he did even better with a career-high 207 stops, again leading the league.

Neither season was he selected for the Pro Bowl.

"This league is all about recognizing the winners," Tuggle said. "It's tough to single each and every individual out. There are other guys out there who might have a story like my story. At the same time, you can't get tied up in the past."

Tuggle said the idea of moving to another team "never really crossed my mind." He just kept showing up for training camp every year, hoping against sometimes hopeless odds that he would get to play for a winning team in Atlanta.

"Even the times when we were struggling -- and there were many years when we did struggle -- I always wanted to be a part of this organization when they got it turned around," said Tuggle, a Georgia native. "I knew one of these days we'd get it turned around."

Those who have watched Tuggle throughout his 12-year career believe his impact on the NFL has been overlooked.

"There's a guy who went into the Hall of Fame last year named Mike Singletary," said Tommy Nobis, a former Falcons linebacker and now a team executive. "I would take Jessie Tuggle over Mike Singletary. I've watched this guy. I know what he is."

There's one major difference, though. Singletary performed the "Super Bowl Shuffle" for the Chicago Bears; Tuggle's career has been spent with a sad song known as the Falcons.

"If Jessie Tuggle was playing for the Dallas Cowboys ... he couldn't win enough John Madden awards and turkey presentations," Falcons safety Eugene Robinson said. "He'd be a perennial All-Pro. His name would be synonymous with Mike Singletary."

Tuggle, 33, appeared to be slowing the last couple of seasons. Perhaps he was worn down by all those hits -- he is the NFL's active leading tackler with 1,902 -- or maybe he was just tired of losing.

This season, Tuggle managed only 113 tackles, the lowest total since his rookie season. He didn't lead the team in tackles for the first time since 1988. His aging legs are no longer fast enough to keep him on the field in obvious passing situations.

Looking beyond the numbers, however, most observers -- players, coaches and those who follow the team on a regular basis -- feel he's playing better than he has in years.

Tuggle agreed.

"I think my game is more physical," he said. "The quickness is there. The endurance is there. I'm able to read and recognize plays a lot quicker and a lot faster. That gives me the ability to make plays that some linebackers can't make."

Tuggle's knack of getting to the ball-carrier is uncanny, and his intense style of play sets the tone for the Falcons' aggressive, hard-hitting defense.

In the divisional playoff victory over San Francisco last week, Tuggle stuffed Terry Kirby on the second play of the game, showing right away that Atlanta wasn't going to be intimidated by the 49ers. On the next play, Marc Edwards was stopped on short on third-and-inches.

"I think the second and third play of that game set the tone of what was going to happen the rest of the game for us on defense," said Rich Brooks, the defensive coordinator. "It was going to be a physical football game, and if they were going to get something, they were going to have to earn it.

"That's the way Jessie plays."