Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons
Professional football comes to Atlanta

Professional football first came to Atlanta in 1962, when the American Football League (AFL) staged
two preseason contests, with one featuring the Denver Broncos vs. the Houston Oilers and the
second pitting the Dallas Texans against the Oakland Raiders. Two years later, the AFL held
another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers.
In 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (then known simply as Atlanta Stadium) was built,
the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. [8] One independent
group which had been active in NFL exhibition promotions in Atlanta applied for franchises in both
the AFL and NFL, acting entirely on its own with no guarantee of stadium rights. Another group
reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL. [9]
With everyone running in different directions, some local businessmen (Cox Broadcasting) worked
out a deal and were awarded an AFL franchise on June 8, contingent upon acquiring exclusive
stadium rights from city officials.[10][11] NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who had been moving slowly
in Atlanta matters, was spurred by the AFL interest and headed on the next plane down to Atlanta to
block the rival league's claim on the city of Atlanta.[5][8][11] He forced the city to make a choice between
the two leagues; by June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL. [8][12]
The AFL's original expansion plans in June 1965 were for two new teams in 1966,[13][14] in Atlanta
and Philadelphia.[15] It later evolved into the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati
Bengals in 1968. The NFL had planned to add two teams in 1967; the competition with the AFL for
Atlanta forced the first to be added a year early in 1966. The odd number of teams (15) resulted in
one idle team (bye) each week, with each team playing 14 games over 15 weeks (similar to 1960: 12
games over 13 weeks). The second expansion team, the New Orleans Saints, joined the NFL as
planned in 1967 as its 16th franchise.
The Atlanta Falcons franchise began on June 30, 1965, when Rozelle granted ownership to 40-year-
old Rankin Smith Sr., an Executive Vice President of Life Insurance Company of Georgia. He paid
$8.5 million, the highest price in NFL history at the time for a franchise. [5] Rozelle and Smith made
the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to
the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion team became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were
awarded the first overall pick in the 1966 NFL Draft as well as the final pick in each of the first five
rounds.[16] They selected consensus All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of
Texas, making him the first-ever Falcon. The league also held the expansion draft six weeks later in
which Atlanta selected unprotected players from the 14 existing franchises. Although the Falcons
selected many good players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. [5]
The Atlanta team received its nickname on August 29, 1965. Miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher
from Griffin, was singled out from many people who suggested "Falcons" as the nickname for the
new franchise. She wrote: "the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never
drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition." [17][18]
1966–1977: Early struggles

The Falcons' inaugural season was in 1966, and their first preseason game was on August 1, a loss
to the Philadelphia Eagles. Under head coach Norb Hecker, Atlanta lost their first nine regular
season games in 1966; their first victory came on the road against the struggling New York
Giants on November 20 in Yankee Stadium. Two weeks later, Atlanta won at Minnesota, and
beat St. Louis in Atlanta the next week for their first home win. The team finished the 1960s with 12
wins in four seasons.
The Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season, a 20–7
loss to the Miami Dolphins. The only two winning seasons in their first 12 years were 1971 (7–6–
1) and 1973 (9–5).
1978–1989
The Falcons' defense taking on Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway during a 1985 game.
In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time and won the Wild Card
game against the Eagles 14–13. The following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the
Divisional Playoffs.
In the 1980 season, after a nine-game winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best
record of 12–4 and captured their first NFC West division title. The next week, their dream season
ended at home with a loss to the Cowboys 30–27 in the divisional playoffs. In the strike-
shortened 1982 season, the Falcons made the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 30–24.
Falcons coach Leeman Bennett was fired after the loss. The team then had losing seasons for the
next eight years.
1989–1996
In the 1989 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected cornerback Deion Sanders in the first round, who
helped them for the next four years, setting many records for the franchise. "Neon Deion" (a.k.a.
"Prime Time") had a flashy appeal and helped bring media attention to one of the league's most
anonymous franchises. Sanders was also famous for playing on major league baseball teams (New
York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves) while simultaneously playing in the NFL.
The Falcons playing against the Los Angeles Rams during a 1991 away game.
After defeating the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card game, the Falcons' 1991 season
ended in a divisional playoff loss to the Washington Redskins. In the 1991 NFL Draft, the Falcons
selected quarterback Brett Favre as the 33rd overall pick. During his rookie season, he played in two
games where he amassed a record of four passing attempts with no receptions and two
interceptions. The following February, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers.
In 1992, the Atlanta Falcons opened a new chapter in their history moving into the newly constructed
Georgia Dome, where the team has defeated all 31 other NFL teams at least once during its time
there.
1997–2000: The Dan Reeves era

In 1998, under recently acquired head coach Dan Reeves, quarterback Chris Chandler and running
back Jamal Anderson the "Dirty Bird" Falcons had their greatest season to date. On November 8,
they beat the New England Patriots 41–10, ending a streak of 22 losses at cold-weather sites. The
team finished with a franchise-best 14–2 regular season record and the NFC West division
championship. On January 17, 1999, the Falcons upset the top-seeded Vikings at the Hubert H.
Humphrey Metrodome in the NFC Championship Game 30–27, in an exciting overtime victory.
However, in their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, they lost 34–19 to the defending
champion Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.
In the second game of the Falcons 1999 season, running back Jamal Anderson, who had been a
key player in the Falcons' 1998 success, suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Falcons finished
the season with a very disappointing 5–11 regular season record. [5] In 2000, the Falcons suffered
through another horrendous season finishing 4–12 and once again missing the playoffs.
2001–2006
In the 2001 NFL draft, the Falcons orchestrated a trade with the San Diego Chargers, acquiring the
first overall pick (which was used on quarterback Michael Vick) in exchange for wide receiver-return
specialist Tim Dwight and the fifth overall pick (used on running back LaDainian Tomlinson).
The Falcons finished the 2001 season with a record of 7–9 and missed the playoffs. Jessie
Tuggle retired following 14 seasons in Atlanta. On December 6, 2001, Arthur M. Blank reached a
preliminary agreement with the Falcons' Taylor Smith to purchase the team. In a special meeting
prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans on February 2, 2002, NFL owners voted unanimously to
approve the purchase.[19]
The 2002 season saw the Falcons return to the playoffs with a regular season record of 9–6–1, tying
the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was Vick's first year as the starter, and the team, with newly acquired
running back Warrick Dunn, delivered the Green Bay Packers their first home playoff loss ever. A
20–6 loss to the Donovan McNabb-led Philadelphia Eagles the following week, however, ended the
Falcons' season.
On March 19, 2003, the Falcons presented their new logo. [20][5] During the 2003 preseason Vick broke
his leg and missed the first 12 games of the season. After losing 7 straight games, the decision was
made to release head coach Dan Reeves. Wade Phillips acted as interim coach for the final 3
games. Although the Falcons won 3 of their last 4 games after the return of Vick, they ended up with
a 5–11 record that year. In 2004, a new head coach, Jim L. Mora, was hired and Vick returned for
the full season. The Falcons went 11–5, winning their third division title and earning a first-round bye
into the playoffs. In the divisional playoffs, the Falcons defeated the St. Louis Rams, 47–17, in
the Georgia Dome, advancing to the NFC Championship Game, which they lost to the Eagles, 27–
10.
The Falcons again fell short of achieving back-to-back winning seasons in 2005, going 8–8. In 2006,
Michael Vick became the first quarterback in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a
season, with 1,039. After finishing the season 7–9, however, coach Jim Mora was dismissed
and Bobby Petrino, the University of Louisville's football coach, replaced him. Before
the 2007 season began, Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL after pleading guilty to charg

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Atlanta Falcons

Professional football comes to Atlanta

1966–1977: Early struggles

The Falcons' defense taking on Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway during a 1985 game.

1997–2000: The Dan Reeves era

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