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For current sports news on this topic, see 2007 Atlanta Falcons season

Atlanta Falcons

Year founded: 1966
Helmet Logo
City	Atlanta, Georgia
Mascot	Freddie Falcon
Team colors	Black, Red, Silver and White
Personnel
Head Coach	Emmitt Thomas (interim)
Owner	Arthur Blank
General manager	Rich McKay
Home fields
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1966-1991) known as Atlanta Stadium (1966-1976) Georgia Dome (1992-present)
Team history
Atlanta Falcons (1966–present)
League/Conference affiliations
National Football League (1966–present) Eastern Conference (1966) Western Conference (1967-69) Coastal Division (1967-1969) National Football Conference (1970-present) NFC West (1970-2001) NFC South (2002-present)
Championships
League Championships (0)
Conference Championships (1) NFC: 1998
Division Championships (3) NFC West: 1980, 1998 NFC South: 2004

The Atlanta Falcons are a American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are currently a member of the NFC South of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons joined the NFL as a 1966 expansion team. In their 41 years of existence, the Falcons have compiled a record of 258-374-6 with division championships in 1980, 1998 and 2004, and appeared in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Florida, losing 34-19 to the Denver Broncos.

For more details on this topic, see History of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons franchise began on June 30, 1965 when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership to Rankin Smith Sr. The Falcons drafted LB Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the 1966 NFL Draft, making him the first ever Falcon.

The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first game (preseason) on August 1, 1966 losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. After losing their first nine games that season, their first victory was on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins. The Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The 1971 season was their first with a winning record.

In the 1978 season, the Falcons entered their first playoff series and won the Wild Card Playoffs against the Eagles only to lose to the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs. In 1980, they finished 12-4 only to lose again to the Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs. After the 1981 season, the Atlanta Falcons did not see another playoff series until 1991, when they lost to the Washington Redskins in the Divisional Playoffs.

Led by QB Chris Chandler and RB Jamal Anderson, the "Dirty Bird" Falcons had their greatest season to date in 1998. On November 8, they won 41-10 over the Patriots at New England, snapping a streak of 22 consecutive losses at cold-weather sites in November and December that had dated back to 1982. The team finished with a 14-2 regular season record and the NFC West division championship. On January 18, 1999, the Falcons upset the top-seeded 15-1 Vikings at Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game, 30-27 in overtime. They lost, 34-19, to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.

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 Tim Dwight and the fifth overall pick (used on running back LaDainian Tomlinson). Michael Vick became backup to starting QB Chris Chandler, and was the full-time starting quarterback by 2002. He lead them to the playoffs in 2002 only to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles once again in the Divisional Playoffs. During the 2003 preseason Michael Vick broke his leg and missed the first twelve games of the season. The Falcons ended up with a dismal 5-11 record that year.

Vick returned for the full season in 2004, when the Falcons went 11-5. They made it to the Conference Championship, once again losing to the Eagles. The Falcons failed yet again to maintain back-to-back winning seasons in 2005, going 8-8. The 2006 Falcons had a chance to make the playoffs until the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins, helping to seal their record at a losing 7-9. In 2007, Vick was suspended indefitnely by the NFL after pleading guilty to charges involved with dog fighting in the state of Virginia. On December 10, Vick received a 23 month sentence. In the beginning of the 2007 season, the Falcons were forced to put Joey Harrington as starting quarterback. As of December 16, they are 3-11 and last in their division.

On December 11th, only 13 games into his first NFL season as coach, Bobby Petrino resigned, then immediately accepted an offer to take over as the head coach at the University of Arkansas. Secondary Coach Emmitt Thomas was named interim coach for the final three games of 2007 on December 12.

On December 19, 2007, Bill Parcells was offered the executive vice president of football operations position, and indicated that he was seriously considering it. Parcells turned down the Falcons to take a similar position with the Miami Dolphins.^[1]

When the team debuted in 1966, the Falcons wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo. They wore white pants and either black or white jerseys. At first, the falcon crest logo was also put on the jersey sleeves, but it was replaced by a red and white stripe pattern four year later. They switched from black to red jerseys in 1971, and the club began to wear silver pants in 1978.

A prototype white helmet was developed for the team prior to the 1974 season, but never worn.

In 1990, the uniform design changed to black helmets, silver pants, and either black or white jerseys. The numbers on the white jerseys were black, but were changed to red in 1997.^[2] (The red numerals could be seen on the away jerseys briefly in 1990.)

Both the logo and uniforms changed in 2003. The logo was redesigned with red and silver accents to depict a more powerful, aggressive falcon, which now more closely resembles the capital letter F.^[3] Although the Falcons still wore black helmets, the new uniforms featured jerseys and pants with red trim down the sides. The uniform design consisted of either black or white jerseys, and either black or white pants. During that same year, a red alternate jersey with black trim was also introduced. The Falcons also started wearing black cleats with these uniforms.

In 2004, the red jerseys became the primary jerseys, and the black ones became the alternate, primarily wearing white pants with the white jerseys and white pants with the red jerseys. The Falcons also in select road games wear black pants with white jerseys. In the past three seasons, the Falcons wore an all-black combination for home games against their archrivals, the New Orleans Saints, winning the first two contests (24-21 in 2004 and 36-17 in 2005), but losing 31-13 in 2006. They wore the combination again in 2006, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. The Falcons won that game as well, 14-3.

In the 1980s the Falcons primarily wore their white uniforms at home mainly to gain an advantage due to the heat and humidity of Atlanta's climate. When the team moved indoors, the Falcons switched to wearing their dark uniforms at home. The Falcons have worn white at home a few times since moving indoors. In 2002, the Falcons wore white at home for a game against the Bengals. In 2003, the Falcons wore white for a game against the Panthers.

Falcons logo (2003-present)

Home Uniform (2004-present)

Road Uniform (2003-present)

Alternate Uniform (2004-present)

Alternate Uniform (2005-present)

Alternate Uniform (2005-present)

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

¹ Due to a strike-shortened season in 1982, all teams were ranked by conference instead of division.

(As of Week 8 of the 2007 NFL season. Includes postseason records.)

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

⁽¹⁾ - 2005 NFC Divisional Playoff Game

• Passing Attempts: 557 Jeff George (1995)
• Passing Completions: 336 Jeff George (1995)
• Passing Yards: 4,143 Jeff George (1995)
• Passing Touchdowns: 31 Steve Bartkowski (1980)
• Passing Interceptions: 25 Bobby Hebert (1996)
• Passing Rating: 110.2 Wade Wilson (1992)
• Rushing Attempts: 410 Jamal Anderson (1998)
• Rushing Yards: 1,846 Jamal Anderson (1998)
• Rushing Yards by a QB: 1,039 Michael Vick (2006)
• Rushing Touchdowns: 14 Jamal Anderson (1998)
• Receiving Catches: 111 Terance Mathis (1994)
• Receiving Yards: 1,358 Alfred Jenkins (1981)
• Receiving Touchdowns: 15 Andre Rison (1993)
• Quarterback Sacks: 16 Joel Williams (1981)
• Pass Interceptions: 10 Scott Case (1988)
• Field Goal Attempts: 40 Jay Feely (2002)
• Field Goals Made: 32 Jay Feely (2002)
• Points: 138 Jay Feely (2002)
• Total Touchdowns: 16 Jamal Anderson (1998)

• Passing Attempts: 3,329 Steve Bartkowski (1975-85)
• Passing Completions: 1,870 Steve Bartkowski (1975-85)
• Passing Yards: 23,468 Steve Bartkowski (1975-85)
• Passing Touchdowns: 154 Steve Bartkowski (1975-85)
• Passing Interceptions: 141 Steve Bartkowski (1975-85)
• Passing Rating: 87.4 Chris Chandler (1997-2001)
• Rushing Attempts: 1,587 Gerald Riggs (1982-88)
• Rushing Yards: 6,631 Gerald Riggs (1982-88)
• Rushing Touchdowns: 48 Gerald Riggs (1982-88)
• Receiving Catches: 573 Terance Mathis (1994-2001)
• Receiving Yards: 7,349 Terance Mathis (1994-2001)
• Receiving Touchdowns: 57 Terance Mathis (1994-2001)
• Quarterback Sacks: 94.5 Claude Humphrey (1968-78)
• Pass Interceptions: 39 Rolland Lawrence (1973-81)
• Field Goal Attempts: 164 Mick Luckhurst (1981-87)
• Field Goals Made: 139 Morten Andersen (1995-2000, 2006)
• Points: 620 Morten Andersen (1995-2000, 2006)
• Total Touchdowns: 57 Terance Mathis (1994-2001)

No one has yet been inducted based substantially on their service with the Falcons; however, two inductees played briefly for the Falcons late in their careers:

• 29 Eric Dickerson, RB, played for team in 1993
• 25 Tommy McDonald, WR, played for team in 1967

• 10 Steve Bartkowski, QB, 1975-85
• 31 William Andrews, RB, 1979-83, 1986 (short-lived comeback after knee injury)
• 57 Jeff Van Note, C, 1969-86
• 58 Jessie Tuggle, LB, 1987-2000
• 60 Tommy Nobis, LB, 1966-76
• 78 Mike Kenn, T, 1978-94

• 60 Tommy Nobis, LB, 1966-76
• 87 Claude Humphrey, DE, 1968-78
• 57 Jeff Van Note, C, 1969-86
• Marion Campbell, Head Coach, 1974-76, 1987-89 (also Georgia native and former University of Georgia player)
• 84 Alfred Jenkins, WR, 1975-83
• 31 William Andrews, RB, 1979-83, 1986
• Dan Reeves, Head Coach, 1997-2003 (also Georgia native)

• Morten Andersen (1995-2000, 2006, 2007)
• Jamal Anderson
• Greg Brezina
• Ray Buchanan
• Chris Chandler
• Scott Case
• Buddy Curry
• T.J. Duckett
• Bill Fralic
• Wallace Francis
• Bill Goldberg
• Michael Haynes
• Billy "White Shoes" Johnson
• Fulton Kuykendall
• Rolland Lawrence
• Terance Mathis
• Tony Martin
• Chris Miller
• Junior Miller
• Jim Mitchell
• Tom Pridemore
• Ken Reaves
• Gerald Riggs
• Andre Rison
• Deion Sanders
• R.C. Thielemann
• John Zook
• David Archer
• Bob Berry
• Scott Campbell
• Brett Favre
• Jeff George
• Bobby Hebert
• Erik Kramer
• Randy Johnson
• Bob Lee
• Hugh Millen

In their history, the Atlanta Falcons have had 13 head coaches.^[4]

Atlanta's NFL Cheerleaders are simply known as the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders.

As of 2006, the Falcons' radio flagship station is WZGC, an adult hits format station known as "Dave FM." Wes Durham, son of longtime North Carolina Tar Heels voice Woody Durham, is the play-by-play announcer. Preseason games not shown on national television are seen on NBC affiliate WXIA, also known as "11 Alive."

1. ^ "Parcells signs 4-year deal with Dolphins", Fox Sports, December 20, 2007. 
2. ^ "Falcons Uniform History", NFL
3. ^ "Falcons unveil New logo", NFL
4. ^ Atlanta Falcons Team Directory. The Sports Network (2007-01-09). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.

• Official Website
• Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
• The Atlanta Falcons at GeorgiaEncyclopedia.org

v • d • e Sports teams based in Georgia
Baseball	MLB: Atlanta Braves, SAL: Augusta GreenJackets • Columbus Catfish • Rome Braves • Savannah Sand Gnats, SCL: South Georgia Peanuts • Macon Music
Basketball	NBA: Atlanta Hawks, CBA: Atlanta Krunk, ABA: Atlanta Vision • Georgia Gwizzlies, WBA: Atlanta Hardhats • Marietta Storm • Gwinnett Ravia-Rebels • Rome Gladiators, WNBA: unnamed
Football	NFL: Atlanta Falcons, AFL: Georgia Force, af2: South Georgia Wildcats, AIFA: Augusta Colts • Columbus Lions, IWFL: Atlanta Xplosion
Hockey	NHL: Atlanta Thrashers, ECHL: Augusta Lynx • Gwinnett Gladiators, SPHL: Columbus Cottonmouths
Soccer	USL-1: Atlanta Silverbacks, PDL: Atlanta Silverbacks U23's
Roller Derby	WFTDA: Denim Demons, Sake Tuyas, Toxic Shocks, Apocalypstix
College athletics (NCAA Division I)	University of Georgia • Georgia Southern University • Mercer University • Georgia State University • Kennesaw State University • Savannah State University • Georgia Institute of Technology

v • d • e Sports teams based in or very close to Atlanta
Baseball	MLB: Atlanta Braves
Basketball	NBA: Atlanta Hawks , WNBA: Unnamed , ABA: Atlanta Vision, CBA: Atlanta Krunk, WBA: Marietta Storm
Football	NFL: Atlanta Falcons, AFL: Georgia Force
Hockey	NHL: Atlanta Thrashers, ECHL: Gwinnett Gladiators
Soccer	USL-1: Atlanta Silverbacks<