1997 Atlanta Falcons season

Last updated

1997 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner Rankin Smith (died on October 26, 1997)
Head coach Dan Reeves
Home field Georgia Dome
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers QB Chris Chandler
MLB Jessie Tuggle

The 1997 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL). It was their first season with new head coach Dan Reeves, who had been hired on January 21.

Contents

For the season, they added a new logo and added the numerals and socks on the road jerseys are switched from black to red.

The season was marked with tragedy, as team owner Rankin Smith died on October 26, 1997. The following week, the team wore a commemorative patch on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. The season was the last time Falcons started 0–5 until 2020.

Offseason

NFL draft

1997 Atlanta Falcons draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
111 Michael Booker   Cornerback Nebraska
232 Nathan Davis   Defensive end Indiana
241 Byron Hanspard   Running back Texas Tech
370 O. J. Santiago   Tight end Kent State
4100 Henri Crockett   Linebacker Florida State
5133Marcus Wimberly  Defensive back Miami (FL)
6180 Calvin Collins   Guard Texas A&M
7204 Tony Graziani   Quarterback Oregon
7222 Chris Bayne   Safety Fresno State
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1997 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

  • President – Taylor Smith
  • Executive vice president of football operations – Dan Reeves
  • Director of player personnel/college – Reed Johnson
  • Director of player personnel/pro – Chuck Connor
  • Assistant to head coach/pro personnel – Marvin Bass

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Al Miller
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

Roster

1997 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

53 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad
Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 31at Detroit Lions L 17–280–1 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
2September 7 Carolina Panthers L 6–90–2 Georgia Dome Recap
3September 14 Oakland Raiders L 31–360–3Georgia Dome Recap
4September 21at San Francisco 49ers L 7–340–4 3Com Park Recap
5September 28 Denver Broncos L 21–290–5Georgia Dome Recap
6 Bye
7October 12at New Orleans Saints W 23–171–5 Louisiana Superdome Recap
8October 19 San Francisco 49ers L 28–351–6Georgia Dome Recap
9October 26at Carolina Panthers L 12–211–7 Ericsson Stadium Recap
10November 2 St. Louis Rams W 34–312–7Georgia Dome Recap
11November 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–312–8Georgia Dome Recap
12November 16at St. Louis Rams W 27–213–8 Trans World Dome Recap
13November 23 New Orleans Saints W 20–34–8Georgia Dome Recap
14November 30at Seattle Seahawks W 24–175–8 Kingdome Recap
15December 7at San Diego Chargers W 14–36–8 Qualcomm Stadium Recap
16December 14 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–177–8Georgia Dome Recap
17December 21at Arizona Cardinals L 26–297–9 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 7 at Saints

Week Seven: Atlanta Falcons (0–5) at New Orleans Saints (2–4)
Period1234Total
Falcons1067023
Saints0301417

at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(1) San Francisco 49ers 1330.813375265L1
Carolina Panthers 790.438265314L2
Atlanta Falcons 790.438320361L1
New Orleans Saints 6100.375237327L1
St. Louis Rams 5110.313299359W1

[3]

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References

  1. ↑ "1997 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ "1997 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 290


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