Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons | ||
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Founded 1966 playing in Atlanta , Georgia |
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league | ||
National Football League (1966-present)
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Current uniforms | ||
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Team colors | Red, black, white | |
mascot | Freddie Falcon | |
staff | ||
owner | Arthur Blank | |
General manager | Thomas Dimitrov | |
Head coach | Dan Quinn | |
Team history | ||
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Nicknames | ||
The Dirty Birds | ||
successes | ||
NFL Champion (0)
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Conference winner (2) | ||
Division Winner (6) | ||
Play-off participations (14) | ||
Stages | ||
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The Atlanta Falcons are an American football team based out of Atlanta , Georgia . The Falcons (Engl. Falcons ) are a team of the National Football League (NFL) and play there in the National Football Conference (NFC) in the Southern Division . In 1965, the Atlanta Falcons were inducted into the NFL. Her greatest successes so far were appearances in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Florida and in Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas.
history
Foundation and early days
The Atlanta Falcons entered the National Football League on June 30, 1965 as the 15th team. The owner of the team was the insurance broker Rankin M. Smith . A tender should give the new team a name. Many senders suggested the name "Falcons", which is why this was chosen.
All tickets for the first season were sold out within 54 days. The reason for this was, among other things, the commitment of Norb Hecker as head coach. Norb Hecker was an assistant to the famous coach Vince Lombardi . The Falcons lost the first 9 games, only in 1971 they could achieve more wins than losses.
First successes in the late 1970s and early 1980s
In 1977 , the Falcons set a previously unbeaten NFL record by allowing only 129 opposing points in 14 games of the regular season. In the following years, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Falcons made it into the play-offs with their quarterback Steve Bartkowski and running back William Andrews in 1978 , 1981 and 1982 . However, they all lost the play-off games.
Mid to late 1980s
From 1983 to 1985 , the Falcons were last in their division for three consecutive seasons. Also in 1986 you missed the playoffs, which is why coach Dan Henning was dismissed. The subsequent coach Marion Campbell , who coached the Falcons once between 1974 and 1976 , also brought no success in the following three seasons. He was released in 1989, four match days before the end of the season.
90s
Campbell's successor, Jerry Glanville, was introduced for the 1990 season . In his first season, Glanville was last in the division with the Falcons. But just one year later he reached the NFL play-offs for the first time since 1982 with the Falcons. With a 27:20 win against the New Orleans Saints , the Falcons managed to retract a win in a play-off game for the first time. In the second game of the NFC play-offs, however, they lost 24: 7 against the Washington Redskins . 1992 and 1993 you missed the play-off games, which is why you separated from Jerry Glanville. After a two-year tenure from June Jones as the new head coach, Dan Reeves was introduced as the new coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 1997 . In 1998 he reached the franchise's best ever record with 14 wins and 2 losses and met the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami , Florida . The Broncos won the game 34:19.
2000s
In 2002 Arthur Blank , who is still the owner today, bought the franchise .
After another play-off participation in the 2002 season (27: 7 win against the Green Bay Packers and 20: 6 defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles ) they parted ways during the 2003 season from Reeves. In the first season of the new coach Jim L. Mora , the Falcons were first in the NFC South and they directly reached the NFL play-offs in 2004 . After a 47:17 win against the St. Louis Rams they lost in the NFC final against the Philadelphia Eagles with 27:10 and thus they missed the Super Bowl XXXIX . The first round quarterback Michael Vick , who made the team popular again in the 2001 NFL Draft , was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 2007 for funding illegal dog fighters and suspended from the NFL for an indefinite period. 2007 was followed by one of the worst seasons in the team's history. The loss of her starting quarterback drew a lot of protests and uproar in the media. The newly signed coach Bobby Petrino left the team after ten defeats and only three wins in the middle of the season and the Falcons ended this with twelve losses and four wins.
In 2008 , Mike Smith , former Defensive Coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars, signed a new head coach. In the draft, quarterback Matt Ryan was signed by Boston College to replace Vick.
2010 until today
In the 2010 season they became the second best team in the NFL (behind the New England Patriots ) and the best team in the entire NFC with a 13-3 record . However, they lost in the play-offs against the Green Bay Packers, who also won the Super Bowl XLV , with 48:21. In 2011 and 2012 the Falcons reached the play-offs. It is the first time in franchise history that this has been achieved three times in a row. In 2012 they even reached the NFC final again, which was just lost to the San Francisco 49ers at 28:24 . In 2013 and 2014 , the Falcons finished third in their division.
After the 2014 regular season, Mike Smith was fired. Since the season 2015 is Dan Quinn coach of the team. In his first season, Quinn started with the team very successfully with five wins. However, the Falcons could not maintain this streak of success, so that the season ended with a balance of 8-8. With this result, however, they narrowly missed the play-offs. However, the Falcons were the only team to defeat the Carolina Panthers this season . With this away defeat in the week before last, they missed a perfect regular season .
The 2016 season began with a 24:31 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Falcons were able to improve, however, and ended the season with only four more defeats as group first in the NFC South. Above all, the good offense stood out during the season. Quarterback Matt Ryan was then voted Most Valuable Player of the Season. In the play-offs they became NFC champions after beating the Green Bay Packers and thus secured their second participation in a Super Bowl after 1998. On February 5, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons lost 28:34 against the New England Patriots . It was the first Super Bowl to be decided in overtime.
A season later , the Falcons reached the play-offs again . In the wildcard round they were able to beat the Los Angeles Rams with 26:13. A round later, however, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles with 10:15.
Logos and uniforms
For the first season in 1966, the Falcons wore red helmets with a black hawk on the sides. In the middle of the helmet ran a black stripe, which was surrounded by two gold and two white stripes. In the following years the golden stripes were removed, the white ones still exist today. The players wore white pants and black jerseys. In 1971 the players wore red jerseys, in 1978 they switched to silver pants. In 1990 the uniform was changed again: black helmets, silver trousers and black or white jerseys. In 2003 the uniform and the logo were changed. The logo has been designed to be stronger and more aggressive. The capital letter "F" (for Falcon) stands out more than the old logo. Red side stripes were added to the black and white jerseys. The pants turned white or black and also had a red stripe on the side. The helmets stayed black. An alternative uniform with red jerseys was also added. A year later, the black jerseys became the alternative uniform and the red standard.
In January 2020 it was announced that the Falcons will change their uniforms for the 2020 NFL season.
Rivalries
The Falcons' greatest rivals are the New Orleans Saints . It is the oldest existing rivalry in NFC South. There is also a rivalry against the Carolina Panthers , the distance between the two stadiums is only about 350 km.
Trainer (Head Coaches)
# | Order of trainers |
Games | Play as a coach |
S. | Victories |
N | Defeats |
UE | draw |
Won% | Win rate |
* | Exclusively active as head coach for the Falcons |
(Status: end of season 2019 )
# | Surname | Period | Regular season | Play-offs | Achievements / Awards | reference | |||||||||||
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Games | S. | N | UE | Won% | Games | S. | N | ||||||||||
Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Norb Hecker * | 1966-1968 | 31 | 4th | 26th | 1 | .133 | - | - | - | |||||||
2 | Norm Van Brocklin | 1968-1974 | 89 | 37 | 49 | 3 | .430 | - | - | - | |||||||
3 | Marion Campbell | 1974-1976 | 25th | 6th | 19th | 0 | .240 | - | - | - | |||||||
4th | Pat Peppler * 1 | 1976 | 9 | 3 | 6th | 1 | .333 | - | - | - | |||||||
5 | Leeman Bennett | 1977-1982 | 87 | 46 | 41 | 0 | .529 | 4th | 1 | 3 | UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1977, 1980) | ||||||
6th | Dan Henning | 1983-1986 | 64 | 22nd | 41 | 1 | .349 | - | - | - | |||||||
- | Marion Campbell | 1987-1989 | 43 | 11 | 32 | 0 | .255 | - | - | - | |||||||
7th | Jim Hanifan 1 | 1989 | 4th | 0 | 4th | 0 | .000 | - | - | - | |||||||
8th | Jerry Glanville | 1990-1993 | 64 | 27 | 37 | 0 | .422 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
9 | June Jones | 1994-1996 | 48 | 19th | 29 | 0 | .395 | - | - | - | |||||||
10 | Dan Reeves | 1997-2003 | 109 | 49 | 59 | 1 | .454 | 5 | 3 | 2 | AP NFL Trainer of the Year (1998) | ||||||
11 | Wade Phillips 1 | 2003 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .666 | - | - | - | |||||||
12 | Jim L. Mora | 2004-2006 | 48 | 26th | 22nd | 0 | .541 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
13 | Bobby Petrino * | 2007 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | - | - | - | |||||||
14th | Emmitt Thomas * 1 | 2007 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | - | - | - | |||||||
15th | Mike Smith * | 2008-2014 | 112 | 66 | 46 | 0 | .589 | 5 | 1 | 4th | AP NFL Trainer of the Year (2008) | ||||||
16 | Dan Quinn * | 2015– | 80 | 43 | 37 | 0 | .538 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Current squad
Special players
Ring of Honor
The Atlanta Falcons do not honor their special players with retired numbers as usual , but since 2004 with the so-called Ring of Honor . The youngest member to join the Ring of Honor is Roddy White , who was inducted in 2019.
No. | player | position | Period | admission |
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10 | Steve Bartkowski | QB | 1975-1985 | 2004 |
21st | Deion Sanders | CB | 1989-1993 | 2010 |
28 | Warrick Dunn | RB | 2002-2007 | 2017 |
31 | William Andrews | RB | 1979-1983, 1986 | 2004 |
42 | Gerald Riggs | RB | 1982-1988 | 2013 |
57 | Jeff Van Note | C. | 1969-1986 | 2006 |
58 | Jessie Tuggle | LB | 1987-2000 | 2004 |
60 | Tommy Nobis | LB | 1966-1976 | 2004 |
78 | Mike Kenn | T | 1978-1994 | 2008 |
84 | Roddy White | WR | 2005-2015 | 2019 |
87 | Claude Humphrey | DE | 1968-1988 | 2008 |
Falcons in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
With Sanders and Humphrey, the Falcons only have two players in the Hall of Fame who were essentially in the service of the Falcons. For example, Favre was only in his rookie season with the Falcons in 1991 .
Jersey number | Surname | position | Active for Atlanta | Year of admission |
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- | Norm Van Brocklin | Trainer | 1968-1974 | 1971 |
25th | Tommy McDonald | WR | 1967 | 1998 |
29 | Eric Dickerson | RB | 1993 | 1999 |
21st | Deion Sanders | CB | 1989-1993 | 2011 |
56 | Chris Doleman | DE | 1994-1995 | 2012 |
87 | Claude Humphrey | DE | 1968-1988 | 2014 |
4th | Brett Favre | QB | 1991 | 2016 |
5 | Morten Andersen | K | 1995-2000, 2006-2007 |
2017 |
88 | Tony Gonzalez | TE | 2009-2013 | 2019 |
owner
Rankin M. Smith Sr. was a member of the executive board and later president and chairman of the board of directors of the Life Insurance Company of Georgia. He was also active in promoting the community in Atlanta . In 1965 he was offered an American Football League franchise . The National Football League (NFL) also wanted a team in Atlanta. Smith prevailed against two other competitors and purchased an NFL franchise on June 30, 1965 for $ 8.5 million. He named the company for the franchise The Five Smiths, Inc. after his five children .
In 1989 venture capitalist John Imlay and media magnate Tom Watson Brown each bought 6% of the shares for $ 6 million.
Smith Sr. was active in the day-to-day business of the Atlanta Falcons until 1990, when he passed responsibility to his son Taylor Smith. After Rankin Smith's death on October 26, 1997, Taylor Smith continued to run the business as administrator for the heirs.
On January 6, 2002, co-founder of the home improvement chain The Home Depot Arthur M. Blank acquired all shares in the Atlanta Falcons for $ 545 million.
Balance sheets and records
Atlanta Falcons / Names and Numbers represents key Falcons records, direct comparisons with other American football teams, season records since 1966, and franchise first-round draft picks.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Atlanta Falcons Logo History ( Memento from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Atlanta Falcons to have new uniforms for 2020 season on www.nfl.com. January 14, 2020, accessed April 7, 2020. (English)
- ^ Statistics from Norb Hecker . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Norm Van Brocklin . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ A b Statistics by Marion Campbell . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Pat Peppler . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Leeman Bennett . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Dan Henning . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Jim Hanifan . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Jerry Glanville . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by June Jones . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Dan Reeves . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Wade Phillips . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Jim Mora . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Bobby Petrino . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Emmitt Thomas . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Mike Smith . Accessed December 31, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Dan Quinn . Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ Atlanta Falcons / Team-History / Ring-of-Honor. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Matthew Tabeek: Tabeek: Falcons roll, but Roddy gives us the feels one more time. atlantafalcons.com, December 8, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020 .
- ↑ 21 Jun 1965, Page 6 - The Daily Independent at Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .
- ^ 1 Jul 1965, 48 - The Evening Sun at Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .
- ↑ 7 Dec 2001, F12 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .
- ↑ 7 Dec 2001, F14 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .
- ↑ 7 Dec 2001, F13 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .