1997 Atlanta Falcons season

1997 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin Smith (died on October 26, 1997)
Head coach	Dan Reeves
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did 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.

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

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

1997 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Michael Booker	Cornerback	Nebraska
2	32	Nathan Davis	Defensive end	Indiana
2	41	Byron Hanspard	Running back	Texas Tech
3	70	O. J. Santiago	Tight end	Kent State
4	100	Henri Crockett	Linebacker	Florida State
5	133	Marcus Wimberly	Defensive back	Miami (FL)
6	180	Calvin Collins	Guard	Texas A&M
7	204	Tony Graziani	Quarterback	Oregon
7	222	Chris Bayne	Safety	Fresno State
Made roster

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 Head coach – Dan Reeves Assistant head coach – Rich Brooks Assistant head coach/football operations – Harold Richardson Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/running backs – George Sefcik Quarterbacks – Jack Burns Wide receivers – Rennie Simmons Tight ends – James Daniel Offensive line – Art Shell Offensive quality control – Pete Mangurian

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rich Brooks Defensive line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Don Blackmon Secondary – Ron Meeks Defensive quality control – Brian Xanders Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe DeCamillis Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Al Miller Assistant strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

Roster

1997 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Chris Chandler 13 Tony Graziani 15 Jim Miller Running backs (RB) 32 Jamal Anderson 44 Bob Christian FB 45 Gary Downs 28 Harold Green 24 Byron Hanspard Wide receivers (WR) 87 Bert Emanuel 84 Mercury Hayes 82 Michael Haynes 89 Todd Kinchen 81 Terance Mathis Tight ends (TE) 85 Brian Kozlowski 49 Brian Saxton 86 Ed Smith

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Scott Adams G 68 Calvin Collins C 76 Antone Davis T 65 Roman Fortin C 55 Nate Miller T 61 Robbie Tobeck G 70 Bob Whitfield T 69 Gene Williams G 77 Matt Willig T Defensive linemen (DL) 92 Lester Archambeau DE 91 John Burrough DE 99 Nathan Davis DT 75 Shane Dronett DT 98 Travis Hall DT 93 Dan Owens DT 96 Anthony Pleasant DE 90 Chuck Smith DE

Linebackers (LB) 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 94 Henri Crockett OLB 53 Jamal Fountaine OLB 54 Ruffin Hamilton OLB 52 Craig Sauer OLB 50 Eddie Sutter MLB 58 Jessie Tuggle MLB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Chris Bayne SS 43 Juran Bolden CB 20 Michael Booker CB 23 Ronnie Bradford CB 34 Ray Buchanan CB 25 Devin Bush FS 22 Lenny McGill CB 35 William White SS 48 Marcus Wimberly FS Special teams  5 Morten Andersen K  3 Scott Bentley K 67 Adam Schreiber LS  4 Dan Stryzinski P

Practice squad 66 Jeremy Akers T 21 Tim Denton CB 73 Barry Mitchell DE 19 Kevin Thornal WR 53 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 51 David Brandon LB (IR) 36 Fred Lester RB (IR) 88 O. J. Santiago TE (IR) 83 Ed West TE (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 31	at Detroit Lions	L 17–28	0–1	Pontiac Silverdome	Recap
2	September 7	Carolina Panthers	L 6–9	0–2	Georgia Dome	Recap
3	September 14	Oakland Raiders	L 31–36	0–3	Georgia Dome	Recap
4	September 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–34	0–4	3Com Park	Recap
5	September 28	Denver Broncos	L 21–29	0–5	Georgia Dome	Recap
6	Bye
7	October 12	at New Orleans Saints	W 23–17	1–5	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
8	October 19	San Francisco 49ers	L 28–35	1–6	Georgia Dome	Recap
9	October 26	at Carolina Panthers	L 12–21	1–7	Ericsson Stadium	Recap
10	November 2	St. Louis Rams	W 34–31	2–7	Georgia Dome	Recap
11	November 9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–31	2–8	Georgia Dome	Recap
12	November 16	at St. Louis Rams	W 27–21	3–8	Trans World Dome	Recap
13	November 23	New Orleans Saints	W 20–3	4–8	Georgia Dome	Recap
14	November 30	at Seattle Seahawks	W 24–17	5–8	Kingdome	Recap
15	December 7	at San Diego Chargers	W 14–3	6–8	Qualcomm Stadium	Recap
16	December 14	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	7–8	Georgia Dome	Recap
17	December 21	at Arizona Cardinals	L 26–29	7–9	Sun Devil Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 7 at Saints

See also: 1997 New Orleans Saints season

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	10	6	7	0	23
Saints	0	3	0	14	17

at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: October 12
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Game attendance: 65,619
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information
Falcons Chris Chandler 10/22, 117 Yds, TD Jamal Anderson 21 Rush, 62 Yds, TD Bert Emanuel 3 Rec, 40 Yds, TD Saints Danny Wuerffel 9/13, 120 Yds, TD, INT Mario Bates 15 Rush, 31 Yds, TD Andre Hastings 4 Rec, 96 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ATL NO 1 2:49 10 37 Falcons 25-yard field goal by Morten Andersen 3 0 1 1:45 2 12 Falcons Bert Emanuel 9-yard touchdown reception from Chris Chandler, Morten Andersen kick good 10 0 2 8:45 12 45 Saints 35-yard field goal by Doug Brien 10 3 2 2:15 8 12 Falcons 32-yard field goal by Morten Andersen 13 3 2 0:00 1 18 Falcons 55-yard field goal by Morten Andersen 16 3 3 12:46 2 6 Falcons Jamal Anderson 2-yard touchdown run, Morten Andersen kick good 23 3 4 14:55 2 30 Saints Andre Hastings 16-yard touchdown reception from Danny Wuerffel, Doug Brien kick good 23 10 4 11:30 6 20 Saints Mario Bates 1-yard touchdown run, Doug Brien kick good 23 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 17

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	375	265	L1
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	265	314	L2
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	320	361	L1
New Orleans Saints	6	10	0	.375	237	327	L1
St. Louis Rams	5	11	0	.313	299	359	W1

External links

• 1997 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com