1997 Atlanta Falcons season

32nd season in franchise history; final one under ownership of Rankin Smith August 2023 March 2026 Atlanta Falcons 1997 7–9 3rd NFC West Rankin Smith (died on October 26, 1997) Dan Reeves George Sefcik Rich Brooks Georgia Dome Did not qualify QB Chris ChandlerMLB Jessie Tuggle Falcons seasons 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 1997 NFL draft 1997 Atlanta Falcons 1 11 Michael Booker Cornerback Nebraska yes 2 32 Nathan Davis Defensive end Indiana yes 2 41 Byron Hanspard Running back Texas Tech yes 3 70 O. J. Santiago Tight end Kent State yes 4 100 Henri Crockett Linebacker Florida State yes 5 133 Marcus Wimberly Defensive back Miami (FL) yes 6 180 Calvin Collins Guard Texas A&M yes 7 204 Tony Graziani Quarterback Oregon yes 7 222 Chris Bayne Safety Fresno State yes no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1997_draft.htm 1997 Atlanta Falcons draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 14, 2013 Personnel Staff 1997 Atlanta Falcons 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 coach – Dan Reeves Assistant head coach – Rich Brooks Assistant head coach/football operations – Harold Richardson 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 coordinator – Rich Brooks Defensive line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Don Blackmon Secondary – Ron Meeks Defensive quality control – Brian Xanders Special teams – Joe DeCamillis Strength and conditioning – Al Miller Assistant strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen Roster 1997 Atlanta Falcons 12 Chris Chandler American football 13 Tony Graziani y 15 Jim Miller quarterback 32 Jamal Anderson 44 Bob Christian American football FB 45 Gary Downs 28 Harold Green American football 24 Byron Hanspard y 87 Bert Emanuel 84 Mercury Hayes 82 Michael Haynes wide receiver 89 Todd Kinchen 81 Terance Mathis 85 Brian Kozlowski 49 Brian Saxton 86 Ed Smith tight end 71 Scott Adams American football G 68 Calvin Collins y C 76 Antone Davis T 65 Roman Fortin C 55 Nate Miller offensive lineman T 61 Robbie Tobeck G 70 Bob Whitfield T 69 Gene Williams American football G 77 Matt Willig T 92 Lester Archambeau DE 91 John Burrough American football DE 99 Nathan Davis American football y DT 75 Shane Dronett DT 98 Travis Hall American football DT 93 Dan Owens DT 96 Anthony Pleasant DE 90 Chuck Smith defensive end DE 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 94 Henri Crockett y OLB 53 Jamal Fountaine OLB 54 Ruffin Hamilton OLB 52 Craig Sauer OLB 50 Eddie Sutter MLB 58 Jessie Tuggle MLB 47 Chris Bayne y SS 43 Juran Bolden CB 20 Michael Booker y CB 23 Ronnie Bradford CB 34 Ray Buchanan CB 25 Devin Bush Sr. FS 22 Lenny McGill CB 35 William White American football SS 48 Marcus Wimberly y FS  5 Morten Andersen K  3 Scott Bentley y K 67 Adam Schreiber LS  4 Dan Stryzinski P 51 David Brandon American football LB IR 36 Fred Lester American football RB IR 88 O. J. Santiago y TE IR 83 Ed West American football TE IR 66 Jeremy Akers y T 21 Tim Denton CB 73 Barry Mitchell American football y DE 19 Kevin Thornal y WR 53 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1997_roster.htm 1997 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com December 6, 2014 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 DomeRecap 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 StadiumRecap 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 1997 New Orleans Saints season Atlanta Falcons 1997 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Seven: Atlanta Falcons (0–5) at New Orleans Saints (2–4) October 12 1:00 p.m. EDT Falcons 10 6 7 0 Saints 0 3 0 14 Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana 65,619 Indoors (dome) Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database Falcons Chris Chandler10/22, 117 Yds, TD Jamal Anderson21 Rush, 62 Yds, TD Bert Emanuel3 Rec, 40 Yds, TD Saints Danny Wuerffel9/13, 120 Yds, TD, INT Mario Bates15 Rush, 31 Yds, TD Andre Hastings4 Rec, 96 Yds, TD ATL NO collapsed 1 2:49 Falcons 10 37 FG 25 Morten Andersen 3 0 1 1:45 Falcons 2 12 RecTD Bert Emanuel Chris Chandler 9 good Morten Andersen run/pass good/failed/incomplete 10 0 2 8:45 Saints 12 45 FG 35 Doug Brien 10 3 2 2:15 Falcons 8 12 FG 32 Morten Andersen 13 3 2 0:00 Falcons 1 18 FG 55 Morten Andersen 16 3 3 12:46 Falcons 2 6 RushTD Jamal Anderson 2 good Morten Andersen run/pass good/failed/incomplete 23 3 4 14:55 Saints 2 30 RecTD Andre Hastings Danny Wuerffel 16 good Doug Brien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 23 10 4 11:30 Saints 6 20 RushTD Mario Bates 1 good Doug Brien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 23 17 23 17 Standings NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 290 References External links 1997 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com Atlanta Falcons Category:Atlanta Falcons seasons Atlanta Category:Long stubs with short prose