1997 Atlanta Falcons season

1997 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Dan Reeves
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

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, the numerals on the road jerseys are switched from black to red.

Offseason

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

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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 12 Chris Chandler 13 Tony Graziani 11 Billy Joe Tolliver Running backs 32 Jamal Anderson 44 Bob Christian FB 45 Gary Downs FB 28 Harold Green 24 Byron Hanspard Wide receivers 87 Bert Emanuel 84 Mercury Hayes 82 Michael Haynes 89 Todd Kinchen 81 Terance Mathis 84 Freddie Scott		Tight ends 85 Brian Kozlowski FB 88 O. J. Santiago 49 Brian Saxton 86 Ed Smith 83 Ed West Offensive linemen 71 Scott Adams G 68 Calvin Collins C 76 Antone Davis T 72 Scott Davis G 65 Roman Fortin C 55 Nate Miller T 67 Adam Schreiber C/G 61 Robbie Tobeck G 70 Bob Whitfield T 69 Gene Williams G 77 Matt Willig T		Defensive linemen 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 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 51 David Brandon 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 47 Chris Bayne S 43 Juran Bolden CB 20 Michael Booker CB 23 Ronnie Bradford CB 34 Ray Buchanan CB 25 Devin Bush FS 27 Donovan Greer CB 22 Lenny McGill CB 42 Chris Shelling S 35 William White SS 48 Marcus Wimberly S Special teams  5 Morten Andersen K  3 Scott Bentley K  4 Dan Stryzinski P Rookies in italics

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Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
			Final score	Team record
1	August 31	at Detroit Lions	L 17–28	0–1	Pontiac Silverdome	61,244
2	September 7	Carolina Panthers	L 6–9	0–2	Georgia Dome	51,829
3	September 14	Oakland Raiders	L 31–36	0–3	Georgia Dome	47,922
4	September 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–34	0–4	3Com Park	60,404
5	September 28	Denver Broncos	L 21–29	0–5	Georgia Dome	48,211
6	Bye
7	October 12	at New Orleans Saints	W 23–17	1–5	Louisiana Superdome	65,619
8	October 19	San Francisco 49ers	L 28–35	1–6	Georgia Dome	53,378
9	October 26	at Carolina Panthers	L 12–21	1–7	Ericsson Stadium	54,675
10	November 2	St. Louis Rams	W 34–31	2–7	Georgia Dome	36,583
11	November 9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–31	2–8	Georgia Dome	46,018
12	November 16	at St. Louis Rams	W 27–21	3–8	Trans World Dome	64,299
13	November 23	New Orleans Saints	W 20–3	4–8	Georgia Dome	48,620
14	November 30	at Seattle Seahawks	W 24–17	5–8	Kingdome	52,584
15	December 7	at San Diego Chargers	W 14–3	6–8	Qualcomm Stadium	46,317
16	December 14	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	7–8	Georgia Dome	42,866
17	December 21	at Arizona Cardinals	L 26–29	7–9	Sun Devil Stadium	32,003

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

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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

External links

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