2003 Atlanta Falcons season

2003 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Dan Reeves Wade Phillips (interim)
Owner	Arthur Blank
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	4th NFC South
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 2003 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL). It is best remembered for the third preseason game, in which quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg and was done for most of the season. Atlanta had two other quarterbacks take over for a combined 2–10 record (Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner). Vick returned in week 14 and ended the season with a 3–1 record.

After losing seven straight games, Dan Reeves was let go by Falcons management, and Wade Phillps took over for the rest of the season.

For the season, the Falcons sported a new logo and uniforms, which remains in use today.

Offseason

NFL Draft

2003 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	55	Bryan Scott	Safety	Penn State
4	121	Justin Griffith	Fullback	Mississippi State
5	159	Jon Olinger	Wide receiver	Cincinnati
6	196	LaTarence Dunbar	Wide receiver	TCU
6	202	Waine Bacon	Cornerback	Alabama
7	238	Demetrin Veal	Defensive end	Tennessee
Made roster

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

2003 Atlanta Falcons staff
	Front office Owner/Chief Executive Officer – Arthur Blank Senior Advisor to the President – Bobby Beathard Vice President of Football Operations – Ron Hill College Scouting Coordinator – Reed Johnson Director of Pro Personnel – Les Snead Assistant to Head Coach/Pro Personnel – Marvin Bass Head coaches Executive Vice President/Head Coach – Dan Reeves Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Pete Mangurian Quarterbacks – Mike Johnson Running Backs – Ollie Wilson Wide Receivers – George Stewart Tight Ends – James Daniel Offensive Line – Rennie Simmons Offensive Quality Control – Bill Lazor			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Bill Johnson Linebackers – Billy Davis Secondary – Emmitt Thomas Defensive Quality Control – Dennis Allen Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe DeCamillis Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rocky Colburn

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	TV Time
1	September 7, 2003	at Dallas Cowboys	W 27–13	64,104	FOX 4:15ET
2	September 14, 2003	Washington Redskins	L 33–31	70,241	FOX 1:00ET
3	September 21, 2003	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–10	70,871	FOX 1:00ET
4	September 28, 2003	at Carolina Panthers	L 23–3	72,765	FOX 1:00ET
5	October 5, 2003	Minnesota Vikings	L 39–26	70,427	FOX 1:00ET
6	October 13, 2003	at St. Louis Rams	L 36–0	66,075	ABC 9:00ET
7	October 19, 2003	New Orleans Saints	L 45–17	70,837	FOX 4:15ET
8	Bye
9	November 2, 2003	Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–16	70,064	FOX 4:15ET
10	November 9, 2003	at New York Giants	W 27–7	78,813	FOX 1:00ET
11	November 16, 2003	at New Orleans Saints	L 23–20	68,432	FOX 1:00ET
12	November 23, 2003	Tennessee Titans	L 38–31	70,891	CBS 4:15ET
13	November 30, 2003	at Houston Texans	L 17–13	70,388	FOX 1:00ET
14	December 7, 2003	Carolina Panthers	W 20–14	70,079	ESPN 8:30ET
15	December 14, 2003	at Indianapolis Colts	L 38–7	57,103	FOX 1:00ET
16	December 21, 2003	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 30–28	65,572	FOX 12:30ET
17	December 28, 2003	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 21–14	70,266	CBS 1:00ET

Standings

NFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Carolina Panthers	11	5	0	.688	5–1	9–3	325	304	W3
New Orleans Saints	8	8	0	.500	3–3	7–5	340	326	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7	9	0	.438	2–4	6–6	301	264	L2
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	0	.313	2–4	4–8	299	422	W2

References

1. "2003 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2013.

External links

• 2003 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com