1972 Atlanta Falcons season

1972 Atlanta Falcons season
1972 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
General manager	Norm Van Brocklin
Home field	Atlanta Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T George Kunz; TE Jim R. Mitchell; DE Claude Humphrey; LB Tommy Nobis
	← 1971; Falcons seasons; 1973 →;

The 1972 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's seventh year in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 7–6–1, finishing 7–7 and failing to reach the playoffs.^[1] Standing at 7–5 the Falcons traveled to San Francisco with the NFC West division title on the line. However, the Falcons were never in the game and saw their playoff hopes dim with a 20–0 shutout loss. Facing the Kansas City Chiefs in their final game of the season, Running Back Dave Hampton surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. However, a play later he was thrown for a six-yard loss to end the season with 995 yards, as the Falcons lost and finished 7–7.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

advantage in time of possession did not score any offensive points

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1972 Atlanta Falcons draft
1	15	Clarence Ellis	Safety	Notre Dame
2	40	Pat Sullivan	Quarterback	Auburn
2	41	Steve Okoniewski	Defensive Tackle	Montana
2	42	Rosie Manning	Defensive Tackle	Northeastern State
3	67	Les Goodman	Running Back	Yankton
Made roster

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1972 Atlanta Falcons staff**

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Frank E. Wall General Manager – Norm Van Brocklin Head coaches Head Coach – Norm Van Brocklin Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Billy Ray Barnes Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive Line – Duane Putnam			Defensive coaches Head Defensive – Marion Campbell Defensive Line – Bob Griffin Defensive Backfield – Fred Bruney

Roster[]

**1972 Atlanta Falcons final roster**

	Quarterbacks 17 Bob Berry 7 Pat Sullivan Running backs 28 Willie Belton 43 Dave Hampton 25 Art Malone 44 Eddie Ray 5 Harmon Wages Wide receivers 82 Ken Burrow 81 Wes Chesson 45 Ray Jarvis 80 Todd Snyder Tight ends 83 Larry Mialik 86 Jim Mitchell		Offensive linemen 68 Ted Fritsch C 65 Len Gotshalk T 56 Dennis Havig G 75 George Kunz T 64 Andy Maurer G 61 Bill Sandeman T 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen 88 Glen Condren DT 87 Claude Humphrey DE 69 Mike Lewis DT 77 Rosie Manning DT 66 John Small DT 79 Chuck Walker DT 71 John Zook DE		Linebackers 54 Grady Allen 51 Duane Benson 50 Greg Brezina 58 Don Hansen 60 Tommy Nobis Defensive backs 34 Ray Brown S 29 Clarence Ellis FS 31 Willie Germany SS 27 Tom Hayes CB 35 Tony Plummer 36 Ken Reaves CB 30 Larry Shears Special teams 37 Bill Bell K 6 John James P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 17	at Chicago Bears	W 37–21	55,701
2	September 24	at New England Patriots	L 21–20	60,999
3	October 1	Los Angeles Rams	W 31–3	57,122
4	October 8	Detroit Lions	L 26–23	58,850
5	October 15	at New Orleans Saints	W 21–14	66,294
6	October 22	at Green Bay Packers	W 10–9	47,967
7	October 29	San Francisco 49ers	L 49–14	58,850
8	November 5	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–7	75,018
9	November 12	New Orleans Saints	W 36–20	58,850
10	November 20	at Washington Redskins	L 24–13	53,034
11	November 26	Denver Broncos	W 23–20	58,850
12	December 3	Houston Oilers	W 20–10	58,850
13	December 10	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–0	61,214
14	December 17	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–14	58,850

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers	8	5	1	.607	3–2–1	6–4–1	353	249	W2
Atlanta Falcons	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–5	269	274	L2
Los Angeles Rams	6	7	1	.464	4–2	5–5–1	291	286	L2
New Orleans Saints	2	11	1	.179	1–4–1	2–8–1	215	361	L3

References[]

^ 1972 Atlanta Falcons

External links[]

1972 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] 1972 Atlanta Falcons

[1]

v t Atlanta Falcons
Founded in 1966 Based in Atlanta, Georgia Headquartered in Flowery Branch, Georgia
Franchise	Franchise Team history Seasons Players Quarterbacks Head coaches Expansion draft Draft history First-round draft picks
Stadiums	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Culture	Rankin M. Smith Sr. Arthur Blank Freddie Falcon Cheerleaders The "Dirty Bird" (dance) "2 Legit 2 Quit"
Lore	Grits Blitz Gary Anderson's missed field goal Michael Vick dog fighting investigation 28–3
Rivalries	Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Philadelphia Eagles
Wild card / First round berths (8)	1978 1982 1991 1995 2002 2008 2011 2017
Division championships (6)	1980 1998 2004 2010 2012 2016
Conference championships (2)	1998 2016
Ring of Honor	10 21 28 31 42 57 58 60 78 84 87
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t Atlanta Falcons seasons
1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance