1987 Atlanta Falcons season

1987 Atlanta Falcons season
1987 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Marion Campbell
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	3–12
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G Bill Fralic; RB Gerald Riggs
	← 1986; Falcons seasons; 1988 →;

The 1987 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons finished with the worst record in the league, 3–12, and secured the first overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft. Head coach Marion Campbell started his second stint as Falcons head coach in 1987 after previously coaching the team from 1974–1976.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1987 Atlanta Falcons draft
1	13	Chris Miller *	Quarterback	Oregon
2	31	Kenny Flowers	Running back	Clemson
4	97	Ralph Van Dyke	Offensive tackle	Southern Illinois
5	125	Mark Mraz	Defensive end	Utah State
6	153	Paul Kiser	Guard	Wake Forest
7	181	Michael Reid	Linebacker	Wisconsin
8	208	Curtis Taliaferro	Linebacker	Virginia Tech
9	236	Terrence Anthony	Defensive back	Iowa State
10	264	Jerry Reese	Tight end	Illinois
11	292	Elbert Shelley	Defensive back	Arkansas State
12	320	Larry Emery	Running back	Wisconsin
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1987 Atlanta Falcons staff**

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. Executive Vice President – Taylor Smith Director of Player Personnel – Ken Herock Director of Pro Personnel – Bill Jobko Head coaches Head Coach – Marion Campbell Offensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Offense – Jim Hanifan Offensive Coordinator – Rod Dowhower Running Backs – Steve Crosby Receivers – Jimmy Raye Tight Ends – Al Groh			Defensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Fred Bruney Defensive Line – Tommy Brasher Linebackers – Chuck Clausen Defensive Assistant – Claude Humphrey Special teams coaches Special Teams – Al Groh Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

NFL replacement players[]

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 Atlanta Falcons replacement roster

Quarterbacks

10 Erik Kramer
16 Jeff Van Raaphorst

Running Backs

24
29 Bob Norris
32 Norm Granger
33 Rick Badanjek
39 Jerry Butler
42 Michael Williams
45
47 John Kamana
48 Joe McIntosh

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

47 Geno Zimmerlink
87 John Evans
87 Arnold Franklin
88

Offensive Linemen

53 C
54
55 Reggie Smith
61 Jeff Lee
62
63 Howard Hood
64 Lawrence Jackson LG
65 Jim Kisner
65 Pat Saindon RG
66 Randy Clark RT
66 Rick Hudson
70 Fred Nelson
71 Joe Harby
73 Doug Mackie LT
74 Don Robinson
94 Ken Sutherland

Defensive Linemen

56 Joe Costello
64 Lawrence Jackson
67 Booker Reese
68 Emanuel Weaver NT
69 Fred Worthy
71 Mitchell Young DE
72
75
76 RDE
77
78 Mark Studaway LDE

Linebackers

50 James Hall
51 Herb Spencer ROLB
52
56 Art Price
58
59
93 Jim Laughlin RILB
95 Kenny Driskell
96 Rich Kraynak LILB
99 Tim Green LOLB

Defensive Backs

20
21 Chuck Clanton
23 FS
25 LCB
26
28 Charles Huff
30 RCB
34 Mike Lush SS
37 Leander Knight

Special Teams

3 P
4 Ricky Anderson P
5 Greg Davis K
6 P

Roster[]

**1987 Atlanta Falcons final roster**

	Quarterbacks 16 David Archer 10 Scott Campbell 12 Chris Miller Running backs 24 Larry Emery 48 Kenny Flowers 42 Gerald Riggs 44 John Settle FB Wide receivers 82 Stacey Bailey 89 Charlie Brown 86 Floyd Dixon 81 Billy Johnson 83 Aubrey Matthews Tight ends 88 Arthur Cox 80 Dan Sharp		Offensive linemen 53 Doug Barnett C 64 Jamie Dukes G 79 Bill Fralic G 78 Mike Kenn T 63 G 62 Brett Miller T 73 Leonard Mitchell T 55 Wayne Radloff C 61 John Scully G Defensive linemen 98 Greg Brown DE 77 Rick Bryan DE 75 Tony Casillas DT 76 Mike Gann DE 68 Dennis Harrison DE 67 Mark Mraz DE 72 Andrew Provence DT		Linebackers 90 Aaron Brown 56 Joe Costello 50 Buddy Curry 99 Tim Green 59 John Rade 95 Michael Reid 58 Jessie Tuggle 54 Joel Williams Defensive backs 26 James Britt CB 23 Bobby Butler CB 25 Scott Case FS 30 David Croudip CB 41 Tim Gordon FS 34 Robert Moore 37 Elbert Shelley S 22 Brenard Wilson FS Special teams 3 Rick Donnelly P 18 Mick Luckhurst K		Reserve lists 45 Ken Whisenhunt TE (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13,	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 48–10	51,250
2	September 20	Washington Redskins	W 21–20	50,882
-	September 27	at New Orleans Saints	canceled
3	October 4	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 28–12	16,667
4	October 11	San Francisco 49ers	L 25–17	8,684
5	October 18	Los Angeles Rams	W 24–20	15,813
6	October 25	at Houston Oilers	L 37–33	29,062
7	November 1	New Orleans Saints	L 38–0	42,196
8	November 8	at Cleveland Browns	L 38–3	71,135
9	November 15	Cincinnati Bengals	L 16–10	25,758
10	November 22	at Minnesota Vikings	L 24–13	53,866
11	November 29	St. Louis Cardinals	L 34–21	15,909
12	December 6	at Dallas Cowboys	W 21–10	40,103
13	December 13	at Los Angeles Rams	L 33–0	43,310
14	December 20	at San Francisco 49ers	L 35–7	54,698
15	December 27	Detroit Lions	L 30–13	13,906

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers⁽¹⁾	13	2	0	.867	5–1	10–1	459	253	W6
New Orleans Saints⁽⁴⁾	12	3	0	.800	4–1	8–3	426	283	W9
Los Angeles Rams	6	9	0	.400	1–5	5–7	317	361	L2
Atlanta Falcons	3	12	0	.200	1–4	3–8	205	436	L3

References[]

^ "1987 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.

External links[]

1987 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "1987 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.

[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