1996 Atlanta Falcons season

1996 Atlanta Falcons season
1996 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin Smith
Head coach	June Jones
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	3–13
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Jessie Tuggle
	← 1995; Falcons seasons; 1997 →;

The 1996 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise’s 31st season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons were unable to match their previous season’s output of 9–7 and failed to reach the playoffs. Atlanta started the season 0–8, going winless until November.^[1] Two of the team’s three wins were over the equally inept New Orleans Saints, who also finished 3–13.

The Falcons allowed 461 points in 1996, the most in team history.^[2] Football Outsiders calculates that the 1996 Falcons had the third-worst pass defense they had ever tracked.^[3]

The season was notable when Jeff George was engaged in a shouting match with June Jones in a nationally televised game against Philadelphia. The next day, George was suspended for his act and was eventually released by the team. As for coach Jones, he was fired at the conclusion of the season.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1996 Atlanta Falcons draft
3	84	Shannon Brown	Defensive tackle	Alabama
4	117	Richard Huntley	Running back	Winston-Salem State
4	127	Juran Bolden	Cornerback	Mississippi Delta
5	164	Gary Bandy	Defensive end	Baylor
6	188	Craig Sauer	Linebacker	Minnesota
7	229	Ethan Brooks	Offensive tackle	Williams
Made roster

^[4]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1996 Atlanta Falcons staff**

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Taylor Smith Vice President of Player Personnel – Ken Herock Director of Pro Personnel – Chuck Connor Head coaches Head Coach – June Jones Offensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers – Milt Jackson Quarterbacks – Mouse Davis Running Backs – Ollie Wilson Offensive Line – Bob Palcic			Defensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Rod Rust Defensive Line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Joe Haering Secondary – Keith Armstrong Defensive Assistant – Will Lewis Special teams coaches Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams – Frank Gansz Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

Roster[]

**1996 Atlanta Falcons roster**

	Quarterbacks 3 Bobby Hebert 7 Browning Nagle 11 Billy Joe Tolliver Running backs 32 Jamal Anderson 34 Craig Heyward 33 Richard Huntley Wide receivers 89 J. J. Birden 80 Tyrone Brown 87 Bert Emanuel 81 Terance Mathis 21 Eric Metcalf KR/PR 85 Roell Preston 84 Freddie Scott Tight ends 88 Harper LeBel 86 Mitch Lyons		Offensive linemen 76 Antone Davis T 65 Roman Fortin C 64 Jeff Pahukoa G 62 David Richards T 61 Robbie Tobeck G 70 Bob Whitfield T 69 Gene Williams G 77 Matt Willig T 72 Mike Zandofsky G Defensive linemen 92 Lester Archambeau DE 73 Ethan Brooks DT 91 John Burrough DE 94 Shane Dronett DT 67 Moe Gardner DT 98 Travis Hall DT 96 Todd Kelly DE 93 Dan Owens DT 90 Chuck Smith DE 74 Jeff Zgonina DT		Linebackers 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 51 David Brandon OLB 56 Scott Fields OLB 50 Ron George OLB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 52 Craig Sauer OLB 59 Lorenzo Styles MLB 58 Jessie Tuggle MLB Defensive backs 24 Patrick Bates FS 43 Juran Bolden CB 42 CB 25 Devin Bush Sr. SS 27 Brad Edwards FS 44 D. J. Johnson CB 28 Lenny McGill CB 22 Tim McKyer CB 38 Nate Odomes CB 26 Anthony Phillips CB 29 Louis Riddick SS 37 Elbert Shelley SS 45 Darnell Walker CB Special teams 5 Morten Andersen K 4 Dan Stryzinski P		Reserve lists 75 DT (IR) 46 Tim Denton CB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

^[5]

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 1	at Carolina Panthers	L 6–29	0–1	Ericsson Stadium	Recap
2	September 8	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–23	0–2	Georgia Dome	Recap
3	Bye
4	September 22	Philadelphia Eagles	L 18–33	0–3	Georgia Dome	Recap
5	September 29	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–39	0–4	3Com Park	Recap
6	October 6	at Detroit Lions	L 24–28	0–5	Pontiac Silverdome	Recap
7	October 13	Houston Oilers	L 13–23	0–6	Georgia Dome	Recap
8	October 20	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–32	0–7	Texas Stadium	Recap
9	October 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–20	0–8	Georgia Dome	Recap
10	November 3	Carolina Panthers	W 20–17	1–8	Georgia Dome	Recap
11	November 10	at St. Louis Rams	L 16–59	1–9	Trans World Dome	Recap
12	November 17	New Orleans Saints	W 17–15	2–9	Georgia Dome	Recap
13	November 24	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 31–41	2–10	Cinergy Field	Recap
14	December 2	San Francisco 49ers	L 10–34	2–11	Georgia Dome	Recap
15	December 8	at New Orleans Saints	W 31–15	3–11	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
16	December 15	St. Louis Rams	L 27–34	3–12	Georgia Dome	Recap
17	December 22	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 17–19	3–13	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	Recap

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Carolina Panthers	12	4	0	.750	367	218	W7
⁽⁴⁾ San Francisco 49ers	12	4	0	.750	398	257	W2
St. Louis Rams	6	10	0	.375	303	409	W2
Atlanta Falcons	3	13	0	.188	309	461	L2
New Orleans Saints	3	13	0	.188	229	339	L1

References[]

^ "1996 Atlanta Falcons statistics and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed.
^ Football Outsiders – DVOA 7.0: Worst Teams Ever, from 1991–2011
^ "1996 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
^ "1996 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.

External links[]

1996 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "1996 Atlanta Falcons statistics and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[2] Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed.

[DVOA7.0-3] Football Outsiders – DVOA 7.0: Worst Teams Ever, from 1991–2011

[4] "1996 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.

[5] "1996 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.

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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