Atlanta Falcons, professional football team and solitary team of five teams in the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). Under the league’s rearrangement plan, which will take affect in 2002, the Atlanta Falcons will play in the South Division of the NFC. The Atlanta Falcons play in the Georgia Dome and wear uniforms of black, red, silver, and white. The Atlanta Falcons team’s name was inspired by a letter from schoolteacher Julia Elliott of Griffin , Georgia , who won a contest in 1965 to name the new franchise, writing: “The falcon is proud and dignified, with courage and fight. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”

Under the way of head coach Dan Reeves, the Atlanta Falcons franchise captured its first NFC championship following the 1998 regular season. A group of seasoned veterans led the team, including quarterback Chris Chandler, linebacker Cornelius Bennett, and kicker Morten Andersen. Atlanta advanced to Super Bowl XXXIII, where they lost to the Denver Broncos.

Atlanta Falcons was awarded an NFL franchise for the 1966 season. The Atlanta Falcons team’s first head coach was Norb Hecker, a former helper to the legendary Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. Linebacker Tommy Nobis was the team’s first draft pick; in 1966 he captured the NFL rookie of the year award.

throughout the 1960s and early 1970s the Atlanta Falcons produced several top players, including Nobis, defensive end Claude Humphrey, and offensive tackle George Kunz. The Atlanta Falcons club struggled, but bright spots included the play of running back Dave Hampton and quarterback Steve Bartkowski. Atlanta Falcons posted consecutive 4-10 win-loss records in 1975 and 1976 before improving during the late 1970s. Rookie head coach Leeman Bennett guided the Atlanta Falcons to a 7-7 record in 1977. Atlanta Falcons boasted a strong defense that was anchored by Humphrey and cornerback Rolland Lawrence. In 1978 the Atlanta Falcons made their playoff debut after posting a 9-7 record. incoming the playoffs as a wild card team, Atlanta beat out the Philadelphia Eagles before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Dallas Cowboys.

Atlanta Falcons returned to top form in 1980, winning the Western Division. Once again, however, the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Cowboys in the second round of the playoffs. Bartkowski, running back Gerald Riggs, and center Jeff Van Note led the team as it returned to the playoffs in 1982. The playoff look was followed by three consecutive last-place finishes, despite Riggs’s 1,719 yards in 1985, which led all NFL rushers that year. The club endured eight straight losing seasons and four coaching changes from 1983 through 1990. In 1991 former Houston Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville ended the playoff drought by guiding the team to a 10-6 record and a wild card berth. A invigorated offense featured quarterback Chris Miller and wide receivers Michael Haynes and Andre Rison. Haynes’s average of 22.4 yards per catch led the NFL and was the league’s best since 1983. Another tough player on the team was cornerback Deion Sanders, who also played in the outfield for the Atlanta Braves of major league baseball.

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