1996 Atlanta Falcons season

1996 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	June Jones
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	3–13
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

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

1996 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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  1 Jeff George  3 Bobby Hebert  7 Browning Nagle 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 (American football) 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 Sean Boyd CB 25 Devin Bush 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 Rookies in italics

^[5]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
			Final score	Team record
1	September 1	at Carolina Panthers	L 6–29	0–1	Ericsson Stadium	69,522
2	September 8	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–23	0–2	Georgia Dome	42,688
3	Bye
4	September 22	Philadelphia Eagles	L 18–33	0–3	Georgia Dome	40,107
5	September 29	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–39	0–4	3Com Park	62,995
6	October 6	at Detroit Lions	L 24–28	0–5	Pontiac Silverdome	58,666
7	October 13	Houston Oilers	L 13–23	0–6	Georgia Dome	35,401
8	October 20	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–32	0–7	Texas Stadium	64,091
9	October 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–20	0–8	Georgia Dome	58,760
10	November 3	Carolina Panthers	W 20–17	1–8	Georgia Dome	42,726
11	November 10	at St. Louis Rams	L 16–59	1–9	Trans World Dome	58,776
12	November 17	New Orleans Saints	W 17–15	2–9	Georgia Dome	43,119
13	November 24	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 31–41	2–10	Cinergy Field	44,868
14	December 2	San Francisco 49ers	L 10–34	2–11	Georgia Dome	46,318
15	December 8	at New Orleans Saints	W 31–15	3–11	Louisiana Superdome	32,923
16	December 15	St. Louis Rams	L 27–34	3–12	Georgia Dome	26,519
17	December 22	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 17–19	3–13	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	71,449

Standings

NFC West
	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

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.
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.

External links

• 1996 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com