1971 Atlanta Falcons (NFL) |
| 3rd place • National Football Conference • Western Division • 7-6-1 .538 |
| Head Coach: Norm Van Brocklin |
| Billy Ray Barnes | Offensive Backs |
| Fred Bruney | Defensive Backs |
| Marion Campbell | Defense |
| Harry Gilmer | Receivers |
| Bob Griffin | Defensive Line |
| Duane Putnam | Offensive Line |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/14/1971 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 10-12 | L | Kansas City, MO | Municipal Stadium | 37403 | |
| Sat | 8/21/1971 | N | Denver Broncos | 27-10 | W | Memphis, TN | Memorial Stadium | 22474 | |
| Sun | 8/29/1971 | H | Buffalo Bills | 35-24 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 53090 | |
| Sun | 9/5/1971 | A | New England Patriots | 45-35 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 48631 | |
| Sat | 9/11/1971 | A | San Diego Chargers | 14-21 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 32555 | |
| Sun | 9/19/1971 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 20-17 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 56990 | |
| Sun | 9/26/1971 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 20-20 | T | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 57895 | |
| Sun | 10/3/1971 | A | Detroit Lions | 38-41 | L | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 10/10/1971 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 9-26 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 10/17/1971 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 16-24 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 10/24/1971 | H | New Orleans Saints | 28-6 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 10/31/1971 | A | Cleveland Browns | 31-14 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 76825 | |
| Sun | 11/7/1971 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 9-6 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 59604 | |
| Sun | 11/14/1971 | H | New York Giants | 17-21 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Mon | 11/22/1971 | H | Green Bay Packers | 28-21 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 11/28/1971 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 7-24 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sun | 12/5/1971 | H | Oakland Raiders | 24-13 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 12/12/1971 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 3-24 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 44582 | |
| Sun | 12/19/1971 | A | New Orleans Saints | 24-20 | W | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 75954 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Ron Acks | 52 | LLB | 6-2 | 210 | 27 | Illinois | 14 | 10 |
| Grady Allen | 54 | LB | 6-3 | 226 | 25 | Texas A&M | 3 | 0 |
| Bill Bell | 37 | K-P | 6-1 | 191 | 24 | Kansas | 14 | 0 |
| Willie Belton | 28 | RB | 5-11 | 207 | 23 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 17 | QB | 5-11 | 185 | 29 | Oregon | 11 | 10 |
| John Bramlett | 62 | LB | 6-2 | 216 | 30 | Memphis | 7 | 0 |
| Greg Brezina | 50 | RLB | 6-1 | 221 | 25 | Houston | 14 | 14 |
| Ray Brown | 34 | RS | 6-2 | 206 | 22 | West Texas A&M | 10 | 10 |
| Ken Burrow | 82 | WR | 6-0 | 191 | 23 | Utah State; San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| Jim Butler | 33 | HB | 5-10 | 191 | 28 | Edward Waters | 13 | 13 |
| Sonny Campbell | 45 | RB | 5-11 | 192 | 23 | Northern Arizona | 14 | 0 |
| Wes Chesson | 81 | WR | 6-2 | 195 | 22 | Duke | 14 | 14 |
| Glen Condren | 88 | RDT | 6-2 | 248 | 29 | Oklahoma | 12 | 12 |
| Mike Donohoe | 84 | TE | 6-3 | 226 | 26 | San Francisco | 9 | 0 |
| Dick Enderle | 63 | ROG-LOG | 6-2 | 258 | 24 | Minnesota | 14 | 4 |
| Don Hansen | 58 | MLB-LLLB | 6-3 | 227 | 27 | Illinois | 14 | 14 |
| Leo Hart | 10 | QB | 6-4 | 203 | 22 | Duke | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Hayes | 27 | RCB | 6-1 | 199 | 25 | Riverside CC; San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| Claude Humphrey | 87 | LDE | 6-5 | 258 | 27 | Tennessee State | 14 | 14 |
| Ray Jarvis | 46 | WR | 6-0 | 197 | 22 | Norfolk State | 2 | 0 |
| Rudy Kuechenberg | 59 | LB | 6-2 | 217 | 28 | Indiana | 3 | 0 |
| George Kunz | 75 | ROT | 6-5 | 251 | 24 | Notre Dame | 14 | 14 |
| Greg Lens | 72 | LDT | 6-5 | 261 | 26 | Trinity (Texas) | 7 | 4 |
| Mike Lewis | 69 | DE | 6-4 | 260 | 22 | Wiley; Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 9 | 0 |
| Billy Lothridge | 26 | P | 6-1 | 194 | 29 | Georgia Tech | 9 | 0 |
| John Mallory | 22 | LS | 6-0 | 188 | 25 | West Virginia | 14 | 12 |
| Art Malone | 25 | FB | 5-11 | 211 | 23 | Arizona State | 13 | 11 |
| Randy Marshall | 89 | DE | 6-5 | 237 | 25 | Linfield | 6 | 0 |
| John Matlock | 53 | C | 6-4 | 250 | 27 | Miami (Florida) | 12 | 0 |
| Andy Maurer | 64 | LOG | 6-3 | 255 | 23 | Oregon | 14 | 12 |
| Tom McCauley | 20 | RS | 6-3 | 190 | 24 | Wisconsin | 4 | 4 |
| Jim Miller | 55 | OG | 6-3 | 240 | 22 | Iowa | 14 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 86 | TE | 6-1 | 235 | 24 | Prairie View A&M | 13 | 13 |
| Tommy Nobis | 60 | MLB | 6-2 | 235 | 28 | Texas | 4 | 4 |
| Tony Plummer | 35 | S | 5-10 | 189 | 24 | San Mateo JC; Pacific | 7 | 0 |
| Ray Poage | 85 | TE | 6-3 | 203 | 31 | Texas | 4 | 1 |
| Joe Profit | 23 | RB | 6-0 | 210 | 22 | Louisiana-Monroe | 4 | 0 |
| Ken Reaves | 36 | LCB | 6-3 | 206 | 27 | Norfolk State | 14 | 14 |
| Rudy Redmond | 47 | LS-RS | 6-0 | 190 | 24 | Riverside CC; Pacific | 8 | 2 |
| Bill Sandeman | 61 | LOT | 6-6 | 256 | 29 | Stockton JC; Pacific | 14 | 14 |
| Larry Shears | 30 | CB-S | 5-10 | 185 | 22 | Lincoln (Missouri) | 9 | 0 |
| Dick Shiner | 11 | QB | 6-0 | 197 | 29 | Maryland | 10 | 4 |
| John Small | 66 | LDT-RDT | 6-4 | 263 | 25 | The Citadel | 14 | 12 |
| Malcolm Snider | 67 | ROG | 6-4 | 251 | 24 | Stanford | 13 | 12 |
| Todd Snyder | 80 | WR | 6-2 | 187 | 23 | Ohio University | 4 | 0 |
| Jeff Van Note | 57 | C | 6-2 | 247 | 25 | Kentucky | 14 | 14 |
| Harmon Wages | 5 | FB | 6-1 | 214 | 25 | Florida | 14 | 3 |
| Cleo Walker | 51 | LB | 6-3 | 219 | 23 | Louisville | 11 | 0 |
| John Zook | 71 | RDE | 6-5 | 240 | 24 | Kansas | 14 | 14 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 7 | Joe Profit | RB | Louisiana-Monroe |
| 2 | 33 | Ken Burrow | WR | San Diego State |
| 3 | 59 | Leo Hart | QB | Duke |
| 4 | 85 | Mike Potchad | T | Pittsburg State |
| 5 | 111 | Ray Jarvis | WR | Norfolk State |
| 6 | 137 | Tom Hayes | DB | San Diego State |
| 6 | 148 | Ray Brown | DB | West Texas A&M |
| 7 | 163 | Wes Chesson | WR | Duke |
| 8 | 189 | Dennis Havig | G | Colorado |
| 9 | 215 | Alvin Griffin | WR | Tuskegee |
| 10 | 241 | Faddie Tillman | DE | Boise State |
| 11 | 267 | Larry Shears | DB | Lincoln (Missouri) |
| 12 | 293 | Ronnie Lowe | WR | Fort Valley State |
| 13 | 319 | Danny Crooks | DB | Wisconsin |
| 14 | 345 | Deryl Comer | TE | Texas |
| 15 | 371 | Wallace Clark | RB | Auburn |
| 16 | 397 | Lindsey James | RB | San Diego State |
| 17 | 423 | Willie Martin | RB | Johnson C. Smith |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 74 | 86 | 48 | 66 | 274 |
| Opponents Totals | 57 | 82 | 68 | 70 | 277 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 221 | 99 | 108 | 14 | 77/182 42.3% | 4/6 66.7% | 79 | 723 | |
| Opponents Totals | 30:00 | 237 | 114 | 106 | 17 | 103/214 48.1% | 2/2 100.0% | 61 | 614 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Bell | 0 | 29 | 33 | 87.9 | 13 | 21 | 61.9 | 0 | 68 |
| Art Malone | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Ken Burrow | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Jim Mitchell | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Jim Butler | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Tom Hayes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Harmon Wages | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Willie Belton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Don Hansen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Mallory | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Joe Profit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Dick Shiner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Zook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 34 | 29 | 34 | 85.3 | 13 | 21 | 61.9 | 1 | 274 |
| Opponents Totals | 31 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 20 | 23 | 87.0 | 0 | 277 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Bell | 13 | 21 | 61.9 | 3 | 41 | 4/4 | 5/7 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 13 | 21 | 61.9 | 3 | 41 | 4/4 | 5/7 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 20 | 23 | 87.0 | 4/4 | 7/8 | 4/6 | 4/4 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Butler | 186 | 594 | 3.2 | 19 | 2 |
| Art Malone | 120 | 438 | 3.7 | 19 | 6 |
| Harmon Wages | 64 | 266 | 4.2 | 27 | 1 |
| Willie Belton | 56 | 237 | 4.2 | 16 | 1 |
| Sonny Campbell | 29 | 79 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 19 | 31 | 1.6 | 9 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 24 | 0 |
| Ray Jarvis | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Joe Profit | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 4t | 1 |
| Dick Shiner | 10 | 9 | 0.9 | 4t | 1 |
| Ken Burrow | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Wes Chesson | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | -4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 494 | 1703 | 3.4 | 27 | 12 |
| Opponents Totals | 500 | 2149 | 4.3 | 73t | 19 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Berry | 226 | 136 | 60.2 | 74 | 2005 | 8.9 | 14.7 | 84 | 11 | 4.9 | 16 | 7.1 | 21 | 150 | 1855 | 75.9 |
| Dick Shiner | 57 | 30 | 52.6 | 22 | 463 | 8.1 | 15.4 | 47 | 5 | 8.8 | 5 | 8.8 | 10 | 89 | 374 | 72.5 |
| Billy Lothridge | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 27 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 27 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 118.8 |
| Leo Hart | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 285 | 167 | 58.6 | 97 | 2495 | 8.8 | 14.9 | 84 | 16 | 5.6 | 21 | 7.4 | 31 | 239 | 2256 | 75.4 |
| Opponents Totals | 343 | 164 | 47.8 | 159 | 1895 | 5.5 | 11.6 | 68 | 9 | 2.6 | 20 | 5.8 | 31 | 257 | 1638 | 49.4 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Malone | 34 | 380 | 11.2 | 46t | 2 |
| Ken Burrow | 33 | 741 | 22.5 | 84 | 6 |
| Jim Mitchell | 33 | 593 | 18.0 | 43 | 5 |
| Wes Chesson | 20 | 224 | 11.2 | 24 | 0 |
| Harmon Wages | 19 | 249 | 13.1 | 47 | 1 |
| Jim Butler | 15 | 143 | 9.5 | 27t | 2 |
| Ray Poage | 4 | 71 | 17.8 | 31 | 0 |
| Sonny Campbell | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 29 | 0 |
| Willie Belton | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 10 | 0 |
| John Mallory | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 27 | 0 |
| Greg Brezina | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| George Kunz | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 167 | 2495 | 14.9 | 84 | 16 |
| Opponents Totals | 164 | 1895 | 11.6 | 68 | 9 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Reaves | 6 | 43 | 7.2 | 31 | 0 |
| Don Hansen | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 40t | 1 |
| Ray Brown | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 23 | 0 |
| Tom Hayes | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 27 | 0 |
| Greg Brezina | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 11 | 0 |
| Ron Acks | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom McCauley | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 20 | 180 | 9.0 | 40t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 21 | 242 | 11.5 | 26 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Lothridge | 44 | 1639 | 37.3 | 58 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Bill Bell | 16 | 577 | 36.1 | 48 | 0 | |||||
| Team Totals | 60 | 2216 | 36.9 | 58 | 1 | 2 | 117 | 2059 | 34.9 | |
| Opponents Totals | 63 | 2606 | 41.4 | 56 | 2 | 4 | 174 | 2352 | 38.6 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Belton | 30 | 3 | 163 | 5.4 | 32 | 0 |
| John Mallory | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 0 |
| Tom McCauley | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Ray Brown | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 37 | 8 | 174 | 4.7 | 32 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 26 | 21 | 117 | 4.5 | 19 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Belton | 28 | 706 | 25.2 | 58 | 0 | |
| Jim Butler | 13 | 372 | 28.6 | 82 | 0 | |
| Joe Profit | 10 | 247 | 24.7 | 35 | 0 | |
| Sonny Campbell | 4 | 95 | 23.8 | 33 | 0 | |
| Harmon Wages | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Dick Enderle | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| John Small | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| John Matlock | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 59 | 1477 | 25.0 | 82 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 52 | 1228 | 23.6 | 97t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Humphrey | 13.0 | |
| John Zook | 11.0 | |
| John Small | 2.0 | |
| Ray Brown | 1.5 | |
| Glen Condren | 1.5 | |
| Don Hansen | 1.0 | |
| (Team) | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 31.0 | 257.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 31.0 | 239.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Belton | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Berry | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Greg Brezina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Ray Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Ken Burrow | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Butler | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sonny Campbell | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | |
| Glen Condren | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Hansen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| Tom Hayes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 69 | 1 |
| Greg Lens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Mallory | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 54 | 1 | |
| Art Malone | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Miller | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 1 | |
| Tommy Nobis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Profit | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Reaves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Sandeman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Shiner | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 0 | |
| John Small | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| Jeff Van Note | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Harmon Wages | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 39 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 233 | 3 |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 1 |
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