1972 Atlanta Falcons (NFL) |
| 2nd place • National Football Conference • Western Division • 7-7-0 .500 |
| 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 | 8/5/1972 | A | San Diego Chargers | 7-30 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 41404 | |
| Sat | 8/19/1972 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 17-31 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 53288 | |
| Fri | 8/25/1972 | A | Miami Dolphins | 10-24 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 75372 | |
| Sat | 9/2/1972 | H | New York Jets | 3-9 | L | Atlanta, GA | Grant Field | 37806 | |
| Sat | 9/9/1972 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 44-14 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 55804 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1972 | A | Chicago Bears | 37-21 | W | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 55701 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1972 | A | New England Patriots | 20-21 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60999 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1972 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 31-3 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 57122 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1972 | H | Detroit Lions | 23-26 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1972 | A | New Orleans Saints | 21-14 | W | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 66294 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1972 | A | Green Bay Packers | 10-9 | W | Milwaukee, WI | County Stadium | 47967 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1972 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 14-49 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1972 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 7-20 | L | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 75018 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1972 | H | New Orleans Saints | 36-20 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Mon | 11/20/1972 | A | Washington Redskins | 13-24 | L | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 53039 | |
| Sun | 11/26/1972 | H | Denver Broncos | 23-20 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1972 | H | Houston Oilers | 20-10 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1972 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 0-20 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 61214 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1972 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 14-17 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58860 | |
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 |
| Grady Allen | 54 | LB | 6-3 | 226 | 26 | Texas A&M | 14 | 0 |
| Bill Bell | 37 | K | 6-1 | 191 | 25 | Kansas | 14 | 0 |
| Willie Belton | 28 | RB | 5-11 | 207 | 24 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 14 | 0 |
| Duane Benson | 51 | LB | 6-2 | 218 | 27 | Hamline | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 17 | QB | 5-11 | 185 | 30 | Oregon | 14 | 14 |
| Greg Brezina | 50 | RLB | 6-1 | 221 | 26 | Houston | 14 | 14 |
| Ray Brown | 34 | LS | 6-2 | 206 | 23 | West Texas A&M | 14 | 13 |
| Ken Burrow | 82 | WR | 6-0 | 191 | 24 | Utah State; San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| Wes Chesson | 81 | WR | 6-2 | 195 | 23 | Duke | 13 | 13 |
| Glen Condren | 88 | LDT | 6-2 | 248 | 30 | Oklahoma | 10 | 8 |
| Ray Easterling | 32 | S | 6-0 | 193 | 23 | Richmond | 8 | 0 |
| Clarence Ellis | 29 | RS | 5-11 | 193 | 22 | Notre Dame | 13 | 13 |
| Ted Fritsch | 68 | C | 6-2 | 239 | 22 | St. Norbert | 14 | 0 |
| Willie Germany | 31 | S | 6-0 | 193 | 23 | Morgan State | 12 | 0 |
| Len Gotshalk | 65 | OT | 6-4 | 255 | 23 | Santa Rosa JC; Cal Poly (Humboldt) | 14 | 0 |
| Dave Hampton | 43 | RB | 6-0 | 210 | 25 | Wyoming | 13 | 11 |
| Don Hansen | 58 | LLB | 6-3 | 227 | 28 | Illinois | 14 | 14 |
| Dennis Havig | 56 | ROG | 6-2 | 253 | 23 | Colorado | 14 | 14 |
| Tom Hayes | 27 | RCB | 6-1 | 199 | 26 | Riverside CC; San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| Claude Humphrey | 87 | LDE | 6-5 | 258 | 28 | Tennessee State | 14 | 14 |
| John James | 6 | P | 6-3 | 199 | 23 | Florida | 14 | 0 |
| Ray Jarvis | 46 | WR | 6-0 | 197 | 23 | Norfolk State | 4 | 0 |
| Noel Jenke | 59 | CB | 6-1 | 220 | 26 | Minnesota | 1 | 0 |
| George Kunz | 79 | ROT | 6-5 | 251 | 25 | Notre Dame | 14 | 14 |
| Ronnie Lamb | 40 | RB | 6-2 | 227 | 29 | South Carolina | 7 | 0 |
| Mike Lewis | 69 | RDT | 6-4 | 260 | 23 | Wiley; Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 14 | 14 |
| Art Malone | 25 | RB | 5-11 | 211 | 24 | Arizona State | 14 | 14 |
| Rosie Manning | 77 | DT | 6-5 | 260 | 22 | Northeastern State | 3 | 0 |
| Andy Maurer | 64 | LOG | 6-3 | 255 | 24 | Oregon | 14 | 14 |
| Larry Mialik | 83 | TE | 6-2 | 230 | 22 | Wisconsin | 14 | 0 |
| Jim Miller | 55 | OG | 6-3 | 240 | 23 | Iowa | 2 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 86 | TE | 6-1 | 235 | 25 | Prairie View A&M | 14 | 14 |
| Tommy Nobis | 60 | MLB | 6-2 | 235 | 29 | Texas | 14 | 14 |
| Tony Plummer | 35 | LS | 5-10 | 189 | 25 | San Mateo JC; Pacific | 14 | 1 |
| Joe Profit | 23 | RB | 6-0 | 210 | 23 | Louisiana-Monroe | 8 | 3 |
| Eddie Ray | 44 | RB | 6-1 | 237 | 25 | Louisiana State | 7 | 0 |
| Ken Reaves | 36 | LCB | 6-3 | 206 | 28 | Norfolk State | 14 | 14 |
| Bill Sandeman | 61 | LOT | 6-6 | 256 | 30 | Stockton JC; Pacific | 14 | 14 |
| Larry Shears | 30 | RS | 5-10 | 185 | 23 | Lincoln (Missouri) | 1 | 1 |
| John Small | 66 | LDT | 6-4 | 263 | 26 | The Citadel | 9 | 2 |
| Todd Snyder | 80 | WR | 6-2 | 187 | 24 | Ohio University | 14 | 1 |
| Pat Sullivan | 7 | QB | 6-0 | 201 | 22 | Auburn | 14 | 0 |
| Jeff Van Note | 57 | C | 6-2 | 247 | 26 | Kentucky | 14 | 14 |
| Chuck Walker | 79 | LDT | 6-2 | 249 | 31 | Duke | 9 | 4 |
| John Zook | 71 | RDE | 6-5 | 240 | 25 | Kansas | 14 | 14 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 15 | Clarence Ellis | DB | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 40 | Pat Sullivan | QB | Auburn |
| 2 | 41 | Steve Okoniewski | T | Montana |
| 2 | 42 | Rosie Manning | DT | Northeastern State |
| 3 | 67 | Les Goodman | RB | Yankton |
| 4 | 94 | Andy Howard | DT | Grambling State |
| 5 | 109 | Billy Taylor | RB | Michigan |
| 5 | 119 | Ralph Cindrich | LB | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | 140 | Mike Perfetti | DB | Minnesota |
| 6 | 146 | Fred Riley | WR | Idaho |
| 7 | 171 | Lance Moon | RB | Wisconsin |
| 8 | 198 | Henry Brandon | RB | Southern University |
| 9 | 223 | Ray Easterling | DB | Richmond |
| 11 | 275 | Jack Phillips | WR | Grambling State |
| 12 | 302 | Larry Mialik | TE | Wisconsin |
| 13 | 327 | Henry Sovio | TE | Hawaii |
| 14 | 354 | Tom Chandler | LB | Minnesota |
| 15 | 379 | Oscar Jenkins | DB | Virginia Union |
| 16 | 406 | Larry Butler | LB | Stanford |
| 17 | 431 | Bill Holland | RB | Southern California |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 64 | 100 | 62 | 43 | 269 |
| Opponents Totals | 67 | 46 | 79 | 82 | 274 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 231 | 113 | 101 | 17 | 94/208 45.2% | 3/5 60.0% | 73 | 650 | |
| Opponents Totals | 34:17 | 221 | 122 | 83 | 16 | 84/205 41.0% | 2/5 40.0% | 61 | 555 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Bell | 0 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 16 | 30 | 53.3 | 0 | 79 |
| Art Malone | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Dave Hampton | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Ken Burrow | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Jim Mitchell | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Bob Berry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Wes Chesson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tommy Nobis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Zook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Claude Humphrey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Mike Lewis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 31 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 16 | 30 | 53.3 | 2 | 269 |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 31 | 32 | 96.9 | 17 | 31 | 54.8 | 0 | 274 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Bell | 16 | 30 | 53.3 | 2 | 41 | 3/5 | 5/6 | 7/10 | 1/9 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 30 | 53.3 | 2 | 41 | 3/5 | 5/6 | 7/10 | 1/9 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 31 | 54.8 | 4/4 | 3/3 | 8/11 | 2/10 | 0/3 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Hampton | 230 | 995 | 4.3 | 56t | 6 |
| Art Malone | 180 | 798 | 4.4 | 27 | 8 |
| Joe Profit | 40 | 132 | 3.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 24 | 86 | 3.6 | 16 | 2 |
| Eddie Ray | 8 | 34 | 4.3 | 9 | 0 |
| Willie Belton | 10 | 20 | 2.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 18 | 0 |
| Pat Sullivan | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Ken Burrow | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Bill Bell | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 500 | 2092 | 4.2 | 56t | 16 |
| Opponents Totals | 504 | 2063 | 4.1 | 42 | 16 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Berry | 277 | 154 | 55.6 | 111 | 2158 | 7.8 | 14.0 | 57t | 13 | 4.7 | 12 | 4.3 | 39 | 255 | 1903 | 78.5 |
| Pat Sullivan | 19 | 3 | 15.8 | 13 | 44 | 2.3 | 14.7 | 18 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 15.8 | 2 | 28 | 16 | 0.0 |
| Team Totals | 296 | 157 | 53.0 | 124 | 2202 | 7.4 | 14.0 | 57t | 13 | 4.4 | 15 | 5.1 | 41 | 283 | 1919 | 70.8 |
| Opponents Totals | 301 | 137 | 45.5 | 146 | 1911 | 6.3 | 13.9 | 82t | 13 | 4.3 | 18 | 6.0 | 24 | 207 | 1704 | 55.9 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Malone | 50 | 585 | 11.7 | 57t | 2 |
| Ken Burrow | 29 | 492 | 17.0 | 40 | 5 |
| Jim Mitchell | 28 | 470 | 16.8 | 40t | 4 |
| Dave Hampton | 23 | 244 | 10.6 | 43 | 1 |
| Wes Chesson | 18 | 338 | 18.8 | 46 | 1 |
| Joe Profit | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Todd Snyder | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Ray Jarvis | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Eddie Ray | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Ronnie Lamb | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Willie Belton | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 1 | -9 | -9.0 | -9 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 157 | 2202 | 14.0 | 57t | 13 |
| Opponents Totals | 137 | 1911 | 13.9 | 82t | 13 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Hayes | 5 | 10 | 2.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Tommy Nobis | 3 | 74 | 24.7 | 37 | 1 |
| Ken Reaves | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 28 | 0 |
| Clarence Ellis | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 13 | 0 |
| Ray Brown | 2 | 46 | 23.0 | 46 | 0 |
| Mike Lewis | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Don Hansen | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 18 | 205 | 11.4 | 46 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 205 | 13.7 | 37t | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John James | 61 | 2609 | 42.8 | 59 | 0 | 3 | 239 | 2310 | 37.9 | |
| Team Totals | 61 | 2609 | 42.8 | 59 | 0 | 3 | 239 | 2310 | 37.9 | |
| Opponents Totals | 56 | 2339 | 41.8 | 57 | 0 | 2 | 194 | 2105 | 37.6 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Belton | 17 | 6 | 110 | 6.5 | 34 | 0 |
| Ray Brown | 8 | 10 | 71 | 8.9 | 29 | 0 |
| Clarence Ellis | 1 | 0 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| John Small | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 27 | 16 | 194 | 7.2 | 34 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 30 | 10 | 239 | 8.0 | 39 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Hampton | 25 | 535 | 21.4 | 52 | 0 | |
| Willie Belton | 21 | 441 | 21.0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Art Malone | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 20 | 0 | |
| Willie Germany | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Tony Plummer | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Wes Chesson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 52 | 1039 | 20.0 | 52 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 48 | 1076 | 22.4 | 98t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| John Zook | 7.5 | |
| Claude Humphrey | 6.0 | |
| Mike Lewis | 5.5 | |
| Greg Brezina | 1.0 | |
| Clarence Ellis | 1.0 | |
| Don Hansen | 1.0 | |
| (Team) | 2.0 | |
| Team Totals | 24.0 | 207.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 41.0 | 283.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Belton | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Berry | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 0 | |
| Greg Brezina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Brown | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Burrow | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Easterling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Germany | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Hampton | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| Don Hansen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Havig | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Hayes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Humphrey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lewis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Art Malone | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Larry Mialik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Nobis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Joe Profit | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eddie Ray | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Reaves | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Sullivan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeff Van Note | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Zook | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 1 | |
| Team Totals | 42 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 39 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 23 | 15 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 1 |
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