2001 Atlanta Falcons season

2001 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach Dan Reeves
Home field Georgia Dome
Results
Record 7–9
Division place 3rd NFC West
Playoff finish did not qualify
Uniform

The 2001 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 36th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons obtained the first pick overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. With the pick, the Falcons drafted Michael Vick.[1]

This was Jamal Anderson's final season as he re-aggravated his surgically repaired knee in Week 3, and this time, it ended his career.

Offseason

Vick was selected in the 2001 NFL Draft as the first overall pick and first African American quarterback taken number 1 in the NFL Draft. The San Diego Chargers had the number one selection spot in the draft that year but traded the rights to the first overall choice to the Atlanta Falcons a day before the draft, for which they received the Falcons' first round pick (5th overall) and third round pick in 2001 (used to draft CB Tay Cody), a second round pick in 2002 (used to draft WR Reche Caldwell) and WR/KR Tim Dwight.[2] With the Chargers' downgraded spot (the 5th overall), they selected Texas Christian University running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who went on to become league MVP in 2006.[3] Although Vick has never become league MVP, he finished second in voting in 2004.[4] In this way, Tomlinson and Vick are linked as having been "traded" for each other, although the transaction was actually the result of traded draft picks and contract negotiations.

NFL Draft

Main article: 2001 NFL Draft
2001 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Michael Vick *  Quarterback Virginia Tech
2 35 Alge Crumpler *  Tight end North Carolina
4 99 Roberto Garza  Guard Texas A&M–Kingsville
4 102 Matt Stewart  Linebacker Vanderbilt
5 136 Vinny Sutherland  Wide receiver Purdue
6 167 Randy Garner  Defensive end Arkansas
7 215 Corey Hall  Defensive back Appalachian State
7 219 Kynan Forney  Guard Hawaii
7 226 Ronald Flemons  Defensive end Texas A&M
7 236 Quentin McCord  Wide receiver Kentucky
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[5]

Personnel

Staff

2001 Atlanta Falcons staff
Front office
  • President – Taylor Smith
  • General Manager – Harold Richardson
  • Vice President of Football Operations – Ron Hill
  • Director of Player Personnel/College – Reed Johnson
  • Director of Player Personnel/Pro – Les Snead
  • Assistant to Head Coach/Pro Personnel – Marvin Bass

Head coaches

  • Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Head Coach – Dan Reeves

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator – Don Blackmon
  • Defensive Line – Bill Johnson
  • Linebackers – Billy Davis
  • Secondary – Greg Brown
  • Defensive Quality Control – Thom Kaumeyer

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rocky Colburn

Regular season

This was the Falcons' 32nd and final season as a member of the NFC West Division (35, if you count its predecessor, the Coastal Division of the NFL's Western Conference prior to the 1970 merger) before moving to the new NFC South as part of the NFL's realignment plan for the following season.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Results Attendance
Final score Team record
1 September 9 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–16 (OT) 0–1
65,989
2 September 23 Carolina Panthers W 24–16 1–1
47,804
3 September 30 at Arizona Cardinals W 34–14 2–1
28,878
4 October 7 Chicago Bears L 3–31 2–2
46,483
5 October 14 San Francisco 49ers L 31–37 (OT) 2–3
46,727
6 October 21 at New Orleans Saints W 20–13 3–3
70,020
7 Bye
8 November 4 New England Patriots L 10–24 3–4
44,229
9 November 11 Dallas Cowboys W 20–13 4–4
69,010
10 November 18 at Green Bay Packers W 23–20 5–4
59,849
11 November 25 at Carolina Panthers W 10–7 6–4
72,234
12 December 2 St. Louis Rams L 6–35 6–5
59,318
13 December 9 New Orleans Saints L 10–28 6–6
68,826
14 December 16 at Indianapolis Colts L 27–41 6–7
55,603
15 December 23 Buffalo Bills W 33–30 7–7
43,320
16 December 30 at Miami Dolphins L 14–21 7–8
73,559
17 January 6 at St. Louis Rams L 13–31 7–9
66,033

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) St. Louis Rams 14 2 0 .875 503 273 W6
(5) San Francisco 49ers 12 4 0 .750 409 282 W1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 333 409 L4
Atlanta Falcons 7 9 0 .438 291 377 L2
Carolina Panthers 1 15 0 .063 253 410 L15

References

  1. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 392
  2. ↑ ESPN – Chargers big winner in different draft-day deal – NFL
  3. ↑ NFL Most Valuable Players – NFL MVP Player of the Year
  4. ↑ Barry Wilner (2005-01-11). "Manning NFL MVP again: 49 TDs, passing rating of 121.1 make Colts QB near-unanimous pick". The Decatur Daily. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  5. ↑ "2001 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2013.

External links

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