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2001 Atlanta Falcons season

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2001 Atlanta Falcons season
General managerHarold Richardson
Head coachDan Reeves
Home fieldGeorgia Dome
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersLB Keith Brooking

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 Virginia Tech quarterback 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. The Falcons improved on their 9–23 record from the previous two seasons, but still failed to qualify for the postseason for the third consecutive campaign after a 6-4 start.

This was the final season under the Falcons' founding ownership, the Rankin M. Smith Sr. family, as the franchise was sold to The Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank in March 2002.

It was also the first season since 1986 that Jessie Tuggle was not on the roster, as he announced his retirement on August 28, 2001.

Offseason

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Vick was selected in the 2001 NFL draft as the first overall pick and first African American quarterback taking 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

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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]

Undrafted free agents

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2001 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jay Feely Kicker Michigan
Dave Kadela Offensive tackle Virginia Tech

Personnel

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Staff

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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

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Al Miller
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rocky Colburn


Roster

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2001 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 6 reserve, 5 practice squad

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 August 3 Pittsburgh Steelers L 16–17 0–1 Georgia Dome
2 August 11 at New York Jets W 20–10 1–1 Giants Stadium
3 August 17 at Washington Redskins W 27–6 2–1 FedExField
4 August 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 36–7 3–1 Georgia Dome

Regular season

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This was the Falcons’ 32nd and final season as a member of the NFC West Division. If one counts its predecessor, the Coastal Division of the NFL’s Western Conference prior to the 1970 merger, it was the franchise’s 35th season in this division. The Falcons moved to the new NFC South as part of the NFL’s realignment plan for the following season.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 9 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–16 (OT) 0–1 3Com Park 65,989
2[A] September 23 Carolina Panthers W 24–16 1–1 Georgia Dome 47,804
3 September 30 at Arizona Cardinals W 34–14 2–1 Sun Devil Stadium 28,878
4 October 7 Chicago Bears L 3–31 2–2 Georgia Dome 46,483
5 October 14 San Francisco 49ers L 31–37 (OT) 2–3 Georgia Dome 46,727
6 October 21 at New Orleans Saints W 20–13 3–3 Louisiana Superdome 70,020
7 Bye
8 November 4 New England Patriots L 10–24 3–4 Georgia Dome 44,229
9 November 11 Dallas Cowboys W 20–13 4–4 Georgia Dome 69,010
10 November 18 at Green Bay Packers W 23–20 5–4 Lambeau Field 59,849
11 November 25 at Carolina Panthers W 10–7 6–4 Ericcson Stadium 72,234
12 December 2 St. Louis Rams L 6–35 6–5 Georgia Dome 59,318
13 December 9 New Orleans Saints L 10–28 6–6 Georgia Dome 68,826
14 December 16 at Indianapolis Colts L 27–41 6–7 RCA Dome 55,603
15 December 23 Buffalo Bills W 33–30 7–7 Georgia Dome 43,320
16 December 30 at Miami Dolphins L 14–21 7–8 Pro Player Stadium 73,559
17[A] January 6 at St. Louis Rams L 13–31 7–9 Trans World Dome 66,033
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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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

Notes

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  1. ^ a b The Falcons were originally scheduled to play the St. Louis Rams during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Trans World Dome in St. Louis. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.

References

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  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". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Barry Wilner (January 11, 2005). "Manning NFL MVP again: 49 TDs, passing rating of 121.1 make Colts QB near-unanimous pick". The Decatur Daily. Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  5. ^ "2001 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
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