1966 Atlanta Falcons season

Offseason

The Falcons attempted to acquire Green Bay Packers running back Jim Taylor. There were tensions in Green Bay because the Packers first round pick, Jim Grabowski would be groomed to take over for Taylor. The signing of Grabowski upset Taylor but he stated he would not leave Green Bay until his contract expired, therefore the Falcons could not acquire the running back.

NFL draft

Main article: 1966 NFL draft

Due to the addition of the team for the 1966 NFL season, the Falcons were allotted the first pick in all twenty rounds of the 1966 NFL draft, as well as five compensatory picks and the end of the first five rounds.

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

• President – Rankin M. Smith Sr.

• Assistant to the president – Bud Erickson

• Vice president and treasurer – Frank E. Wall

• Head coach – Norb Hecker

• Chief offensive – Tom Fears

• Offensive backfield – George Dickson

• Offensive line – Brad Ecklund

• Chief defensive – Hal Herring

• Defensive backfield – John Symank

Roster

The expansion Falcons were allowed to field a roster of 42(only dress 40) players while the rest of the league was limited to 40 during 1966.

Regular season

The Falcons played their first game (preseason) on August 1, 1966, against the Philadelphia Eagles before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium, a two-point Falcons loss, 9–7. In their inaugural regular season, Atlanta played each of the fourteen other teams in the league once. The Falcons lost their first nine regular season games; their first win was on the road against the New York Giants, 27–16, on November 20. Former Giant Ernie Wheelwright scored two touchdowns receiving and ran for 51 more yards as QB Randy Johnson hit for a trio of touchdowns.

Their first ever home victory was over the St. Louis Cardinals, 16–10, before 57,169 on December 11. The Falcons ended their inaugural season at 3–11, yet Tommy Nobis won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award and became the first Falcon named to the Pro Bowl.

Schedule

• A bye week was necessary in , as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1 vs Los Angeles Rams

• Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 7–0. Second Quarter
• Los Angeles – Jack Snow) 51-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 10–0.
• Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 13–0.
• Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 23-yard field goal, Rams 16–0.
• Atlanta – Gary Barnes 53-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Traynham kick), Rams 16–7.

Third Quarter

• Atlanta – Randy Johnson 3-yard rush (Traynham kick), Rams 16–14.
• Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 22-yard field goal, Rams 19–14.

Fourth Quarter|stats=Top Passers

• Rams – Roman Gabriel: 21/35, 294 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Falcons – Randy Johnson: 9/25, 154 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

• Rams – Dick Bass: 14 car, 81 yds.
• Falcons – Ernie Wheelwright: 6 car, 91 yds,

Top receivers

• Rams– Tommy McDonald: 9 rec, 114 yds
• Falcons – Gary Barnes: 1 rec, 53 yds 1 TD}}

Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

First quarter

• Green Bay – Elijah Pitts 3-yard run (Don Chandler kick), Packers 7–0 Second quarter
• Green Bay – Jim Taylor 1-yard run (Don Chandler kick), Packers 14–0
• Green Bay – Carroll Dale 51-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick), Packers 21–0
• Green Bay – Donny Anderson 5-yard run (Don Chandler kick), Packers 28–0 Third quarter
• Atlanta – Lou Kirouac 41-yard field goal, Packers 28–3
• Green Bay – Herb Adderley 68-yard interception return, Packers 35–3 Fourth quarter
• Green Bay – Max McGee 24-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick), Packers 42–3
• Green Bay – Donny Anderson 77-yard punt return (Don Chandler kick), Packers 49–3
• Green Bay – Doug Hart 40-yard interception return (Don Chandler kick), Packers 56–3 Passing
• Falcons – Randy Johnson 5/17, 91 yards, 3 INT
• Packers – Bart Starr 8/13, 220 yards, TD Rushing
• Falcons – Ernie Wheelwright 8 att, 51 yards
• Packers – Jim Grabowski 7 att, 52 yards Receiving
• Falcons – Bill Martin 4 rec, 42 yards
• Packers – Carroll Dale 4 rec, 110 yards, TD

Week 11 at New York Giants

• Atlanta – Ernie Wheelwright 9-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Kirouac kick), Falcons 7–0.

Second Quarter

• New York – Pete Gogolak 24-yard field goal, Falcons 7–3.
• Atlanta – Vern Burke 8-yard pass from Randy Johnson, Falcons 13–3.

Third Quarter

• Atlanta – Ernie Wheelwright 6-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Kirouac kick), Falcons 20–3.
• New York – Joe Morrison 25-yard pass from Tom Kennedy (Gogolak kick), Falcons 20–10.

Fourth Quarter

• Atlanta – Randy Johnson 3-yard rush (Kirouac kick), Falcons 27–10.
• New York – Joe Morrison 12-yard rush, Falcons 27–16.|stats=Top Passers
• Falcons – Randy Johnson 15/25, 177 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
• Giants – Tom Kennedy: 18/33, 188 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Top rushers

• Falcons – Junior Coffey: 16 car, 64 yds.
• Giants – Joe Morrison: 17 car, 91 yds 1 TD

Top receivers

• Falcons– Ernie Wheelwright: 5 rec, 35 yds 2 TD
• Giants – Aaron Thomas: 5 rec, 83 yds}}

Standings

Awards and records

• Tommy Nobis, NFL Rookie of the Year

References

References

1. When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 385, Simon & Schuster, 1999, {{ISBN. 978-0-684-84418-3
2. https://www.profootballarchives.com/nflrosterlimits.html
3. (August 2, 1966). "Fledgling Falcons lose, but scare Philadelphia". Rome News-Tribune.
4. (August 2, 1966). "Falcons drop close game; grid squabbles continue". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
5. (November 21, 1966). "Falcons finally make it - cut down Giants for first victory". Rome News-Tribune.
6. [http://www.atlantafalcons.com/history/timeline.jsp "Major Events in Falcons History"] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-27 , NFL)
7. (December 12, 1966). "Atlanta 'stacks 'Cards' against St. Louis, 16-10". Rome News-Tribune.
8. "Sporting News Rookie of the Year Winners".