1972 Atlanta Falcons season

1972 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
General manager	Norm Van Brocklin
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
Home field	Atlanta Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1972 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's seventh year in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 7–6–1, finishing 7–7 and failing to reach the playoffs. Standing at 7-5 the Falcons traveled to San Francisco with NFC Western Division Title on the line. However, the Falcons were never in the game and saw their playoff hopes end with a 20-0 shutout loss. Facing the Kansas City Chiefs in their final game of the season, Running Back Dave Hampton surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. However, a play later he is thrown for a six-yard loss and ends the season with 995 yards, as the Falcons lose and finish 7-7.

Personnel

Staff

1972 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Frank E. Wall General Manager – Norm Van Brocklin Head coaches Head Coach – Norm Van Brocklin Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Billy Ray Barnes Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive Line – Duane Putnam

Defensive coaches Head Defensive – Marion Campbell Defensive Line – Bob Griffin Defensive Backfield – Fred Bruney

Roster

1972 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Bob Berry 7 Pat Sullivan Running backs (RB) 28 Willie Belton 43 Dave Hampton 25 Art Malone 44 Eddie Ray 5 Harmon Wages Wide receivers (WR) 82 Ken Burrow 81 Wes Chesson 45 Ray Jarvis 80 Todd Snyder Tight ends (TE) 83 Larry Mialik 86 Jim Mitchell

Offensive linemen (OL) 68 Ted Fritsch C 65 Len Gotshalk T 56 Dennis Havig G 75 George Kunz T 64 Andy Maurer G 61 Bill Sandeman T 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen (DL) 88 Glen Condren DT 87 Claude Humphrey DE 69 Mike Lewis DT 66 John Small DT 71 John Zook DE

Linebackers (LB) 54 Grady Allen 50 Greg Brezina 58 Don Hansen 60 Tommy Nobis Defensive backs (DB) 34 Ray Brown S 29 Clarence Ellis FS 31 Willie Germany SS 27 Tom Hayes CB 36 Ken Reaves CB Special teams 37 Bill Bell K 6 John James P

Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 17, 1972	at Chicago Bears	W 37–21	55,701
2	September 24, 1972	at New England Patriots	L 21–20	60,999
3	October 1, 1972	Los Angeles Rams	W 31–3	57,122
4	October 8, 1972	Detroit Lions	L 26–23	58,850
5	October 15, 1972	at New Orleans Saints	W 21–14	66,294
6	October 22, 1972	at Green Bay Packers	W 10–9	47,967
7	October 29, 1972	San Francisco 49ers	L 49–14	58,850
8	November 5, 1972	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–7	75,018
9	November 12, 1972	New Orleans Saints	W 36–20	58,850
10	November 20, 1972	at Washington Redskins	L 24–13	53,034
11	November 26, 1972	Denver Broncos	W 23–20	58,850
12	December 3, 1972	Houston Oilers	W 20–10	58,850
13	December 10, 1972	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–0	61,214
14	December 17, 1972	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–14	58,850

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers	8	5	1	.607	3–2–1	6–4–1	353	249	W2
Atlanta Falcons	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–5	269	274	L2
Los Angeles Rams	6	7	1	.464	4–2	5–5–1	291	286	L2
New Orleans Saints	2	11	1	.179	1–4–1	2–8–1	215	361	L3

External links

• 1972 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com