1970 Atlanta Falcons season

1970 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
General manager	Norm Van Brocklin
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
Home field	Atlanta Stadium
Results
Record	4–8–2
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1970 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's fifth year in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 6–8, winning only four games. They failed to reach the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The team began its season by winning two of its first three games. However, following their 21–20 win over the San Francisco 49ers the Falcons went 2–7–2 in their final 11 games. Their tied games, 10–10 with the Los Angeles Rams and 13–13 with the Philadelphia Eagles, occurred in back-to-back weeks. The Falcons are the last team in NFL history to have two tied games in two straight weeks, as overtime was added to the NFL game in 1974.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1991 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
2	39	Art Malone	Fullback	Arizona State
3	64	Andy Maurer	Guard	Oregon
3	65	Todd Snyder	Wide Receiver	Ohio

Personnel

Staff

1970 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 – Walt Yowarsky Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive Line – Duane Putnam

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

Roster

1970 Atlanta Falcons final roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Bob Berry 11 Randy Johnson Running backs 33 Cannonball Butler FB 45 Sonny Campbell 40 Paul Gipson 25 Art Malone 5 Harmon Wages Wide receivers 15 Gail Cogdill 85 Paul Flatley 80 Todd Snyder Tight ends 84 Mike Donohoe 86 Jim Mitchell		Offensive linemen 65 Bob Breitenstein T 63 Dick Enderle G 75 George Kunz T 53 John Matlock 64 Andy Maurer G 61 Bill Sandeman T 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen 88 Glen Condren DT 87 Claude Humphrey DE 72 Greg Lens DT 89 Randy Marshall DE 66 John Small DT 71 John Zook DE		Linebackers 52 Ron Acks 54 Grady Allen 50 Greg Brezina 59 Dean Halverson 58 Don Hansen 60 Tommy Nobis Defensive backs 49 Al Lavan 22 John Mallory SS 20 Tom McCauley FS 36 Ken Reaves CB 47 Rudy Redmond CB Special teams 26 Billy Lothridge P  8 Ken Vinyard K		Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 20, 1970	at New Orleans Saints	W 14–3	77,042
2	September 27, 1970	at Green Bay Packers	L 27–24	56,263
3	October 4, 1970	San Francisco 49ers	W 21–20	58,850
4	October 11, 1970	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–0	53,611
5	October 18, 1970	at Denver Broncos	L 24–10	50,705
6	October 25, 1970	New Orleans Saints	W 32–14	58,850
7	November 1, 1970	Chicago Bears	L 23–14	58,850
8	November 8, 1970	at Los Angeles Rams	T 10–10	67,232
9	November 15, 1970	at Philadelphia Eagles	T 13–13	55,425
10	November 22, 1970	Los Angeles Rams	L 17–7	58,850
11	November 30, 1970	Miami Dolphins	L 20–7	54,036
12	December 6, 1970	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–20	41,387
13	December 13, 1970	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–16	54,162
14	December 20, 1970	Minnesota Vikings	L 37–7	57,992

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers	10	3	1	.769	3–2–1	6–3–1	352	267	W3
Los Angeles Rams	9	4	1	.692	4–1–1	7–3–1	325	202	W1
Atlanta Falcons	4	8	2	.333	3–2–1	3–6–2	206	261	L1
New Orleans Saints	2	11	1	.154	0–5–1	2–8–1	172	347	L6

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

External links

• 1970 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com