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1977 Atlanta Falcons season

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1977 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerRankin M. Smith Sr.
General managerEddie LeBaron
Head coachLeeman Bennett
Home fieldFulton County Stadium
Results
Record7–7
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersCB Rolland Lawrence
DE Claude Humphrey
P John James

The 1977 Atlanta Falcons season was the team's 12th year in the National Football League. The team finished the season 7–7, and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Although the Falcons' offense struggled, the defense – nicknamed "Grits Blitz" – was dominant.[1] The Falcons' 129 points allowed led the league and established an all-time NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 14-game NFL season.[2] Atlanta's 3,242 total yards allowed were second-fewest in the league,[3] and the Falcons' 1,384 passing yards allowed was by far the best in the NFL in 1977.[4] The defense surrendered only 9.2 points per game; as of the 2020 season, this remains an all-time record.[5]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1977 NFL Draft
1977 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 6 Warren Bryant  Offensive tackle Kentucky
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[6]

Personnel

Staff

1977 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches



Roster

1977 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 18 Los Angeles Rams W 17–6
55,956
2 September 25 at Washington Redskins L 6–10
55,031
3 October 2 New York Giants W 17–3
46,374
4 October 9 at San Francisco 49ers W 7–0
38,009
5 October 16 at Buffalo Bills L 0–3
27,348
6 October 23 at Chicago Bears W 16–10
49,407
7 October 30 Minnesota Vikings L 7–14
59,257
8 November 6 San Francisco 49ers L 3–10
46,577
9 November 13 Detroit Lions W 17–6
47,461
10 November 20 at New Orleans Saints L 20–21
43,135
11 November 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–0
43,592
12 December 4 New England Patriots L 10–16
57,911
13 December 11 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–23
52,574
14 December 18 New Orleans Saints W 35–7
36,895

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–4 302 146 L1
Atlanta Falcons 7 7 0 .500 3–3 7–5 179 129 W1
San Francisco 49ers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–7 220 260 L3
New Orleans Saints 3 11 0 .214 2–4 3–9 232 336 L4

Defensive legacy

Arguably the most famous personality on the 1977 Falcons was defensive assistant Jerry Glanville, who installed in a swarming style of play in Atlanta remembered as the "Grits Blitz" defense. Football analytics site Cold Hard Football Facts calls the 1977 Falcons "the stingiest defense of the Super Bowl Era" and "the stingiest defense since World War II."[7] Atlanta surrendered just 9.2 points-per-game, or a total of 129 points in the 14-game season (both all-time records). Against the Falcons, teams scored 7 or fewer points in half (7) of the games, and scored more than 16 points only twice. Atlanta's defense intercepted 26 passes, allowed just nine touchdown passes, and recovered 22 fumbles.[8]

Despite its status as the stingiest defense since the 1944 New York Giants, the Falcons sent only two defenders to the Pro Bowl in 1977: cornerback Rolland Lawrence and defensive end Claude Humphrey. The 1976 Falcons possessed one of the worst defenses in the league (22.3 PPG) and largely fell apart in 1978 (18.1 PPG), therefore making the 1977 defense a "one-hit wonder".

Awards and records

Milestones

  • Jerry Glanville's "Grits Blitz" defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed per game since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger (129 points on a 14-game schedule, an average of 9.2 per game).

References

  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Atlanta Falcons
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1960 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points Allowed.
  3. ^ behind Dallas's 3,213: Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  4. ^ Dallas's 1,562 passing yards allowed was second-best
  5. ^ Which NFL teams have allowed the fewest points in the 16-game era?
  6. ^ "1977 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  7. ^ Cold Hard Football Facts, The 100 Stingiest Defenses In Football History Archived 2015-11-14 at the Wayback Machine April 01, 2013
  8. ^ Which NFL teams have allowed the fewest points in the 16-game era?
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