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1987 Atlanta Falcons season

{{short description|NFL team season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NFL team season

| team = Atlanta Falcons

| year = 1987

| record = 3–12

| division_place = 4th NFC West

| coach = Marion Campbell

| stadium = Fulton County Stadium

| playoffs = Did not qualify

| pro_bowlers = {{collapsible list

| title = 2

| G Bill Fralic

| RB Gerald Riggs

}}

| shortnavlink = Falcons seasons

}}

The 1987 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons finished with the worst record in the league, 3–12, and secured the first overall pick in the 1988 NFL draft. Head coach Marion Campbell started his second stint as Falcons head coach in 1987 after previously coaching the team from 1974–1976.

The last remaining active member of the 1987 Atlanta Falcons was Jessie Tuggle, who retired after the 2000 season.

Offseason

=NFL Draft=

{{main article|1987 NFL Draft}}

{{NFL team draft start

| year = 1987

| teamname = Atlanta Falcons

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 13

| player = Chris Miller

| position = Quarterback

| college = Oregon

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 2

| pick = 31

| player = Kenny Flowers

| position = Running back

| college = Clemson

| notes = from Green Bay

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 4

| pick = 97

| player = Ralph Van Dyke

| position = Offensive tackle

| college = Southern Illinois

| notes =

| maderoster = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 5

| pick = 125

| player = Mark Mraz

| position = Defensive end

| college = Utah State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 6

| pick = 153

| player = Paul Kiser

| position = Guard

| college = Wake Forest

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 7

| pick = 181

| player = Michael Reid

| position = Linebacker

| college = Wisconsin

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 8

| pick = 208

| player = Curtis Taliaferro

| position = Linebacker

| college = Virginia Tech

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 9

| pick = 236

| player = Terrence Anthony

| position = Defensive back

| college = Iowa State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 10

| pick = 264

| player = Jerry Reese

| position = Tight end

| college = Illinois

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 11

| pick = 292

| player = Elbert Shelley

| position = Defensive back

| college = Arkansas State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 12

| pick = 320

| player = Larry Emery

| position = Running back

| college = Wisconsin

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft end

| hof = no

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1987_draft.htm |title=1987 Atlanta Falcons Draftees |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |accessdate=December 15, 2013 }}

Personnel

=Staff=

{{NFL final staff

| year = 1987

| team = Atlanta Falcons

| front_office =

  • Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr.
  • President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr.
  • Executive vice president – Taylor Smith
  • Director of player personnel – Ken Herock
  • Director of pro personnel – Bill Jobko

| head_coach =

| offensive =

| defensive =

| special_teams =

  • Special teams – Al Groh

| strength =

  • Strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

}}

=NFL replacement players=

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; {{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}};"|1987 Atlanta Falcons replacement roster
style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" |

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

| style="width: 25px;" |

| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" |

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

| style="width: 25px;" |

| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" |

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

=Roster=

{{NFL final roster

| year = 1987

| team = Atlanta Falcons

| prefix =

| active =

| inactive =

| PS =

| quarterbacks =

{{NFLplayer|16|David Archer|d=quarterback}}

{{NFLplayer|10|Scott Campbell|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|14|Erik Kramer|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|12|Chris Miller|d=quarterback|rookie=y}}

| running_backs =

{{NFLplayer|31|Major Everett}}

{{NFLplayer|48|Kenny Flowers|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|42|Gerald Riggs}}

{{NFLplayer|44|John Settle|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|29|Sylvester Stamps}}

| wide_receivers =

{{NFLplayer|82|Stacey Bailey}}

{{NFLplayer|89|Charlie Brown|d=wide receiver, born 1958}}

{{NFLplayer|86|Floyd Dixon|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|81|Billy "White Shoes" Johnson}}

{{NFLplayer|83|Aubrey Matthews}}

| tight_ends =

{{NFLplayer|88|Arthur Cox|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|87|Ron Middleton|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|80|Dan Sharp}}

| offensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|64|Jamie Dukes|C/G}}

{{NFLplayer|79|Bill Fralic|G}}

{{NFLplayer|78|Mike Kenn|T}}

{{NFLplayer|63|Jeff Kiewel|G}}

{{NFLplayer|62|Brett Miller|T}}

{{NFLplayer|73|Leonard Mitchell|T}}

{{NFLplayer|55|Wayne Radloff|C}}

{{NFLplayer|61|John Scully|d=American football|G}}

|Defensive Linemen =

{{NFLplayer|98|Greg Brown|d=defensive lineman|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|77|Rick Bryan|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|76|Mike Gann|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|68|Dennis Harrison|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|67|Mark Mraz|rookie=y|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|72|Andrew Provence|NT}}

|Linebackers =

{{NFLplayer|56|Joe Costello|d=American football|ILB}}

{{NFLplayer|96|Rich Kraynak|ILB}}

{{NFLplayer|93|Jim Laughlin|ILB}}

{{NFLplayer|95|Michael Reid|d=linebacker|rookie=y|ILB}}

{{NFLplayer|58|Jessie Tuggle|rookie=y|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|51|Reggie Wilkes|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|54|Joel Williams|d=linebacker|OLB}}

|Defensive Backs =

{{NFLplayer|26|James Britt|d=American football|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|23|Bobby Butler|d=American football|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|25|Scott Case|d=American football|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|30|David Croudip|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|41|Tim Gordon|rookie=y|FS}}

{{NFLplayer|34|Robert Moore|d=American football|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|37|Elbert Shelley|rookie=y|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|22|Brenard Wilson|FS}}

|Special Teams =

{{NFLplayer|53|Doug Barnett|LS}}

{{NFLplayer| 3|Rick Donnelly|P}}

{{NFLplayer|18|Mick Luckhurst|K}}

|Reserve Lists =

{{NFLplayer|75|Tony Casillas|NT|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|20|Wendell Cason|S|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|28|Bret Clark|S|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|50|Buddy Curry|LB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|24|Larry Emery|rookie=y|RB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|99|Tim Green|LB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|--|Billy Hinson|T|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|59|John Rade|LB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|45|Ken Whisenhunt|TE|IR}}

|Practice Squad =

}}

Regular season

=Schedule=

class="wikitable" align=center style="text-align: center;"
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Week

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Date

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Opponent

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Result

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Record

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Venue

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"| Attendance

style="background:#fcc"

! 1

| September 13

| at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| L 10–48

| 0–1

| Tampa Stadium

| 51,250

style="background:#cfc"

! 2

| September 20

| Washington Redskins

| W 21–20

| 1–1

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 50,882

style="background:#bababa"

! –

| September 27

| at New Orleans Saints

| colspan="4" |canceled

style="background:#fcc"

! 3

| October 4

| Pittsburgh Steelers

| L 12–28

| 1–2

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 16,667

style="background:#fcc"

! 4

| October 11

| San Francisco 49ers

| L 17–25

| 1–3

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 8,684

style="background:#cfc"

! 5

| October 18

| Los Angeles Rams

| W 24–20

| 2–3

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 15,813

style="background:#fcc"

! 6

| October 25

| at Houston Oilers

| L 33–37

| 2–4

| Astrodome

| 29,062

style="background:#fcc"

! 7

| November 1

| New Orleans Saints

| L 0–38

| 2–5

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 42,196

style="background:#fcc"

! 8

| November 8

| at Cleveland Browns

| L 3–38

| 2–6

| Cleveland Municipal Stadium

| 71,135

style="background:#fcc"

! 9

| November 15

| Cincinnati Bengals

| L 10–16

| 2–7

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 25,758

style="background:#fcc"

! 10

| November 22

| at Minnesota Vikings

| L 13–24

| 2–8

| Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

| 53,866

style="background:#fcc"

! 11

| November 29

| St. Louis Cardinals

| L 21–34

| 2–9

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 15,909

style="background:#cfc"

! 12

| December 6

| at Dallas Cowboys

| W 21–10

| 3–9

| Texas Stadium

| 40,103

style="background:#fcc"

! 13

| December 13

| at Los Angeles Rams

| L 0–33

| 3–10

| Anaheim Stadium

| 43,310

style="background:#fcc"

! 14

| December 20

| at San Francisco 49ers

| L 7–35

| 3–11

| Candlestick Park

| 54,698

style="background:#fcc"

! 15

| December 27

| Detroit Lions

| L 13–30

| 3–12

| Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium

| 13,906

style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Atlanta Falcons|year=1987|border=2}}"

|colspan="7"| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

=Standings=

{{1987 NFC West standings}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Atlanta Falcons}}

{{Atlanta Falcons seasons}}

{{1987 NFL season by team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987 Atlanta Falcons season}}

Atlanta

Category:Atlanta Falcons seasons

Atlanta

{{Americanfootball-season-stub}}