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When will the NFL team Atlanta Falcons appear in a Super Bowl again?
Super Bowl XXXIII
The Atlanta Falcons’ lone appearance in the Super Bowl was on January 31, 1999 when they lost to the Denver Broncos 19 - 34. Back then their head coach was Dan Reeves. The “Dirty Bird” end zone dance became popular during the entertaining season. Jamal Anderson created it when he was in college at Utah. Tight end O. J. Santiago did the dance along with sound effects of squawking. The dance consist of just flapping one’s arms, and swaying back and forth. Their quarterback was Chris Chandler and running back Jamal Anderson had the bulk of the carries to maintain possession of the ball.
Arthur Blank
Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, bought the Atlanta Falcons for $545 million. Taylor Smith, the son of team founder Rankin M. Smith, Sr., sold it to him in February 2002. Former running back Warren Dunn is a minority owner.
MIchael Vick
Michael Vick, the number one pick overall in the 2001 Draft, was 2 - 2 in the playoffs when he played for the Falcons.
John Abraham
In 2006, the Falcons traded away a first-round pick (No. 29) that was acquired from the Denver Broncos in the 2006 draft for defensive end John Abraham.
2008
Major changes were made in 2008.
Thomas Dimitroff was hired in 2008 to be the general manager as Rich McKay was relegated to being just the president of the Falcons.
Mike Smith was hired to be the Falcons’ head coach in 2008. Then Mike Mularkey was hired to be the offensive coordinator and Brian VanGorder became the defensive coordinator. The era with him also included drafting quarterback Matt Ryan with the 3rd pick overall in 2008. Later in the year, he became the starting quarterback for the first game of the season. The team also signed unrestricted running back Michael Turner. The team already had wide receiver Roddy White, who was drafted 27th overall in 2005.
Tony Gonzalez
The Falcons acquired tight end Tony Gonzalez in a trade in 2009 for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Julio Jones
The Falcons drafted wide receiver Julio Jones with the 6th pick overall in 2011. They traded away their first, second, and fourth-round picks in the 2011 draft and their first and fourth round picks in the 2012 draft. Moreover, they drafted running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who is 5 ft 6 in tall.
New Coordinators
Dirk Koetter was chosen as the new offensive coordinator on January 15, 2012 because Mike Smith feels he will bring novel ideas to the offense that has stressed to run with the football. Mike also said “he understands the intricacies of the vertical passing game.” Apparently, both men have the same yearning to run the ball.
Did you noticed all the swing passes thrown to Jacquizz Rodgers?
Mike Nolan was picked as the new defensive coordinator on January 17, 2012. Mike Smith stated that Nolan has more than once formed physically intimidating defensive units. He has plenty of experience of being a DC in the NFL.
Asante Samuel
The Falcons received cornerback Asante Samuel in a trade in 2012 for a seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft.
Finally a Win; Just One More
Mike Smith finally won a playoff game as a head coach. His team defeated the Seattle Seahawks in a Divisional playoff game on January 13, 2013 by a score of 30 - 28. Then the Falcons lost in the Conference on the next Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers (28 - 24).
Mike is now 1 - 4 in the playoffs as the head coach of the Falcons.
The Falcons signed unrestricted free agent running back Steven Jackson. Michael Turner in the previous five season carried the ball 1411 times.
The Falcons signed unrestricted free agent defensive end Osi Umenyiora. They also drafted two defensive ends - Malliciah Goodman (4th round) and Stansly Maponga (5th round). They didn’t resigned John Abraham.
The Falcons drafted cornerbacks Desmond Trufant (22nd overall) and Robert Alford (60th) in the 2013 draft to replace Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes. Dunta Robinson was signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2010. Brent Grimes was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2006.
A New Home
We shall see if the Atlanta Falcons appear in a Super Bowl again before their new stadium is finished. The Georgia Dome is apparently obsolete.
My other NFL-related Hubs
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NFL team which have not appeared in a Super Bowl game
When will the following teams appear in a Super Bowl again:
