1999 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1999 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 34th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with a 5–11 record, some way short of the 14–2 record they managed in the previous season, and failed to reach the playoffs, which meant they would not be the first team to play in the Super Bowl at their own stadium.^[1] The Falcons and their Super Bowl XXXIII opponent, the Denver Broncos, managed an aggregate 11–21 record between them; it was the worst combined record by two teams the year after they reached the Super Bowl until the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003.

1999 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Taylor Smith
General manager	Harold Richardson
Head coach	Dan Reeves
Offensive coordinator	George Sefcik
Defensive coordinator	Rich Brooks
Home stadium	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 1998 Falcons seasons 2000 →

The season saw star running back Jamal Anderson hurt his knee in Week 2 and be subsequently placed on injured reserve, ending his season and any hope of the Falcons matching their 1998 form.^[2] The injury that Anderson suffered was career-threatening.

Offseason

Free agents

Position	Player	Free agency tag	1999 team
DB	Darren Anderson	UFA
DB	Ronnie Bradford	UFA	Atlanta Falcons
DE	John Burrough	UFA	Minnesota Vikings
DB	Devin Bush	UFA	St. Louis Rams
QB	Steve DeBerg	UFA	Retired
DE	Antonio Edwards	UFA	Carolina Panthers
WR	Ronnie Harris	UFA	Atlanta Falcons
WR	Todd Kinchen	UFA	Carolina Panthers
C	Adam Schreiber	UFA	Atlanta Falcons
LB	Ben Talley	RFA	Atlanta Falcons
DE	Esera Tuaolo	UFA	Carolina Panthers
DB	William White	UFA

Additions	Subtractions
G Greg Bishop (Giants)	LB Cornelius Bennett (Colts)
WR Chris Calloway (Giants)	WR Tony Martin (Dolphins)
S Marty Carter (Bears)
QB Danny Kanell (Giants)
S Gerald McBurrows (Rams)
LB Pellom McDaniels (Chiefs)

NFL draft

Main article: 1999 NFL draft

1999 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	30	Patrick Kerney *	Defensive end	Virginia
2	42	Reggie Kelly *	Tight end	Mississippi State
3	92	Jeff Paulk	Fullback	Arizona State
4	126	Johndale Carty	Defensive back	Utah State
5	164	Eugene Baker	Wide receiver	Kent State
6	198	Jeff Kelly	Linebacker	Kansas State
6	200	Eric Thigpen	Defensive back	Iowa
7	237	Todd McClure	Center	LSU
7	247	Rondel Menendez	Wide receiver	Eastern Kentucky
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[3]

Personnel

1999 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office President – Taylor Smith Executive vice-president of football operations – Dan Reeves General manager – Harold Richardson Vice-president of football operations – Ron Hill Director of player personnel/College – Reed Johnson Director of player personnel/Pro – Chuck Connor Assistant to head coach/pro personnel – Marvin Bass Head coaches Head coach – Dan Reeves Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator – Rich Brooks Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/running backs – George Sefcik Passing Game/Play Calling – Jack Burns Quarterbacks – Steve DeBerg Wide receivers – Rennie Simmons Tight ends – James Daniel Offensive line – Art Shell Offensive quality control – Ed West

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Don Blackmon Secondary – Ron Meeks Defensive quality control – Brian Xanders Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe DeCamillis Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Al Miller Assistant strength and conditioning – Rocky Colburn

Roster

1999 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Chris Chandler  7 Tony Graziani 14 Wally Richardson Running backs (RB) 44 Bob Christian FB 24 Byron Hanspard 33 Winslow Oliver 28 Ken Oxendine 40 Jeff Paulk FB Wide receivers (WR) 15 Eugene Baker 80 Chris Calloway 83 Tim Dwight 87 Jammi German 82 Ronnie Harris 81 Terance Mathis Tight ends (TE) 89 Reggie Kelly 85 Brian Kozlowski 84 Rod Monroe 88 O. J. Santiago

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Greg Bishop G 68 Calvin Collins G 64 Bob Hallen G 63 Evan Pilgrim G 76 Jose Portilla T 74 Ephraim Salaam T 61 Robbie Tobeck C 70 Bob Whitfield T 69 Gene Williams G Defensive linemen (DL) 92 Lester Archambeau DE 75 Shane Dronett DT 98 Travis Hall DT 91 Ben Huff DT 95 Ed Jasper DT 97 Patrick Kerney DE 77 Pellom McDaniels DE 90 Chuck Smith DE 93 Shawn Swayda DT

Linebackers (LB) 56 Keith Brooking OLB 94 Henri Crockett OLB 51 Jeff Kelly MLB 52 Craig Sauer OLB 58 Jessie Tuggle MLB Defensive backs (DB) 20 Michael Booker SS 23 Ronnie Bradford CB 27 Omar Brown FS 34 Ray Buchanan CB 35 Johndale Carty SS 30 Derrick Gardner CB 22 Gerald McBurrows SS 41 Eugene Robinson FS 21 Elijah Williams CB Special teams (ST)  5 Morten Andersen K 55 Whit Marshall LS  4 Dan Stryzinski P

Practice squad 79 Emil Ekiyor G 86 Brian Finneran WR 72 Adam Hernandez T 50 Brian Smith LB 53 active, 6 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 32 Jamal Anderson RB (IR) 25 Marty Carter S (IR) 45 Gary Downs RB (IR) 54 Ruffin Hamilton LB (IR) 13 Danny Kanell QB (IR) 62 Todd McClure C (IR) Rookies in italics

^[4]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	TV	Attendance
1	September 12	Minnesota Vikings	L 14–17	0–1	Georgia Dome	Pat Summerall, John Madden, D.J. Johnson	69,555
2	September 20	at Dallas Cowboys	L 7–24	0–2	Texas Stadium	Al Michaels, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser	63,663
3	September 26	at St. Louis Rams	L 7–35	0–3	Trans World Dome	Kenny Albert, Tim Green, Pete Peterson	63,253
4	October 3	Baltimore Ravens	L 13–19 (OT)	0–4	Georgia Dome	Gus Johnson, Brent Jones	50,712
5	October 10	at New Orleans Saints	W 20–17	1–4	Louisiana Superdome	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Jim Gallagher	57,289
6	October 17	St. Louis Rams	L 13–41	1–5	Georgia Dome	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Mike Goldberg	51,973
7	October 25	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 9–13	1–6	Three Rivers Stadium	Al Michaels, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser	58,141
8	October 31	Carolina Panthers	W 27–20	2–6	Georgia Dome	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Mike Goldberg	52,594
9	November 7	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 7–30	2–7	Georgia Dome	Gus Johnson, Brent Jones, Marcus Allen	68,466
10	Bye
11	November 21	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–19	2–8	Raymond James Stadium	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Chip Carter	65,158
12	November 28	at Carolina Panthers	L 28–34	2–9	Ericcson Stadium	Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire, Solomon Wilcots	55,507
13	December 5	New Orleans Saints	W 35–12	3–9	Georgia Dome	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Jim Gallagher	62,568
14	December 12	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–26	3–10	3Com Park	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Brian Webber	67,465
15	December 19	at Tennessee Titans	L 17–30	3–11	Adelphia Coliseum	Kenny Albert, Tim Green, Mike Ferreri	66,196
16	December 26	Arizona Cardinals	W 37–14	4–11	Georgia Dome	Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, Kevin McCabe	47,074
17	January 3	San Francisco 49ers	W 34–29	5–11	Georgia Dome	Al Michaels, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser	57,980
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) St. Louis Rams	13	3	0	.813	526	242	L1
Carolina Panthers	8	8	0	.500	421	381	W1
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	0	.313	285	380	W2
San Francisco 49ers	4	12	0	.250	295	453	L3
New Orleans Saints	3	13	0	.188	260	434	L1