2003 Atlanta Falcons season

2003 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerArthur Blank
Head coachDan Reeves (fired December 10, 3-10 record)
Wade Phillips (interim, 2-1 record)
Home fieldGeorgia Dome
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersTE Alge Crumpler
LB Keith Brooking

The 2003 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL). It is best remembered for the third preseason game, in which quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg and was done for most of the season. Atlanta had two other quarterbacks take over for a combined 2–10 record (Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner). Vick returned in week 14 and ended the season with a 3–1 record.

After losing seven straight games, Dan Reeves was let go by Falcons management, and Wade Phillps took over for the rest of the season.

For the season, the Falcons sported a new logo and uniforms.[1]

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 2003 NFL draft
2003 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 55 Bryan Scott  Safety Penn State
4 121 Justin Griffith  Fullback Mississippi State
5 159 Jon Olinger  Wide receiver Cincinnati
6 196 LaTarence Dunbar  Wide receiver TCU
6 202 Waine Bacon  Cornerback Alabama
7 238 Demetrin Veal  Defensive end Tennessee
      Made roster  

[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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2003 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

  • Owner/chief executive officer – Arthur Blank
  • Senior advisor to the president – Bobby Beathard
  • Vice president of football operations – Ron Hill
  • College scouting coordinator – Reed Johnson
  • Director of pro personnel – Les Snead
  • Assistant to head coach/pro personnel – Marvin Bass

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Al Miller
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rocky Colburn


Roster

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2003 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 10 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

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Schedule

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In the 2003 regular season, the Falcons’ non-divisional, conference opponents were primarily from the NFC East, although they also played the Minnesota Vikings from the NFC North, and the St. Louis Rams from the NFC West. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC South. This was the first occasion when the Falcons played the Washington Redskins since 1994,[3] due to old NFL scheduling formulas in place prior to 2002, whereby teams had no rotating schedule opposing members of other divisions within their own conference, but instead played interdivisional conference games according to position within a season’s table.[4]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 September 7 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–13 1–0 Texas Stadium
2 September 14 Washington Redskins L 31–33 1–1 Georgia Dome
3 September 21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–31 1–2 Georgia Dome
4 September 28 at Carolina Panthers L 3–23 1–3 Ericsson Stadium
5 October 5 Minnesota Vikings L 26–39 1–4 Georgia Dome
6 October 13 at St. Louis Rams L 0–36 1–5 Edward Jones Dome
7 October 19 New Orleans Saints L 17–45 1–6 Georgia Dome
8 Bye
9 November 2 Philadelphia Eagles L 16–23 1–7 Georgia Dome
10 November 9 at New York Giants W 27–7 2–7 Giants Stadium
11 November 16 at New Orleans Saints L 20–23 2–8 Louisiana Superdome
12 November 23 Tennessee Titans L 31–38 2–9 Georgia Dome
13 November 30 at Houston Texans L 13–17 2–10 Reliant Stadium
14 December 7 Carolina Panthers W 20–14 (OT) 3–10 Georgia Dome
15 December 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 7–38 3–11 RCA Dome
16 December 20 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–28 4–11 Raymond James Stadium
17 December 28 Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–14 5–11 Georgia Dome
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Carolina Panthers 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 325 304 W3
New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 3–3 7–5 340 326 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 301 264 L2
Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 299 422 W2

References

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  1. ^ "Uniform History" (PDF). 2019 Atlanta Falcons Media Guide. NFL Enterprises, LLC. August 13, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 2, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "2003 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 221 ISBN 0786473517
  4. ^ "History of the NFL's Structure and Formats, Part Two". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
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