NFL Films: 1966 Atlanta Falcons

Source: NFL Films– The Falcons landing in Atlanta.

You can also see this post at FRS FreeState, on Blogger.

“1966 Atlanta Falcons First Campaign”

From NFL Films

“1967 Atlanta Falcons”

Source:NFL Films– name this Falcon.

From NFL Films

The 1966 Atlanta Falcons I guess could go down as one of the worst NFL expansion teams of all-time. Especially if you consider that they gave up over thirty-one points a game in the mid-1960s NFL where the rules still benefited the defenses. So take that up to the 1980s and we are definitely talking about one of the worst defenses of all-time.

The Falcons offense wasn’t much help either only scoring 204 in fourteen games. The great defenses are going have a hard time being successful when their offense is only giving them less than fifteen points a game to work with.

But a franchise’s expansion year isn’t really about having a good season. What you do with that season is use it almost as an extended preseason and look at a lot of players unless you find some very good ones early on and just go with. But generally you use that year to see where are strong early on and where you need to improve going forward. On a positive note: the Falcons did win 3-5 games in 1966 to finish at 3-11.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

Read Full Post »

CBS Sports: NFL 1966

Source:Getty Images– the game that kicked off the Super Bowl in America.

You can also see this post at FRS FreeState, on Blogger.

“LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 15: Green Bay Packers’ Elijah Pitts #22 runs with the ball during Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs at Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. The Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)”

From I’m A Sportsphile

1966 was a huge transition year for the NFL because it was the first season of the Super Bowl to decide who was the pro football champion of America, not the world. The championship game between the Green Bay Packers of what eventually became the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference, and the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League that would become the American Football Conference.

It was the first year of divisional play in the NFL where the Eastern Conference and Western Conference was broken up into four team divisions. Pre-1966 the NFL Championship was played between the Easter and Western Conference’s regular season champions. No playoff games at all before the Championship, unless there were ties for first place in the conference’s.

Big year for the NFL because they won the first Super Bowl and was at the beginning of the end of the NFL-AFL rivalry as they became of league by 1970 with the NFC and AFC. So the NFL was certainly in transition in 1966-67 and becoming a much larger national league.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

Read Full Post »