Atlanta Falcons

PLAYER OUTREACH

NFL Teacher of the Year
The Falcons participate in the NFL Teacher of the Year program, honoring teachers who have had a positive influence on NFL players. Teachers are nominated by players during the NFL regular season. Finalists are selected from a pool of applicants from across the nation by a panel of educators and civic leaders. The NFL Teacher of the Year receives a $5,000 grant and a $10,000 grant is presented to the teacher's school.

Extra Yard Partnership Program
The Extra Yard Partnership Program connects players with local children's organizations to create awareness for these charities. Players give back in a variety of ways including: visiting with the children, purchasing tickets for them to attend games, participating in public service announcements to heighten awareness of the charity, donating items to the organization, and other forms of outreach. This season, the following players are participating in the program: Keith Brooking (The Keith Brooking Children's Foundation); Todd McClure (Gwinnett Children's Shelter) and Derek Rackley (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and National Kidney Foundation of Georgia).

NFL Tuesdays/Hometown Huddle
Tuesday is the traditional day off for players during the season. However, many players use this day to work in their communities. The NFL Tuesdays program is designed to raise awareness of the day off charitable activities of players and the importance of volunteerism. Begun in 1999, Hometown Huddle is a national NFL Super Tuesday, a day on which NFL players and coaches from each of the 32 teams participate in various community-service activities. This year's Hometown Huddle will take place in November.

Player Performance Pledges
Another way the Falcons players give back to the community is through Player Performance Pledges. Players make pledges to a charitable organization based on individual or team accomplishments on the field (yardage, touchdowns, receptions, field goals, tackles, wins, etc.) throughout the season. Over $102,249 was raised in 2003 through performance pledges for charity

The Atlanta Falcons' Head Coach Bobby Petrino was desperately hoping to improve upon the 2006 finish of 7-9. He was also hoping for a dazzling season to draw the attention of the public away from superstar Michael Vick's courtroom antics and show the fans what the Falcons could do. He failed, in both regards. He did not finish the season with a record any better than the 2006 season. In fact, he only managed 4 wins and racked up 12 losses, thereby keeping the eyes of the public fully focused on the much more interesting case of Michael Vick and his puppy problems.

After finishing only 13 games of the season, Coach Petrino called it quits. To top it off, this was only the first season for Coach Petrino. The Atlanta Falcons had fired the coach from the 2006 season, Jim Mora, Jr., on New Years Day, and hired Coach Petrino to take his place. He exited the team on December 11th, and left interim coach Emmitt Thomas to pick up the slack. Thomas lost three of the last four games as head coach, but stuck in there for the remainder of the season. At the start of the 2007 offseason, Mike Smith was hired to be the Head Coach for the 2008 season, and hopefully, the times will change and the skies will lighten for Coach Smith.

The Atlanta Falcons four wins were decided by an average of only eight points per game. The largest margin the Falcons won by was 10 points, and the smallest margin was a mere 3 points, with a 4-point win and a 7 point win in between. This slim margin of victory will need to be improved upon if the Falcons hope to have even a break-even record in the 2008 season.

The Falcons acquired QB Joey Harrington at the onset of the 2007 season. Their hopes for a miracle season were dashed when Harrington threw 2 interceptions in the first game alone. Byron Leftwich was then signed as a backup QB with this failed attempt, with the intentions of making him starting quarterback if the occasion called for it, but the woes would only continue as the season went on.

With the exclusion of a few glorious moments that were few and far between, the 2007 season was a huge disappointment to coaches, players, and fans alike. 2008 promises to be better, and with a few key additions the Falcons could shape up to be playoff contenders under Coach Smith in the years to come.