Falcons Weekly Release - Bengals Home

2012 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
NFC PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Falcons QB Matt Ryan was named NFC Offensive
Player of the Month for the month
of September. Ryan completed 102 of 147
pass attempts (69.4 percent) for 1,162
yards with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions
for an NFL-best 112.1 quarterback
rating through the first month of the season.
Ryan led the Falcons to their first 4-0 start since 2004 and
just their third 4-0 start in franchise history (1986, 2004
& 2012).
This was the third time in his career that
Ryan has earned player of the month honors.
He won the award for the month of
October during his rookie season in 2008
and again in November of 2010 during his first Pro Bowl
campaign. Ryan is the only player in franchise history to
earn player of the month honors three times.
ALWAYS READY
Falcons S William Moore was named NFC
Defensive Player of the Week after his
two interception performance in Atlanta’s
23-13 win over the New Orleans Saints in
Week 13. Moore posted one of the best
games of his career, notching a game-high
13 tackles (10 solo) with two interceptions,
and two tackles for loss. The Falcons defense
intercepted Saints’ QB Drew Brees five times and
held him without a touchdown pass for the first time in 54
games to snap his NFL record streak.
This was the first Player of the Week award of Moore’s
career and he was the first Falcon to win NFC Defensive
Player of the Week honors since CB Brent Grimes in Week
15 of the 2010 season.
The win marked the the fifth time last season
the Falcons recorded multiple picks
in a game and it was the first time since
11/9/1980 that the Falcons intercepted five
passes. Moore’s second interception of the game came on
the Saints final drive sealing the win for Atlanta and putting
the Falcons in position to clinch their second NFC South
title under Head Coach Mike Smith.
RECORD PERFORMANCES
The Atlanta Falcons performance in 2012 saw a number of
franchise records fall as the club enjoyed one of the best
seasons in its 46-year history. Head Coach Mike Smith
became the team’s all-time wins leader with 56 coaching
victories in his five seasons at the helm. Additionally, QB
Matt Ryan, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Roddy White, WR Julio
Jones, P Matt Bosher and K Matt Bryant each set individual
franchise records.
In 2012, Smith became the first coach in franchise history
to reach 50 wins and the third fastest head coach since
the AFL-NFL merger to reach 50 wins, accomplishing the
feat in 71 games. His 56 career wins are the second most
among all first time head coaches in their first five seasons.
Smith was named the 2012 Sporting News NFL Coach of the
Year for his efforts.
QB Matt Ryan earned his second Pro Bowl selection after
setting franchise records for passing yards (4,719),
attempts (615), completions (422), consecutive passes
without an INT (272), completion percentage (68.6),
touchdown passes (32), consecutive completions (22),
and 300-yard passing games (7) in 2012.
TE Tony Gonzalez earned his 13th career Pro Bowl selection
after becoming the first tight end and eighth player in
NFL history to record 100 touchdown catches. Gonzalez
also set club records for receptions by a tight end in franchise
history (93) and receiving yards by a tight end (930).
WR Roddy White recorded his franchise record sixth
straight 1,000-yard season in 2012. He is the franchise’s
all-time leading receiver with 622 receptions and 8,725
yards over his eight-year career.
WR Julio Jones earned his first career Pro Bowl selection
after combining with White for more receiving yards than
any other receiving tandem in the NFL in 2012. Jones set
a franchise-record with 182 receiving yards in the NFC
Championship Game. He also tied White’s club postseason
record with 11 catches in that game and became just
the second receiver in team history to catch two touchdown
passes in a playoff game.
K Matt Bryant set a franchise-record for most points in
a single season (138) while P Matt Bosher broke his own
franchise-record for net punting average (40.7) and set a
franchise-record for most touchbacks in a single season
(45).