1970 Boston Patriots season

Last updated

1970 Boston Patriots season
Owner Billy Sullivan
General manager George Sauer
Head coach Clive Rush
(quit, medical reasons; 1–6)
John Mazur (interim, 1–6)
Home field Harvard Stadium
Results
Record2–12
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers C Jon Morris
AP All-Pros None
Uniform
AFC-1970-Uniform-NE.PNG

The 1970 Boston Patriots season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League and eleventh overall. They ended the season with a record of two wins and twelve losses, fifth (last) in the AFC East Division.

Contents

This was the final season as the “Boston” Patriots, as they moved southwest to Foxborough, Massachusetts the next season and became the “New England” Patriots. The final season as Boston did not go as planned, as the Patriots struggled all season and finished 2–12, the worst record in the NFL. Home games in 1970 were played at Harvard Stadium, their fourth home venue and third in as many seasons.

After taking the season opener at home from the Miami Dolphins, Boston lost nine in a row before beating the Buffalo Bills on the road. The season concluded with an embarrassing 45–7 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Head coach Clive Rush, age 39, quit midway through the season because of medical reasons, with Boston's record at 1–6. [1] [2] [3] His replacement, offensive backfield coach John Mazur, did not do much better of a job, but he continued as head coach the next season. The Patriots scored the fewest points in the league in 1970 with 149, and allowed 361; they missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season.

Despite being a Super Bowl quarterback, no NFL team made contact with 32-year-old Joe Kapp until after the start of the regular season. [4] Prior to the 1969 season, the Minnesota Vikings had exercised the option clause of his contract, so Kapp had played the entire season without a new contract. It was unusual for teams to use the team's option and not to offer a new contract prior to a season. This dispute made him a free agent for the 1970 season, by the NFL's own rules. The Patriots signed him on October 2 to a four-year contract, [5] [6] [7] making him the highest paid player in the league. The Patriots had to give up strong safety John Charles and a first-round draft pick in 1972 (used to select Stanford linebacker Jeff Siemon). [8] Kapp's first appearance was on October 11 at Kansas City, relieving starter Mike Taliaferro in the third quarter of a 23–10 loss to the team which manhandled Kapp and the Vikings in the Super Bowl nine months prior. [9] [10]

November losses vs. the Buffalo Bills (45–10) and St. Louis Cardinals (31–0) marked the last time the Patriots were beaten by 30 or more points in consecutive games until 2023.

The Vikings paid Kapp back in full in week 13, rolling to a 35–14 victory in the Patriots' final game at Harvard and in Boston prior to the move to Foxborough. [11]

The Patriots' poor record was the worst in the 26-team league, but gave them the first overall selection in the 1971 NFL draft. They took quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Heisman Trophy winner from Stanford, upset winner of the Rose Bowl.

Offseason

NFL draft

1970 Boston Patriots draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
14 Phil Olsen   Defensive tackle Utah State Injured prior to the season
356 Mike Ballou   Linebacker UCLA
483 Eddie Ray   Running back LSU
5107 Bob Olson  Linebacker Notre Dame
7160 Odell Lawson  Running back Langston
9212 Dennis Wirgowski   Defensive end Purdue
10239Henry Brown  Wide receiver Missouri
11264Dennis Bramlett  Tackle UTEP
12291Greg Roero Defensive tackle New Mexico Highlands
13316Ronnie Shelley  Defensive back Troy State
14343 Garvie Craw  Running back Michigan
15368 Kent Schoolfield  Wide receiver Florida A&M
16395Otis McDaniel Defensive end Tuskegee
17420Joe Killingsworth Wide receiver Oklahoma
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[12]

Staff

1970 Boston Patriots staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Source:

Roster

1970 Boston Patriots roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

  • 26 Clarence Scott SS

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 20 Miami Dolphins W 27–141–0 Harvard Stadium 32,607 Recap
2September 27 New York Jets L 21–311–1Harvard Stadium36,040 Recap
3October 4 Baltimore Colts L 6–141–2Harvard Stadium38,235 Recap
4October 11at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–231–3 Municipal Stadium 50,698 Recap
5October 18 New York Giants L 0–161–4Harvard Stadium39,091 Recap
6October 25at Baltimore ColtsL 3–271–5 Memorial Stadium 60,240 Recap
7November 1 Buffalo Bills L 10–451–6Harvard Stadium31,148 Recap
8November 8at St. Louis Cardinals L 0–311–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,466 Recap
9November 15 San Diego Chargers L 14–161–8Harvard Stadium30,597 Recap
10November 22at New York JetsL 3–171–9 Shea Stadium 61,822 Recap
11November 29at Buffalo BillsW 14–102–9 War Memorial Stadium 31,427 Recap
12December 6at Miami DolphinsL 20–372–10 Miami Orange Bowl 51,032 Recap
13December 13 Minnesota Vikings L 14–352–11Harvard Stadium37,819 Recap
14December 20at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–452–12 Riverfront Stadium 60,157 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Baltimore Colts 1121.8466–1–18–2–1321234W4
Miami Dolphins 1040.7146–28–3297228W6
New York Jets 4100.2862–62–9255286L3
Buffalo Bills 3101.2313–4–13–7–1204337L5
Boston Patriots 2120.1432–62–9149361L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

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References

  1. "Rush quits as Pats coach". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. November 4, 1970. p. 17.
  2. "Patriots select Mazur". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. November 4, 1970. p. 38.
  3. "Coach clarifies release; hands team resignation". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 4, 1970. p. 11.
  4. "Ex-player sees move to cool off Joe Kapp". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 1, 1970. p. 19.
  5. "Patriots obtain Joe Kapp; terms being worked out". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 2, 1970. p. 3B.
  6. "Patriots sign Kapp". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. October 2, 1970. p. 7.
  7. "Kapp says 'We'll be a winner' after signing with Patriots". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 10.
  8. "Kapp predicts Patriots are going to be winners". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 20.
  9. "Chiefs still bother Kapp; Patriots shattered, 23-10". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 15.
  10. "Kansas City stops Boston Pats, 23-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 12, 1970. p. 8.
  11. O'Hara, Dave (December 14, 1970). "Student beats master in Vikings-Pats game". The Day. (New Haven, Connecticut). Associated Press. p. 28.
  12. "1970 Boston Patriots Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2022.