1970 New Orleans Saints season

Last updated

1970 New Orleans Saints season
Owner John W. Mecom Jr.
General manager Vic Schwenk
Head coach Tom Fears (1–5–1)
J. D. Roberts (1–6)
Home stadium Tulane Stadium
Results
Record2–11–1
Division place4th NFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers None

The 1970 New Orleans Saints season was the team's fourth as a member of the National Football League. After spending their first three seasons in the NFL's Eastern Conference, the Saints moved in 1970 to the West Division of the new National Football Conference. They failed to improve on their previous season's output of 5–9, winning only two games, [1] and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Contents

Following a 1–5–1 start, head coach Tom Fears was fired by owner John W. Mecom Jr. and replaced by J.D. Roberts, [2] [3] [4] whose first game was a 19–17 victory over the Detroit Lions at Tulane Stadium in which Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal on the final play; [5] it broke the record held by Bert Rechichar of the Baltimore Colts by seven yards, set seventeen years earlier. [6] [7] Dempsey's record was tied by three: Jason Elam (Denver Broncos, 1998), Sebastian Janikowski (Oakland Raiders, 2011), and David Akers (San Francisco 49ers, 2012). It was broken by Matt Prater of the Broncos in 2013, at 64 yards at elevation in Colorado (Prater's record was broken in 2021 by Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, who kicked a 66-yard game winner vs. the Lions).

The victory over the Lions was last of the season for the Saints, but both victories came over teams in the thick of the NFC playoff race. The other, a 14–10 triumph over the New York Giants in week three, cost the Giants the NFC East division championship. The Lions qualified for the playoffs as the wild card from the NFC, but were nearly forced into a coin toss with the Dallas Cowboys, a situation which was only averted when the Giants lost their season finale to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Saints' 2–11–1 record was the worst in the NFC and gave them the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft; they selected quarterback Archie Manning of Mississippi.

Offseason

NFL draft

1970 New Orleans Saints draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
110 Ken Burrough *  Wide receiver Texas Southern
362 Clovis Swinney   Defensive tackle Arkansas State
488 Delles Howell   Defensive back Grambling
5106Glenn Cannon  Defensive back Mississippi
5126 Steve Ramsey   Quarterback North Texas State
6140Mel Easley  Defensive back Oregon State
7166Lon Woodard  Defensive end San Diego State
8192 Larry Estes   Defensive end Alcorn A&M
9218 Jim Otis *  Running back Ohio State
10244 Jim Brumfield   Running back Indiana State
11270Gary Klahr  Linebacker Arizona
12296 Willie Davenport   Defensive back Southern
13322Ralph Miller  Tight end Alabama State
14348 Doug Sutherland   Defensive end Wisconsin-Superior
15374Jim Vest  Defensive end Washington State
16400Cliff Gaspar  Defensive tackle Grambling
17426 Doug Wyatt   Defensive back Tulsa
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[8]

Personnel

Staff

1970 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

  • President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
  • General Manager – Vic Schwenk
  • Director of Player Personnel – Jack Faulkner

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches



[9]

Roster

1970 New Orleans Saints 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 (ST)

 Practice squad

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 20 Atlanta Falcons L 3–140–1 Tulane Stadium 77,042
2September 27at Minnesota Vikings L 0–260–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900
3October 4 New York Giants W 14–101–2Tulane Stadium69,126
4October 11at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–241–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 45,294
5October 18at San Francisco 49ers T 20–201–3–1 Kezar Stadium 39,446
6October 25at Atlanta FalconsL 14–321–4–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
7November 1 Los Angeles Rams L 17–301–5–1Tulane Stadium77,861
8November 8 Detroit Lions W 19–172–5–1Tulane Stadium66,910
9November 15at Miami Dolphins L 10–212–6–1 Miami Orange Bowl 42,866
10November 22 Denver Broncos L 6–312–7–1Tulane Stadium66,837
11November 29at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–262–8–1 Riverfront Stadium 59,342
12December 6at Los Angeles RamsL 16–342–9–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 66,410
13December 13San Francisco 49ersL 27–382–10–1Tulane Stadium61,940
14December 20 Chicago Bears L 3–242–11–1Tulane Stadium63,518
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
San Francisco 49ers 1031.7693–2–16–3–1352267W3
Los Angeles Rams 941.6924–1–17–3–1325202W1
Atlanta Falcons 482.3333–2–13–6–2206261L1
New Orleans Saints 2111.1540–5–12–8–1172347L6

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Quotes

Al Wester of WWL Radio describes Tom Dempsey's 63-yard field goal against the Detroit Lions.

Here’s the snap. The ball is down. Dempsey's kick is on the way. And...it is good! It’s good! It’s good! The Saints have won! The Saints have won! The stadium is wild. Dempsey is being mobbed. The time has run out, and the Saints have won, 19-17! Dempsey with a 63-yard field goal! The longest field goal in the history of the National League!

Don Criqui describing the same play for CBS:

He's trying a 63-yard field goal. Not only will Tom Dempsey if he hits this one--he has a very slight wind at his back--he'll set a National Football League record, in addition to winning the game. (Dempsey kicks) I don't believe this..."IT'S GOOD! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! THE FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT WAS GOOD FROM 63 YARDS AWAY! It's the incredible! Tulane Stadium has gone wild! A 63-yard field goal!

References

  1. ↑ 1970 New Orleans Saints
  2. ↑ "Saints bounce Fears as head coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. November 4, 1970. p. 25.
  3. ↑ "Fears fired by Saints". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. November 4, 1970. p. 73.
  4. ↑ "Saints get new coach". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 4, 1970. p. 11.
  5. ↑ "63-yard FG lifts Saints over Lions". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. November 9, 1970. p. 25.
  6. ↑ "Dempsey's 63 yard FG jolts Lions". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 9, 1970. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Colts jolt Bears, 13-9, get record 56-yard field goal". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 28, 1953. p. 2, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "1970 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
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