1971 New Orleans Saints season

Last updated
1971 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerJohn W. Mecom, Jr.
General managerVic Schwenk
Head coach J. D. Roberts
Home field Tulane Stadium
Results
Record4–8–2
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers None

The 1971 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints' fifth season. The Saints drafted Archie Manning with their first round pick, the second overall.

Contents

Manning led the Saints to their first opening day victory in franchise history, scoring a touchdown run on a rollout on the final play of a 24–20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans' first over Los Angeles following four consecutive losses, including the Saints' inaugural game in 1967. Four weeks later, Manning engineered a 24–14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, who would return to Tulane Stadium in January and win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins.

Offseason

NFL draft

1971 New Orleans Saints draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Archie Manning  *  Quarterback Mississippi
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1971 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
  • General manager – Vic Schwenk

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches



[2] [3]

Roster

1971 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 19 Los Angeles Rams W 24–201–0 Tulane Stadium 70,915
2September 26 San Francisco 49ers L 20–381–1Tulane Stadium81,595
3October 3at Houston Oilers T 13–131–1–1 Astrodome 47,966
4October 10at Chicago Bears L 14–351–2–1 Soldier Field 55,049
5October 17 Dallas Cowboys W 24–142–2–1Tulane Stadium83,088
6October 24at Atlanta Falcons L 6–282–3–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
7October 31at Washington Redskins L 14–242–4–1 RFK Stadium 53,041
8November 7 Oakland Raiders T 21–212–4–2Tulane Stadium83,102
9November 14at San Francisco 49ers W 26–203–4–2 Candlestick Park 45,138
10November 21 Minnesota Vikings L 10–233–5–2Tulane Stadium83,130
11November 28at Green Bay Packers W 29–214–5–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,035
12December 5at Los Angeles Rams L 28–454–6–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 73,610
13December 12 Cleveland Browns L 17–215–6–2Tulane Stadium72,794
14December 19 Atlanta Falcons L 20–245–7–2Tulane Stadium75,954
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Rams0331420
•Saints0314724
Scoring summary
2NO Skip Butler 32 yard field goalSaints 3–0
2LA David Ray 31 yard field goalTie 3–3
3NO Dave Parks 6 yard pass from Archie Manning (Skip Butler kick)Saints 10–3
3NO Bob Gresham 2 yard run (Skip Butler kick)Saints 17–3
3LADavid Ray 27 yard field goalSaints 17–6
4LA Les Josephson 29 yard pass from Roman Gabriel (David Ray kick)Saints 17–13
4LALes Josephson 1 yard run (David Ray kick)Rams 20–17
4NOArchie Manning 1 yard run (Skip Butler kick)Saints 24–20

[4]

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
San Francisco 49ers 950.6432–47–4300216W2
Los Angeles Rams 851.6154–1–17–3–1313260W1
Atlanta Falcons 761.5383–2–14–6–1274277W1
New Orleans Saints 482.3332–44–7266347L3

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

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References

  1. ↑ "1971 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Scouting Report ... New Orleans Saints". Corsicana Daily Sun . Corsicana, Texas. October 14, 1971. p. 27. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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