1973 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1973 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Joe Thomas
Head coach Howard Schnellenberger
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record4–10
Division placeT-4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1973 Baltimore Colts season was the 21st season for the team in the National Football League. Under first-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Colts finished with a record of 4 wins and 10 losses, tied for fourth in the AFC East with the New York Jets. The Colts lost the tiebreaker to the Jets based on head-to-head sweep (0–2).

Contents

Baltimore was the only team to lose to the Houston Oilers, bowing 31–27 in week eight at home. The Oilers broke an 18-game losing streak with the victory.

Hired in February, Schnellenberger was previously the offensive coordinator with the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins, [1] who went undefeated in 1972 under head coach Don Shula.

This was the first year since 1955 in which long-time quarterback Johnny Unitas was not on the Baltimore roster.

Offseason

NFL draft

1973 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Bert Jones  *  Quarterback LSU
110 Joe Ehrmann  *  Defensive tackle Syracuse
235 Mike Barnes  *  Defensive end Miami (FL)
361 Bill Olds  *  Running back Nebraska
362Jamie Rotella  Linebacker Tennessee
483Gery Palmer  Tackle Kansas
485 Ollie Smith   Wide receiver Tennessee State
5114 David Taylor   Guard Catawba
8189 Ray Oldham   Defensive back Middle Tennessee
8191 Bill Windauer   Guard Iowa
11270 Dan Neal   Center Kentucky
12295Bernard Thomas  Defensive end Iowa
13322Tom Pierantozzi  Quarterback West Chester
14347Ed Williams  Running back West Virginia
15347Jackie Brown  Defensive back South Carolina
16399Marty Januszkiewicz  Running back Syracuse
17426Guy Falkenhagen  Tackle Northern Michigan
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

1973 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches



Final roster

1973 Baltimore Colts 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

Before the season, the Colts traded long-time quarterback Johnny Unitas to the San Diego Chargers. Unitas had been splitting quarterback duties with Earl Morrall and Marty Domres over the past few seasons; he played one season for San Diego and retired.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceGame recap
1September 16at Cleveland Browns L 14–240–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,303 Recap
2September 23 New York Jets L 10–340–2 Memorial Stadium 55,942 Recap
3September 30 New Orleans Saints W 14–101–2Memorial Stadium52,293 Recap
4October 7at New England Patriots L 16–241–3 Schaefer Stadium 57,044 Recap
5October 14at Buffalo Bills L 13–311–4 Rich Stadium 78,875 Recap
6October 21at Detroit Lions W 29–272–4 Tiger Stadium 48,058 Recap
7October 28 Oakland Raiders L 21–342–5Memorial Stadium59,008 Recap
8November 4 Houston Oilers L 27–312–6Memorial Stadium52,707 Recap
9November 11at Miami Dolphins L 0–442–7 Orange Bowl 60,332 Recap
10November 18at Washington Redskins L 14–222–8 RFK Stadium 52,675 Recap
11November 25 Buffalo Bills L 17–242–9Memorial Stadium52,250 Recap
12December 2at New York Jets L 17–202–10 Shea Stadium 51,167 Recap
13December 9 Miami Dolphins W 16–33–10Memorial Stadium58,446 Recap
14December 16 New England Patriots W 18–134–10Memorial Stadium52,065 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins 1220.8577–19–2343150W1
Buffalo Bills 950.6436–27–4259230W4
New England Patriots 590.3571–73–8258300L2
New York Jets 4100.2864–44–7240306L2
Baltimore Colts 4100.2862–62–9226341W2

[2]

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References

  1. "Colts wanted a winner, so it got Schnellenberger". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 15, 1973. p. 4B.
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 296. ISBN   0-7611-2480-2.

See also