1974 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1974 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General managerJoe Thomas
Head coach Howard Schnellenberger
Joe Thomas
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record2–12
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers LB Mike Curtis

The 1974 Baltimore Colts season was the 22nd season for the team in the National Football League. The Colts finished with a record of 2 wins and 12 losses, fifth in the AFC East.

Contents

Second-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger was fired after three games, [1] after an argument with owner Robert Irsay over whether Marty Domres or Bert Jones should start at quarterback for the Colts. [2]

General manager Joe Thomas took over the head coaching duties for the remainders of the season, but could direct the team to only two wins, both on the road, as the Colts failed to win a home game during the 1974 season. This would be the last time the Colts would fail to win a home game in a non-strike season until their abysmal 1–15 1991 season, when the team was based in Indianapolis.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1974 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
15 John Dutton  *  Defensive end LSU
124 Roger Carr  *  Wide receiver Louisiana Tech
232 Fred Cook   Defensive end Southern Miss
357 Glenn Robinson   Linebacker Oklahoma State
367 Robert Pratt   Guard North Carolina
484Tony Bell  Defensive back Bowling Green
5129 Doug Nettles   Defensive back Vanderbilt
6140Danny Rhodes  Linebacker Arkansas
7161 Noah Jackson   Guard Tampa
7170 Dan Dickel   Linebacker Iowa
7174 Freddie Scott   Wide receiver Amherst
8188 Greg Latta   Tight end Morgan State
8198 Paul Miles   Running back Bowling Green
10240 Bob Van Duyne   Guard Idaho
10257Glenn Ellis  Defensive tackle Elon
11265 Tim Rudnick   Defensive back Notre Dame
12292 Dave Simonson   Tackle Minnesota
12307Bob Bobrowski  Quarterback Purdue
13317 Randy Hall  Defensive back Idaho
14344Ed Collins  Wide receiver Rice
15369Pat Kelly  Linebacker Richmond
16396Dave Margavage  Tackle Kentucky
17421 Tim Berra   Wide receiver UMass
17436Buzzy Lewis  Defensive back Florida State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

1974 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Final roster

1974 Baltimore Colts 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


Rookies in italics

Regular season

All-Pro linebacker Ted Hendricks signed a future contract with the World Football League, and was then traded by the Colts to the Green Bay Packers by general manager Joe Thomas. (Hendricks never ended up playing for the bankrupt WFL, and made four more Pro Bowls in his career.)

In an autopsy of the Colts 1974 season written for Street & Smith's Pro Football Annual, Buffalo Evening News writer Larry Felser observed that the patience of Baltimore fans was waning, with the perennially sold-out Memorial Stadium had failed to crack the 40,000 mark at the gate on multiple occasions. [3] "When Joe Thomas arrived on the scene as general manager in 1972, he promised to tear down a decaying team and rebuild it into a champion," Felser wrote. "He produced on the first part of his vow; the Baltimore fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop." [3]

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceGame Recap
1September 15at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–300–1 Three Rivers Stadium 48,890 Recap
2September 22 Green Bay Packers L 13–200–2 Memorial Stadium 41,252 Recap
3September 29at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–300–3 Veterans Stadium 64,205 Recap
4October 6at New England Patriots L 3–420–4 Schaefer Stadium 59,502 Recap
5October 13 Buffalo Bills L 14–270–5Memorial Stadium40,626 Recap
6October 20at New York Jets W 35–201–5 Shea Stadium 51,745 Recap
7October 27at Miami Dolphins L 7–171–6 Orange Bowl 65,868 Recap
8November 3 Cincinnati Bengals L 14–241–7Memorial Stadium36,110 Recap
9November 10 Denver Broncos L 6–171–8Memorial Stadium33,244 Recap
10November 17at Atlanta Falcons W 17–72–8 Atlanta Stadium 41,278 Recap
11November 24New England PatriotsL 17–272–9Memorial Stadium34,782 Recap
12December 1at Buffalo BillsL 0–62–10 Rich Stadium 75,325 Recap
13December 8Miami DolphinsL 16–172–11Memorial Stadium34,420 Recap
14December 15New York JetsL 38–452–12Memorial Stadium31,651 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins 1130.7866–29–2327216W3
Buffalo Bills 950.6435–37–4264244L2
New York Jets 770.5004–45–6279300W6
New England Patriots 770.5004–44–7348289L3
Baltimore Colts 2120.1431–71–10190329L4
AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Pittsburgh Steelers 1031.7504–27–3–1305189W2
Houston Oilers 770.5004–27–4236282W1
Cincinnati Bengals 770.5003–35–6283259L3
Cleveland Browns 4100.2861–53–8251344L2
AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders 1220.8575–19–2355228W3
Denver Broncos 761.5363–35–4–1302294L1
Kansas City Chiefs 590.3572–44–7233293L2
San Diego Chargers 590.3572–44–7212285W2
Source: [4]

Season summary

Week 2 vs Packers

Week Two: Green Bay Packers (0–1) at Baltimore Colts (0–1)
Quarter1234Total
Packers 3107020
Colts 330713

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: September 22
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,252
  • Box Score
Game information

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References

  1. ↑ "Schnellenberger the last to know". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 30, 1974. p. 1C.
  2. ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 270, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN   0-312-11073-1
  3. 1 2 Larry Felser, "Baltimore Colts," in Sam E. Andre (ed.), Street & Smith's Pro Football Annual, 1975. New York: Conde Nast Publications, 1975, pp. 48–50.
  4. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 296

See also

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