1976 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1976 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Joe Thomas
Head coach Ted Marchibroda
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division placeT-1st AFC East
PlayoffsLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Steelers) 14–40
Pro Bowlers T George Kunz
QB Bert Jones
WR Roger Carr
RB Lydell Mitchell
DE John Dutton
K Toni Linhart

The 1976 Baltimore Colts season was the 24th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by second-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots. [1] Baltimore won the AFC East title based on a better division record (7–1 to Patriots' 6–2).

Contents

Marchibroda, the reigning NFL coach of the year, resigned a week before the regular season opener, due to a power struggle with general manager Joe Thomas and owner Robert Irsay. [2] Baltimore had won its first two preseason games, then dropped the final four. [2] Several Colts assistant coaches threatened to leave the team, and quarterback Bert Jones publicly came to his coach's defense. [3] Thomas and Irsay quickly made amends with the coach before the season started. [4] [5] [6] [7] (Thomas would be fired by the team shortly after the season.)

The Colts’ offense was dominant in 1976: they led the league in scoring with 417 points (29.7 per game). Jones was named league MVP after passing for a league-best 3,104 yards, 9.27 yards-per-attempt, and a passer rating of 102.5, second best in the NFL. Running back Lydell Mitchell also had a spectacular year, rushing for 1,200 yards, [8] and catching 60 passes. Wide receiver Roger Carr proved to be a valuable deep threat in the passing game, leading the league with 1,112 receiving yards and 25.9 yards per reception. [9] All three offensive players made the Pro Bowl team.

Offseason

1976 expansion draft

Baltimore Colts selected during the expansion draft
RoundOverallNamePositionExpansion team
00 Mike Curtis Linebacker Seattle Seahawks
00 Bill Olds FullbackSeattle Seahawks
00 Dave Pear Defensive tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Draft

1976 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
120 Ken Novak   Defensive tackle Purdue
381 Ed Simonini   Linebacker Texas A&M
390 Ron Lee   Running back West Virginia
5134 Sanders Shiver  Linebacker Carson–Newman
5143 Mike Kirkland   Quarterback Arkansas Played for Colts in 1978
8228 Ricky Thompson   Wide receiver Baylor
9258Stu Levenick  Tackle Illinois
10283 Tim Baylor   Defensive back Morgan State
11310Rick Gibney Defensive tackle Georgia Tech
12340Frank Stavroff  Placekicker Indiana
14394Jeremiah Cummings  Defensive end Albany State
15424Gary Alexander Tackle Clemson
16449Mike Fuhrman  Tight end Memphis State
16451Steve Ludwig  Center Miami (FL)
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[10]

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1976 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – George Boutselis

Final roster

1976 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 (ST)

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1July 31at Cleveland Browns W 21–01–0 Memorial Stadium (Lincoln) 20,304
2August 6 Washington Redskins W 20–32–0 Memorial Stadium 35,575
3August 14at Chicago Bears L 14–252–1 Soldier Field 54,338
4August 20 New Orleans Saints L 20–26 (OT)2–2 Memorial Stadium 38,879
5August 28at Atlanta Falcons L 7–212–3 Atlanta Stadium 24,986
6September 2at Detroit Lions L 9–242–4 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 54,217

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 12at New England Patriots W 27–131–0 Schaefer Stadium 43,512 Link
2September 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–272–0 Memorial Stadium 50,374 Link
3September 26at Dallas Cowboys L 27–302–1 Texas Stadium 64,237 Link
4October 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 42–173–1Memorial Stadium40,053 Link
5October 10 Miami Dolphins W 28–144–1Memorial Stadium58,832 Link
6October 17at Buffalo Bills W 31–135–1 Rich Stadium 71,009 Link
7October 24at New York Jets W 20–06–1 Shea Stadium 59,576 Link
8November 1 Houston Oilers W 38–147–1Memorial Stadium60,020 Link
9November 7at San Diego Chargers W 37–218–1 San Diego Stadium 42,827 Link
10November 14 New England Patriots L 14–218–2Memorial Stadium58,226 Link
11November 22at Miami Dolphins W 17–169–2 Miami Orange Bowl 62,104 Link
12November 28 New York Jets W 33–1610–2Memorial Stadium44,023 Link
13December 4at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–2410–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,282 Link
14December 12 Buffalo Bills W 58–2011–3Memorial Stadium50,451 Link
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Baltimore Colts (2)1130.7867–111–1417246W1
New England Patriots (4)1130.7866–210–2376236W6
Miami Dolphins 680.4295–36–6263264L1
New York Jets 3110.2142–63–9169383L4
Buffalo Bills 2120.1430–82–10245363L10

Postseason

The team returned to the playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round. The Colts fell behind 26–7 at the half, and lost 40–14. [11] This game is better remembered for the post-game crash of a private plane into an unoccupied section of Memorial Stadium. [12] [13] [14] [15]

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
DivisionalDecember 19 Pittsburgh Steelers (3)L 14–400–1 Memorial Stadium 60,020 Link

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A romp in Baltimore sets up playoff scene". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 13, 1976. p. 18.
  2. 1 2 "Marchibroda quits Colts". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 6, 1976. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Colts claim front office ruined team". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. September 7, 1976. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Marchibroda back; Colts' standoff over". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 8, 1976. p. 23.
  5. ↑ "Marchibroda is back with Colts". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. September 8, 1976. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Lea, Bud (September 8, 1976). "Irsay bows to pressure". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.306, Martin’s Press, August 1994, ISBN   0-312-11073-1
  8. ↑ fourth-best in the NFL, second-best in the NFC behind O. J. Simpson
  9. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1976 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
  10. ↑ "1976 Baltimore Colts Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Pittsburgh's easy victory averts tragedy". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. December 20, 1976. p. 13, part 2.
  12. ↑ "A year in sports". Sports Illustrated. (photo). February 17, 1977. p. 47.
  13. ↑ "Rout was a blessing when plane crashed". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. December 20, 1976. p. 1B.
  14. ↑ "Touch Down". Milwaukee Journal. (Washington Star Service). December 20, 1976. p. 13, part 2.
  15. ↑ "Small plane crashes into stand minutes after 60,000 leave". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 20, 1976. p. 1.
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