1970 New Orleans Saints season

1970 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach Tom Fears and J. D. Roberts
General manager Vic Schwenk
Owner John W. Mecom, Jr.
Home field Tulane Stadium
Results
Record 2–11–1
Division place 4th NFC West
Playoff finish did not qualify

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] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Following a 1–5–1 start, coach Tom Fears was fired by owner John W. Mecom Jr. Fears was replaced by J.D. Roberts, whose first game was a 19–17 victory over the Detroit Lions in which Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal on the final play, breaking the old record held by Bert Rechichar of the Baltimore Colts by seven yards. Dempsey's record stood alone until it was tied by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos in 1998 and equaled by Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 and David Akers of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. The record was broken by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos in 2013.

The victory over the Lions was the last of the season of the Saints, but both of New Orleans' victories came over teams in the thick of the NFC playoff race. The other win, 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 Rams.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft
1970 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 10 Ken Burrough *  Wide receiver Texas Southern
3 62 Clovis Swinney  Defensive tackle Arkansas State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

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

[3]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 20, 1970 Atlanta Falcons L 14–3
77,042
2 September 27, 1970 at Minnesota Vikings L 26–0
47,900
3 October 4, 1970 New York Giants W 14–10
69,126
4 October 11, 1970 at St. Louis Cardinals L 24–17
45,294
5 October 18, 1970 at San Francisco 49ers T 20–20
39,446
6 October 25, 1970 at Atlanta Falcons L 32–14
58,850
7 November 1, 1970 Los Angeles Rams L 30–17
77,861
8 November 8, 1970 Detroit Lions W 19–17
66,910
9 November 15, 1970 at Miami Dolphins L 21–10
42,866
10 November 22, 1970 Denver Broncos L 31–6
66,837
11 November 29, 1970 at Cincinnati Bengals L 26–6
59,342
12 December 6, 1970 at Los Angeles Rams L 34–16
66,410
13 December 13, 1970 San Francisco 49ers L 38–27
61,940
14 December 20, 1970 Chicago Bears L 24–3
63,518

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers 10 3 1 .769 3–2–1 6–3–1 352 267 W3
Los Angeles Rams 9 4 1 .692 4–1–1 7–3–1 325 202 W1
Atlanta Falcons 4 8 2 .333 3–2–1 3–6–2 206 261 L1
New Orleans Saints 2 11 1 .154 0–5–1 2–8–1 172 347 L6

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

References

  1. ↑ 1970 New Orleans Saints
  2. ↑ "1970 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
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