1973 New Orleans Saints season

1973 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach John North
Owner John W. Mecom, Jr.
Home field Tulane Stadium
Results
Record 5–9
Division place 3rd NFC West
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1973 New Orleans Saints season was the team's seventh as a member of the National Football League (NFL). They improved on their previous season's output of 2–11–1, winning five games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

New Orleans made a disastrous trade in January, dealing the No. 2 overall selection in the 1973 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Colts for defensive end Billy Newsome. The Colts used the traded pick to select LSU quarterback Bert Jones, who guided the team to three consecutive AFC East division championships from 1975–77.

J.D. Roberts, who became the Saints' second head coach midway through the 1970 season, was fired August 27, two days after a 31-6 loss to the New England Patriots in the fourth exhibition game. Roberts was replaced by offensive backfield coach John North. Roberts ended his Saints tenure with a 7-25-3 mark.

The Saints opened the year with a 62–7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home. The first quarter of that game was scoreless. Eight days later, they were destroyed on Monday Night Football by the Dallas Cowboys, 40-3.

They did however hold O. J. Simpson to 74 yard on 20 carries in the team's first ever shut-out, with a 13–0 win over the Buffalo Bills. Simpson went on to break the single season rushing record in yardage that year with 2,003.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1973 NFL Draft
1973 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 29 Derland Moore  Defensive tackle Oklahoma
      Made roster  

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1973 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

[3]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 16, 1973 Atlanta Falcons L 62–7
66,428
2 September 24, 1973 at Dallas Cowboys L 40–3
52,715
3 September 30, 1973 at Baltimore Colts L 14–10
52,293
4 October 7, 1973 Chicago Bears W 21–16
56,561
5 October 14, 1973 Detroit Lions W 20–13
57,810
6 October 21, 1973 at San Francisco 49ers L 40–0
52,881
7 October 28, 1973 Washington Redskins W 19–3
66,315
8 November 4, 1973 Buffalo Bills W 13–0
74,770
9 November 11, 1973 at Los Angeles Rams L 29–7
70,358
10 November 18, 1973 at San Diego Chargers L 17–14
34,848
11 November 25, 1973 Los Angeles Rams L 24–13
67,192
12 December 2, 1973 at Green Bay Packers L 30–10
46,092
13 December 9, 1973 San Francisco 49ers W 16–10
62,490
14 December 16, 1973 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–10
34,147

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams 12 2 0 .857 5–1 9–2 388 178 W6
Atlanta Falcons 9 5 0 .643 4–2 7–4 318 224 W1
San Francisco 49ers 5 9 0 .357 2–4 4–7 262 319 L2
New Orleans Saints 5 9 0 .357 1–5 4–7 163 312 L1

References

  1. ↑ 1973 New Orleans Saints
  2. ↑ "1974 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
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