1972 New Orleans Saints season

1972 New Orleans Saints season
1972 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	John W. Mecom, Jr.
Head coach	J. D. Roberts
Home field	Tulane Stadium
Results
Record	2–11–1
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
	← 1971; Saints seasons; 1973 →;

The 1972 New Orleans Saints season was the team's sixth as a member of the National Football League (NFL). They failed to improve on their previous season’s output of 4–8–2, winning only two games.^[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

The Saints suffered through their second 2–11–1 season in three years, tying with the Philadelphia Eagles for the second worst record in the league, only surpassed by the Houston Oilers’ 1–13. It would be their worst until they went 2–12 in 1975.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1972 New Orleans Saints draft
1	8	Royce Smith	Guard	Georgia
2	31	Willie Hall	Linebacker	USC
3	60	Bob Kuziel	Center	Pittsburgh
3	74	Tom Myers *	Safety	Syracuse
4	85	Mike Crangle	Defensive end	Tennessee-Martin
4	99	Joe Federspiel	Linebacker	Kentucky
4	101	Mike Coleman	Defensive end	Knoxville College
5	111	Bill Butler	Running back	Kansas State
5	112	Carl Johnson	Guard	Nebraska	Played offensive tackle in college
5	126	Bob Davies	Defensive back	South Carolina
6	137	Wayne Dorton	Guard	Arkansas State
6	150	Curt Watson	Running back	Tennessee
7	164	Ernie Jackson	Defensive back	Duke
8	189	Ron Vinson	Wide receiver	Abilene Christian
9	216	Kent Branstetter	Defensive tackle	Houston
10	241	Andy Kupp	Guard	Idaho
11	267	Paul Dongieux	Linebacker	Mississippi
12	293	Steve Lockhart	Tight end	Arkansas State
13	320	Cephus Weatherspoon	Wide receiver	Fort Lewis
14	345	Steve Barrios	Wide receiver	Tulane
15	372	Rusty Lachaussee	Quarterback	Tulane
16	397	Joe Balthrop	Guard	Tennessee
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1972 New Orleans Saints staff**

	Front office President – John W. Mecom, Jr. Executive Vice President – Richard F. Gordon, Jr. Head coaches Head Coach – J. D. Roberts Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ken Shipp Offensive Line – Jim Royer			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Jim Champion Linebackers – Marv Matuszak Defensive Backfield – Bud Whitehead

^[3]

Roster[]

**1972 New Orleans Saints roster**

	Quarterbacks 14 Edd Hargett 8 Archie Manning Running backs 38 Bill Butler 35 Bob Gresham 47 Virgil Robinson 42 Jim Strong Wide receivers 46 Danny Abramowicz 26 Margene Adkins 41 Bob Newland 86 Creston Whitaker Tight ends 83 Dave Parks		Offensive linemen 51 John Didion C 78 Glen Ray Hines T 77 Carl Johnson G 50 Jake Kupp 76 Don Morrison T 65 Remi Prudhomme 66 Royce Smith G 61 Del Williams G 68 Wimpy Winther Defensive linemen 75 89 Dave Long DT 74 87 DE 72 Joe Owens DE 82 Bob Pollard DT		Linebackers 54 Tom Roussel LLB 59 Wayne Colman RLB 58 Joe Federspiel MLB 56 Willie Hall 55 Tom Stincic Defensive backs 29 Billie Hayes 18 Hugo Hollas SS 20 Delles Howell CB 30 Ernie Jackson CB 11 Bivian Lee 37 Tom Myers FS 23 Doug Wyatt Special teams 15 Charlie Durkee K 10 Julian Fagan P 9 Happy Feller K 7 Toni Linhart K		Reserve lists Practice squad 12 Bobby Scott QB Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 17, 1972	at Los Angeles Rams	L 34–14	66,303
2	September 25, 1972	Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–17	70,793
3	October 1, 1972	San Francisco 49ers	L 37–2	69,840
4	October 8, 1972	at New York Giants	L 45–21	62,507
5	October 15, 1972	Atlanta Falcons	L 21–14	66,294
6	October 22, 1972	at San Francisco 49ers	T 20–20	59,167
7	October 29, 1972	Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–3	65,664
8	November 5, 1972	at Minnesota Vikings	L 37–6	49,784
9	November 12, 1972	at Atlanta Falcons	L 36–20	58,850
10	November 19, 1972	at Detroit Lions	L 27–14	53,752
11	November 26, 1972	Los Angeles Rams	W 19–16	64,325
12	December 3, 1972	at New York Jets	L 18–17	62,496
13	December 10, 1972	New England Patriots	L 17–10	64,889
14	December 17, 1972	Green Bay Packers	L 30–20	65,881

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers	8	5	1	.607	3–2–1	6–4–1	353	249	W2
Atlanta Falcons	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–5	269	274	L2
Los Angeles Rams	6	7	1	.464	4–2	5–5–1	291	286	L2
New Orleans Saints	2	11	1	.179	1–4–1	2–8–1	215	361	L3

Notable events[]

In their third game against the 49ers, the Saints became the thirty-second NFL team, and the first since the 1970 Cleveland Browns, to score only a safety in a full game. This was done again in the last week of the regular season by the San Diego Chargers, but after that was done only by the 1980 Buffalo Bills, the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, 2011 Atlanta Falcons, and 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars.

References[]

^ 1972 New Orleans Saints
^ "1972 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
^ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[1] 1972 New Orleans Saints

[2] "1972 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.

[3] "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t New Orleans Saints
Founded in 1967 Based in New Orleans, Louisiana Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana
Franchise	Franchise Seasons History Players Coaches Expansion draft First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Broadcasters
Stadiums	Tulane Stadium Caesars Superdome Temporary home venues in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina: Alamodome Giants Stadium Tiger Stadium
Culture	Gumbo Sir Saint Saintsations Who Dat? Tom Benson Effect of Hurricane Katrina Buddy D "When the Saints Go Marching In" Home Team Number One A Saintly Switch
Lore	"Aints" (1–15) Dempsey's 63-yard field goal Dome Patrol Ricky Williams trade River City Relay Beast Quake Bountygate Minneapolis Miracle NOLA No-Call
Rivalries	Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wild card berths (5)	1987 1990 1992 2010 2013
Division championships (9)	1991 2000 2006 2009 2011 2017 2018 2019 2020
Conference championships (1)	2009
League championships (1)	2009 (XLIV)
Retired numbers	31 81
Ring of Honor	Andersen Benson Jackson Manning Mills Roaf Smith
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division

v t New Orleans Saints seasons
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory