GetWiki

{{short description|NFL team season}}{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

factoids

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.1972 New Orleans Saints 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. Coincidentally, one of the Saints' two wins came at the Eagles' expense. It would be their worst until they went 2–12 in 1975.

Offseason

NFL draft

{hide}NFL team draft start {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft entry {edih}{hide}NFL team draft end {edih}WEB,weblink 1972 New Orleans Saints draftees, Pro-Football-Reference.com, November 10, 2014,

Personnel

Staff

{{NFL final staff| year = 1972| team = New Orleans Saints| front_office =

• President – John W. Mecom, Jr.
• Executive Vice President – Richard F. Gordon, Jr.

| head_coach =

• Head Coach – J. D. Roberts

| offensive =

• Offensive Coordinator – Ken Shipp
• Offensive Line – Jim Royer

| defensive =

• Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Jim Champion
• Linebackers – Marv Matuszak
• Defensive Backfield – Bud Whitehead

}}WEB, All-Time Roster,weblink NewOrleansSaints.com, November 4, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120618110940weblink">weblink 2012-06-18, dead,

Roster

{{NFL season roster| year = 1972| team = New Orleans Saints| quarterbacks ={{NFLplayer|14|Edd Hargett}}{{NFLplayer|8|Archie Manning}}| running_backs ={{NFLplayer|38|Bill Butler|d=running back|rookie=y}}{{NFLplayer|35|Bob Gresham}}{{NFLplayer|47|Virgil Robinson}}{{NFLplayer|42|Jim Strong|d=running back}}| wide_receivers ={{NFLplayer|46|Danny Abramowicz}}{{NFLplayer|26|Margene Adkins}}{{NFLplayer|41|Bob Newland}}{{NFLplayer|86|Creston Whitaker|rookie=y}}| tight_ends ={{NFLplayer|83|Dave Parks}}| offensive_linemen ={{NFLplayer|51|John Didion|C}}{{NFLplayer|78|Glen Ray Hines|T}}{{NFLplayer|77|Carl Johnson|d=American football|G}}{{NFLplayer|50|Jake Kupp}}{{NFLplayer|76|Don Morrison|d=American football|T}}{{NFLplayer|65|Remi Prudhomme}}{{NFLplayer|66|Royce Smith|rookie=y|G}}{{NFLplayer|61|Del Williams|G}}{{NFLplayer|68|Wimpy Winther}}| defensive_linemen ={{NFLplayer|75|Mike Crangle}}{{NFLplayer|89|Dave Long|d=American football|DT}}{{NFLplayer|74|Doug Mooers}}{{NFLplayer|87|Richard Neal|d=American football|DE}}{{NFLplayer|72|Joe Owens|DE}}{{NFLplayer|82|Bob Pollard|DT}}| linebackers = {{NFLplayer|54|Tom Roussel|LLB}}{{NFLplayer|59|Wayne Colman|RLB}}{{NFLplayer|58|Joe Federspiel|rookie=y|MLB}}{{NFLplayer|56|Willie Hall|d=American football|rookie=y}}{{NFLplayer|55|Tom Stincic}}| defensive_backs ={{NFLplayer|29|Billie Hayes|d=American football|rookie=y}}{{NFLplayer|18|Hugo Hollas|SS}}{{NFLplayer|20|Delles Howell|CB}}{{NFLplayer|30|Ernie Jackson|rookie=y|CB}}{{NFLplayer|11|Bivian Lee}}{{NFLplayer|37|Tom Myers|d=safety|rookie=y|FS}}{{NFLplayer|23|Doug Wyatt}}| special_teams ={{NFLplayer|15|Charlie Durkee|K}}{{NFLplayer|10|Julian Fagan|P}}{{NFLplayer|9|Happy Feller|K}}{{NFLplayer|7|Toni Linhart|K}}| reserve_lists =| practice_squad ={{NFLplayer|12|Bobby Scott|d=American football|QB}}}}">

Schedule{| class"wikitable" style"text-align:center"

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Week!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Date!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Opponent!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Result!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Record!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Venue!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"| Attendancestyle="background:#fcc"! 1| September 17

1972 Los Angeles Rams season>Los Angeles Rams| L 14–34| 0–1| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum| 66,303

style="background:#fcc"! 2

September 25, 1972}}	1972 Kansas City Chiefs season>Kansas City Chiefs| L 17–20| 0–2| Tulane Stadium| 70,793

style="background:#fcc"! 3| October 1

1972 San Francisco 49ers season>San Francisco 49ers| L 2–37| 0–3| Tulane Stadium| 69,840

style="background:#fcc"! 4| October 8

1972 New York Giants season>New York Giants| L 21–45| 0–4	Yankee Stadium (1923)>Yankee Stadium| 62,507

style="background:#fcc"! 5| October 15

1972 Atlanta Falcons season>Atlanta Falcons| L 14–21| 0–5| Tulane Stadium| 66,294

style="background:#ffc"! 6| October 22

1972 San Francisco 49ers season>San Francisco 49ers| T 20–20| 0–5–1| Candlestick Park| 59,167

style="background:#cfc"! 7| October 29

1972 Philadelphia Eagles season>Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–3| 1–5–1| Tulane Stadium| 65,664

style="background:#fcc"! 8| November 5

1972 Minnesota Vikings season>Minnesota Vikings| L 6–37| 1–6–1| Metropolitan Stadium| 49,784

style="background:#fcc"! 9| November 12

1972 Atlanta Falcons season>Atlanta Falcons| L 20–36| 1–7–1	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium>Atlanta Stadium| 58,850

style="background:#fcc"! 10| November 19

1972 Detroit Lions season>Detroit Lions| L 14–27| 1–8–1	Tiger Stadium (Detroit)>Tiger Stadium| 53,752

style="background:#cfc"! 11| November 26

1972 Los Angeles Rams season>Los Angeles Rams| W 19–16| 2–8–1| Tulane Stadium| 64,325

style="background:#fcc"! 12| December 3

1972 New York Jets season>New York Jets| L 17–18| 2–9–1| Shea Stadium| 62,496

style="background:#fcc"! 13| December 10

1972 New England Patriots season>New England Patriots| L 10–17| 2–10–1| Tulane Stadium| 64,889

style="background:#fcc"! 14| December 17

1972 Green Bay Packers season>Green Bay Packers | L 20–30| 2–11–1| Tulane Stadium| 65,881

style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New Orleans Saints|year=1972|border=2}}"

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

{{1972 NFC West standings}}

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

{{Reflist}}{{New Orleans Saints}}{{New Orleans Saints seasons}}{{1972 NFL season by team}}{{Americanfootball-season-stub}}