Jump to content

New Orleans Saints: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Fred8615 (talk | contribs)
512 edits
Undid revision 286848469 by Neworleanssaintsfan1 (talk)
undone an edit made by another user.... proof of records can be seen on Deuce Mcallister's wikipage
Line 215: Line 215:
*'''Passing Interceptions''': 156 [[Archie Manning]] (1971-1982)
*'''Passing Interceptions''': 156 [[Archie Manning]] (1971-1982)
*'''Rushing Attempts''': 1,298 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008)
*'''Rushing Attempts''': 1,298 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008)
*'''Rushing Yards''': 5,586 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008), 4,267 [[George Rogers (American football)|George Rogers]] (1981-84), 4,164 [[Dalton Hilliard]] (1986-93)
*'''Rushing Yards''': 6,096 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008), 4,267 [[George Rogers (American football)|George Rogers]] (1981-84), 4,164 [[Dalton Hilliard]] (1986-93)
*'''Rushing Touchdowns''': 49 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008), 39 [[Dalton Hilliard]] (1986-93), 28 [[Chuck Muncie]] (1976-80)
*'''Rushing Touchdowns''': 54 [[Deuce McAllister]] (2001-2008), 39 [[Dalton Hilliard]] (1986-93), 28 [[Chuck Muncie]] (1976-80)
*'''Receiving Catches''': 532 [[Eric Martin (American football)|Eric Martin]] (1985-1993), 523 [[Joe Horn]] (2000-06), 309 [[Danny Abramowicz]] (1967-73)
*'''Receiving Catches''': 532 [[Eric Martin (American football)|Eric Martin]] (1985-1993), 523 [[Joe Horn]] (2000-06), 309 [[Danny Abramowicz]] (1967-73)
*'''Receiving Yards''': 7,844 [[Eric Martin (American football)|Eric Martin]] (1985-1993), 7,622 [[Joe Horn]] (2000-06), 4,875 [[Danny Abramowicz]] (1967-73)
*'''Receiving Yards''': 7,844 [[Eric Martin (American football)|Eric Martin]] (1985-1993), 7,622 [[Joe Horn]] (2000-06), 4,875 [[Danny Abramowicz]] (1967-73)

Revision as of 16:56, 30 April 2009

Template:Current NFL season

New Orleans Saints
Established 1967
Play in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans Saints logo
New Orleans Saints logo
Logo
League/conference affiliations

National Football League (1967–present)

Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, old gold, white      
MascotGumbo the dog and Sir Saint
Personnel
Owner(s)Tom Benson and Rita Benson LeBlanc
General managerMickey Loomis
Head coachSean Payton
Team history
  • New Orleans Saints (1967–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (3)
  • NFC West: 1991, 2000
  • NFC South: 2006
Playoff appearances (6)
  • NFL: 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2006
Home fields

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints play in the South Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The Saints were founded in 1967, as an expansion team. They went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record and two decades before having a winning season. The team's first successful years were from 1987–1992, when the team made the playoffs four times and had winning records in the non-playoff seasons. In the 2000 season, the Saints defeated the then-defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams for the team's first playoff win.

The Saints' home stadium is the Louisiana Superdome. The team has played its home games in the "dome" since 1975.[1] However, due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the New Orleans area, the Saints' 2005 home opener was played at Giants Stadium against the New York Giants. The remainder of their 2005 home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After a $185 million renovation of the historic stadium, the team returned to the Superdome for the 2006 season. The team played its 2006 home opener in front of a sold-out crowd and national television audience on September 25, 2006, defeating its NFC South rival, the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 23–3. The victory received a 2007 ESPY award for "Best Moment in Sports."

New Orleans is one of five NFL teams that have yet to play in a Super Bowl. The club reached the NFC Championship Game in 2006, which they lost to the Chicago Bears 39-14.

The Saints will conduct summer training camp at their practice facility in Metairie, La

Early history

For more information, see History of the New Orleans Saints

The brainchild of local sports entrepreneur, David Dixon, (who also founded the Louisiana Superdome and USFL), the Saints were actually secretly born in a backroom deal brought about by Congressman Hale Boggs and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL-NFL merger. To seal the deal, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on, coincidentally, All Saints' Day -- November 1, 1966 -- that the NFL officially had awarded the city of New Orleans an NFL franchise; Boggs' Congressional committee in turn quickly approved the NFL merger. The team was named for the world-famous jazz anthem, "When the Saints Go Marching In," . John W. Mecom, Jr., a young oilman from Houston, became the team's first majority stockholder. The team's colors, black and gold, symbolized both Mecom's and New Orleans' strong ties to the oil ("black gold") industry. Trumpeter Al Hirt was part owner of the team, and his rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" was made the official fight song.

That first season started with a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam, but the Saints lost that game 27–13 to the Los Angeles Rams at Tulane Stadium. Their first season record was 3–11, which set an NFL record for most wins by an expansion team. However, they could not manage to finish as high as second in their division until 1979. That 1979 team and the 1983 team were the only ones to even finish at .500 until 1987.

One of the franchise's shining moments came on November 8, 1970, when Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL record-breaking 63-yard field goal to defeat the Detroit Lions by a score of 19-17 in the final seconds of the game. This record, although equaled 29 years later by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos, has yet to be broken.

In 1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting local media personality Bernard "Buddy D" Diliberto to advise Saints supporters to wear paper bags over their heads at the team's home games; many bags rendered the club's name as the "'Aints" rather than the "Saints." The practice of wearing a bag over one's head then spread rapidly, first to fans of other poorly-performing teams within the NFL, and ultimately to those of other American team sports, and has become a firmly-established custom throughout the United States.

After the end of the 1996 season, ironically as Diliberto had suggested before Mora's resignation, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka was hired to replace Mora. Although this initially generated a lot of excitement among Saints fans, Ditka's tenure ended up being a failure. The Saints went 6-10 in their first two seasons under Ditka (1997 and 1998). During the 1999 NFL Draft, Ditka traded all of his picks for that season, as well as the first-round and third-round picks for the following season, to the Washington Redskins in order to draft University of Texas Heisman Trophy running back Ricky Williams in the first round. Ditka and Williams had a mock wedding picture taken to commemorate the occasion. However, Ditka, most of his coaching staff, and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired at the end of the 1999 season due to the club's 3-13 record.

Jim Haslett held the post from 2000 to 2005. In his first year, he took the team to the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings a week after beating the St. Louis Rams for the team's first ever playoff win. After winning the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year Award, General Manager Randy Mueller was fired between the 2001 and 2002 seasons without explanation by Benson. The Saints failed to make the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, although in the latter year they had the distinction of beating the eventual Super Bowl XXXVII champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in both of their regular season meetings, only the second team to do so in NFL history (the 1995 Washington Redskins did so against the to be World Champion Dallas Cowboys). In 2003 the Saints again missed the playoffs after finishing 8-8. The 2004 season started poorly for the Saints, as they went 2-4 through their first six games and 4-8 through their first twelve games. At that point Haslett's job appeared to be in jeopardy; however, he managed to win the three straight games leading up to the season finale, leaving the Saints in playoff contention in the final week of the season. In week 17, the Saints defeated division rivals Carolina; however, the Saints needed other results to break their way and when the St. Louis Rams beat the New York Jets the Saints were eliminated despite having beaten the Rams, who finished with the same record. The Rams, Saints, and Vikings all were 8-8, with the Rams having a 7-5 conference record, Saints 6-6, and the Vikings 5-7, the Rams made the playoffs due to having the best conference record, and then they took the Vikings because of the head to head. Haslett was fired after the 2005 season, in which the Saints finished 3-13 and did not play one regular season contest in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. On January 17, 2006, the Saints hired Sean Payton as their new head coach.

On December 17, 2006, the Saints clinched their third division title in franchise history. For the first time in Saints' history, they clinched their NFC South title on their home field. Sean Payton became the second consecutive Saints coach to win a division title in his first season. After a loss by the Dallas Cowboys to the Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas Day 2006, the Saints clinched a first-round playoff bye for the first time in franchise history.

Effect of Hurricane Katrina

Main article: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
For detailed information on the team's 2005 season, see 2005 New Orleans Saints season.

2006: Homecoming and postseason

For detailed information on the team's 2006 season, see 2006 New Orleans Saints season.

On March 23, the Saints announced that the team's two 2006 preseason games were to be played at Shreveport, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi.

On April 6 the Saints released their 2006 schedule, with all home games scheduled to be played at the Superdome. The home opener against the Atlanta Falcons was moved to September 25 and was shown on ESPN's Monday Night Football.

On September 19, Saints owner Tom Benson announced that the team had sold out the Louisiana Superdome for the entire season with season tickets alone (70,001 seats), a first in franchise history.[citation needed]

The September 25, 2006 home opener, the first home game in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, was won by the Saints 23-3 against the Atlanta Falcons, who were undefeated in the 2006 season at that time. The attendance for the game was a sellout crowd of 70,003. Meanwhile, the broadcast of the game was ESPN's highest-ever rated program to date, with an 11.8 rating, and viewership by 10,850,000 homes. It was the most-watched program for the night, broadcast or cable, and was the second-highest rated cable program of all time. U2 and Green Day performed "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "The Saints Are Coming" before the game.

After the first-round bye, the Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 in the Superdome in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs. No team had ever had such a poor record in the prior year and then went on to a league or conference championship game. Since the Saints' only other playoff win was in the wild card round, this is the farthest the Saints have ever advanced. The victory was only the second playoff win in team history.

The season ended on January 21, 2007 when the Saints lost 39–14 to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game.

2007-Present

The Saints announced that for the second year in a row, the Louisiana Superdome had sold out every ticket for the season.[2] Additionally, all luxury boxes had been sold out for the season.[citation needed] Both of these statistics are particularly surprising given that the city-proper has about 300,000 people or 150,000 fewer people than July 2005 population data (though the metro area still accounts for 1.2 million people).[citation needed].

The first game of the season was against the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts. The Saints lost this game, 41–10, and lost their next three games. In one of these three games, against the Tennessee Titans, the Saints lost running back Deuce McAllister for the season with his second career (second time in three seasons) ACL tear. After winning their first game, against the Seattle Seahawks, two weeks later, the team went on a four-game winning streak to bring their record to an even 4–4. After reaching 7–7, the Saints lost their final two games to finish 7–9.

The Saints made a move with the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants. They acquired Jeremy Shockey from them for second and fifth round draft picks in the 2009 NFL Draft. They also acquired linebacker Jonathan Vilma from the New York Jets, in exchange for a conditional 2009 4th round draft pick.

Logos and uniforms

Main article: Logos and uniforms of the New Orleans Saints

Statistics

Season-by-season records

Main article: New Orleans Saints seasons

Record vs. Opponents

(As of Week 17 of the 2008 NFL season. Includes postseason records.)

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Team W L T Percent Last result Last date Last locale Postseason
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 14 0 .588 L 23-20 Nov 30, 2008 Tampa
Kansas City Chiefs 5 4 0 .555 W 30-20 Nov 16, 2008 Kansas City
Detroit Lions 9 9 1 .500 W 42-7 Dec 21, 2008 Detroit
Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders 5 5 1 .500 W 34-3 Oct 12, 2008 New Orleans
New York Jets 5 5 0 .500 W 21-19 Nov 27, 2005 East Rutherford
Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts 5 5 0 .500 L 41-10 Sept 6, 2007 Indianapolis
Seattle Seahawks 5 5 0 .500 W 28-17 Oct 14, 2007 Seattle
Buffalo Bills 4 4 0 .500 W 19-7 Oct 2, 2005 *San Antonio
Jacksonville Jaguars 2 2 0 .500 W 41-24 Nov 4, 2007 New Orleans
Houston Texans 1 1 0 .500 L 23-10 Nov 18, 2007 Houston
St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals 12 13 0 .480 W 31-24 Dec 16, 2007 New Orleans
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 7 0 .462 L 38-31 Nov 12, 2006 Pittsburgh
Cincinnati Bengals 5 6 0 .455 L 31-16 Nov 19, 2006 New Orleans
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams 30 38 0 .441 L 37-29 Nov 11, 2007 New Orleans 1-0 postseason
Atlanta Falcons 35 45 0 .437 W 29-25 Dec 7, 2008 New Orleans 0-1 postseason
Carolina Panthers 12 16 0 .429 L 33-31 Dec 28, 2008 New Orleans
Chicago Bears 11 15 0 .423 L 27-24 Dec 11, 2008 Chicago 0-2 postseason
New York Giants 10 14 0 .417 W 30-7 Dec 24, 2006 East Rutherford
Philadelphia Eagles 10 16 0 .385 L 38-23 Dec 23, 2007 New Orleans 1-1 postseason
Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans 4 7 1 .375 L 31-14 Sept 24, 2007 New Orleans
Dallas Cowboys 8 14 0 .364 W 42-17 Dec 10, 2006 Irving
San Francisco 49ers 23 45 2 .343 W 31-17 Sept 28, 2008 New Orleans
Green Bay Packers 7 14 0 .333 W 51-29 Nov 24, 2008 New Orleans
Miami Dolphins 3 6 0 .333 L 21-6 Oct 30, 2005 *Baton Rouge
Washington Redskins 7 15 0 .318 L 29-24 Sept 14, 2008 Landover
San Diego Chargers 3 7 0 .300 W 37-32 Oct 26, 2008 **London, England
New England Patriots 3 8 0 .273 L 24-17 Nov 20, 2005 Foxboro
Minnesota Vikings 7 20 0 .259 L 30-27 Oct 6, 2008 New Orleans 0-2 postseason
Cleveland Browns 4 11 0 .267 W 19-14 Sept 10, 2006 Cleveland
Baltimore Ravens 1 3 0 .250 L 35-22 Oct 29, 2006 New Orleans
Denver Broncos 2 7 0 .222 L 34-32 Sept 21, 2008 Denver

* - Saints home game, relocated due to Hurricane Katrina

** - the Saints were designated the home team for this game

Single-Game Records

Single-season records

Saints career records

Players of note

Main article: List of New Orleans Saints players

Current roster

New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Roster updated September 11, 2024

53 active, 7 inactive, 16 practice squad (+1 exempt)

→ AFC rosters → NFC rosters

Pro Football Hall of Famers

It should be noted that with the exception of Jim Finks, whose tenure with the Saints contributed to his induction, there are no members of the HOF who are there for their time with the team. All are in for their work with previous teams.

Retired numbers

  • 31 Jim Taylor (officially retired, but is assigned to active players)
  • 81 Doug Atkins (officially retired, but is assigned to active players)

The number 8 has not been officially retired, but has not been issued to any Saints player since Archie Manning was traded to the Houston Oilers in September 1982.

New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame

The Saints Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization created by and for fans of the team to protect, preserve, promote and present the history of the franchise. The Saints Hall of Fame is located at 415 Williams Boulevard in the Rivertown section of Kenner. Open from 9 am-5 pm Tuesday through Saturday, the Hall of Fame features exhibits and memorabilia covering the entire history of the Saints from their formation through the current season. Due to building damage received during Hurricane Katrina the Hall of Fame is temporarily located at Gate B in the New Orleans Superdome and can be visited for free at every Saints home game. Fans can view videotapes on Saints history and the Saints Hall of Famers as well participate in interactive exhibits throughout the Hall. The facility, which originally opened on July 16, 1988, was expanded to twice its' original size in January 2004. Busts and paintings of each of the inductees along with their career highlights are one of the focal points of the museum, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the Saints franchise. New Orleans and Green Bay are the only two NFL franchises with a team Hall of Fame facility.[4]

Joe Gemelli "Fleur-De-Lis" Award

(Awarded yearly to a person who has contributed to the betterment of the New Orleans Saints organization.[4]

  • 1989: Al Hirt
  • 1990: Joe Gemelli
  • 1991: Dave Dixon
  • 1992: Charlie Kertz
  • 1993: Wayne Mack
  • 1994: Erby Aucoin
  • 1995: Aaron Broussard
  • 1996: Marie Knutson
  • 1997: Angela Hill
  • 1998: Joe Impastato
  • 1999: Frank Wilson
  • 2000: Bob Remy
  • 2001: Peter "Champ" Clark
  • 2002: Dean Kleinschmidt
  • 2003: Jim Fast
  • 2004: Bob Roesler
  • 2005-06: Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto (2005 induction ceremonies postponed to Oct. 27, 2006 due to Hurricane Katrina)*

Other notable alumni

This list includes notable Saints alumni who are not also members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and/or the Saints Hall of Fame (see above).

Notable coaches

Main article: List of New Orleans Saints head coaches

Current staff

New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner – Gayle Benson
  • President – Dennis Lauscha
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis
  • VP/assistant general manager – college personnel – Jeff Ireland
  • Asst. general manager & vice president of football operations – Khai Harley
  • Director of operations – Derek Stamnos
  • Director of pro personnel – Michael Parenton
  • Director of football administration – Scott Kuhn
  • Director of analytics – Zach Stuart
  • Senior personnel advisor - Randy Mueller
  • Personnel advisor - Dave Ziegler
Head coach
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
  • Special teams coordinator – Darren Rizzi
  • Assistant special teams – Phil Galiano
  • Assistant to the head coach – Mike Martinez
Strength and conditioning
  • Director of sports science – Matt Rhea
  • Strength and conditioning coach – Matt Clapp
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Charles Byrd
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Wenning

→ Coaching staff
→ Front office
→ More NFL staffs

Radio and television

The Saints' flagship station is WWL 870AM (FM Simulcast on WWL 105.3FM), one of the oldest radio stations in the city of New Orleans and one of the nation's most powerful as a clear-channel station with 50,000 watts of power.[5] Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajan form the broadcast team. Most preseason games are televised on Cox Sports Television and WVUE-TV. Tim Brando and Solomon Wilcots call the preseason action.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Louisiana Superdome history site (accessed 2009 April 21) From 1967 to 1974 inclusive the Saints played at Tulane Saints.
  2. ^ saintsdoggle: UPDATE: Saints sell out suites for 2007 season; Season ticket wait list 25,000 deep; San Antonio finally giving up?
  3. ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame page for Mike Ditka.
  4. ^ a b New Orleans Saints - Saints Hall of Fame Info
  5. ^ "Saints Radio Network Stations". New Orleans Saints. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Orleans_Saints&oldid=287079865"