1970 New York Giants season

1970 New York Giants season
Head coach	Alex Webster
Home field	Yankee Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1970 New York Giants was the 46th season for the professional American football franchise. This was the first season for the Giants after the AFL-NFL merger, in which ten American Football League teams joined the National Football League. The team was led by second-year head coach Alex Webster. The Giants finished the season 9–5, missing the playoffs by losing their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams 31–3. The Giants finished second in the NFC East, a game behind the Dallas Cowboys. They were also only one game out of a wild card playoff spot, won by the Detroit Lions.

Probably more damaging to the Giants' playoff hopes than the loss to the Rams were a pair of stinkers to two of the NFL's bottom feeders. The first was a 14–10 loss at New Orleans in week three; the second was a 23–20 setback at Philadelphia on Monday Night Football in week 10, the Giants' only setback in a 10-week stretch following the loss to the Saints. The game at Franklin Field was more memorable for the antics in the broadcast booth, where Howard Cosell vomited on Don Meredith's cowboy boots. Cosell took a taxi back to the hotel at halftime, leaving Meredith to finish the game with Keith Jackson. The Saints finished with the NFL's second-worst record at 2–11–1; the Eagles were barely better at 3–10–1.

This would be the closest the Giants came to qualifying for the playoffs in the 1970s. The franchise enjoyed only one other winning season in the decade, going 8–6 in 1972. Big Blue did not return to the playoffs until 1981, ending a drought which dated back to the 1963 NFL Championship.

Offense

The 1970 Giants offense was led by Pro Bowl performers, quarterback Fran Tarkenton, and running back Ron Johnson. The team was in the top ten in several offensive categories including points, yards, and first downs. The team had over one hundred rushing yards in eleven of its fourteen games, including 202 yards in a week eight win against the Dallas Cowboys. The offense struggled when the team failed to run the ball well, as shown in a week fourteen loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which the Giants rushed for only 50 yards. When the team was able to run the ball and play defense they were able to win games, as shown by the fact that in all their wins, they had a hundred or more rushing yards. The leading passer was Fran Tarkenton, the leading rusher was Ron Johnson, and the leading receiver was Clifton McNeil.

Defense

The best defensive game by far for the Giants was the shutout of the Boston Patriots (2–12) in a week 5 victory. In that game, the Giants allowed only 155 total offensive yards against one of the weakest teams in the league. The team leader in interceptions for the Giants was Willie Williams, who had 6 interceptions for 114 total interception yards.

The backbone of New York's defense was a stout front four featuring ends Fred Dryer and Jim Kanicki and tackle Bob Lurtsema. Williams was part of a solid secondary which also included Tom Longo, Scott Eaton and Spider Lockhart. First round draft pick Jim Files moved in at the starting middle linebacker spot for the departed Henry Davis, who moved on to Pittsburgh.

Special teams

The kicker for the Giants that season was Pete Gogolak. Gogolak was a perfect 32 of 32 in extra points but hit only 25 of 41 field goals attempted on the year, with his longest being a kick of 54 yards in week eight vs. the Cowboys, a kick which came on the same day Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal for the Saints vs. the Lions, and 43-year-old George Blanda hit a 53-yard field goal at the gun to lift Oakland over Cleveland 23–20.

Bill Johnson and Ernie Koy shared punting duties for the Giants, and each was average for the position. Bobby Duhon and Les Shy were the main kick and punt returners, though neither returned a kick for a touchdown.

1970 NFL Draft

This is a list of draft picks, taken by the Giants in the 1970 NFL Draft. This list includes the tound taken, school, and position of the player selected.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	13	Jim Files	Linebacker	Oklahoma
4	97	Wes Grant	Defensive end	UCLA
5	117	Claude Brumfield	Guard	Tennessee State
6	142	Duane Miller	Wide receiver	Drake
9	221	Pat Hughes	Center	Boston University
10	246	Matt Fortier	Defensive end	Fairmont State
11	273	Alan Pitcaithley	Running back	Oregon
12	298	Larry Nels	Linebacker	Wyoming
13	325	Gary Inskeep	Tackle	Wisconsin–Stout
14	350	Rodney Brand	Center	Arkansas
15	377	Warren Muir	Running back	South Carolina
16	402	Vic Nolting	Defensive back	Xavier
17	429	Walter Breaux	Defensive tackle	Grambling

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	1970-09-19	Chicago Bears	L 24–16	Yankee Stadium	62,936
2	1970-09-27	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–10	Cotton Bowl	57,236
3	1970-10-04	at New Orleans Saints	L 14–10	Tulane Stadium	69,126
4	1970-10-11	Philadelphia Eagles	W 30–23	Yankee Stadium	62,820
5	1970-10-18	at Boston Patriots	W 16–0	Harvard Stadium	39,091
6	1970-10-25	St. Louis Cardinals	W 35–17	Yankee Stadium	62,984
7	1970-11-01	at New York Jets	W 22–10	Shea Stadium	63,903
8	1970-11-08	Dallas Cowboys	W 23–20	Yankee Stadium	62,938
9	1970-11-15	Washington Redskins	W 35–33	Yankee Stadium	62,915
10	1970-11-23	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–20	Franklin Field	59,117
11	1970-11-29	at Washington Redskins	W 27–24	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	50,415
12	1970-12-06	Buffalo Bills	W 20–6	Yankee Stadium	62,870
13	1970-12-13	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 34–17	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,845
14	1970-12-20	Los Angeles Rams	L 31–3	Yankee Stadium	62,870

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	5–3	7–4	299	221	W5
New York Giants	9	5	0	.643	6–2	6–5	301	270	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	8	5	1	.615	5–3	6–5	325	228	L3
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	3–5	4–7	297	314	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	10	1	.231	1–7	1–9–1	241	332	W1

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

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons