2002 New Orleans Saints season

2002 New Orleans Saints season
General manager	Mickey Loomis
Head coach	Jim Haslett
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd NFC South
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Deuce McAllister (RB) Joe Horn (WR) Michael Lewis (KR) Fred McAfee (ST)
AP All-Pros	Deuce McAllister (1st team) Michael Lewis (ST) Fred McAfee (ST)

The 2002 season was the New Orleans Saints' 36th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 27th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome. They improved upon their previous season's performance of 7–9, winning nine games. Despite the winning season, and ranking third in total offense in 2002, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. As of 2022, this remains the only season in which the Saints have worn their gold jerseys.

A bright moment during the season for the Saints was sweeping the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those two wins were almost guaranteed to make New Orleans a playoff team; however, three consecutive losses, all to losing teams, including one to the 1–13 Cincinnati Bengals, knocked New Orleans out of playoff contention.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
WR Jerome Pathon (Colts)	RB Ricky Williams (Dolphins)
TE David Sloan (Lions)	T Willie Roaf (Chiefs)
CB Ken Irvin (Bills)	DT La'Roi Glover (Cowboys)
WR Jake Reed (Vikings)	CB Fred Weary (Falcons)
T Victor Riley (Chiefs)	DE Joe Johnson (Packers)
CB Dale Carter (Vikings)	T Daryl Terrell (Jaguars)

NFL Draft

Main article: 2002 NFL Draft

2002 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	13	Donté Stallworth	Wide receiver	Tennessee
1	25	Charles Grant	Defensive end	Georgia
2	44	LeCharles Bentley *	Guard	Ohio State
3	82	James Allen	Linebacker	Oregon State
4	125	Keyuo Craver	Defensive back	Nebraska
5	150	Mel Mitchell	Defensive back	Western Kentucky
6	186	J. T. O'Sullivan	Quarterback	UC Davis
6	196	John Gilmore	Tight end	Penn State
7	224	Derrius Monroe	Defensive end	Virginia Tech
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Jeff Reed	Placekicker	North Carolina

Personnel

Staff

2002 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office Owner – Tom Benson Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis Senior football administrator – Russ Ball Director of player personnel – Rick Mueller College scouting coordinator – Rick Thompson Head coaches Head coach – Jim Haslett Assistant head coach/secondary – Mike Riley Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Mike McCarthy Quarterbacks – Mike Sheppard Running backs – Dave Atkins Wide receivers – Hubbard Alexander Assistant wide receivers – Jim Hostler Tight ends – Bob Palcic Offensive line – Jack Henry Offensive assistant/quality control – Danny Langsdorf

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rick Venturi Defensive line – Sam Clancy Linebackers – Winston Moss Assistant secondary – Joe Baker Defensive assistant/quality control – Greg Brown Special teams coaches Special teams – Al Everest Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Rock Gullickson Assistant strength and conditioning – Evan Marcus

Roster

2002 New Orleans Saints roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  2 Aaron Brooks 12 Jake Delhomme 14 J. T. O'Sullivan Running backs (RB) 48 James Fenderson 28 Curtis Keaton 25 Fred McAfee 26 Deuce McAllister 44 Terrelle Smith FB Wide receivers (WR) 87 Joe Horn 89 Derrick Lewis 84 Michael Lewis 80 Jerome Pathon 86 Jake Reed 83 Donté Stallworth Tight ends (TE) 81 Lamont Hall 88 David Sloan 82 Boo Williams

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 LeCharles Bentley G 71 Spencer Folau G/T 62 Jerry Fontenot C 64 Kendyl Jacox G 67 Bubba Miller C/G 66 Victor Riley T 74 Scott Sanderson T 68 Kyle Turley T 63 Wally Williams G Defensive linemen (DL) 92 Martin Chase DT 94 Charles Grant DE 99 Norman Hand DT 93 Darren Howard DE 91 Grady Jackson DT 90 Kenny Smith DT 98 Willie Whitehead DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 James Allen OLB 55 Travis Carroll OLB 56 Charlie Clemons MLB 51 Bryan Cox MLB 52 Sedrick Hodge OLB 59 J. J. Jones OLB 53 Roger Knight OLB 54 Darrin Smith OLB Defensive backs (DB) 20 Jay Bellamy FS 35 Fakhir Brown CB 21 Dale Carter CB 43 Keyuo Craver CB 37 Steve Gleason SS 27 Ken Irvin CB 29 Sammy Knight SS 40 Mel Mitchell FS 22 Fred Thomas CB Special teams  3 John Carney K  4 Toby Gowin P 47 Kevin Houser LS

Practice squad 78 P. J. Alexander G 30 Corey Hall S 77 Abdul-Salaam Noah DT 34 Demetrius Smith FB Reserve 36 Michael Hawthorne CB (IR) 57 Curtis Holden LB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 2 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Under the NFL's new scheduling formula, the Saints' non-divisional conference opponents in 2002 were primarily from the NFC North, although they also played former divisional rival the San Francisco 49ers from the NFC West, and the Washington Redskins from the NFC East. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC North.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 8	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 26–20 (OT)	1–0	65,554
2	September 15	Green Bay Packers	W 35–20	2–0	67,958
3	September 22	at Chicago Bears	W 29–23	3–0	63,216
4	September 29	at Detroit Lions	L 21–26	3–1	60,023
5	October 6	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 32–29	4–1	67,734
6	October 13	at Washington Redskins	W 43–27	5–1	80,768
7	October 20	San Francisco 49ers	W 35–27	6–1	67,903
8	October 27	Atlanta Falcons	L 35–37	6–2	67,883
9	Bye
10	November 10	at Carolina Panthers	W 34–24	7–2	72,566
11	November 17	at Atlanta Falcons	L 17–24	7–3	70,382
12	November 24	Cleveland Browns	L 15–24	7–4	68,295
13	December 1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–20	8–4	68,226
14	December 8	at Baltimore Ravens	W 37–25	9–4	69,334
15	December 15	Minnesota Vikings	L 31–32	9–5	67,851
16	December 22	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 13–20	9–6	43,544
17	December 29	Carolina Panthers	L 6–10	9–7	66,946

Game summaries

Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 2: Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	10	7	3	20
Saints	7	14	7	7	35

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: September 15, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 88 °F (31 °C)
• Game attendance: 67,958
• Referee: Johnny Grier (23)
• TV: FOX
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NO – Deuce McAllister 4-yard run (John Carney kick), 9:19. Saints 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards, 5:41. Second quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 27-yard field goal, 10:23. Saints 7–3. Drive: 15 plays, 71 yards, 7:31. NO – Jerome Pathon 5-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick), 5:12. Saints 14–3. Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 2:53. NO – Donte Stallworth 34-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick), 2:03. Saints 21–3. Drive: 4 plays, 52 yards, 1:16. GB – Terry Glenn 14-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 0:40. Saints 21–10. Drive: 1 play, 14 yards, 0:08. Third quarter NO – Keyuo Craver 28-yard fumble return (John Carney kick), 13:53. Saints 28–10. GB – Donald Driver 26-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 0:31. Saints 28–17. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:31. Fourth quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 36-yard field goal, 4:31. Saints 28–20. Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 6:03. NO – Deuce McAllister 2-yard run (John Carney kick), 2:00. Saints 35–20. Drive: 4 plays, 73 yards, 2:31. Top passers GB – Brett Favre – 29/44, 270 yards, 2 TD, INT NO – Aaron Brooks – 16/28, 217 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers GB – Ahman Green – 17 rushes, 81 yards NO – Deuce McAllister – 21 rushes, 123 yards, 2 TD Top receivers GB – Terry Glenn – 9 receptions, 81 yards, TD NO – Joe Horn – 6 receptions, 120 yards

Week 3: at Chicago Bears

Week 3: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	14	7	8	29
Bears	10	10	0	3	23

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

• Date: September 22, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,216
• Referee: Ron Blum (7)
• TV: FOX
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter CHI – Paul Edinger 31-yard field goal, 7:36. Bears 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 38 yards, 4:01. CHI – Dez White 10-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 2:47. Bears 10–0. Drive: 6 plays, 52 yards, 3:10. Second quarter CHI – Marty Booker 22-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 13:35. Bears 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 56 yards, 3:05. CHI – Paul Edinger 25-yard field goal, 11:47. Bears 20–0. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:30. NO – Jerome Pathon 16-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick), 7:21. Bears 20–7. Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 4:26. NO – Aaron Brooks 7-yard run (John Carney kick), 6:23. Bears 20–14. Drive: 2 plays, 8 yards, 0:58. Third quarter NO – Joe Horn 5-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick), 8:15. Saints 21–20. Drive: 12 plays, 65 yards, 6:45. Fourth quarter CHI – Paul Edinger 25-yard field goal, 8:43. Bears 23–21. Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 5:59. NO – Donte Stallworth 29-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Aaron Brooks run), 1:11. Saints 29–23. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:01. Top passers NO – Aaron Brooks – 22/34, 233 yards, 3 TD, INT CHI – Jim Miller – 26/40, 236 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers NO – Deuce McAllister – 17 rushes, 45 yards CHI – Anthony Thomas – 27 rushes, 111 yards Top receivers NO – Jerome Pathon – 5 receptions, 71 yards, TD CHI – Marty Booker – 8 receptions, 97 yards, TD

Week 4: at Detroit Lions

Week 4: New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	7	8	6	21
Lions	13	7	3	3	26

at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

• Date: September 29, 2002
• Game time: 1:03 pm
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 60,023
• Referee: Ron Winter (14)
• TV: Fox
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter DET – Jason Hanson 23-yard field goal, 12:03. Lions 3–0. Drive: 6 plays, 17 yards, 2:57. DET – James Hall 22-yard fumble return (Jason Hanson kick), 10:31. Lions 10–0. DET – Jason Hanson 34-yard field goal, 5:41. Lions 13–0. Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 3:42. Second quarter DET – Bill Schroeder 38-yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick), 4:53. Lions 20–0. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:30. NO – Donte Stallworth 4-yard pass from Ahmad Brooks (John Carney kick), 1:25. Lions 20–7. Drive: 12 plays, 91 yards, 3:28. Third quarter DET – Jason Hanson 23-yard field goal, 7:24. Lions 23–7. Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 2:27. NO – Deuce McAllister 12-yard run (Ahmad Brooks run), 3:41. Lions 23–15. Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 3:43. Fourth quarter DET – Jason Hanson 38-yard field goal, 11:47. Lions 26–15. Drive: 7 plays, 17 yards, 2:58. NO – Jerome Pathon 6-yard pass from Ahmad Brooks (Run Failed), 3:41. Lions 26–21. Drive: 9 plays, 82 yards, 2:22. Top passers NO – Ahmad Brooks – 27/48, 269 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT DET – Joey Harrington – 20/35, 267 yards, TD Top rushers NO – Deuce McAllister – 12 rushes, 61 yards, TD DET – James Stewart – 18 rushes, 65 yards Top receivers NO – Joe Horn – 6 receptions, 87 yards DET – Az-Zahir Hakim – 3 receptions, 98 yards

Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 15: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	14	10	0	8	32
Saints	10	10	3	8	31

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: December 15, 2002
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 67,851
• Referee: Bob McElwee (95)
• TV: FOX
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NO – John Carney 40-yard field goal, 11:50. Saints 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, 3:10. MIN – Daunte Culpepper 4-yard run (Gary Anderson kick), 8:21. Vikings 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 3:29. MIN – Daunte Culpepper 6-yard run (Gary Anderson kick), 1:01. Vikings 14–3. Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 5:42. NO – Michael Lewis 97-yard kickoff return (John Carney kick), 0:48. Vikings 14–10. Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:13. Second quarter MIN – Gary Anderson 41-yard field goal, 11:59. Vikings 17–10. Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 3:49. NO – John Carney 34-yard field goal, 5:25. Vikings 17–13. Drive: 12 plays, 44 yards, 6:34. NO – Jake Reed 35-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick), 0:53. Saints 20–17. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 1:28. MIN – Randy Moss 33-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 0:12. Vikings 24–20. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 0:41. Third quarter NO – John Carney 27-yard field goal, 0:55. Vikings 24–23. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 8:06. Fourth quarter NO – Deuce McAllister 17-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Aaron Brooks–Joe Horn pass), 5:21. Saints 31–24. Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 4:35. MIN – Randy Moss 13-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Daunte Culpepper run), 0:05. Vikings 32–31. Drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 5:16. Top passers MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 26/36, 312 yards, 2 TD NO – Aaron Brooks – 21/33, 255 yards, 2 TD Top rushers MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 7 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD NO – Deuce McAllister – 18 rushes, 69 yards Top receivers MIN – Randy Moss – 11 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD NO – Joe Horn – 5 receptions, 60 yards

Standings

NFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	346	196	W1
(6) Atlanta Falcons	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	402	314	L1
New Orleans Saints	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	432	388	L3
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	258	302	W2

External links

• 2002 New Orleans Saints on Pro-Football-Reference.com