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1981 New Orleans Saints

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Record: 4-12-0, Finished 4th in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 207 points (12.9/g), 28th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 378 points (23.6/g), 24th.
 Differential of -171 points (-10.7/g), 27th.
 Expected W-L: 3.1-12.9.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -13 (-0.8/g), 22nd.

Simple Rating System: Total -9.5, Offense: -7.2, Defense: -2.3, SoS: 1.2, versus averages of 0.0.

Coached by Bum Phillips

 Defensive Coordinator: Wade Phillips

Training Camp: Dodgertown (Vero Beach, Florida)

Team Stats and Rankings

Tot Yds & TO Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 207 4705 1028 4.6 280 238 441 2419 8 27 5.0 124 546 2286 16 4.2 126 47 20 30
Team Defense 378 5253 1002 5.2 303 287 471 3337 26 17 6.7 161 504 1916 17 3.8 127 34 17 15
Lg Rank Offense 28 25 23 24 28 28 23 24 10 7 13 8 23 17
Lg Rank Defense 24 11 14 5 20 23 21 26 12 11 17 10 21 14

Team Games & Schedule

Score Offense Defense
Week Day Date OT Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 6 boxscore L 0-1 @ Atlanta Falcons 0 27 14 249 173 76 4 21 299 135 164 4
2 Sun September 13 boxscore W 1-1 Los Angeles Rams 23 17 19 304 78 226 3 17 255 167 88 4
3 Sun September 20 boxscore L 1-2 @ New York Giants 7 20 18 299 190 109 3 26 421 315 106 2
4 Sun September 27 boxscore L 1-3 @ San Francisco 49ers 14 21 18 413 250 163 4 15 314 168 146 2
5 Sun October 4 boxscore L 1-4 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 20 16 180 102 78 5 19 406 269 137 3
6 Sun October 11 boxscore L 1-5 Philadelphia Eagles 14 31 18 240 50 190 4 21 369 200 169 2
7 Sun October 18 boxscore L 1-6 @ Cleveland Browns 17 20 14 334 192 142 1 23 355 261 94 1
8 Sun October 25 boxscore W 2-6 Cincinnati Bengals 17 7 18 336 170 166 1 15 205 171 34 2
9 Sun November 1 boxscore L 2-7 Atlanta Falcons 10 41 14 262 204 58 3 20 406 262 144 1
10 Sun November 8 boxscore W 3-7 @ Los Angeles Rams 21 13 26 462 155 307 2 16 304 191 113 4
11 Sun November 15 boxscore L 3-8 @ Minnesota Vikings 10 20 23 314 198 116 2 17 357 287 70 1
12 Sun November 22 boxscore W 4-8 @ Houston Oilers 27 24 20 321 140 181 2 16 260 161 99 2
13 Sun November 29 boxscore L 4-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 31 20 341 204 137 3 22 345 218 127 2
14 Sun December 6 boxscore L 4-10 @ St. Louis Cardinals 3 30 11 176 59 117 3 19 290 135 155 1
15 Sun December 13 boxscore L 4-11 Green Bay Packers 7 35 16 252 165 87 6 17 318 202 116
16 Sun December 20 boxscore L 4-12 San Francisco 49ers 17 21 15 222 89 133 1 19 349 195 154 3

Passing

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk% 4QC GWD
8 Archie Manning 32 QB 12 11 3-8-0 134 232 57.8 1447 5 2.2 11 4.7 55 6.2 4.5 10.8 120.6 63.6 21 164 5.07 3.51 8.3
18 Dave Wilson 22 qb 11 4 1-3-0 82 159 51.6 1058 1 0.6 11 6.9 50 6.7 3.7 12.9 96.2 46.1 12 121 5.48 2.70 7.0
12 Bobby Scott 32 qb 4 1 0-1-0 20 46 43.5 245 1 2.2 5 10.9 31 5.3 0.9 12.3 61.3 28.2 7 72 3.26 -0.60 13.2
19 Guido Merkens 26 WR 16 11 1 2 50.0 20 0 0.0 0 0.0 20 10.0 10.0 20.0 1.3 85.4 1 2 6.00 6.00 33.3
37 Tom Myers 31 FS 16 15 1 2 50.0 8 1 50.0 0 0.0 8 4.0 14.0 8.0 0.5 100.0 0 0 4.00 14.00 0.0
Team Total 26.0 16 4-12-0 238 441 54.0 2778 8 1.8 27 6.1 55 6.3 3.9 11.7 173.6 53.8 41 359 5.02 2.83 8.5 0 0
Opp Total 16 287 471 60.9 3578 26 5.5 17 3.6 7.6 7.08 12.5 223.6 87.9 27 241 6.7 6.2 5.4

Rushing & Receiving

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
38 George Rogers*+ 23 RB 16 16 378 1674 13 79 4.4 104.6 23.6 16 126 7.9 0 25 1.0 7.9 1800 13 13
45 Jack Holmes 28 FB 16 15 58 194 2 11 3.3 12.1 3.6 38 206 5.4 0 19 2.4 12.9 400 2 0
30 Wayne Wilson 24 KR 16 0 44 137 1 13 3.1 8.6 2.8 31 384 12.4 4 55 1.9 24.0 521 5 1
42 Toussaint Tyler 22 16 0 36 183 0 42 5.1 11.4 2.3 23 135 5.9 0 18 1.4 8.4 318 0 4
41 Jimmy Rogers 26 15 0 9 37 0 15 4.1 2.5 0.6 2 12 6.0 0 9 0.1 0.8 49 0 3
18 Dave Wilson 22 qb 11 4 5 1 0 9 0.2 0.1 0.5 1 0 4
12 Bobby Scott 32 qb 4 1 3 -4 0 -1 -1.3 -1.0 0.8 -4 0 1
19 Guido Merkens 26 WR 16 11 2 -1 0 2 -0.5 -0.1 0.1 29 458 15.8 1 50 1.8 28.6 457 1 1
48 Jeff Groth 24 PR/WR 15 13 2 27 0 28 13.5 1.8 0.1 20 380 19.0 1 54 1.3 25.3 407 1 0
32 Scott Stauch 22 10 0 2 6 0 5 3.0 0.6 0.2 1 7 7.0 0 7 0.1 0.7 13 0 1
14 Russell Erxleben 25 P 16 0 2 10 0 26 5.0 0.6 0.1 10 0 1
8 Archie Manning 32 QB 12 11 2 28 0 15 14.0 2.3 0.2 28 0 3
37 Tom Myers 31 FS 16 15 2 -3 0 6 -1.5 -0.2 0.1 -3 0 1
86 Rich Caster 33 4 0 1 -3 0 -3 -3.0 -0.8 0.3 7 108 15.4 0 31 1.8 27.0 105 0 2
87 Larry Hardy 25 TE 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 23 275 12.0 1 27 1.4 17.2 275 1 2
89 Wes Chandler 25 wr 4 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 17 285 16.8 1 39 4.3 71.3 285 1 0
86 Rich Martini 26 12 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 8 72 9.0 0 15 0.7 6.0 72 0 0
85 Hoby Brenner 22 te 9 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 7 143 20.4 0 34 0.8 15.9 143 0 1
89 Aundra Thompson 28 10 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 81 13.5 0 25 0.6 8.1 81 0 0
88 Brooks Williams 27 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5 50 10.0 0 13 0.7 7.1 50 0 0
80 Gordon Banks 23 wr 6 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 18 9.0 0 12 0.3 3.0 18 0 2
82 Ike Harris 29 wr 3 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 33 16.5 0 20 0.7 11.0 33 0 0
64 Dave Lafary 26 t 16 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 5 5.0 0 5 0.1 0.3 5 0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 546 2286 16 79 4.2 142.9 34.1 238 2778 11.7 8 55 14.9 173.6 5064 24 40
Opp Total 16 504 1916 17 3.8 119.8 31.5 287 3337 11.6 26 17.9 208.6 5253 43 31

Kick & Punt Returns

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
48 Jeff Groth 24 PR/WR 15 13 37 436 0 36 11.8 3 50 0 21 16.7 893
30 Wayne Wilson 24 KR 16 0 31 722 0 57 23.3 1243
41 Jimmy Rogers 26 15 0 28 621 0 44 22.2 670
80 Gordon Banks 23 wr 6 1 2 0 0 0 0.0 1 9 0 9 9.0 27
19 Guido Merkens 26 WR 16 11 1 -12 0 -12 -12.0 2 38 0 20 19.0 483
32 Scott Stauch 22 10 0 3 65 0 29 21.7 78
67 Stan Brock 23 RT 16 16 2 18 0 12 9.0 18
25 Johnnie Poe 22 RCB 15 15 1 2 0 2 2.0 2
Team Total 26.0 16 41 426 0 36 10.4 70 1523 0 57 21.8 7013
Opp Total 16 36 0 50 966 0 19.3

Kicking & Punting

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
14 Russell Erxleben 25 P 16 0 66 2672 60 0 40.5
1 Benny Ricardo 27 K 16 0 5 5 9 3 10 5 1 25 13 52.0% 24 24 100.0%
Team Total 26.0 16 5 5 9 3 10 5 1 25 13 52.0% 24 24 100.0% 66 2672 60 0 40.5
Opp Total 16 25 19 76.0% 46 45 97.8% 69 3043 44.1

Defense & Fumbles

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
57 Rickey Jackson 23 LOLB 16 16 2 0 1 0 0 125 0
73 Frank Warren 22 16 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 0
38 George Rogers*+ 23 RB 16 16 0 13 1 0 0
18 Dave Wilson 22 qb 11 4 0 4 3 -8 0
44 Dave Waymer 23 LCB 16 13 4 54 0 31 0 0 0 2 0 0
87 Larry Hardy 25 TE 16 16 0 2 2 0 0
19 Guido Merkens 26 WR 16 11 0 1 3 0 0
37 Tom Myers 31 FS 16 15 2 70 0 54 0 0 1 1 0 0
41 Jimmy Rogers 26 15 0 0 3 1 0 0
42 Toussaint Tyler 22 16 0 0 4 0 0 0
49 Frank Wattelet 23 db 16 3 3 16 0 16 0 0 0 1 0 0
80 Gordon Banks 23 wr 6 1 0 2 1 0 0
8 Archie Manning 32 QB 12 11 0 3 0 0 0
55 Rob Nairne 27 ROLB 16 13 1 18 0 18 0 0 0 2 0 0
67 Stan Brock 23 RT 16 16 0 0 2 0 0
86 Rich Caster 33 4 0 0 2 0 0 0
52 Jim Kovach 25 RILB 15 15 1 13 0 13 0 0 0 1 0 0
25 Johnnie Poe 22 RCB 15 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 0
12 Bobby Scott 32 qb 4 1 0 1 1 0 0
32 Scott Stauch 22 10 0 0 1 1 0 0
94 Jim Wilks 23 16 0 0 0 2 0 0
30 Wayne Wilson 24 KR 16 0 0 1 1 0 0
50 Ken Bordelon 27 lb 15 3 1 3 0 3 0
85 Hoby Brenner 22 te 9 1 0 1 0 0 0
89 Wes Chandler 25 wr 4 4 0 0 1 51 0
14 Russell Erxleben 25 P 16 0 0 1 0 0 0
20 Russell Gary 22 SS 14 14 1 0 0 0 0
78 Elois Grooms 28 RDE 16 16 0 0 1 20 0
69 Nat Hudson 24 16 0 0 0 1 14 0
64 Dave Lafary 26 t 16 4 0 0 1 0 0
74 Derland Moore 30 LDE 16 16 0 0 1 0 0
53 Scott Pelluer 22 16 0 0 0 1 0 0
22 Ricky Ray 24 db 4 4 1 33 0 33 0
58 Glen Redd 23 LILB 16 16 1 7 0 7 0
47 Mike Spivey 27 12 0 1 0 0 0 0
71 J.T. Taylor 25 LT 12 12 0 0 1 0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 17 214 0 54 0 2 40 35 87 0 145 0
Opp Total 16 41 31 14

Scoring Summary

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD AllTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
38 George Rogers*+ 23 RB 16 16 13 13 78
1 Benny Ricardo 27 K 16 0 24 13 63
30 Wayne Wilson 24 KR 16 0 1 4 5 30
45 Jack Holmes 28 FB 16 15 2 2 12
89 Wes Chandler 25 wr 4 4 1 1 6
48 Jeff Groth 24 PR/WR 15 13 1 1 6
87 Larry Hardy 25 TE 16 16 1 1 6
19 Guido Merkens 26 WR 16 11 1 1 6
Team Total 26.0 16 16 8 24 24 13 207
Opp Total 16 17 26 45 19 378