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1997 New Orleans Saints

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Record: 6-10-0, Finished 4th in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 237 points (14.8/g), 30th of 30 in the NFL.
 Allowed 327 points (20.4/g), 16th.
 Differential of -90 points (-5.6/g), 25th.
 Expected W-L: 5.1-10.9.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -24 (-1.5/g), 30th.

Coached by Mike Ditka (6-10-0)

1997 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Day Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun August 31 box L 0-1 @ St. Louis Rams 24 38 13 241 159 82 5 20 403 214 189 1
2 Sun September 7 box L 0-2 San Diego Chargers 6 20 14 243 178 65 6 11 230 171 59 2
3 Sun September 14 box L 0-3 @ San Francisco 49ers 7 33 12 260 176 84 8 17 304 213 91 1
4 Sun September 21 box W 1-3 Detroit Lions 35 17 21 385 213 172 22 355 237 118 4
5 Sun September 28 box L 1-4 @ New York Giants 9 14 14 266 193 73 2 18 264 159 105 2
6 Sun October 5 box W 2-4 @ Chicago Bears 20 17 11 322 185 137 3 19 266 165 101
7 Sun October 12 box L 2-5 Atlanta Falcons 17 23 13 179 99 80 4 14 166 77 89 2
8 Sun October 19 box L 2-6 Carolina Panthers 0 13 15 200 89 111 2 15 269 196 73 1
9 Sun October 26 box L 2-7 San Francisco 49ers 0 23 6 142 87 55 2 21 347 210 137
10 Bye Week
11 Sun November 9 box W 3-7 @ Oakland Raiders 13 10 17 213 154 59 1 12 221 189 32 2
12 Sun November 16 box W 4-7 Seattle Seahawks 20 17 14 177 102 75 5 19 340 229 111 4
13 Sun November 23 box L 4-8 @ Atlanta Falcons 3 20 11 173 118 55 5 16 269 177 92 1
14 Sun November 30 box W 5-8 @ Carolina Panthers 16 13 18 326 190 136 2 21 427 241 186 4
15 Sun December 7 box L 5-9 St. Louis Rams 27 34 16 284 240 44 4 23 343 229 114 3
16 Sun December 14 box W 6-9 Arizona Cardinals 27 10 17 382 252 130 1 18 265 154 111 4
17 Sun December 21 box L 6-10 @ Kansas City Chiefs 13 25 17 252 149 103 5 14 176 20 156

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
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 237 4045 925 4.4 229 228 458 2584 13 33 5.1 127 417 1461 9 3.5 78 55 22 24
Team Defense 327 4645 1073 4.3 280 293 518 2881 21 16 5.0 168 496 1764 11 3.6 95 31 15 17
Lg Rank Offense 30 30 30 27 27 29 30 24 25 27 22 26 30 30
Lg Rank Defense 16 4 8 14 6 15 13 4 24 14 10 4 9 7

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
5 Heath Shuler 26 QB 10 9 4-5-0 106 203 52.2 1288 2 1.0 14 6.9 89 6.3 3.4 12.2 128.8 46.6 21 132 5.2 2.5 9.4
12 Billy Joe Hobert 26 5 4 2-2-0 61 131 46.6 891 6 4.6 8 6.1 49 6.8 5.0 14.6 178.2 59.0 4 29 6.4 4.6 3.0
7 Danny Wuerffel 23 7 2 0-2-0 42 91 46.2 518 4 4.4 8 8.8 47 5.7 2.6 12.3 74.0 42.3 18 116 3.7 1.1 16.5
13 Doug Nussmeier 27 5 1 0-1-0 18 32 56.3 183 0 0.0 3 9.4 24 5.7 1.5 10.2 36.6 33.7 6 32 4.0 0.4 15.8
24 Mario Bates 24 RB 12 7 1 1 100.0 21 1 100.0 0 0.0 21 21.0 41.0 21.0 1.8 158.3 0 0 21.0 41.0 0.0
Team Total 26.0 16 6-10-0 228 458 49.8 2901 13 2.8 33 7.2 89 6.3 3.7 12.7 181.3 49.4 50 317 5.1 2.7 9.8
Opp Total 16 293 518 56.6 3289 21 4.1 16 3.1 6.3 5.8 11.2 205.6 76.3 59 408 5.0 4.5

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
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
34 Ray Zellars 24 FB 16 16 156 552 4 27 3.5 34.5 9.8 31 263 8.5 0 38 1.9 16.4 815 4 6
24 Mario Bates 24 RB 12 7 119 440 4 74 3.7 36.7 9.9 5 42 8.4 0 15 0.4 3.5 482 4 2
28 Troy Davis 22 rb 16 7 75 271 0 20 3.6 16.9 4.7 13 85 6.5 0 18 0.8 5.3 356 0 3
5 Heath Shuler 26 QB 10 9 22 38 1 8 1.7 3.8 2.2 38 1 8
12 Billy Joe Hobert 26 5 4 12 36 0 15 3.0 7.2 2.4 36 0 2
44 Fred McCrary 25 7 0 8 15 0 8 1.9 2.1 1.1 4 17 4.3 0 11 0.6 2.4 32 0 0
13 Doug Nussmeier 27 5 1 8 30 0 15 3.8 6.0 1.6 30 0 1
7 Danny Wuerffel 23 7 2 6 26 0 10 4.3 3.7 0.9 26 0 2
40 Wes Bender 27 11 0 5 9 0 6 1.8 0.8 0.5 9 0 1
88 Andre Hastings 26 WR 16 16 4 35 0 27 8.8 2.2 0.3 48 722 15.0 5 39 3.0 45.1 757 5 1
81 Randal Hill 28 WR 15 15 1 11 0 11 11.0 0.7 0.1 55 761 13.8 2 89 3.7 50.7 772 2 0
84 Eric Guliford 28 RET 16 2 1 -2 0 -2 -2.0 -0.1 0.1 27 362 13.4 1 47 1.7 22.6 360 1 2
87 John Farquhar 25 te 11 8 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 17 253 14.9 1 42 1.5 23.0 253 1 0
82 Irv Smith 26 TE 11 8 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 17 180 10.6 1 25 1.5 16.4 180 1 1
83 Keith Poole 23 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 98 24.5 2 49 1.3 32.7 98 2 0
89 Brett Bech 26 10 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 3 50 16.7 0 22 0.3 5.0 50 0 0
80 Daryl Hobbs 29 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 41 20.5 1 21 0.5 10.3 41 1 0
86 Tony Johnson 25 7 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 13 13.0 0 13 0.1 1.9 13 0 1
85 Nick Savoie 24 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 14 14.0 0 14 1.0 14.0 14 0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 417 1461 9 74 3.5 91.3 26.1 228 2901 12.7 13 89 14.3 181.3 4362 22 34
Opp Total 16 496 1764 11 3.6 110.3 31.0 293 2881 9.8 21 18.3 180.1 4645 32 31

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
84 Eric Guliford 28 RET 16 2 47 498 0 32 10.6 43 1128 1 102 26.2 1986
28 Troy Davis 22 rb 16 7 9 173 0 29 19.2 529
89 Brett Bech 26 10 0 3 47 0 30 15.7 97
44 Fred McCrary 25 7 0 2 26 0 15 13.0 58
88 Andre Hastings 26 WR 16 16 1 -2 0 -2 -2.0 755
90 Jared Tomich 23 16 1 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 48 496 0 32 10.3 58 1374 1 102 23.7 6232
Opp Total 16 50 1 51 1139 0 22.3

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
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
3 Mark Royals 32 P 16 0 88 4038 66 0 45.9
10 Doug Brien 27 K 16 0 1 1 2 2 10 10 9 6 5 4 27 23 85.2% 22 22 100.0%
Team Total 26.0 16 1 1 2 2 10 10 9 6 5 4 27 23 85.2% 22 22 100.0% 88 4038 66 0 45.9
Opp Total 16 36 28 77.8% 33 33 100.0% 92 3671 39.9

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
54 Winfred Tubbs 27 MLB 16 16 2.5 2 21 0 15 2 0 2 0 0 116 44
55 Mark Fields 25 RLB 16 15 8.0 4 0 2 28 1 88 20
29 Sammy Knight 22 FS 16 12 5 75 0 39 0 0 1 0 0 67 17
25 Alex Molden 24 LCB 16 15 4.0 3 0 2 0 0 57 11
93 Wayne Martin 32 LDT 16 16 10.5 1 0 1 0 0 54 9
30 Anthony Newman 32 SS 12 12 3 19 0 17 0 0 1 0 0 53 10
52 Richard Harvey 31 LLB 14 13 3.0 1 7 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 43 7
21 Eric Allen 32 RCB 16 16 2 27 0 27 45 5
94 Joe Johnson 25 RDE 16 16 8.5 1 0 1 0 0 39 7
26 Mickey Washington 29 16 2 2 30 0 30 1 0 0 0 0 40 5
97 La'Roi Glover 23 15 2 6.5 1 0 1 0 0 24 9
99 Pio Sagapolutele 28 RDT 14 13 2.0 24 11
92 Darren Mickell 27 LDE 14 13 3.5 0 0 1 11 0 20 13
91 Brady Smith 24 16 2 5.0 22 8
59 Keith Mitchell 23 16 2 4.0 20 4
27 Vashone Adams 24 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 17 4
33 Rob Kelly 23 16 2 1 15 0 15 1 0 0 0 0 14 5
23 Chris Hewitt 23 11 2 1 0 1 0 0 12 4
90 Jared Tomich 23 16 1 1.0 0 1 1 0 0 11 1
37 Je'Rod Cherry 24 16 0 6 0
95 Austin Robbins 26 12 0 6 0
5 Heath Shuler 26 QB 10 9 8 3 -20 0
34 Ray Zellars 24 FB 16 16 6 2 0 0
56 Ernest Dixon 26 15 0 0.5 2 2
7 Danny Wuerffel 23 7 2 2 2 0 0
28 Troy Davis 22 rb 16 7 3 0 0 0
62 Jerry Fontenot 31 C 16 16 3 0 0 0
84 Eric Guliford 28 RET 16 2 2 1 0 0
24 Mario Bates 24 RB 12 7 2 0 0 0
38 Donovan Greer 23 6 1 1 0
12 Billy Joe Hobert 26 5 4 2 0 0 0
74 Clarence Jones 29 RT 15 15 0 2 0 0
89 Brett Bech 26 10 0 0 1 0 0
40 Wes Bender 27 11 0 1 0 0 0
88 Andre Hastings 26 WR 16 16 1 0 0 0
81 Randal Hill 28 WR 15 15 0 1 0 0
86 Tony Johnson 25 7 1 1 0 0 0
13 Doug Nussmeier 27 5 1 1 0 -4 0
82 Irv Smith 26 TE 11 8 1 0 0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 59.0 16 194 0 39 17 34 27 15 1 781 196
Opp Total 16 50 31 16

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD AllTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
10 Doug Brien 27 K 16 0 22 23 91
88 Andre Hastings 26 WR 16 16 5 5 1 32
24 Mario Bates 24 RB 12 7 4 4 24
34 Ray Zellars 24 FB 16 16 4 4 24
84 Eric Guliford 28 RET 16 2 1 1 2 12
81 Randal Hill 28 WR 15 15 2 2 12
83 Keith Poole 23 3 0 2 2 12
87 John Farquhar 25 te 11 8 1 1 6
55 Mark Fields 25 RLB 16 15 1 1 6
80 Daryl Hobbs 29 4 0 1 1 6
5 Heath Shuler 26 QB 10 9 1 1 6
82 Irv Smith 26 TE 11 8 1 1 6
Team Total 26.0 16 9 13 1 1 24 1 22 23 237
Opp Total 16 11 21 1 33 28 327