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1997 New Orleans Saints
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
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.
Simple Rating System: Total -7.4, Offense: -6.8, Defense: -0.6, SoS: -1.8, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Mike Ditka
Defensive Coordinator: Zaven Yaralian
Training Camp: UW La Crosse (La Crosse, Wisconsin)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Heath Shuler | 26 | 3 | 9 | 106 for 203, 1,288 yards, 2 td, 14 int, & 22 rushes for 38 yards and 1 td | Washington Redskins / 1st / 3rd pick / 1994 |
| RB | Mario Bates | 24 | 3 | 7 | 119 rushes for 440 yards, 4 td, & 5 catches for 42 yards and 0 td | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 44th pick / 1994 |
| FB | Ray Zellars | 24 | 2 | 16 | 156 rushes for 552 yards, 4 td, & 31 catches for 263 yards and 0 td | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 44th pick / 1995 |
| WR | Andre Hastings | 26 | 4 | 16 | 48 catches for 722 yards, 5 td, & 4 rushes for 35 yards and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 76th pick / 1993 |
| WR | Randal Hill | 28 | 6 | 15 | 55 catches for 761 yards, 2 td, & 1 rush for 11 yards and 0 td | Miami Dolphins / 1st / 23rd pick / 1991 |
| TE | Irv Smith | 26 | 4 | 8 | 17 catches for 180 yards, 1 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 20th pick / 1993 |
| LT | Willie Roaf* | 27 | 4 | 16 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 8th pick / 1993 | |
| LG | Andy McCollum | 27 | 2 | 16 | ||
| C | Jerry Fontenot | 31 | 8 | 16 | Chicago Bears / 3rd / 65th pick / 1989 | |
| RG | Mike Verstegen | 26 | 1 | 8 | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 75th pick / 1995 | |
| RT | Clarence Jones | 29 | 6 | 15 | 2 fumbles recovered | New York Giants / 4th / 111th pick / 1991 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Darren Mickell | 27 | 5 | 13 | 3.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Kansas City Chiefs / 2nd / 2nd pick / 1992 Supp |
| LDT | Wayne Martin | 32 | 8 | 16 | 10.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 19th pick / 1989 |
| RDT | Pio Sagapolutele | 28 | 6 | 13 | 2.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 85th pick / 1991 |
| RDE | Joe Johnson | 25 | 3 | 16 | 8.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 13th pick / 1994 |
| LLB | Richard Harvey | 31 | 7 | 13 | 3.0 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Buffalo Bills / 11th / 305th pick / 1989 |
| MLB | Winfred Tubbs | 27 | 3 | 16 | 2.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 79th pick / 1994 |
| RLB | Mark Fields | 25 | 2 | 15 | 8.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 13th pick / 1995 |
| LCB | Alex Molden | 24 | 1 | 15 | 4.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 11th pick / 1996 |
| RCB | Eric Allen | 32 | 9 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 30th pick / 1988 |
| SS | Anthony Newman | 32 | 9 | 12 | 0.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 35th pick / 1988 |
| FS | Sammy Knight | 22 | Rook | 12 | 0.0 sacks, 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Doug Brien | 27 | 3 | 0 | 23 of 27 field goals & 22 of 22 extra points | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 85th pick / 1994 |
| P | Mark Royals | 32 | 10 | 0 | 88 punts for a 45.9 average, 0 blocked | |
| KR | Eric Guliford | 28 | 4 | 2 | 43 kick returns for a 26.2 average and 1 td | |
| KR | Eric Guliford | 28 | 4 | 2 | 43 kick returns for a 26.2 average and 1 td |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | AV | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | Tom Ackerman | 25 | 14 | 0 | 290 | 6-3 | East. Washington | 9/6/1972 | 1 | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 5th / 145th pick / 1996 | |
| 27 | Vashone Adams | 24 | db | 5 | 4 | 197 | 5-10 | Fort Hays St.,East. Michigan | 9/12/1973 | 2 | 2 | |
| 50 | Ink Aleaga | 24 | lb | 3 | 1 | 251 | 6-1 | Washington | 4/27/1973 | Rook | 0 | |
| 21 | Eric Allen | 32 | RCB | 16 | 16 | 184 | 5-10 | Arizona St. | 11/22/1965 | 9 | 7 | Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 30th pick / 1988 |
| 51 | Derrick Barnes | 23 | 1 | 0 | 261 | 6-0 | Oregon | 9/11/1974 | Rook | 0 | ||
| 24 | Mario Bates | 24 | RB | 12 | 7 | 217 | 6-1 | Arizona St. | 1/16/1973 | 3 | 3 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 44th pick / 1994 |
| 89 | Brett Bech | 26 | 10 | 0 | 184 | 6-1 | LSU | 8/20/1971 | Rook | 0 | ||
| 40 | Wes Bender | 27 | 11 | 0 | 242 | 5-10 | USC | 8/2/1970 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Doug Brien | 27 | K | 16 | 0 | 180 | 6-0 | California | 11/24/1970 | 3 | 0 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 85th pick / 1994 |
| 37 | Je'Rod Cherry | 24 | 16 | 0 | 210 | 6-1 | California | 5/30/1973 | 1 | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 40th pick / 1996 | |
| 53 | Don Davis | 25 | 11 | 0 | 235 | 6-1 | Kansas | 12/17/1972 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 73 | Isaac Davis | 25 | g | 3 | 2 | 320 | 6-3 | Arkansas | 4/8/1972 | 3 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 43rd pick / 1994 |
| 28 | Troy Davis | 22 | rb | 16 | 7 | 191 | 5-7 | Iowa St. | 9/14/1975 | Rook | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1997 |
| 56 | Ernest Dixon | 26 | 15 | 0 | 243 | 6-1 | South Carolina | 10/17/1971 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 87 | John Farquhar | 25 | TE | 11 | 8 | 278 | 6-6 | Duke | 3/22/1972 | 1 | 3 | |
| 55 | Mark Fields | 25 | RLB | 16 | 15 | 244 | 6-2 | Washington St. | 11/9/1972 | 2 | 9 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 13th pick / 1995 |
| 62 | Jerry Fontenot | 31 | C | 16 | 16 | 300 | 6-3 | Texas A&M | 11/21/1966 | 8 | 4 | Chicago Bears / 3rd / 65th pick / 1989 |
| 60 | Kendall Gammon | 29 | 16 | 0 | 255 | 6-4 | Pittsburg St. | 10/23/1968 | 5 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 11th / 291st pick / 1992 | |
| 97 | La'Roi Glover | 23 | dt | 15 | 2 | 285 | 6-2 | San Diego St. | 7/4/1974 | 1 | 3 | Oakland Raiders / 5th / 166th pick / 1996 |
| 38 | Donovan Greer | 23 | db | 6 | 1 | 178 | 5-9 | Texas A&M | 9/11/1974 | Rook | 1 | |
| 84 | Eric Guliford | 28 | KR | 16 | 2 | 170 | 5-8 | Arizona St. | 10/25/1969 | 4 | 4 | |
| 52 | Richard Harvey | 31 | LLB | 14 | 13 | 235 | 6-1 | Tulane | 9/11/1966 | 7 | 6 | Buffalo Bills / 11th / 305th pick / 1989 |
| 88 | Andre Hastings | 26 | WR | 16 | 16 | 190 | 6-1 | Georgia | 11/7/1971 | 4 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 76th pick / 1993 |
| 89 | Mercury Hayes | 24 | 4 | 0 | 195 | 5-11 | Michigan | 1/1/1973 | 1 | 0 | New Orleans Saints / 5th / 136th pick / 1996 | |
| 23 | Chris Hewitt | 23 | db | 11 | 2 | 210 | 6-0 | Cincinnati | 7/22/1974 | Rook | 2 | |
| 81 | Randal Hill | 28 | WR | 15 | 15 | 180 | 5-10 | Miami (FL) | 9/21/1969 | 6 | 5 | Miami Dolphins / 1st / 23rd pick / 1991 |
| 76 | Keno Hills | 24 | rg | 9 | 6 | 305 | 6-6 | Kent St.,La-Lafayette | 6/13/1973 | 1 | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 179th pick / 1996 |
| 80 | Daryl Hobbs | 29 | 4 | 0 | 175 | 6-2 | Pacific | 5/23/1968 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Billy Joe Hobert | 26 | qb | 5 | 4 | 230 | 6-3 | Washington | 1/8/1971 | 2 | 2 | Los Angeles Raiders / 3rd / 58th pick / 1993 |
| 94 | Joe Johnson | 25 | RDE | 16 | 16 | 275 | 6-4 | Louisville | 7/11/1972 | 3 | 8 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 13th pick / 1994 |
| 86 | Tony Johnson | 25 | te | 7 | 1 | 255 | 6-5 | Alabama | 2/5/1972 | 1 | 0 | Philadelphia Eagles / 6th / 197th pick / 1996 |
| 74 | Clarence Jones | 29 | RT | 15 | 15 | 300 | 6-6 | Maryland | 5/6/1968 | 6 | 5 | New York Giants / 4th / 111th pick / 1991 |
| 33 | Rob Kelly | 23 | db | 16 | 2 | 199 | 6-0 | Ohio St. | 6/21/1974 | Rook | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1997 |
| 61 | Ed King | 28 | 2 | 0 | 300 | 6-4 | Auburn | 12/3/1969 | 6 | 0 | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 29th pick / 1991 | |
| 29 | Sammy Knight | 22 | FS | 16 | 12 | 215 | 6-0 | USC | 9/10/1975 | Rook | 7 | |
| 93 | Wayne Martin | 32 | LDT | 16 | 16 | 275 | 6-5 | Arkansas | 10/26/1965 | 8 | 9 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 19th pick / 1989 |
| 67 | Andy McCollum | 27 | LG | 16 | 16 | 300 | 6-4 | Toledo | 6/2/1970 | 2 | 4 | |
| 44 | Fred McCrary | 25 | 7 | 0 | 247 | 6-0 | Mississippi St. | 9/19/1972 | 2 | 1 | Philadelphia Eagles / 6th / 208th pick / 1995 | |
| 92 | Darren Mickell | 27 | LDE | 14 | 13 | 285 | 6-4 | Florida | 8/3/1970 | 5 | 6 | Kansas City Chiefs / 2nd / 2nd pick / 1992 Supp |
| 59 | Keith Mitchell | 23 | lb | 16 | 2 | 236 | 6-2 | Texas A&M | 7/24/1974 | Rook | 2 | |
| 25 | Alex Molden | 24 | LCB | 16 | 15 | 190 | 5-10 | Oregon | 8/4/1973 | 1 | 7 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 11th pick / 1996 |
| 65 | Chris Naeole | 23 | 4 | 0 | 317 | 6-3 | Colorado | 12/25/1974 | Rook | 0 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1997 | |
| 30 | Anthony Newman | 32 | SS | 12 | 12 | 203 | 6-0 | Oregon | 11/25/1965 | 9 | 6 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 35th pick / 1988 |
| 13 | Doug Nussmeier | 27 | qb | 5 | 1 | 211 | 6-3 | Idaho | 12/11/1970 | 1 | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 4th / 116th pick / 1994 |
| 83 | Keith Poole | 23 | 3 | 0 | 188 | 6-0 | Arizona St. | 6/18/1974 | Rook | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 4th / 116th pick / 1997 | |
| 77 | Willie Roaf* | 27 | LT | 16 | 16 | 320 | 6-5 | Louisiana Tech | 4/18/1970 | 4 | 8 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 8th pick / 1993 |
| 95 | Austin Robbins | 26 | 12 | 0 | 290 | 6-6 | North Carolina | 3/1/1971 | 3 | 1 | Los Angeles Raiders / 4th / 120th pick / 1994 | |
| 3 | Mark Royals | 32 | P | 16 | 0 | 225 | 6-5 | Chowan,Appalachian St. | 6/22/1965 | 10 | 0 | |
| 99 | Pio Sagapolutele | 28 | RDT | 14 | 13 | 297 | 6-6 | San Diego St. | 11/28/1969 | 6 | 6 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 85th pick / 1991 |
| 85 | Nick Savoie | 24 | 1 | 0 | 253 | 6-5 | LSU | 9/21/1973 | Rook | 0 | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 165th pick / 1997 | |
| 5 | Heath Shuler | 26 | QB | 10 | 9 | 216 | 6-2 | Tennessee | 12/31/1971 | 3 | 0 | Washington Redskins / 1st / 3rd pick / 1994 |
| 71 | Ricky Siglar | 31 | t | 16 | 1 | 308 | 6-7 | San Jose St. | 6/14/1966 | 7 | 1 | |
| 91 | Brady Smith | 24 | de | 16 | 2 | 274 | 6-5 | Colorado St. | 6/5/1973 | 1 | 3 | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 70th pick / 1996 |
| 82 | Irv Smith | 26 | TE | 11 | 8 | 249 | 6-3 | Notre Dame | 10/13/1971 | 4 | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 20th pick / 1993 |
| 90 | Jared Tomich | 23 | de | 16 | 1 | 281 | 6-3 | Nebraska | 4/24/1974 | Rook | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 39th pick / 1997 |
| 54 | Winfred Tubbs | 27 | MLB | 16 | 16 | 250 | 6-4 | Texas | 9/24/1970 | 3 | 14 | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 79th pick / 1994 |
| 86 | Gunnard Twyner | 24 | 2 | 0 | 165 | 5-10 | West. Illinois | 7/14/1973 | Rook | 0 | ||
| 66 | Mike Verstegen | 26 | RG | 14 | 8 | 311 | 6-6 | Wisconsin | 10/24/1971 | 1 | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 75th pick / 1995 |
| 26 | Mickey Washington | 29 | db | 16 | 2 | 195 | 5-9 | Texas A&M | 7/8/1968 | 7 | 2 | Phoenix Cardinals / 8th / 199th pick / 1990 |
| 7 | Danny Wuerffel | 23 | qb | 7 | 2 | 212 | 6-1 | Florida | 5/27/1974 | Rook | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 4th / 99th pick / 1997 |
| 34 | Ray Zellars | 24 | FB | 16 | 16 | 233 | 5-11 | Notre Dame | 3/25/1973 | 2 | 5 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 44th pick / 1995 |
| Team Total | 26.0 | 16 | 241.1 | 6-1.8 | 2.8 |
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