1984 New Orleans Saints season
The 1984 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 18th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 8–8, winning only seven games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eighteenth consecutive season. The Saints started out winning three of their first five games. However, the Saints would struggle as newly acquired quarterback Richard Todd threw 19 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns as the Saints again finished the season with a losing record at 7-9. It was in week 6 against the Bears that Walter Payton passed Jim Brown to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher.
1984 New Orleans Saints season | |
---|---|
Owner | John Mecom Jr. |
General manager | Bum Phillips |
Head coach | Bum Phillips |
Home field | Louisiana Superdome |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 3rd NFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | DE Bruce Clark LB Rickey Jackson P Brian Hansen |
Todd was acquired from the New York Jets for a first-round draft choice, and he beat out the aging Ken Stabler for the starting job at training camp, the Saints' last at Vero Beach, Florida. Stabler, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, retired midway through the season.
Late in the season, owner John Mecom Jr., who purchased the Saints as an expansion franchise for $8.5 million in late 1966, announced he would sell the team, with an asking price of $70 million. Fears abounded across Louisiana the team would be moved to Jacksonville if Mecom could not find a local buyer. Eventually, the team was sold in early 1985 to New Orleans native and car magnate Tom Benson, with Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards brokering the deal.
Offseason
NFL draft
1984 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 42 | Jumpy Geathers | Defensive end | Wichita State | |
3 | 68 | Terry Hoage | Free Safety | Georgia | |
3 | 69 | Tyrone Anthony | Running back | North Carolina | |
4 | 97 | Joel Hilgenberg * | Center | Iowa | |
5 | 123 | Jitter Fields | Defensive back | Texas | |
6 | 156 | Don Thorp | Defensive tackle | Illinois | |
8 | 210 | Clemon Terrell | Running back | Southern Miss | |
9 | 237 | Brian Hansen * | Punter | Sioux Falls | |
10 | 264 | Paul Gray | Linebacker | Western Kentucky | |
11 | 291 | Michel Bourgeau | Defensive end | Boise State | |
12 | 324 | Byron Nelson | Offensive tackle | Arizona | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Roster
Regular season
Transactions
- October 10, 1984: The New Orleans Saints in exchange for their top choice in the 1985 NFL Draft to the Houston Oilers in exchange for running back Earl Campbell.[3]
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
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1 | September 2 | Atlanta Falcons | L 28–36 | 0–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 66,652 |
2 | September 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–13 | 1–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 54,686 |
3 | September 16 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 20–30 | 1–2 | Candlestick Park | 57,611 |
4 | September 23 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 34–24 | 2–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 58,723 |
5 | September 30 | at Houston Oilers | W 27–10 | 3–2 | Astrodome | 43,108 |
6 | October 7 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–20 | 3–3 | Soldier Field | 53,752 |
7 | October 14 | Los Angeles Rams | L 10–28 | 3–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 63,161 |
8 | October 21 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 27–30 (OT) | 3–5 | Texas Stadium | 50,966 |
9 | October 28 | at Cleveland Browns | W 16–14 | 4–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 52,489 |
10 | November 4 | Green Bay Packers | L 13–23 | 4–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 57,426 |
11 | November 11 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 17–13 | 5–6 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 40,590 |
12 | November 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–24 | 6–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 66,005 |
13 | November 25 | San Francisco 49ers | L 3–35 | 6–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 65,177 |
14 | December 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 21–34 | 6–8 | Anaheim Stadium | 49,348 |
15 | December 9 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 21–24 | 6–9 | Louisiana Superdome | 40,855 |
16 | December 15 | at New York Giants | W 10–3 | 7–9 | Giants Stadium | 63,739 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Season summary
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3 (Sunday, September 16, 1984): at San Francisco 49ers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saints (1–2) | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
49ers (3–0) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 30 |
at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California
- Date: September 16, 1984
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C); wind 16 mph
- Game attendance: 57,611
- Referee: Tom Dooley
- TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
NO | Passing | Ken Stabler | 14/27, 157 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs |
Rushing | George Rogers | 23 CAR, 88 YDS | |
Receiving | Eugene Goodlow | 6 REC, 62 YDS, 1 TD | |
SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 10/17, 128 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 10 CAR, 82 YDS, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 3 REC, 72 YDS, 1 TD |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Point spread: 49ers by 5½
- Over/Under: 45.0 (over)
- Time of Game:
Saints | Game Statistics | 49ers |
---|---|---|
20 | First downs | 19 |
31–119 | Rushes–yards | 32–148 |
162 | Passing yards | 179 |
16–34–5 | Passes | 13–26–1 |
2–13 | Sacked–yards | 3–20 |
149 | Net passing yards | 159 |
268 | Total yards | 307 |
166 | Return yards | 160 |
3–46.0 | Punts | 5–40.8 |
0–0 | Fumbles–lost | 0–0 |
4–47 | Penalties–yards | 6–54 |
31:38 | Time of Possession | 28:22 |
Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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Week 8
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Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
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Week 12
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Week 13 (Sunday, November 25, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers (12–1) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
Saints (6–7) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana
- Date: November 25, 1984
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 65,177
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) and Terry Bradshaw (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 14/30, 177 YDS, 2 TDs |
Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 15 CAR, 117 YDS | |
Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 3 REC, 63 YDS, 1 TD | |
NO | Passing | Richard Todd | 9/18, 72 YDS, 1 INT |
Rushing | George Rogers | 21 CAR, 88 YDS | |
Receiving | Tyrone Anthony | 4 REC, 31 YDS |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Point spread: 49ers by 2
- Over/Under: 42.0 (under)
- Time of Game:
49ers | Game Statistics | Saints |
---|---|---|
22 | First downs | 12 |
33–219 | Rushes–yards | 28–131 |
201 | Passing yards | 118 |
15–32–0 | Passes | 14–26–1 |
1–13 | Sacked–yards | 8–48 |
188 | Net passing yards | 70 |
407 | Total yards | 201 |
107 | Return yards | 113 |
6–44.3 | Punts | 8–45.5 |
1–0 | Fumbles–lost | 1–0 |
4–60 | Penalties–yards | 3–20 |
27:48 | Time of Possession | 32:12 |
Week 14
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Standings
NFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
San Francisco 49ers(1) | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 6–0 | 12–0 | 475 | 227 | W9 |
Los Angeles Rams(4) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 346 | 316 | L1 |
New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 298 | 361 | W1 |
Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 281 | 382 | W1 |
References
- 1984 New Orleans Saints
- "1984 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- "Oilers Exchange Campbell For Saints' No. 1 Draft Pick". Washington Post. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.