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1985 New Orleans Saints season

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1985 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerTom Benson
General managerBum Phillips
Head coachBum Phillips (weeks 1-12)
Wade Phillips (interim, weeks 13-16)
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record5–11
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersLB Rickey Jackson
K Morten Andersen

The 1985 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 19th season.

The offseason began with rampant rumors the franchise was on its way out of town. Original owner John W. Mecom Jr. was anxious to sell the team, and he threatened to move to Jacksonville, Florida if no suitable owner could be found.

In May, local car magnate Tom Benson stepped up and pledged to meet Mecom's asking price of $70 million. Mecom and Benson sat down with Louisiana governor Edwin W. Edwards and hammered out a deal, which was finalized May 31. Prior to the sale to Benson, businessman Abram Nicholas Pritzker attempted to purchase the team, but he could not meet Mecom's asking price, and Edwards was unable to secure a loan from the Louisiana Legislature to assist Pritzker.

Benson moved training camp from Vero Beach, Florida to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. The team quickly brought in local legend and United States Football League standout Bobby Hebert to compete with Richard Todd and Dave Wilson for the starting quarterback position. Hebert won the position late in the season and started the final five games.

Coach Bum Phillips offered to resign when Benson completed his purchase, but Benson declined the offer. The season got off to a disastrous start, as the Saints were routed 47–27 at home by the Kansas City Chiefs, and an angry woman poured a cup of beer on Phillips as he exited the field. The Saints won three consecutive games following a week two loss at Denver, but the season quickly turned sour, thanks to a six-game losing streak that dropped the club to 3-8.

One day after winning at Minnesota to end the skid, Phillips resigned. His son, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, took over as interim coach for the final four games. The Saints won their first game under the younger Phillips, routing the eventual NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams 29-3, but losses to the Cardinals, 49ers and Falcons ended the year on another glum note.

The Saints finished with a non-winning record for the nineteenth time in as many seasons, going 5–11. Benson promised big changes following the campaign, which he delivered upon.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1985 NFL draft
1985 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 24 Alvin Toles  Linebacker Tennessee
2 38 Daren Gilbert  Offensive tackle Cal State Fullerton
3 68 Jack Del Rio *  Linebacker USC
4 95 Billy Allen  Defensive back Florida State
7 179 Eric Martin *  Wide receiver LSU
8 206 Joe Kohlbrand  Linebacker Miami (FL)
9 236 Earl Johnson  Defensive back South Carolina
12 320 Treg Songy  Defensive back Tulane
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

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Staff

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1985 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro




Roster

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1985 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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A ticket for a September 15, 1985 game between the Saints and the Denver Broncos.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 27–47 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 57,760
2 September 15 at Denver Broncos L 23–34 0–2 Mile High Stadium 74,488
3 September 22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–13 1–2 Louisiana Superdome 45,320
4 September 29 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–17 2–2 Candlestick Park 58,053
5 October 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–21 3–2 Louisiana Superdome 56,364
6 October 13 at Los Angeles Raiders L 13–23 3–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 48,152
7 October 20 at Atlanta Falcons L 24–31 3–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 44,784
8 October 27 New York Giants L 13–21 3–5 Louisiana Superdome 54,082
9 November 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–28 3–6 Anaheim Stadium 49,030
10 November 10 Seattle Seahawks L 3–27 3–7 Louisiana Superdome 47,365
11 November 17 at Green Bay Packers L 14–38 3–8 Milwaukee County Stadium 52,104
12 November 24 at Minnesota Vikings W 30–23 4–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,117
13 December 1 Los Angeles Rams W 29–3 5–8 Louisiana Superdome 44,122
14 December 8 at St. Louis Cardinals L 16–28 5–9 Busch Memorial Stadium 29,527
15 December 15 San Francisco 49ers L 19–31 5–10 Louisiana Superdome 46,065
16 December 22 Atlanta Falcons L 10–16 5–11 Louisiana Superdome 37,717
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 8

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1 234Total
• Giants 0 7014 21
Saints 3 0010 13

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Week 12

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1 234Total
• Saints 14 637 30
Vikings 7 3310 23
Scoring summary
Q1NOWilson 41 yard run (Andersen kick)NO 7–0
Q1MINAnderson 54 yard pass from Kramer (Stenerud kick)Tie 7–7
Q1NOCampbell 4 yard run (Andersen kick)NO 14–7
Q2NOAndersen 26 yard field goalNO 17–7
Q2NOAndersen 47 yard field goalNO 20–7
Q2MINStenerud 22 yard field goalNO 20–10
Q3NOAndersen 45 yard field goalNO 23–10
Q3MINStenerud 22 yard field goalNO 23–13
Q4MINStenerud 37 yard field goalNO 23–16
Q4MINJones 6 yard pass from Kramer (Stenerud kick)Tie 23–23
Q4NOTice 39 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick)NO 30–23

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Week 15

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1 234Total
• 49ers 0 71014 31
Saints 0 973 19
Scoring summary
Q2SFClark 26 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 7–0
Q2NOAndersen 46 yard field goalSF 7–3
Q2NOWarren 42 yard blocked field goal return (kick failed)NO 9–7
Q3SFWilson 52 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 14–9
Q3NOGoodlow 76 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick)NO 16–14
Q3SFWersching 24 yard field goalSF 17–16
Q4NOAndersen 41 yard field goalNO 19–17
Q4SFFrancis 17 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 24–19
Q4SFCraig 15 yard run (Wersching kick)SF 31–19

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Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 11 5 0 .688 3–3 8–4 340 277 L1
San Francisco 49ers(5) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 411 263 W2
New Orleans Saints 5 11 0 .313 2–4 5–7 294 401 L3
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 3–3 4–8 282 452 W2

Notable events

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On opening day, quarterback Dave Wilson set the unwanted record of completing only two of twenty-two passes: the lowest pass completion percent in an NFL game for any quarterback with a double figure total of attempts.

References

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  1. ^ "1985 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-09.
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-18.
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