1971 New England Patriots season

1971 New England Patriots season
1971 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Upton Bell
Head coach	John Mazur
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	T-3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
AP All-Pros	None
Uniform
	← 1970 (Boston); Patriots seasons; 1972 →;

The 1971 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League and 12th overall. The 1971 season was the first that the team played as the New England Patriots, changing their name from the Boston Patriots, briefly to the Bay State Patriots before changing it again to the New England Patriots, in an effort to regionalize the franchise's equal distance from Boston and Providence.^[1]

The Patriots finished with six wins and eight losses, third place in the AFC East Division. It was the first season the Patriots played in the new Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts,^[2]^[3] after playing in three different stadiums the previous three seasons in Boston.

During training camp, the Dallas Cowboys traded disgruntled running back Duane Thomas to the Patriots for Carl Garrett and Halvor Hagen on July 31.^[4] Thomas became embroiled in a conflict with head coach John Mazur,^[5] prompting Patriots general manager Upton Bell to request that Commissioner Pete Rozelle void the trade three days after it had been made. Rozelle granted Bell's request, and the traded players returned to where they had been prior to the deal.^[6]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1971 New England Patriots draft
1	1	Jim Plunkett	QB	Stanford
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

**1971 New England Patriots staff**
	Front office President – Billy Sullivan General Manager – Upton Bell Assistant General Manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of Player Personnel – Bucko Kilroy Director of Pro Scouting – Rommie Loudd Head coaches Head Coach – John Mazur Offensive coaches Offensive Backs/Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Receivers – Jerry Stoltz Offensive Line – Bruce Beatty			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Dick Evans Linebackers – John Meyer Defensive Backfield – Tom Fletcher

Roster

**1971 New England Patriots roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Brian Dowling 16 Jim Plunkett 17 Mike Taliaferro Running backs (RB) 30 Carl Garrett 24 Bob Gladieux 40 Jack Maitland 35 Jim Nance Wide receivers (WR) 45 Hubie Bryant 10 Eric Crabtree 34 Ron Sellers 13 Alfred Sykes 18 Randy Vataha Tight ends (TE) 82 Tom Beer 86 Roland Moss		Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Halvor Hagen G 76 Mike Haggerty T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 64 Mike Montler G 56 Jon Morris C 77 Tom Neville T 60 Len St. Jean G Defensive linemen (DL) 85 Julius Adams DE 65 Houston Antwine DE 73 Bill Atessis DT 71 Art May DE 76 Dave Rowe DT 70 Dennis Wirgowski DE		Linebackers (LB) 50 Jim Cheyunski 53 Dennis Coleman 54 Kenny Price 60 Steve Kiner 66 Ed Weisacosky Defensive backs (DB) 41 Larry Carwell CB 25 Rickie Harris SS 43 Irvin Mallory 38 Perry Pruett 44 John Outlaw CB 26 Clarence Scott SS 42 Don Webb FS Special teams 7 Charlie Gogolak K 21 Tom Janik P				Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 19	Oakland Raiders	W 20–6	1–0	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
2	September 26	Detroit Lions	L 7–34	1–1	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
3	October 3	Baltimore Colts	L 3–23	1–2	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
4	October 10	New York Jets	W 20–0	2–2	Schaefer Stadium	Reacp
5	October 17	at Miami Dolphins	L 3–41	2–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
6	October 24	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–44	2–4	Texas Stadium	Recap
7	October 31	at San Francisco 49ers	L 10–27	2–5	Candlestick Park	Recap
8	November 7	Houston Oilers	W 28–20	3–5	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
9	November 14	Buffalo Bills	W 38–33	4–5	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
10	November 21	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–27	4–6	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
11	November 28	at Buffalo Bills	L 20–27	4–7	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
12	December 5	Miami Dolphins	W 34–13	5–7	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
13	December 12	at New York Jets	L 6–13	5–8	Shea Stadium	Recap
14	December 19	at Baltimore Colts	W 21–17	6–8	Memorial Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	10	3	1	.769	5–3	7–3–1	315	174	W1
Baltimore Colts	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	313	140	L1
New England Patriots	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	238	325	W1
New York Jets	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	212	299	W2
Buffalo Bills	1	13	0	.071	1–7	1–10	184	394	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

^[7]

References

^ New England Is Their Third Name
^ "New England opens park with victory". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 16, 1971. p. 6B.
^ "Traffic situation 'hard to forget'". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. August 16, 1971. p. 18.
^ "Cowboys unload Thomas, obtain Garret from Pats". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 1, 1971. p. 4B.
^ "Thomas packs bags, exits Patriot camp". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 4, 1971. p. 2B.
^ "Thomas trade called off". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 5, 1971. p. 2B.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297

External links

Pro Football Reference – 1971 New England Patriots

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[1] New England Is Their Third Name

[nweopwv-2] "New England opens park with victory". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 16, 1971. p. 6B.

[htfrgt-3] "Traffic situation 'hard to forget'". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. August 16, 1971. p. 18.

[cbunl-4] "Cowboys unload Thomas, obtain Garret from Pats". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 1, 1971. p. 4B.

[tpbgs-5] "Thomas packs bags, exits Patriot camp". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 4, 1971. p. 2B.

[ttcof-6] "Thomas trade called off". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 5, 1971. p. 2B.

[7] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297

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v t e New England Patriots
Founded in 1960 Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970) Based and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Franchise	Franchise History Brady–Belichick era Hall of Fame Patriot Place Seasons All-time roster Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Retired numbers Strategy Broadcasters
Stadiums	Nickerson Field Fenway Park Alumni Stadium Harvard Stadium Foxboro Stadium Gillette Stadium
Culture	Billy Sullivan Robert Kraft Jonathan Kraft Pat Patriot Cheerleaders "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" "Crazy Train" "Your Love" Patriot Reign Family Guy "Patriot Games" "3 Acts of God" "Gronkowsbees" "This Is Our House" "Stunning and Brave" "Turd Burglars" Tom vs Time Man in the Arena: Tom Brady 80 for Brady
Lore	Snowplow Game Lisa Olson St. Louis Stallions Tuck Rule Game 2006 playoff game vs. San Diego Chargers 16–0 Spygate 2007 game vs. New York Giants Helmet Catch Butt Fumble Deflategate Malcolm Butler's interception Colts Catastrophe 28–3 Philly Special Miami Miracle Brady's return Lunatic Lateral
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Denver Broncos Indianapolis Colts Brady–Manning rivalry Miami Dolphins New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers
Division championships (22)	1963 1978 1986 1996 1997 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Conference championships (11)	1985 1996 2001 2003 2004 2007 2011 2014 2016 2017 2018
League championships (6)	2001 (XXXVI) 2003 (XXXVIII) 2004 (XXXIX) 2014 (XLIX) 2016 (LI) 2018 (LIII)
Retired numbers	12 20 40 56 57 73 78 79 89
Media	Broadcasters WBZ-FM WBZ-TV Radio network Gil Santos Gino Cappelletti Bob Socci Scott Zolak
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t e New England Patriots seasons
Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance