1970 New York Giants season

The 1970 New York Giants season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League. This was the first season for the Giants after the AFL–NFL merger, in which ten American Football League teams joined the National Football League. The team was led by second-year head coach Alex Webster. The Giants finished the season 9–5, missing the playoffs by losing their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 31–3. The Giants finished second in the NFC East, a game behind the Dallas Cowboys. They were also only one game out of a wild-card playoff spot, won by the Detroit Lions.

1970 New York Giants season
Head coach	Alex Webster
Home field	Yankee Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

Probably more damaging to the Giants' playoff hopes than the loss to the Rams were two devastating losses to two of the NFL's worst teams:

• The first was a 14–10 loss at New Orleans in week three. The Giants were the victims of a blown call by head linesman Bruce Finlayson, who ruled tight end Aaron Thomas to be out of bounds on what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass from Fran Tarkenton in the closing minutes. Replays showed Thomas had both feet down in bounds with control of the ball. The Saints' only other win of 1970 came five weeks later when Tom Dempsey kicked a then-NFL record 63-yard field goal for a 19-17 decision over the Detroit Lions.

• The second was a 23–20 setback at Philadelphia on Monday Night Football in week 10, the Giants' only setback in a 10-week stretch following the loss to the Saints. The game at Franklin Field was more memorable for the antics in the broadcast booth, where Howard Cosell vomited on Don Meredith's cowboy boots. Cosell took a taxi back to the hotel at halftime, leaving Meredith to finish the game with Keith Jackson.

The Saints finished with the NFL's second-worst record at 2–11–1 (the Giants beat the NFL's worst team of 1970, the 2–12 Boston Patriots); the Eagles were barely better at 3–10–1. The Giants also lost at home to the 6-8 Chicago Bears.

This was the closest the Giants came to qualifying for the playoffs in the 1970s. The franchise enjoyed only one other winning season in the decade, going 8–6 in 1972. Big Blue did not return to the playoffs until 1981, ending a drought which dated back to the 1963 NFL Championship.

Offense

The 1970 Giants offense was led by Pro Bowl performers, quarterback Fran Tarkenton, and running back Ron Johnson. The team was in the top ten in several offensive categories including points, yards, and first downs. The team had over one hundred rushing yards in eleven of its fourteen games, including 202 yards in a week eight win against the Dallas Cowboys. The offense struggled when the team failed to run the ball well, as in the week fourteen loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which the Giants rushed for only 50 yards. When the team was able to run the ball and play defense they were able to win. In all their wins, they had at least 100 yards rushing. The leading passer was Fran Tarkenton, the leading rusher was Ron Johnson, and the leading receiver was Clifton McNeil.[1]

Defense

The best defensive game by far for the Giants was the shutout of the Boston Patriots (2–12) in a week 5 victory. In that game, the Giants allowed only 155 total offensive yards against one of the weakest teams in the league. The team leader in interceptions for the Giants was Willie Williams, who had 6 interceptions for 114 total interception yards.

The backbone of New York's defense was a stout front four featuring ends Fred Dryer and Jim Kanicki and tackle Bob Lurtsema. Williams was part of a solid secondary which also included Tom Longo, Scott Eaton and Spider Lockhart. First round draft pick Jim Files moved in at the starting middle linebacker spot for the departed Henry Davis, who moved on to Pittsburgh.

Special teams

The kicker for the Giants that season was Pete Gogolak. Gogolak was a perfect 32 of 32 in extra points but hit only 25 of 41 field goals attempted on the year, with his longest being a kick of 54 yards in week eight vs. the Cowboys, a kick which came on the same day Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal for the Saints vs. the Lions, and 43-year-old George Blanda hit a 53-yard field goal at the gun to lift Oakland over Cleveland 23–20.

Bill Johnson and Ernie Koy shared punting duties for the Giants, and each was average for the position. Bobby Duhon and Les Shy were the main kick and punt returners, though neither returned a kick for a touchdown.

1970 NFL Draft

This is a list of draft picks, taken by the Giants in the 1970 NFL Draft. This list includes the round taken, school, and position of the player selected.[2]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	13	Jim Files	Linebacker	Oklahoma
4	97	Wes Grant	Defensive end	UCLA
5	117	Claude Brumfield	Guard	Tennessee State
6	142	Duane Miller	Wide receiver	Drake
9	221	Pat Hughes	Center	Boston University
10	246	Matt Fortier	Defensive end	Fairmont State
11	273	Alan Pitcaithley	Running back	Oregon
12	298	Larry Nels	Linebacker	Wyoming
13	325	Gary Inskeep	Tackle	Wisconsin–Stout
14	350	Rodney Brand	Center	Arkansas
15	377	Warren Muir	Running back	South Carolina
16	402	Vic Nolting	Defensive back	Xavier
17	429	Walter Breaux	Defensive tackle	Grambling

Roster

1970 New York Giants roster

	Quarterbacks 19 Ed Baker 11 Dick Shiner 10 Fran Tarkenton Running backs 28 Bobby Duhon 24 Tucker Frederickson 30 Ron Johnson 40 Joe Morrison 23 Ernie Koy Jr. 34 Les Shy Wide receivers 85 Don Herrmann 84 Rich Houston 18 Clifton McNeil Tight ends 87 Rich Kotite 88 Aaron Thomas 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen 60 Willie Banks T 77 Rich Buzin T 65 Pete Case G 61 Charlie Harper G 59 Len Johnson C 53 Greg Larson C 63 Doug Van Horn G 69 Willie Young T Defensive linemen 72 John Baker DE 74 Dennis Crane DT 89 Fred Dryer DE 73 Jim Kanicki DT 71 Bob Lurtsema DE 79 Jim Norton DE 75 Jerry Shay DT		Linebackers 51 John Douglas 58 Jim Files 64 Matt Hazeltine 55 Ralph Heck 57 Ray Hicki 56 Pat Hughes 52 John Kirby Defensive backs 21 Otto Brown CB 20 Scott Eaton CB 33 Joe Green 43 Spider Lockhart FS 44 Tom Longo SS 41 Willie A. Williams 26 Kenny Parker Special teams 3 Pete Gogolak K 36 Bill Johnson P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	1970-09-19	Chicago Bears	L 24–16	Yankee Stadium	62,936
2	1970-09-27	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–10	Cotton Bowl	57,236
3	1970-10-04	at New Orleans Saints	L 14–10	Tulane Stadium	69,126
4	1970-10-11	Philadelphia Eagles	W 30–23	Yankee Stadium	62,820
5	1970-10-18	at Boston Patriots	W 16–0	Harvard Stadium	39,091
6	1970-10-25	St. Louis Cardinals	W 35–17	Yankee Stadium	62,984
7	1970-11-01	at New York Jets	W 22–10	Shea Stadium	63,903
8	1970-11-08	Dallas Cowboys	W 23–20	Yankee Stadium	62,938
9	1970-11-15	Washington Redskins	W 35–33	Yankee Stadium	62,915
10	1970-11-23	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–20	Franklin Field	59,117
11	1970-11-29	at Washington Redskins	W 27–24	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	50,415
12	1970-12-06	Buffalo Bills	W 20–6	Yankee Stadium	62,870
13	1970-12-13	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 34–17	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,845
14	1970-12-20	Los Angeles Rams	L 31–3	Yankee Stadium	62,870

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	5–3	7–4	299	221	W5
New York Giants	9	5	0	.643	6–2	6–5	301	270	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	8	5	1	.615	5–3	6–5	325	228	L3
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	3–5	4–7	297	314	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	10	1	.231	1–7	1–9–1	241	332	W1

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

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons

References

1. "1970 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
2. "1970 New York Giants". Database Football. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-03-12.