1970 New York Giants season

NFL sports team season

1970 New York Giants season

Owner| Wellington Mara
Head coach| Alex Webster
Home field| Yankee Stadium
Results
Record| 9–5
Division place| 2nd NFC East
Playoff finish| Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers| QB Fran Tarkenton
RB Ron Johnson

* <- 1969
* Giants seasons
* 1971 ->

The 1970 New York Giants season was the franchise's 46th season in the NFL. This was the first season for the Giants after the AFL–NFL merger, in which ten American Football League teams joined the NFL. The team was led by second-year head coach Alex Webster. The Giants finished the season 9–5 for their first winning season since 1963, but they missed the playoffs after 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 also finished only one game out of a wild-card playoff spot, won by the Detroit Lions.

Probably more damaging to the Giants' playoff hopes than the loss to the Rams were losses to two of the NFL's weakest 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, ironically the team that beat out the Giants for the final playoff spot in the NFC.

* 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

[edit]

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 (the first Giant to rush for 1,000 yards in a season; 1,027), and the leading receiver was Clifton McNeil.[1]

## Defense

[edit]

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 the team which finished the season with the league's worst record. The team leader in interceptions for the Giants was Willie Williams, who had six 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 tackles Bob Lurtsema and Jerry Shay. 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

[edit]

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.

## Draft

[edit]

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

1970 New York Giants draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
1  | 13  | Jim Files | LB | Oklahoma |
4  | 97  | Wes Grant | DE | UCLA |
5  | 117  | Claude Brumfield | OG | Tennessee St |
6  | 142  | Duane Miller | WR | Drake |
9  | 221  | Pat Hughes | C | Boston |
10  | 246  | Matt Fortier | DE  | Fairmont St |
11  | 273  | Alan Pitcaithley | RB | Oregon |
12  | 298  | Larry Nels | LB  | Wyoming |
13  | 325  | Gary Inskeep | OT | Wisconsin–Stout |
14  | 350  | Rodney Brand | C  | Arkansas |
15  | 377  | Warren Muir | RB  | South Carolina |
16  | 402  | Vic Notling | DB | Xavier |
17  | 429  | Walter Breaux | DT | Grambling |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

## Roster

[edit]

1970 New York Giants roster Quarterbacks (QB)

* 19 Ed Baker

* 11 Dick Shiner

* 10 Fran Tarkenton

Running backs (RB)

* 28 Bobby Duhon

* 24 Tucker Frederickson

* 30 Ron Johnson

* 40 Joe Morrison

* 23 Ernie Koy Jr.

* 34 Les Shy

Wide receivers (WR)

* 85 Don Herrmann

* 84 Rich Houston

* 18 Clifton McNeil

Tight ends (TE)

* 87 Rich Kotite

* 88 Aaron Thomas

* 38 Bob Tucker

|  | Offensive linemen (OL)

* 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 (DL)

* 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 (LB)

* 51 John Douglas

* 58 Jim Files

* 64 Matt Hazeltine

* 55 Ralph Heck

* 57 Ray Hicki

* 56 Pat Hughes

* 52 John Kirby

Defensive backs (DB)

* 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

|  | Practice squad

* \-- Vern Vanoy DT

Reserve

* \-- Wes Grant DE (IR)

Rookies in italics

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## Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

[edit]

NFC East

* view
* talk
* edit

| 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.

## Season summary

[edit]

### Week 1 vs Bears

[edit]

Week One: Chicago Bears (0–0) at New York Giants (0–0)

Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Bears | 7 | 3 | 7| 7| 24
Giants | 10 | 3 | 0| 3| 16

at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

* Date: September 19
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 71 °F (22 °C)
* Referee: Fred Silva
* TV announcers (WBBM): Brent Musburger and Jerry Kramer
* Box Score

Game information

First quarter

* NYG – Pete Gogolak 25-yard field goal. Giants 3–0.
* CHI – Cecil Turner 95-yard kickoff return (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3.
* NYG – Ron Johnson 12-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 10–7.

Second quarter

* NYG – Pete Gogolak 20-yard field goal. Giants 13–7.
* CHI – Mac Percival 28-yard field goal. Giants 13–10.

Third quarter

* CHI – Jack Concannon 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 17–13.

Fourth quarter

* NYG – Pete Gogolak 45-yard field goal. Bears 17–16.
* CHI – Dick Gordon 19-yard pass from Jack Concannon (Mac Percival kick). Bears 24–16.

Top passers

* CHI – Jack Concannon – 15/29, 148 yards, TD, INT
* NYG – Fran Tarkenton – 23/39, 277 yards, TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

* CHI – Gale Sayers – 17 rushes, 43 yards
* NYG – Ron Johnson – 13 rushes, 24 yards, TD

Top receivers

* CHI – Bob Wallace – 6 receptions, 82 yards
* NYG – Ron Johnson – 8 receptions, 85 yards, TD

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## See also

[edit]

* List of New York Giants seasons

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1970 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
2. ^ "1970 New York Giants". Database Football. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.

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New York Giants

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New York Giants seasons

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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

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1970 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Boston | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Buffalo | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
Miami | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | | Washington| |

* 1970 NFL Draft
* 1970 NFL strike
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl V

*[T]: Ties
*[G]: Offensive guard
*[C]: Center
*[DE]: Defensive end
*[DT]: Defensive tackle
*[CB]: Cornerback
*[FS]: Free safety
*[SS]: Strong safety
*[K]: Kicker
*[P]: Punter
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template