1971 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team 34th season August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Rams 1971 8–5–1 2nd NFC West Tommy Prothro estate of Dan Reeves Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Did not qualify Rams seasons The 1971 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 34th year with the National Football League, and the 26th season in Los Angeles. The team looked to improve on its 9–4–1 record from 1970, but finished only one game below their goal, as they finished 8–5–1 and finished 2nd in the NFC West, behind the San Francisco 49ers (9–5). The Rams started out strong at 4–1–1, but split their final eight games. Despite sweeping the 49ers on the season, a crucial tie against the Atlanta Falcons in week 2 (not to mention a loss at last-place New Orleans on opening day, the Saints' first defeat of the Rams) proved to doom the Rams, because had they beaten Atlanta, they would've clinched the NFC West by virtue of their sweep over the 49ers (the tie would have been moot had they not yielded a touchdown to Saints rookie quarterback Archie Manning on the final play of the opener). Team owner Dan Reeves died of cancer prior to the season in April.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZR8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gSgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2888%2C3779293 Milwaukee Journal Reeves dies; NFL pioneer April 16, 1971 15, part 2 NFL draft 1971 NFL draft = Made roster = Pro Bowler Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career. 1971 Los Angeles Rams Draft Round Selection Player Position College1 10 Isiah RobertsonLinebackerSouthern 20 Jack YoungbloodDefensive endFlorida 3 63 Dave ElmendorfStrong safetyTexas A&M 4 101 Steve WorsterRunning backTexas 8 202 Tony GarayDefensive endHofstra 9 228 Joe SchmidtWide receiverMiami (FL) 10 254 Don PopplewellCenterColorado 11 280 Charlie RichardsQuarterbackRichmond 12 306 Kirk BehrendtTackleWhitewater 13 331 Russell HarrisonRunning backKansas State 14 358 Lionel ColemanDefensive backOregon 15 384 Vontez Norman VIGuardNotre Dame 16 409 Ross BoiceLinebackerPacific Lutheran17 418 Randy VatahaWide receiverStanford 435 Joe SweetTennessee State Personnel Staff / Coaches 1971 Los Angeles Rams staff Front Office Owner – estate of Dan Reeves President / General Manager – Bill Barnes (Presided over estate of Dan Reeves until buyer could be found for franchise) Coaching Staff Head coach / Offensive Coordinator - Tommy Prothro Offensive Coaches Quarterbacks Coach - Dick Vermeil Offensive Backfield Coach - Earnel Durden Offensive Line - Bobb McKittrick Defensive Coaches Linebackers - Tom Catlin Defensive Backs Coach - Larrye Weaver Special Teams Coaches: Special Teams Assistant – Rich Brooks Strength and Conditioning: None - N/A Other Assistant Coaches: Garrett Giemont - Training Assistant College / Pro Scott - Jack Faulkner Final roster 1971 Los Angeles Rams 18 Roman Gabriel 17 Jerry Rhome 33 Willie Ellison 34 Les Josephson 36 Larry Smith running back 44 Lee White American football 25 Travis Williams running back 48 Matt Maslowski y 13 Lance Rentzel 84 Jack Snow American football 88 Pat Curran American football 80 Bob Klein 63 Joe Carollo American football T 73 Charley Cowan T 50 Ken Iman C 68 Mike LaHood G 65 Tom Mack G 61 Rich Saul C 76 Harry Schuh T 71 Joe Scibelli G 79 Coy Bacon DE 75 Deacon Jones DE 74 Merlin Olsen DT 72 Phil Olsen American football DT 78 Greg Wojcik DT 85 Jack Youngblood y DE 36 Ken Geddes OLB 56 Dean Halverson OLB 86 Marlin McKeever MLB 52 John Pergine OLB 53 Jim Purnell OLB 58 Isiah Robertson y OLB 39 Kermit Alexander SS 42 Dave Elmendorf y FS 20 Gene Howard CB 19 Jim Nettles American football CB 24 Clancy Williams CB 46 Roger Williams American football FS 27 David Ray American football K 28 Pat Studstill P 89 Rick Cash DE IR -- Russell Harrison y no RB IR 23 Alvin Haymond S IR 67 Bill Nelson American football DT IR 57 Don Parish American football LB IR 64 Jack Reynolds LB -- Edgar Scott y no RB IR 35 Bob Thomas running back y RB IR -- Jim Wilson no T IR -- Doug Woodlief LB Retired 77 Rich Buzin T 47 Larry Crowe y no CB 81 Tim Oesterling y no DT 29 Joe Sweet y WR 11 John Walton American football QB Regular season As they had in 1970, the Rams and 49ers staged a season long battle for the NFC West title that came down to the season's final game. The Rams season got off to a rocky and controversial start in New Orleans against the Saints and their rookie quarterback Archie Manning. The Saints trailed 20–17 in the final seconds and faced 4th and goal from the Rams' 1-yard line. Instead of settling for a tie (there was no overtime for regular season games in the NFL in 1971), the Saints gambled and went for the win. Manning ran a quarterback sneak in which head linesman Cal Lepore and umpire Lou Palazzi signaled touchdown, although television replays showed that Manning was stopped short of the goal line. So instead of a 20–17 win, the Rams lost 24–20. In week 2 the Rams needed a last second field goal to tie the Atlanta Falcons, 20–20. The Rams appeared to right their ship by winning their next four games, including a 20–13 win in San Francisco. But back-to-back losses to the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts left the 4–3–1 Rams 1 1 2 games behind the 6–2 49ers. Then the Rams won 2 straight, including a 17–6 win in San Francisco; that gave the Rams a 1 2-game lead in the division and they held the tiebreaker over the 49ers by virtue of their season sweep of S.F. The Rams then lost a Thanksgiving game in Dallas 28–21, but re-took the division lead with two games to play by beating the Saints 45–28. However, just as they had the year before, the Rams lost a Monday night game at home, this time to the Redskins, coached by former Rams head coach George Allen, 38–24. And just like the previous season's Monday night home loss to the Lions, this one ended up costing the Rams both the division title and the wild card berth (won by the Redskins). The Rams won their final game in Pittsburgh 23–14, but learned on their flight home that the 49ers rallied beat the Lions with a 4th-quarter touchdown, 31–27. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 19 at New Orleans Saints L 20–24 0–1 Tulane Stadium 70,915 2 September 26 Atlanta Falcons T 20–20 0–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,895 3 October 3 Chicago Bears W 17–3 1–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 66,957 4 October 10 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–13 2–1–1 Candlestick Park 44,000 5 October 17 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–16 3–1–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850 6 October 24 Green Bay Packers W 30–13 4–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 75,351 7 October 31 Miami Dolphins L 14–20 4–2–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 72,903 8 November 8, 1971 at Baltimore Colts L 17–24 4–3–1 Memorial Stadium 57,722 9 November 14 at Detroit Lions W 21–13 5–3–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 10 November 21 San Francisco 49ers W 17–6 6–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,050 11 November 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–28 6–4–1 Texas Stadium 66,595 12 December 5 New Orleans Saints W 45–28 7–4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 73,610 13 December 13, 1971 Washington Redskins L 24–38 7–5–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,402 14 December 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–14 8–5–1 Three Rivers Stadium 45,233 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References 30em External links 1971 Los Angeles Rams at jt-sw.com 1971 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com Los Angeles Rams Category:Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Angeles Rams