1971 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1971 6–8 T-3rd AFC East John Mazur Upton Bell Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify None None 1970 (Boston) Patriots seasons Image:AFC-1971-Uniform-NE.PNG The 1971 New England Patriots season was the franchise's second 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.New England Is Their Third Name 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,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RNhVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6592%2C3599205 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press New England opens park with victory August 16, 1971 6Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RZsrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pPoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4523%2C1754120 The Telegraph Nashua, New Hampshire Associated Press Traffic situation 'hard to forget' August 16, 1971 18 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H-NHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F4AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7132%2C93707 Victoria Advocate Texas Associated Press Cowboys unload Thomas, obtain Garret from Pats August 1, 1971 4B Thomas became embroiled in a conflict with head coach John Mazur,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nAodAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oVkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7148%2C566086 Victoria Advocate Texas Associated Press Thomas packs bags, exits Patriot camp August 4, 1971 2B 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; Thomas and Garrett returned to their former teams, while Hagen remained in New England.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I-NHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F4AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7212%2C824842 Victoria Advocate Texas Associated Press Thomas trade called off August 5, 1971 2B Offseason NFL draft 1971 NFL draft 1971 New England Patriots 1 1 Jim Plunkett QB Stanford yes no Staff 1971 New England Patriots 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 Coach – John Mazur Offensive Coordinator/Backs – Sam Rutigliano Receivers – Jerry Stoltz Offensive Line – Bruce Beatty Defensive Coordinator/Line – Dick Evans Linebackers – John Meyer Defensive Backfield – Tom Fletcher Roster 1971 New England Patriots 16 Jim Plunkett y 17 Mike Taliaferro 30 Carl Garrett 24 Bob Gladieux 40 Jack Maitland 35 Jim Nance 45 Hubie Bryant 10 Eric Crabtree 33 Reggie Rucker 34 Ron Sellers 18 Randy Vataha y 82 Tom Beer 86 Roland Moss 62 Halvor Hagen G 76 Mike Haggerty T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C/G 64 Mike Montler T 56 Jon Morris C 77 Tom Neville offensive tackle T 60 Len St. Jean G 85 Julius Adams y DT 73 Bill Atessis y DE 88 Ron Berger DT/DE 87 Ike Lassiter DE 71 Art May y DE 76 Dave Rowe American football DT 50 Jim Cheyunski MLB 51 Randy Edmunds American football OLB 52 Ed Philpott OLB 54 Kenny Price American football y MLB 60 Steve Kiner OLB 66 Ed Weisacosky OLB 27 Randy Beverly CB 41 Larry Carwell CB 25 Rickie Harris SS 21 Tom Janik P/FS 38 Perry Pruett y CB 44 John Outlaw CB 42 Don Webb American football FS  7 Charlie Gogolak K 65 Houston Antwine DT IR 78 Hank Barton y no DE IR 53 Dennis Coleman y LB IR 83 Dave Hardt y no DE IR 23 Daryl Johnson CB IR 32 Odell Lawson RB IR -- Rich Moore American football DT IR 28 Art McMahon S IR 47 Jerry Murtaugh y LB IR 81 Ara Person TE (Ret.) 7px 26 Clarence Scott defensive back S IR 13 Alfred Sykes y no WR IR 55 J. R. Williamson LB IR 70 Dennis Wirgowski DE IR 61 Sam Adams Sr. y G 14 Brian Dowling American football QB 37 Ron Gardin CB 29 Honor Jackson y CB 74 Layne McDowell y T 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 StadiumReacp 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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297 References 2 External links Pro Football Reference – 1971 New England Patriots New England Patriots Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts Category:Long stubs with short prose