1975 New England Patriots season

1975 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Chuck Fairbanks
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	T-4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
AP All-Pros	None

The 1975 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League and 16th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished tied for fourth in the AFC East Division. The Patriots had put up their best season in nearly a decade in 1974, finishing the year with a 7–7 record and earning their first season with at least a .500 winning percentage since 1966. However, New England continued its forgetful period of the '70s, as they finished 3–11 and missed the playoffs for the 12th straight season. New England started terribly, losing its first 4 games, each by 7 or more points. After winning 3 of their next 4 games, the Patriots would lose their final 6 games to conclude the season. Although they tied the New York Jets for last place in the AFC East, they lost the tiebreaker by virtue of New York winning both matchups during the season.

Draft

Main article: 1975 NFL Draft

1975 New England Patriots draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	16	Russ Francis *	Tight end	Oregon
2	41	Rod Shoate	Linebacker	Oklahoma
3	66	Peter Cusick	Defensive tackle	Ohio State
4	86	Allen Carter	Running back	USC
4	91	Steve Burks	Wide receiver	Arkansas State
5	116	Steve Grogan	Quarterback	Kansas State
5	117	Steve Freeman	Defensive back	Mississippi State
7	172	Lawrence Williams	Wide receiver	Texas Tech
11	272	Rene Garrett	Defensive back	Idaho State
12	297	Matt Kendon	Defensive tackle	Idaho State
12	306	Condredge Holloway	Quarterback	Tennessee
13	328	Joe Harvey	Defensive end	Northern Michigan
14	353	Tom Gossom	Wide receiver	Auburn
15	378	Don Clayton	Running back	Murray State
16	403	Kerry Marbury	Running back	West Virginia
17	428	Myke Horton	Tackle	UCLA
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

1975 New England Patriots staff

Front office President – Robert L. Marr Executive vice president – George Sargent Assistant general manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Assistant personnel director – J. I. Albrecht Head coaches Head coach/general manager – Chuck Fairbanks Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt Receivers – Ray Perkins Offensive line – Red Miller Offensive assistant – Ernie Adams

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Hank Bullough Outside linebackers – Rollie Dotsch Linebackers/secondary – Charlie Sumner Defensive backfield – Larry Weaver Special teams coaches Special teams – Jim Valek

Roster

1975 New England Patriots roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Neil Graff 14 Steve Grogan 16 Jim Plunkett Running backs (RB) 33 Bobby Anderson 21 Allen Carter 39 Sam Cunningham 32 Andy Johnson 31 Leon McQuay Wide receivers (WR) 83 Melvin Baker 84 Darryl Stingley 18 Randy Vataha 17 Elmo Wright Tight ends (TE) 81 Russ Francis 86 Bob Windsor

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 62 Steve Corbett G 68 Bill DuLac G 58 Doug Dumler C 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah G 63 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C Defensive linemen (DL) 85 Julius Adams DE 76 Peter Cusick DT 71 Ray Hamilton DT 74 Craig Hanneman DT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee DE 60 David Tipton DT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Sam Hunt 52 Steve King 57 Steve Nelson 55 Kevin Reilly 56 Rod Shoate 90 George Webster 54 Steve Zabel Defensive backs (DB) 27 Ron Bolton CB 22 Dick Conn 24 Bob Howard CB 29 Durwood Keeton 47 Jim Massey 34 Prentice McCray SS 25 John Sanders FS Special teams 2 Mike Patrick P 1 John Smith K

Reserve —- Leon Crosswhite RB (IR) 51 Maury Damkroger LB (IR) 75 Arthur Moore NT (IR) 77 Tom Neville T (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game Recap
1	September 21	Houston Oilers	L 0–7	0–1	Schaefer Stadium	51,934	Recap
2	September 28	Miami Dolphins	L 14–22	0–2	Schaefer Stadium	60,602	Recap
3	October 5	at New York Jets	L 7–36	0–3	Shea Stadium	57,365	Recap
4	October 12	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–27	0–4	Riverfront Stadium	51,220	Recap
5	October 19	Baltimore Colts	W 21–10	1–4	Schaefer Stadium	51,417	Recap
6	October 26	San Francisco 49ers	W 24–16	2–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,358	Recap
7	November 2	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–24	2–5	Busch Memorial Stadium	45,907	Recap
8	November 9	at San Diego Chargers	W 33–19	3–5	San Diego Stadium	24,349	Recap
9	November 16	Dallas Cowboys	L 31–34	3–6	Schaefer Stadium	60,905	Recap
10	November 23	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–45	3–7	Rich Stadium	65,655	Recap
11	December 1	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–20	3–8	Miami Orange Bowl	61,963	Recap
12	December 7	New York Jets	L 28–30	3–9	Schaefer Stadium	53,989	Recap
13	December 14	Buffalo Bills	L 14–34	3–10	Schaefer Stadium	58,393	Recap
14	December 21	at Baltimore Colts	L 21–34	3–11	Memorial Stadium	48,678	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts(3)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	395	269	W9
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	7–4	357	222	W1
Buffalo Bills	8	6	0	.571	5–3	7–4	420	355	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–8	258	433	L2
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	1–7	2–9	258	358	L6

See also

• New England Patriots seasons