2002 New Orleans Saints season

The 2002 season was the New Orleans Saints' 36th in the National Football League and their 27th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome. They improved upon their previous season's performance of 7–9, winning nine games.[1] Despite the winning season, and ranking third in total offense in 2002, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs. A bright moment during the season for the Saints was sweeping eventual champion Tampa Bay. Those two wins were almost guaranteed to make New Orleans a playoff team; however, three consecutive losses, including one to 1–13 Cincinnati, knocked New Orleans out of a postseason berth.

2002 New Orleans Saints season
Head coachJim Haslett
General managerMickey Loomis
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersDeuce McAllister (RB)
Joe Horn (WR)
Michael Lewis (KR)
Fred McAfee (ST)
AP All-ProsDeuce McAllister (1st team)
Michael Lewis (ST)
Fred McAfee (ST)

Offseason
AdditionsSubtractions
WR Jerome Pathon (Colts)RB Ricky Williams (Dolphins)
TE David Sloan (Lions)T Willie Roaf (Chiefs)
CB Ken Irvin (Bills)DT La'Roi Glover (Cowboys)
WR Jake Reed (Vikings)CB Fred Weary (Falcons)
T Victor Riley (Chiefs)DE Joe Johnson (Packers)

NFL Draft
Main article: 2002 NFL Draft
2002 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Donté Stallworth  Wide receiver Tennessee
1 25 Charles Grant  Defensive end Georgia
2 44 LeCharles Bentley *  Guard Ohio State
3 82 James Allen  Linebacker Oregon State
4 125 Keyuo Craver  Defensive back Nebraska
5 150 Mel Mitchell  Defensive back Western Kentucky
6 186 J. T. O'Sullivan  Quarterback UC Davis
6 196 John Gilmore  Tight end Penn State
7 224 Derrius Monroe  Defensive end Virginia Tech
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Undrafted free agents
2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jeff Reed Placekicker North Carolina

Personnel

Staff
2002 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner – Tom Benson
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mickey Loomis
  • Senior Football Administrator – Russ Ball
  • Director of Player Personnel – Rick Mueller
  • College Scouting Coordinator – Rick Thompson

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Al Everest

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Rock Gullickson
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Evan Marcus

Roster
2002 New Orleans Saints final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 active, inactive, practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Under the NFL’s new scheduling formula, during the 2002 regular season the Saints’ non-divisional conference opponents would be primarily from the NFC North, although they also played former divisional rival the San Francisco 49ers from the NFC West, and the Washington Redskins from the NFC East. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC North.

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (ct) Record Attendance
1 September 8, 2002 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–20 (OT) FOX 3:15 pm 1–0
65,554
2 September 15, 2002 Green Bay Packers W 35–20 FOX 12:00 pm 2–0
67,958
3 September 22, 2002 at Chicago Bears W 29–23 FOX 12:00 pm 3–0
63,216
4 September 29, 2002 at Detroit Lions L 21–26 FOX 12:00 pm 3–1
60,023
5 October 6, 2002 Pittsburgh Steelers W 32–29 CBS 12:00 pm 4–1
67,734
6 October 13, 2002 at Washington Redskins W 43–27 FOX 12:00 pm 5–1
80,768
7 October 20, 2002 San Francisco 49ers W 35–27 FOX 12:00 pm 6–1
67,903
8 October 27, 2002 Atlanta Falcons L 35–37 FOX 12:00 pm 6–2
67,883
9 Bye
10 November 10, 2002 at Carolina Panthers W 34–24 FOX 12:00 pm 7–2
72,566
11 November 17, 2002 at Atlanta Falcons L 17–24 FOX 12:00 pm 7–3
70,382
12 November 24, 2002 Cleveland Browns L 15–24 CBS 12:00 pm 7–4
68,295
13 December 1, 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–20 ESPN 7:37 pm 8–4
68,226
14 December 8, 2002 at Baltimore Ravens W 37–25 FOX 3:05 pm 9–4
69,334
15 December 15, 2002 Minnesota Vikings L 31–32 FOX 12:00 pm 9–5
67,851
16 December 22, 2002 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–20 FOX 12:00 pm 9–6
43,544
17 December 29, 2002 Carolina Panthers L 6–10 FOX 12:00 pm 9–7
66,946

Game summaries

Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 2: Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
1 2 34Total
Packers 0 10 7320
Saints 7 14 7735

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: September 15, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 88 °F (31 °C)
  • Game attendance: 67,958
  • Referee: Johnny Grier (23)
  • TV: FOX
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 3: at Chicago Bears
Week 1: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
1 2 34Total
Saints 0 14 7829
Bears 10 10 0323

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: September 22, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 63,216
  • Referee: Ron Blum (7)
  • TV: FOX
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings
NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 346 196 W1
(6) Atlanta Falcons 9 6 1 .594 4–2 7–5 402 314 L1
New Orleans Saints 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 432 388 L3
Carolina Panthers 7 9 0 .438 1–5 4–8 258 302 W2

References
  1. 2002 New Orleans Saints
  2. "2002 New Orleans Saints Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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