1997 New Orleans Saints Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 6-10
Finishing 4th in the NFL's West Division of the National Football Conference
Coach: Mike Ditka (6-10)
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
1997 New Orleans Saints StatisticsTeam Record: 6-10
Finishing 4th in the NFL's West Division of the National Football Conference
Coach: Mike Ditka (6-10)
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
1997 New Orleans Saints Results
The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League ended the 1997 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses, finishing fourth in the NFL's West Division of the National Football Conference.
New Orleans struggled to score 237 points, worst in the circuit, while the defensive squad conceded 327. Heath Shuler threw for 1,288 yards. Randal Hill grabbed 55 passes for 761 yards. Andre Hastings was targeted regularly as well.
Ray Zellars carried the ball for a team-leading 552 yards for the Saints, while Mario Bates also buoyed the ground attack.
Sammy Knight picked off 5 opponent throws. Wayne Martin topped the defensive unit with 10.5 quarterback sacks, helping propel the defense to an overall total of 59 sacks.
Mike Ditka coached the team.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | Tom Ackerman | G-C | September 6, 1972 | 6'3" | 290 | East. Washington | Bellingham, WA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 27 | Vashone Adams | DB | September 12, 1973 | 5'10" | 197 | Fort Hays St. | Aurora, CO USA | 5 | 4 |
| 50 | Ink Aleaga | LB | April 27, 1973 | 6'1" | 251 | Washington | Honolulu, HI USA | 3 | 1 |
| 21 | Eric Allen | RCB | November 22, 1965 | 5'10" | 184 | Arizona St. | San Diego, CA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 51 | Derrick Barnes | LB | September 11, 1974 | 6'0" | 261 | Oregon | Hattiesburg, MS USA | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Mario Bates | RB | January 16, 1973 | 6'1" | 217 | Arizona St. | Victoria, TX USA | 12 | 7 |
| 89 | Brett Bech | WR | August 20, 1971 | 6'1" | 184 | LSU | Slidell, LA USA | 10 | 0 |
| 40 | Wes Bender | RB | August 2, 1970 | 5'10" | 242 | USC | Van Nuys, CA USA | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Doug Brien | K | November 24, 1970 | 6'0" | 180 | California | Bloomfield, NJ USA | 16 | 0 |
| 37 | Je'Rod Cherry | DB | May 30, 1973 | 6'1" | 210 | California | Charlotte, NC USA | 16 | 0 |
| 53 | Don Davis | LB | December 17, 1972 | 6'1" | 235 | Kansas | Olathe, KS USA | 11 | 0 |
| 73 | Isaac Davis | G | April 8, 1972 | 6'3" | 320 | Arkansas | Malvern, AR USA | 3 | 2 |
| 28 | Troy Davis | RB | September 14, 1975 | 5'7" | 191 | Iowa St. | Miami, FL USA | 16 | 7 |
| 56 | Ernest Dixon | LB | October 17, 1971 | 6'1" | 243 | South Carolina | York, SC USA | 15 | 0 |
| 87 | John Farquhar | TE | March 22, 1972 | 6'6" | 278 | Duke | Stanford, CA USA | 11 | 8 |
| 55 | Mark Fields | RLB | November 9, 1972 | 6'2" | 244 | Washington St. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 16 | 15 |
| 62 | Jerry Fontenot | C | November 21, 1966 | 6'3" | 300 | Texas A&M | Lafayette, LA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 60 | Kendall Gammon | C-TE | October 23, 1968 | 6'4" | 255 | Pittsburg St. | Wichita, KS USA | 16 | 0 |
| 97 | La'Roi Glover | DT | July 4, 1974 | 6'2" | 285 | San Diego St. | San Diego, CA USA | 15 | 2 |
| 38 | Donovan Greer | DB | September 11, 1974 | 5'9" | 178 | Texas A&M | Houston, TX USA | 6 | 1 |
| 84 | Eric Guliford | KR | October 25, 1969 | 5'8" | 170 | Arizona St. | Kansas City, KS USA | 16 | 2 |
| 52 | Richard Harvey | LLB | September 11, 1966 | 6'1" | 235 | Tulane | Pascagoula, MS USA | 14 | 13 |
| 88 | Andre Hastings | WR | November 7, 1971 | 6'1" | 190 | Georgia | Macon, GA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 89 | Mercury Hayes | WR | January 1, 1973 | 5'11" | 195 | Michigan | Houston, TX USA | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | Chris Hewitt | DB | July 22, 1974 | 6'0" | 210 | Cincinnati | Kingston, Jamaica | 11 | 2 |
| 81 | Randal Hill | WR | September 21, 1969 | 5'10" | 180 | Miami (FL) | Miami, FL USA | 15 | 15 |
| 76 | Keno Hills | RG | June 13, 1973 | 6'6" | 305 | Kent St. | Tampa, FL USA | 9 | 6 |
| 80 | Daryl Hobbs | WR | May 23, 1968 | 6'2" | 175 | Pacific | Victoria, TX USA | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Billy Hobert | QB | January 8, 1971 | 6'3" | 230 | Washington | Puyallup, WA USA | 5 | 4 |
| 94 | Joe Johnson | RDE | July 11, 1972 | 6'4" | 275 | Louisville | Cleveland, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 86 | Tony Johnson | TE | February 5, 1972 | 6'5" | 255 | Alabama | Como, MS USA | 7 | 1 |
| 74 | Clarence Jones | RT | May 6, 1968 | 6'6" | 300 | Maryland | Brooklyn, NY USA | 15 | 15 |
| 33 | Rob Kelly | DB | June 21, 1974 | 6'0" | 199 | Ohio St. | Newark, OH USA | 16 | 2 |
| 61 | Ed King | G-T | December 3, 1969 | 6'4" | 300 | Auburn | Fort Benning, GA USA | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Sammy Knight | FS | September 10, 1975 | 6'0" | 215 | USC | Fontana, CA USA | 16 | 12 |
| 93 | Wayne Martin | LDT | October 26, 1965 | 6'5" | 275 | Arkansas | Forrest City, AR USA | 16 | 16 |
| 67 | Andy McCollum | LG | June 2, 1970 | 6'4" | 300 | Toledo | Akron, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 44 | Fred McCrary | FB | September 19, 1972 | 6'0" | 247 | Mississippi St. | Naples, FL USA | 7 | 0 |
| 92 | Darren Mickell | LDE | August 3, 1970 | 6'4" | 285 | Florida | Miami, FL USA | 14 | 13 |
| 59 | Keith Mitchell | LB | July 24, 1974 | 6'2" | 236 | Texas A&M | Garland, TX USA | 16 | 2 |
| 25 | Alex Molden | LCB | August 4, 1973 | 5'10" | 190 | Oregon | Detroit, MI USA | 16 | 15 |
| 65 | Chris Naeole | G | December 25, 1974 | 6'3" | 317 | Colorado | Kailua, HI USA | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | Anthony Newman | SS | November 25, 1965 | 6'0" | 203 | Oregon | Bellingham, WA USA | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | Doug Nussmeier | QB | December 11, 1970 | 6'3" | 211 | Idaho | Portland, OR USA | 5 | 1 |
| 83 | Keith Poole | WR | June 18, 1974 | 6'0" | 188 | Arizona St. | San Jose, CA USA | 3 | 0 |
| 77 | Willie Roaf | LT | April 18, 1970 | 6'5" | 320 | Louisiana Tech | Pine Bluff, AR USA | 16 | 16 |
| 95 | Austin Robbins | DT | March 1, 1971 | 6'6" | 290 | North Carolina | Washington, DC USA | 12 | 0 |
| 3 | Mark Royals | P | June 22, 1965 | 6'5" | 225 | Chowan | Hampton, VA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 99 | Pio Sagapolutele | RDT | November 28, 1969 | 6'6" | 297 | San Diego St. | , American Samoa | 14 | 13 |
| 85 | Nick Savoie | TE | September 21, 1973 | 6'5" | 253 | LSU | Cut Off, LA USA | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Heath Shuler | QB | December 31, 1971 | 6'2" | 216 | Tennessee | Bryson City, NC USA | 10 | 9 |
| 71 | Ricky Siglar | T | June 14, 1966 | 6'7" | 308 | San Jose St. | Albuquerque, NM USA | 16 | 1 |
| 91 | Brady Smith | DE | June 5, 1973 | 6'5" | 274 | Colorado St. | Royal Oak, MI USA | 16 | 2 |
| 82 | Irv Smith | TE | October 13, 1971 | 6'3" | 249 | Notre Dame | Trenton, NJ USA | 11 | 8 |
| 90 | Jared Tomich | DE | April 24, 1974 | 6'3" | 281 | Nebraska | St. John, IN USA | 16 | 1 |
| 54 | Winfred Tubbs | MLB | September 24, 1970 | 6'4" | 250 | Texas | Hollywood, FL USA | 16 | 16 |
| 86 | Gunnard Twyner | WR | July 14, 1973 | 5'10" | 165 | West. Illinois | Bettendorf, IA USA | 2 | 0 |
| 66 | Mike Verstegen | RG | October 24, 1971 | 6'6" | 311 | Wisconsin | Appleton, WI USA | 14 | 8 |
| 26 | Mickey Washington | DB | July 8, 1968 | 5'9" | 195 | Texas A&M | Galveston, TX USA | 16 | 2 |
| 7 | Danny Wuerffel | QB | May 27, 1974 | 6'1" | 212 | Florida | Fort Walton Beach, FL USA | 7 | 2 |
| 34 | Ray Zellars | FB | March 25, 1973 | 5'11" | 233 | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 16 | 16 |
