Dome Patrol
Encyclopedia
The Dome Patrol was the nickname of the New Orleans Saints
football
team's linebacker
corps of the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The Dome Patrol was rated by NFL Network
as the #1 linebacker corps of all-time.
Its members were:
During the Dome Patrol's reign, the New Orleans Saints made four playoff appearances, including the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1987. The Saints also claimed one western division title. The Saints' defense led the league in least points surrendered and turnovers in 1991, and again in least points surrendered in 1992. The defense also boasted twenty-seven games giving up ten or fewer points, with five shutouts. The four linebackers made NFL history by collectively being named to the Pro Bowl in 1992.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team's linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
corps of the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The Dome Patrol was rated by NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
as the #1 linebacker corps of all-time.
Its members were:
- OLB Rickey JacksonRickey JacksonRickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
(#57), 6 Pro BowlPro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
Selections (1983, 84, 85, 86, 92, 93) (New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
) - MLB Sam MillsSam MillsSamuel Davis "Sam" Mills, Jr. was an American football linebacker who played twelve seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.-Early life:...
(#51), 5 Pro BowlPro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
Selections (1987, 88, 91, 92, 96) - MLB Vaughan JohnsonVaughan JohnsonVaughan Monroe Johnson is a retired American football linebacker.Johnson played college football at North Carolina State University. After college, he went to play in the USFL with the Jacksonville Bulls. Afterwards, he would go on to the NFL and play for the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia...
(#53), 4 Pro BowlPro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
Selections (1989, 90, 91, 92) - OLB Pat SwillingPat SwillingPatrick Travis Swilling is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and a delegate in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances.-College career:...
(#56), 5 Pro BowlPro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
Selections (1989, 90, 91, 92, 93) (First Team All-ProAll-ProAll-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
91, 92)
During the Dome Patrol's reign, the New Orleans Saints made four playoff appearances, including the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1987. The Saints also claimed one western division title. The Saints' defense led the league in least points surrendered and turnovers in 1991, and again in least points surrendered in 1992. The defense also boasted twenty-seven games giving up ten or fewer points, with five shutouts. The four linebackers made NFL history by collectively being named to the Pro Bowl in 1992.