1981 Green Bay Packers season

1981 Green Bay Packers season
1981 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home field	Lambeau Field; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1981 Green Bay Packers season was their 63rd season overall and their 61st in the National Football League. The team posted an 8–8 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division. Led by the defense the Packers were number one in turnovers forced and number 9th overall. The offense did improve but still finished in the bottom half of the league. Needing a Giants loss or an Eagles win during the final week of the regular season (due to tiebreakers), the Packers gained control of their destiny at earning the final Wild Card spot by winning in their last regular season game but were defeated by the Jets 28–3. The Packers managed only 84 total yards against the Jets.

Offseason

NFL draft

1981 Green Bay Packers draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	6	Rich Campbell	QB	California
2	35	Gary Lewis	TE	Texas-Arlington
3	62	Ray Stachowicz	P	Michigan State
4	105	Richard Turner	DT	Oklahoma
5	117	Byron Braggs	DE	Alabama
7	172	Bill Whitaker	DB	Missouri
8	200	Larry Werts	LB	Jackson State
9	227	Tim Huffman	G	Notre Dame
10	255	Nickie Hall	QB	Tulane
11	282	Forrest Valora	LB	Oklahoma
12	311	Cliff Lewis	LB	Southern Miss

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
David Petway	Safety	Northern Illinois
Randy Scott	Linebacker	Alabama

Personnel

Staff

**1981 Green Bay Packers staff**

	Front office President – Dominic Olejniczak Vice president – Robert J. Parins Corporate assistant to the president – Bob Harlan Director of player personnel – Dick Corrick Head coaches Head coach – Bart Starr Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/offensive backs – Zeke Bratkowski Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive line – Ernie McMillan Special assistant – Pete Kettela			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – John Meyer Defensive line – Doc Urich Linebackers – John Marshall Defensive backs – Ross Fichtner Special teams coaches Special teams – Dick Rehbein

[1]

Roster

**1981 Green Bay Packers final roster**

	Quarterbacks 19 Rich Campbell 12 Lynn Dickey 17 David Whitehurst Running backs 31 Gerry Ellis 25 Harlan Huckleby 33 Jim Jensen 34 Terdell Middleton 26 Eric Torkelson 20 Delvin Williams Wide receivers 88 Ron Cassidy 83 John Jefferson 80 James Lofton 84 Fred Nixon Tight ends 82 Paul Coffman 81 Gary Lewis		Offensive linemen 61 Charlie Ane C 57 Derrel Gofourth G 69 Leotis Harris 74 Tim Huffman G 68 Greg Koch T 79 Mark Koncar T 54 Larry McCarren C 67 Karl Swanke T Defensive linemen 73 Byron Braggs DE 77 Mike Butler DE 90 Ezra Johnson DE 63 Terry Jones DT 78 Casey Merrill DE 75 Richard Turner DT		Linebackers 60 Kurt Allerman 59 John Anderson 52 George Cumby 53 Mike Douglass 56 Cliff Lewis 51 Guy Prather 55 Randy Scott 50 Rich Wingo Defensive backs 23 Maurice Harvey SS 38 Estus Hood CB 22 Mark Lee CB 37 Mark Murphy FS 29 Mike McCoy CB 47 David Petway S 30 Bill Whitaker S Special teams 16 Ray Stachowicz P 10 Jan Stenerud K		Reserve lists 62 Buddy Aydelette T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Chris Godfrey DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 24 Johnnie Gray SS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Nickie Hall QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 21 Mike Jolly CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 64 Syd Kitson G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 40 Eddie Lee Ivery RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 87 John Thompson TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics 00 active, 0 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6	at Chicago Bears	W 16–9	Soldier Field	62,411
2	September 13	Atlanta Falcons	L 31–17	Lambeau Field	55,382
3	September 20	at Los Angeles Rams	L 35–23	Anaheim Stadium	61,286
4	September 27	Minnesota Vikings	L 30–13	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,012
5	October 4	at New York Giants	W 27–14	Giants Stadium	73,684
6	October 11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–10	Lambeau Field	55,264
7	October 18	San Francisco 49ers	L 13–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	50,171
8	October 25	at Detroit Lions	L 31–27	Pontiac Silverdome	76,063
9	November 1	Seattle Seahawks	W 34–24	Lambeau Field	49,467
10	November 8	New York Giants	W 26–24	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,138
11	November 15	Chicago Bears	W 21–17	Lambeau Field	55,338
12	November 22	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 37–3	Tampa Stadium	63,251
13	November 29	at Minnesota Vikings	W 35–23	Metropolitan Stadium	46,025
14	December 6	Detroit Lions	W 31–17	Lambeau Field	54,481
15	December 13	at New Orleans Saints	W 35–7	Louisiana Superdome	45,518
16	December 20	at New York Jets	L 28–3	Shea Stadium	56,340

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Packers	7	6	0	3	16
Bears	0	0	6	3	9

Date: September 6
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
Game start: 2:00 p.m.
Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)

[2]

Week 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	31	31
Packers	7	7	3	0	17

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: Sunday, September 13
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 73% humidity; 65 °F (18 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV: CBS
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 7: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 7: San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	3	7	3	13
Packers	0	3	0	0	3

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Date: October 18, 1981
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 64 °F (18 °C)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris

Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

Top passers

SF – Joe Montana – 23/32, 220 yards
GB – Lynn Dickey – 11/18, 156 yards

Top rushers

SF – Johnny Davis – 16 rushes, 65 yards, 1 TD
GB – Harlan Huckleby – 10 rushes, 20 yards

Top receivers

SF – Dwight Clark – 6 receptions, 55 yards
GB – Paul Coffman – 3 receptions, 67 yards

Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 9: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	7	14	3	0	24
Packers	7	14	7	6	34

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: November 1
Game time: 1:02pm local
Game weather: clear, 56 °F (13 °C), 75% humidity, wind NE 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
Game attendance: 49,467
Referee: Chuck Heberling
TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Dave Rowe
Gamebook

Game information

First quarter

SEA – John Harris 42-yard interception return (Efren Herrera kick), 10:47 (SEA 7–0)
GB – Paul Coffman 7-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Jan Stenerud kick), 5:57 (Tied 7–7)

Second quarter

SEA – Dan Doornink 12-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efren Herrera kick), 11:03 (SEA 14–7)
GB – David Whitehurst 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 5:19 (Tied 14–14)
GB – James Lofton 8-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Jan Stenerud kick), 4:18 (GB 21–14)
SEA – Dan Doornink 14-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efren Herrera kick), 0:24 (Tied 21–21)

Third quarter

SEA – Efren Herrera 54-yard field goal, 5:54 (SEA 24–21)
GB – James Lofton 38-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Jan Stenerud kick), 1:02 (GB 28–24)

Fourth quarter

GB – Jan Stenerud 19-yard field goal, 1:58 (GB 31–24)
GB – Jan Stenerud 36-yard field goal, 0:45 (GB 34–24)

Top passers

SEA – Jim Zorn: 12/23, 108 yds, 2 TD
GB – David Whitehurst: 19/31, 205 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

SEA – Theotis Brown: 17 car, 89 yds
GB – Gerry Ellis: 23 car, 127 yds

Top receivers

SEA – Steve Largent: 3 rec, 45 yds
GB – James Lofton: 4 rec, 63 yds, 2 TD

Team – pass – rush – total – to

SEA – 102 – 119 – 221 – 3
GB – 195 – 182 – 337 – 3

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	10	0	0	7	17
• Packers	7	14	0	0	21

Date: November 15
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h)

[3]

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers⁽³⁾	9	7	0	.563	6–2	9–3	315	268	W1
Detroit Lions	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	397	322	L1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–7	324	361	L1
Minnesota Vikings	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	325	369	L5
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	2–6	2–10	253	324	W3

References

"All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

[2] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.

[3] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.

Green Bay Packers
Founded in 1919 Based and headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Franchise	Founders: Curly Lambeau & George Whitney Calhoun Franchise overview Green Bay Packers, Inc. Presidents Charitable Foundation Team history
Records	Coaches Draft history First-round draft picks Hall of Fame Players A–D E–K L–R S–Z Pro Bowlers Pro Football Hall of Famers Records Retired numbers (3 4 14 15 66 92) Seasons Stadiums Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Hagemeister Park Bellevue Park City Stadium Borchert Field Wisconsin State Fair Park Marquette Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium Lambeau Field
Training facilities	Clarke Hinkle Field Don Hutson Center Ray Nitschke Field Rockwood Lodge (former) St. Norbert College (training camp)
Culture	"Bang the Drum All Day" Bart Starr Award Cheerleaders Cheese League Cheesehead Driven Fight song Home games in Milwaukee The Hungry Five Indian Packing Company Instant Replay Lambeau Leap Lombardi (film) Lombardi (play) Lumberjack Band Packers Heritage Trail Packers sweep Pigskin Champions Pitch Perfect 2 Receiver (statue) Ron Wolf Second Effort That '70s Show That '90s Show The 60 Yard Line Titletown District Vernon Biever Vince Lombardi When Pride Still Mattered
Lore	4th and 26 Dez Caught It Dolly Gray impostor Fail Mary Instant Replay Game Miracle in Motown The Catch II The Ice Bowl The Snow Bowl
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings New York Giants San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
Division championships (21)	1936 1938 1939 1944 1967 1972 1995 1996 1997 2002 2003 2004 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2019 2020 2021
Conference championships (9)	1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1996 1997 2010
League championships (13^†)	1929 1930 1931 1936 1939 1944 1961 1962 1965 1966 (I) 1967 (II) 1996 (XXXI) 2010 (XLV)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Packers Radio Network WIXX (Green Bay) WRNW (Milwaukee) Television: WGBA-TV WTMJ-TV Spectrum News 1 WI Personnel: Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) Larry McCarren (color/analysis)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1921–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)
^† does not include 1966 or 1967 NFL championships