1981 Detroit Lions (NFL) |
| 2nd place • National Football Conference • Central Division • 8-8-0 .500 |
| Head Coach: Monte Clark |
| Maxie Baughan | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| John Brunner | Offensive Backs |
| Don Doll | Special Assignments |
| Fred Hoaglin | Offensive Line |
| Joe Madden | Special Teams |
| Floyd Peters | Defensive Line |
| Mel Phillips | Defensive Backs |
| Bob Schnelker | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks |
| Larry Seiple | Receivers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/8/1981 | A | Buffalo Bills | 21-14 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 33640 | |
| Sat | 8/15/1981 | H | Cincinnati Bengals | 20-30 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 57522 | |
| Sat | 8/22/1981 | H | Miami Dolphins | 27-31 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 54676 | |
| Sat | 8/29/1981 | A | New Orleans Saints | 17-20 | L | OT | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana Superdome | 52090 |
| Sun | 9/6/1981 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 24-17 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 62123 | |
| Sun | 9/13/1981 | A | San Diego Chargers | 23-28 | L | San Diego, CA | Jack Murphy Stadium | 51624 | |
| Sun | 9/20/1981 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 24-26 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45350 | |
| Sun | 9/27/1981 | H | Oakland Raiders | 16-0 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 77919 | |
| Sun | 10/4/1981 | A | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10-28 | L | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 71733 | |
| Sun | 10/11/1981 | A | Denver Broncos | 21-27 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74509 | |
| Mon | 10/19/1981 | H | Chicago Bears | 48-17 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 71273 | |
| Sun | 10/25/1981 | H | Green Bay Packers | 31-27 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 76063 | |
| Sun | 11/1/1981 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 13-20 | L | Anaheim, CA | Anaheim Stadium | 61814 | |
| Sun | 11/8/1981 | A | Washington Redskins | 31-33 | L | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 52096 | |
| Sun | 11/15/1981 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 27-24 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 79694 | |
| Sun | 11/22/1981 | A | Chicago Bears | 23-7 | W | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 50082 | |
| Thu | 11/26/1981 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 27-10 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 76735 | |
| Sun | 12/6/1981 | A | Green Bay Packers | 17-31 | L | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 54481 | |
| Sat | 12/12/1981 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 45-7 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 79428 | |
| Sun | 12/20/1981 | H | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 17-20 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 80444 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Jimmy Allen | 40 | FS | 6-2 | 194 | 29 | Los Angeles Pierce JC; UCLA | 15 | 15 |
| Bubba Baker | 60 | RDE | 6-6 | 275 | 25 | Colorado State | 11 | 11 |
| Karl Baldischwiler | 76 | LOT | 6-5 | 270 | 25 | Oklahoma | 16 | 16 |
| Russ Bolinger | 73 | ROG | 6-5 | 255 | 27 | UC Riverside; Long Beach State | 16 | 16 |
| Luther Bradley | 27 | S | 6-2 | 194 | 26 | Notre Dame | 16 | 0 |
| Dexter Bussey | 24 | FB | 6-1 | 205 | 29 | Oklahoma; Texas-Arlington | 16 | 15 |
| Ken Callicutt | 31 | RB | 6-1 | 191 | 26 | Clemson | 16 | 0 |
| Garry Cobb | 53 | LLB | 6-2 | 231 | 24 | Southern California | 16 | 16 |
| Curley Culp | 77 | DT | 6-1 | 265 | 35 | Arizona State | 2 | 0 |
| Gary Danielson | 16 | QB | 6-2 | 195 | 30 | Purdue | 6 | 4 |
| Jeff Delaney | 45 | CB | 6-0 | 195 | 25 | Pittsburgh | 5 | 0 |
| Chris Dieterich | 72 | OT | 6-3 | 275 | 23 | North Carolina State | 7 | 0 |
| Keith Dorney | 70 | ROT | 6-5 | 285 | 24 | Penn State | 16 | 16 |
| Joe Ehrmann | 74 | LDT | 6-4 | 256 | 32 | Syracuse | 4 | 2 |
| Homer Elias | 61 | LOG | 6-3 | 255 | 26 | Tennessee State | 16 | 16 |
| Doug English | 78 | RDT | 6-5 | 256 | 28 | Texas | 16 | 16 |
| Ken Fantetti | 57 | MLB | 6-2 | 230 | 24 | Wyoming | 16 | 16 |
| Edgar Fields | 63 | DT | 6-2 | 255 | 27 | Navarro JC; Texas A&M | 2 | 0 |
| Amos Fowler | 65 | C | 6-3 | 253 | 25 | Southern Mississippi | 16 | 16 |
| Steve Furness | 71 | LDT | 6-4 | 255 | 31 | Rhode Island | 9 | 2 |
| William Gay | 79 | LDT-RDE-LDE | 6-5 | 260 | 26 | San Diego CC; Southern California | 16 | 14 |
| Tommie Ginn | 66 | OG | 6-3 | 255 | 23 | Arkansas | 13 | 0 |
| Hector Gray | 26 | RCB | 6-1 | 190 | 24 | Florida State | 16 | 4 |
| Curtis Green | 62 | LDT-RDE | 6-3 | 267 | 24 | Alabama State | 14 | 4 |
| Alvin Hall | 35 | FS | 5-10 | 193 | 23 | Miami (Ohio) | 16 | 1 |
| James Harrell | 51 | LB | 6-1 | 222 | 24 | Florida | 16 | 0 |
| David Hill | 81 | TE | 6-2 | 240 | 27 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 15 | 15 |
| Eric Hipple | 17 | QB | 6-2 | 211 | 24 | Utah State | 16 | 10 |
| James Hunter | 28 | RCB | 6-2 | 195 | 27 | Grambling State | 12 | 12 |
| Rick Kane | 32 | HB | 6-0 | 200 | 27 | Oregon; San Jose State | 16 | 2 |
| Horace King | 25 | RB | 5-10 | 205 | 28 | Georgia | 16 | 0 |
| Jeff Komlo | 19 | QB | 6-2 | 200 | 25 | Delaware | 3 | 2 |
| Larry Lee | 64 | C | 6-2 | 263 | 22 | UCLA | 16 | 0 |
| Robbie Martin | 83 | WR | 5-8 | 187 | 23 | Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) | 16 | 0 |
| Eddie Murray | 3 | K | 5-11 | 188 | 25 | Tulane | 16 | 0 |
| Mark Nichols | 86 | WR | 6-2 | 208 | 22 | Bakersfield CC; San Jose State | 12 | 0 |
| Bob Niziolek | 82 | TE | 6-4 | 220 | 23 | Colorado | 4 | 0 |
| Ulysses Norris | 80 | TE | 6-4 | 232 | 24 | Georgia | 12 | 2 |
| Ray Oldham | 23 | SS | 5-11 | 192 | 30 | Middle Tennessee State | 16 | 16 |
| Tracy Porter | 89 | WR | 6-1 | 196 | 22 | Louisiana State | 12 | 0 |
| Dave Pureifory | 75 | LDE | 6-1 | 255 | 32 | Eastern Michigan | 15 | 15 |
| Freddie Scott | 87 | WR | 6-2 | 175 | 29 | Amherst | 16 | 15 |
| Billy Sims | 20 | HB | 5-11 | 212 | 26 | Oklahoma | 14 | 14 |
| Tom Skladany | 1 | P | 5-11 | 192 | 26 | Ohio State | 16 | 0 |
| Wayne Smith | 44 | LCB | 6-0 | 170 | 24 | Wisconsin-La Crosse; Loop JC; Purdue | 16 | 16 |
| Terry Tautolo | 50 | LB | 6-2 | 232 | 27 | Long Beach CC; UCLA | 11 | 0 |
| Leonard Thompson | 39 | WR | 5-11 | 190 | 29 | Arizona Western JC; Oklahoma State | 16 | 16 |
| Vince Thompson | 38 | FB | 6-0 | 230 | 24 | Villanova | 13 | 1 |
| Tom Turnure | 55 | C | 6-4 | 253 | 24 | Washington | 16 | 0 |
| Charlie Weaver | 59 | LB | 6-2 | 225 | 32 | Arizona Western JC; Southern California | 7 | 0 |
| Stan White | 52 | RLB | 6-1 | 224 | 32 | Ohio State | 16 | 16 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 16 | Mark Nichols | WR | San Jose State |
| 2 | 46 | Curtis Green | DE | Alabama State |
| 3 | 72 | Don Greco | G | Western Illinois |
| 4 | 99 | Tracy Porter | WR | Louisiana State |
| 5 | 129 | Larry Lee | G | UCLA |
| 6 | 155 | Sam Johnson | DB | Maryland |
| 7 | 182 | Lee Spivey | T | Southern Methodist |
| 8 | 211 | Bob Niziolek | TE | Colorado |
| 9 | 238 | Hugh Jernigan | DB | Arkansas |
| 9 | 240 | David Martin | DB | Villanova |
| 10 | 264 | Andy Cannavino | LB | Michigan |
| 11 | 294 | Willie Jackson | DB | Mississippi State |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 81 | 139 | 68 | 109 | 397 |
| Opponents Totals | 72 | 106 | 39 | 105 | 322 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 31:35 | 340 | 167 | 150 | 23 | 84/214 39.3% | / % | 111 | 990 |
| Opponents Totals | 28:25 | 279 | 93 | 158 | 28 | 77/210 36.7% | / % | 95 | 872 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Murray | 0 | 46 | 46 | 100.0 | 25 | 35 | 71.4 | 0 | 121 |
| Billy Sims | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | ||
| Eric Hipple | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Freddie Scott | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| David Hill | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Leonard Thompson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Rick Kane | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Gary Danielson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Alvin Hall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Horace King | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Robbie Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Mark Nichols | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tracy Porter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Vince Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 46 | 46 | 46 | 100.0 | 25 | 35 | 71.4 | 0 | 397 |
| Opponents Totals | 38 | 37 | 38 | 97.4 | 19 | 22 | 86.4 | 0 | 322 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Murray | 25 | 35 | 71.4 | 0 | 53 | 1/1 | 5/5 | 9/14 | 7/11 | 3/4 |
| Team Totals | 25 | 35 | 71.4 | 0 | 53 | 1/1 | 5/5 | 9/14 | 7/11 | 3/4 |
| Opponents Totals | 19 | 22 | 86.4 | 0/0 | 8/9 | 7/9 | 4/5 | 0/0 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Sims | 296 | 1437 | 4.9 | 51 | 13 |
| Dexter Bussey | 105 | 446 | 4.2 | 23 | 0 |
| Rick Kane | 77 | 332 | 4.3 | 20 | 2 |
| Vince Thompson | 35 | 211 | 6.0 | 30 | 1 |
| Eric Hipple | 41 | 168 | 4.1 | 18 | 7 |
| Leonard Thompson | 10 | 75 | 7.5 | 21 | 1 |
| Mark Nichols | 3 | 50 | 16.7 | 30 | 0 |
| Horace King | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 7 | 0 |
| Freddie Scott | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 10 | 0 |
| Gary Danielson | 9 | 23 | 2.6 | 11t | 2 |
| Jeff Komlo | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 5 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 596 | 2795 | 4.7 | 51 | 26 |
| Opponents Totals | 469 | 1623 | 3.5 | 69t | 14 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Hipple | 279 | 140 | 50.2 | 124 | 2358 | 8.5 | 16.8 | 94t | 14 | 5.0 | 15 | 5.4 | 27 | 208 | 2150 | 73.4 |
| Gary Danielson | 96 | 56 | 58.3 | 35 | 784 | 8.2 | 14.0 | 45 | 3 | 3.1 | 5 | 5.2 | 12 | 84 | 700 | 73.4 |
| Jeff Komlo | 57 | 29 | 50.9 | 25 | 290 | 5.1 | 10.0 | 46 | 1 | 1.8 | 3 | 5.3 | 5 | 45 | 245 | 49.6 |
| Tom Skladany | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 0 | 43 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 19 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 118.8 |
| Freddie Scott | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 436 | 228 | 52.3 | 185 | 3475 | 8.0 | 15.2 | 94t | 18 | 4.1 | 23 | 5.3 | 44 | 337 | 3138 | 70.7 |
| Opponents Totals | 475 | 261 | 54.9 | 190 | 3596 | 7.6 | 13.8 | 95t | 22 | 4.6 | 24 | 5.1 | 47 | 373 | 3223 | 73.8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddie Scott | 53 | 1022 | 19.3 | 48 | 5 |
| David Hill | 33 | 462 | 14.0 | 34 | 4 |
| Leonard Thompson | 30 | 550 | 18.3 | 94t | 3 |
| Billy Sims | 28 | 451 | 16.1 | 81t | 2 |
| Horace King | 20 | 211 | 10.6 | 41 | 1 |
| Rick Kane | 18 | 187 | 10.4 | 40 | 1 |
| Dexter Bussey | 18 | 92 | 5.1 | 16 | 0 |
| Mark Nichols | 10 | 222 | 22.2 | 59 | 1 |
| Ulysses Norris | 8 | 132 | 16.5 | 34 | 0 |
| Vince Thompson | 4 | 40 | 10.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Tracy Porter | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 27t | 1 |
| Ken Callicutt | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Garry Cobb | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 228 | 3475 | 15.2 | 94t | 18 |
| Opponents Totals | 261 | 3596 | 13.8 | 95t | 22 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Allen | 9 | 123 | 13.7 | 34 | 0 |
| Stan White | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 16 | 0 |
| Garry Cobb | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Ken Fantetti | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Alvin Hall | 1 | 60 | 60.0 | 60t | 1 |
| Ray Oldham | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Bubba Baker | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Luther Bradley | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hector Gray | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Hunter | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 24 | 286 | 11.9 | 60t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 23 | 274 | 11.9 | 92t | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Skladany | 64 | 2784 | 43.5 | 74 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 299 | 2385 | 37.3 |
| Team Totals | 64 | 2784 | 43.5 | 74 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 299 | 2385 | 37.3 |
| Opponents Totals | 81 | 3471 | 42.9 | 73 | 16 | 450 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbie Martin | 52 | 8 | 450 | 8.7 | 45t | 1 |
| Tracy Porter | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 52 | 9 | 450 | 8.7 | 45t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 39 | 6 | 299 | 7.7 | 39 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvin Hall | 25 | 0 | 525 | 21.0 | 36 | 0 |
| Robbie Martin | 25 | 0 | 509 | 20.4 | 34 | 0 |
| Mark Nichols | 4 | 0 | 74 | 18.5 | 26 | 0 |
| Horace King | 3 | 0 | 33 | 11.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Ken Callicutt | 2 | 0 | 23 | 11.5 | 12 | 0 |
| James Harrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 61 | 0 | 1164 | 19.1 | 36 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 70 | 1257 | 18.0 | 45 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Pureifory | 11.5 | |
| Bubba Baker | 9.5 | |
| Doug English | 8.5 | |
| William Gay | 7.0 | |
| Curtis Green | 3.0 | |
| Steve Furness | 3.0 | |
| Garry Cobb | 2.5 | |
| Wayne Smith | 1.0 | |
| Stan White | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 47.0 | 373.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 44.0 | 337.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Allen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Bolinger | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Luther Bradley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dexter Bussey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Callicutt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Cobb | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Danielson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Keith Dorney | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Homer Elias | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug English | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
| Ken Fantetti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Amos Fowler | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -10 | 0 |
| William Gay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alvin Hall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| David Hill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eric Hipple | 14 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -10 | 0 | |
| James Hunter | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rick Kane | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeff Komlo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Robbie Martin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mark Nichols | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Billy Sims | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wayne Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Leonard Thompson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vince Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stan White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 41 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 4 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 15 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 1 |
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