1983 Green Bay Packers season: Difference between revisions

1983 Green Bay Packers season
1983 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home field	Lambeau Field; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1982; Packers seasons; 1984 →;

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 20:35, 25 June 2020

The 1983 Green Bay Packers season was their 65th season overall and their 63rd in the National Football League. The team finished with an 8–8 record under ninth-year head coach Bart Starr to finish second in the NFC Central division. The team set an NFL record for most overtime games played in one season with five,^[1] winning two and losing three. On Monday Night Football in October, Green Bay defeated the Washington Redskins, 48–47, in the highest-scoring game in MNF history. It was voted one of the ten best Packer games and is featured on the NFL Films collection, "The Green Bay Packers Greatest Games."

Green Bay hovered around the .500 mark all season. Entering their final regular season game on December 18 at Chicago, the Packers (8–7) could secure a playoff berth with a victory. Green Bay scored a touchdown to take a one-point lead with just over three minutes in the game, and Chicago running back Walter Payton was sidelined with a wrist injury. The Bears returned the kickoff to their 38 and drove fifty yards, down to the Packer twelve, with 1:17 remaining. Although Green Bay had all three of its timeouts, they opted not to use any, and the Bears kicked a winning 22-yard field goal with ten seconds on the clock. Green Bay fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, and the Los Angeles Rams (9–7) gained the final playoff slot.^[2]^[3]

Starr was fired the following day by team president Robert Parins, ending a 26-year association with the team as a player and coach.^[4]^[5] Former player Forrest Gregg, the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, was hired before the end of the week, announced on Christmas Eve.^[6] Gregg had led the Bengals to Super Bowl XVI two years earlier, but had less success in his four seasons in Green Bay, then left for his alma mater SMU in Dallas in January 1988.^[7]

Offseason

NFL draft

Pick #	Player	Position	College
11	Tim Lewis	Cornerback	Pittsburgh
48	Dave Drechsler	Guard	North Carolina
104	Mike Miller	Wide Receiver	Tennessee
132	Brian Thomas	Running Back	Pittsburgh
160	Ron Sams	Guard	Pittsburgh
188	Jessie Clark	Running Back	Arkansas
216	Carlton Briscoe	Defensive Back	McNeese State
243	Robin Ham	Center	West Texas State
253	Byron Williams	Wide Receiver	Texas Arlington
271	Jimmy Thomas	Defensive Back	Indiana
299	Bucky Scribner	Punter	Kansas
327	John Harvey	Linebacker	USC

Undrafted free agents

1983 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Chet Winters	Running back	Oklahoma

Personnel

Staff

**1983 Green Bay Packers staff**
	Front office 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 Offensive Coordinator – Bob Schnelker Offensive Backs – John Brunner Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive Line – Ernie McMillan Assistant Offensive Line – Bill Meyers			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – John Meyer Defensive Line – Doc Urich Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive Backs – Ross Fichtner Special teams coaches Special Teams – Dick Rehbein

^[8]

Roster

**1983 Green Bay Packers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 19 Rich Campbell 12 Lynn Dickey 17 David Whitehurst Running backs (RB) 33 Jessie Clark 31 Gerry Ellis 25 Harlan Huckleby 40 Eddie Lee Ivery 39 Mike Meade 35 Del Rodgers 20 Chet Winters Wide receivers (WR) 88 Ron Cassidy 85 Phil Epps 83 John Jefferson 80 James Lofton Tight ends (TE) 82 Paul Coffman 81 Gary Lewis		Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Dave Drechsler G 77 Charlie Getty T 69 Leotis Harris 74 Tim Huffman G 64 Syd Kitson G 68 Greg Koch T 54 Larry McCarren C 70 Ron Sams C 67 Karl Swanke T Defensive linemen (DL) 72 Greg Boyd DE 73 Byron Braggs DE 93 Robert Brown DE 99 Charlie Johnson DT 90 Ezra Johnson DE 63 Terry Jones DT 78 Casey Merrill DE 91 Daryle Skaugstad DT 75 Richard Turner DT		Linebackers (LB) 59 John Anderson 52 George Cumby 53 Mike Douglass 62 Jim Laughlin 57 Chet Parlavecchio 51 Guy Prather 58 Larry Rubens 55 Randy Scott 50 Rich Wingo Defensive backs (DB) 24 Johnnie Gray SS 23 Maurice Harvey SS 38 Estus Hood CB 21 Mike Jolly 26 Tim Lewis CB 22 Mark Lee CB 37 Mark Murphy FS 29 Mike McCoy CB Special teams 11 Eddie Garcia K 13 Bucky Scribner P 10 Jan Stenerud K		Rookies in italics 00 active, 0 practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	August 6	Cleveland Browns	L 20–21	1–0	Lambeau Field	Recap
2	August 12	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–28	1–1	Kingdome	Recap
3	August 20	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–27	1–2	Veterans Stadium	Recap
4	August 27	St. Louis Cardinals	W 39–27	2–2	Lambeau Field	Recap

Regular Season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	Attendance	NFL.com recap
1	September 4	at Houston Oilers	W 41–38 (OT)	1–0	Astrodome	44,073	Recap
2	September 11	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 21–25	1–1	Lambeau Field	55,154	Recap
3	September 18	Los Angeles Rams	W 27–24	2–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,037	Recap
4	September 26	at New York Giants	L 3–27	2–2	Giants Stadium	75,308	Recap
5	October 2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 55–13	3–2	Lambeau Field	54,272	Recap
6	October 9	at Detroit Lions	L 14–38	3–3	Pontiac Silverdome	67,738	Recap
7	October 17	Washington Redskins	W 48–47	4–3	Lambeau Field	55,255	Recap
8	October 23	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–20 (OT)	4–4	Lambeau Field	55,236	Recap
9	October 30	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 14–34	4–5	Riverfront Stadium	53,349	Recap
10	November 6	Cleveland Browns	W 35–21	5–5	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,089	Recap
11	November 13	at Minnesota Vikings	W 29–21	6–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,113	Recap
12	November 20	Detroit Lions	L 20–23 (OT)	6–6	Milwaukee County Stadium	50,050	Recap
13	November 27	at Atlanta Falcons	L 41–47 (OT)	6–7	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	35,688	Recap
14	December 4	Chicago Bears	W 31–28	7–7	Lambeau Field	51,147	Recap
15	December 12	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 12–9 (OT)	8–7	Tampa Stadium	50,763	Recap
16	December 18	at Chicago Bears	L 21–23	8–8	Soldier Field	35,807	Recap

Game summaries

Week 1 at Houston Oilers

Lynn Dickey completed 27 of 31 passes including 18 straight completions for 333 yards and four touchdowns and Jan Stenerud's 42-yard field goal with 9:05 left in overtime give the Packers a successful opening day victory.

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
• Packers	7	21	3	7	3	41
Oilers	10	0	7	21	0	38

Date: September 4
Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game start: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: indoors (dome)
Referee: Bob McElwee
TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil

^[9]

Week 16 at Bears

Week Sixteen: Green Bay Packers (8–7) at Chicago Bears (7–8)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	7	7	0	7	21
Bears	7	0	7	9	23

at Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois

Date: December 18
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 1 °F (−17 °C) • Wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
Game attendance: 35,807
Referee: Red Cashion
Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

Packers

Lynn Dickey
10/30, 262 Yds, 2 TD, 4 INT
Jessie Clark
7 Rush, 61 Yds
Paul Coffman
4 Rec, 122 Yds, TD

Bears

Jim McMahon
14/25, 162 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Walter Payton
30 Rush, 148 Yds
Willie Gault
2 Rec, 50 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	GB	CHI
1	9:24				Bears	Willie Gault 35-yard touchdown reception from Jim McMahon, Bob Thomas kick good	0	7
1	8:10				Packers	Lynn Dickey 1-yard touchdown run, Jan Stenerud kick good	7	7
2	3:05				Packers	James Lofton 31-yard touchdown reception from Lynn Dickey, Jan Stenerud kick good	14	7
3	6:35				Bears	Dennis McKinnon 22-yard touchdown reception from Jim McMahon, Bob Thomas kick good	14	14
4	4:34				Bears	Jim McMahon 6-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed	14	20
4	3:08				Packers	Paul Coffman 5-yard touchdown reception from Lynn Dickey, Jan Stenerud kick good	21	20
4	0:10				Bears	22-yard field goal by Bob Thomas	21	23
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							21	23

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions⁽³⁾	9	7	0	.563	7–1	8–4	347	286	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	429	439	L1
Chicago Bears	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–7	311	301	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	4–4	4–8	316	348	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–11	241	380	L3

Statistics

Passing

Player	Attempts	Completion	Percentage	Yards	Avg	Long	TD	Int	Rating
Lynn Dickey	484	289	59.7%	4458	9.21	75	32	29	87.3

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Average	TD	Long
James Lofton	58	1300	22.4	8	74
John Jefferson	57	830	14.6	7	36
Paul Coffman	54	814	15.1	11	74
Gerry Ellis	52	603	11.6	2	56

Rushing

Player	Attempts	Yards	avg	TD	Long
Gerry Ellis	141	696	4.9	4	71
Eddie Lee Ivery	86	340	4.0	2	21
Jessie Clark	71	328	4.6	0	42
Harlan Huckleby	50	182	3.6	4	20

Defensive

Player	Sacks	INT'S	Yards	Average	TD	Long
John Anderson	4.5	5	54	10.8	1	27t
Greg Boyd	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Byron Braggs	5.5	0	0	0.0	0	0
George Cumby	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Mike Douglass	5.5	0	0	0.0	0	0
Johnnie Gray	0.0	2	5	2.5	0	5
Charles Johnson	3.5	0	0	0.0	0	0
Ezra Johnson	14.5	0	0	0.0	0	0
Mike Jolly	0.0	1	0	0.0	0	0
Jim Laughlin	0.0	1	22	22.0	0	22
Mark Lee	0.0	4	23	5.8	0	15
Cliff Lewis	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Tim Lewis	0.0	5	111	22.2	0	46
Randy Scott	0.0	1	12	12.0	0	12

Records

Lynn Dickey, Club Record, Most Passing Yards in One Season, 4,458. First NFC Quarterback to ever throw for over 4,000 yards.
NFL record, Most Overtime Games played in one season, (5)
NFC Central record, Most Interceptions in a season by a passer other than the quarterback (3, Cliff Lewis).

References

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 388
^ Feuerherd, Vic (December 19, 1983). "Bears end playoff bid by Packers". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
^ Lea, Bud (December 19, 1983). "Defeat clouds Starr's future". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
^ Feuerherd, Vic (December 20, 1983). "Sad Starr said Pack set to win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
^ Lea, Bud (December 20, 1983). "Parins shows he runs Pack". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
^ Salituro, Chuck (December 25, 1983). "Gregg shortened Parins' search". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
^ Perkins, Eddie (January 15, 1988). "The rebuilding starts for SMU, Packers". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1C.
^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

The Football Database

[1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 388

[bepbbp-2] Feuerherd, Vic (December 19, 1983). "Bears end playoff bid by Packers". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.

[dfcldsf-3] Lea, Bud (December 19, 1983). "Defeat clouds Starr's future". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.

[ssspstw-4] Feuerherd, Vic (December 20, 1983). "Sad Starr said Pack set to win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.

[pshrp-5] Lea, Bud (December 20, 1983). "Parins shows he runs Pack". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.

[gsps-6] Salituro, Chuck (December 25, 1983). "Gregg shortened Parins' search". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.

[threbs-7] Perkins, Eddie (January 15, 1988). "The rebuilding starts for SMU, Packers". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1C.

[8] "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

[9] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 380: / Line 380: @@
 ===Game summaries===
-====Week 1====
+====Week 1 at Houston Oilers====
+Lynn Dickey completed 27 of 31 passes including 18 straight completions for 333 yards and four touchdowns and Jan Stenerud's 42-yard field goal with 9:05 left in overtime give the Packers  a successful opening day victory.
 {{AFB game box start
 |Title=