1980 Green Bay Packers season

1980 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home field	Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	5–10–1
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1980 Green Bay Packers season was their 62nd season overall and their 60th in the National Football League (NFL). The team posted a 5–10–1 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a fifth-place finish in the NFC Central division.

Before the 1980 season even began, first-round draft pick Bruce Clark bolted directly for the Canadian Football League, never playing a down for the Packers. He forced a trade to the New Orleans Saints upon returning to the United States. Green Bay regrouped and started strong by outlasting the Chicago Bears in an overtime thriller in the season opener. But with 27 players on injured reserved during the course of the year, the team was unable to replenish its roster and Green Bay suffered their 7th losing season in 8 years.

Exactly three months after the opener at Lambeau Field, The Packers would rematch with the Bears. However, Chicago exacted revenge by embarrassing the Packers 61–7 at Soldier Field, causing the Packers to be eliminated from the playoffs for the 8th straight season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

1980 Green Bay Packers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Bruce Clark *	Defensive end	Penn State
1	26	George Cumby	Linebacker	Oklahoma	from San Diego
2	34	Mark Lee	Cornerback	Washington
3	61	Syd Kitson	Guard	Wake Forest
4	87	Fred Nixon	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
6	143	Karl Swanke	Offensive tackle	Boston College
7	169	Buddy Aydelette	Offensive tackle	Alabama
8	199	Tim Smith	Cornerback	Oregon State
9	226	Kelly Saalfeld	Center	Nebraska
10	253	Jafus White	Defensive back	Texas A&I
11	283	Ricky Skiles	Linebacker	Louisville
12	310	James Stewart	Cornerback	Memphis State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1980 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Tom Bell	Guard	BYU
Jerry Bey	Running back	Western Illinois
Kurt Christensen	Kicker	Concordia
Paul Columbia	Tight End	Villanova
Mike Kennedy	Quarterback	Oregon
Mark Murphy	Safety	West Liberty State
Joe Odom	Guard/Center	Wichita State
Dave Schwab	Defensive line	South Dakota
Steve Turk	Quarterback	Eastern Illinois
Joe Verria	Defensive tackle	Bridgewater State
Tom Virgl	Linebacker	Kearney State
Mark Williquette	Defensive back	Wisconsin–La Crosse

Personnel

Staff

1980 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office President – Dominic Olejniczak Vice President – Robert J. Parins Corporate General Manager – 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 Assistant Offensive Line – Tom Lovat Special Assistant – Dick Rehbein

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – John Meyer Defensive Line – Jim Champion Defensive Line – Fred von Appen Linebackers – John Marshall Defensive Backs – Ross Fichtner Special teams coaches Special Teams – John Marshall

Roster

1980 Green Bay Packers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Lynn Dickey 18 Mark Miller 17 David Whitehurst Running backs (RB) 44 Vickey Ray Anderson 31 Gerry Ellis 25 Harlan Huckleby 40 Eddie Lee Ivery 34 Terdell Middleton Wide receivers (WR) 88 Ron Cassidy 85 Bobby Kimball 80 James Lofton 84 Fred Nixon 89 Aundra Thompson Tight ends (TE) 82 Paul Coffman 87 Bill Larson

Offensive linemen (OL) 74 Ken Brown C 57 Derrel Gofourth G 69 Leotis Harris G 64 Syd Kitson G 68 Greg Koch T 54 Larry McCarren C 76 Tim Stokes T 67 Karl Swanke T Defensive linemen (DL) 77 Mike Butler DE 99 Charles Johnson DT 90 Ezra Johnson DE 63 Terry Jones DT 72 Kit Lathrop DT 66 Mike Lewis DT 78 Casey Merrill DE

Linebackers (LB) 60 Kurt Allerman 58 Bruce Beekley 65 Brian Cabral 53 Mike Douglass 51 Jim Gueno 70 Paul Rudzinski Defensive backs (DB) 24 Johnnie Gray FS 38 Estus Hood CB 21 Mike Jolly S 22 Mark Lee CB 46 Steve Luke SS 29 Mike McCoy CB 37 Mark Murphy FS 20 Wylie Turner CB Special teams 11 David Beverly P 10 Jan Stenerud K

Reserve 59 John Anderson LB (IR) 32 Steve Atkins RB (IR) 62 Buddy Aydelette T (IR) 52 George Cumby LB (IR) 55 Mike Hunt LB (IR) 79 Mark Koncar T (IR) 71 Melvin Jackson G (IR) 56 Ed O'Neil LB (IR) 43 Cal Perkins WR (IR) 33 Barty Smith RB (IR) -- Tim Smith DB (IR) 83 John Thompson TE (IR) 26 Eric Torkelson RB (IR) 10 Bill Troup QB (IR) 25 Jafus White DB (IR) 50 Rich Wingo LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 7	Chicago Bears	W 12–6 (OT)	1–0	Lambeau Field	Recap
2	September 14	Detroit Lions	L 7–29	1–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	Recap
3	September 21	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–51	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
4	September 28	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–28	1–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	Recap
5	October 5	Cincinnati Bengals	W 14–9	2–3	Lambeau Field	Recap
6	October 12	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	T 14–14 (OT)	2–3–1	Tampa Stadium	Recap
7	October 19	at Cleveland Browns	L 21–26	2–4–1	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
8	October 26	Minnesota Vikings	W 16–3	3–4–1	Lambeau Field	Recap
9	November 2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–22	3–5–1	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
10	November 9	San Francisco 49ers	W 23–16	4–5–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	Recap
11	November 16	at New York Giants	L 21–27	4–6–1	Giants Stadium	Recap
12	November 23	at Minnesota Vikings	W 25–13	5–6–1	Metropolitan Stadium	Recap
13	November 30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 17–20	5–7–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	Recap
14	December 7	at Chicago Bears	L 7–61	5–8–1	Soldier Field	Recap
15	December 14	Houston Oilers	L 3–22	5–9–1	Lambeau Field	Recap
16	December 21	at Detroit Lions	L 3–24	5–10–1	Pontiac Silverdome	Recap

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(3)	9	7	0	.563	5–3	8–4	317	308	L1
Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	5–3	9–5	334	272	W2
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	5–3	7–5	304	264	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	10	1	.344	1–6–1	4–7–1	271	341	L3
Green Bay Packers	5	10	1	.344	3–4–1	4–7–1	231	371	L4

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 1: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bears	3	0	3	0	0	6
Packers	0	6	0	0	6	12

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 7, 1980
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 65 °F (18 °C)
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Sonny Jurgensen
• [1]

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers CHI – Mike Phipps – 17/30, 174 yards, 3 INT GB – Lynn Dickey – 10/22, 138 yards, 1 INT Top rushers CHI – Walter Payton – 31 rushes, 65 yards GB – Eddie Lee Ivery – 15 rushes, 73 yards Top receivers CHI – James Scott – 5 receptions, 59 yards GB – James Lofton – 5 receptions, 77 yards

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	13	6	7	29
Packers	0	7	0	0	7

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Date: September 14, 1980
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 64 °F (18 °C)
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
• [2]

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DET – Gary Danielson – 11/17, 246 yards, 1 TD GB – Lynn Dickey – 16/30, 174 yards, 1 INT Top rushers DET – Billy Sims – 20 rushes, 134 yards, 1 TD GB – Eddie Lee Ivery – 10 rushes, 31 yards, 1 TD Top receivers DET – Dexter Bussey – 5 receptions, 74 yards GB – James Lofton – 4 receptions, 73 yards

Week 3 vs. Los Angeles Rams

• date=September 21, 1980
• TV: CBS
• TV Announcers: Gary Bender and John Madden

Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 4: Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	7	7	7	28
Packers	0	7	0	0	7

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Date: September 28, 1980
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 55 °F (13 °C)
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Sonny Jurgensen
• [3]

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DAL – Danny White – 16/20, 217 yards, 2 TD GB – Lynn Dickey – 11/26, 141 yards, 1 INT Top rushers DAL – Tony Dorsett – 22 rushes, 77 yards, 1 TD GB – Eddie Lee Ivery – 9 rushes, 58 yards Top receivers DAL – Tony Hill – 5 receptions, 71 yards GB – Aundra Thompson – 5 receptions, 77 yards

Awards and records

Hall of Famers

In 1980 Packer great Herb Adderley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame