1981 New England Patriots season

Last updated

1981 New England Patriots season
Owner Billy Sullivan
General manager Bucko Kilroy
Head coach Ron Erhardt
Home field Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record2–14
Division placeT-4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers G John Hannah
AP All-Pros G John Hannah (1st team)

The 1981 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League and 22nd overall.

Contents

Looking to improve on two consecutive winning seasons under head coach Ron Erhardt, including a 10–6 mark in 1980, the Patriots instead regressed significantly and ended the season with a record of two wins and fourteen losses, and finished tied for last in the AFC East Division with the Baltimore Colts, with whom they also tied for the worst record in the league. A porous defensive line and linebacking corps [1] was the chief weakness: in one game against the Steelers the Patriot secondary made 27 of the team's 33 tackles. [2] The 2–14 record resulted in Erhardt losing his job at the end of the season. [3]

The Patriots lost their first four games, and then ten of their last eleven, including the last nine games of the season. Eight of their losses were by margins of seven or fewer points; the largest margin of defeat was only 14 points. The Patriots were defeated in both the first and last games of the season by the Baltimore Colts; the Patriots' bookend losses proved to be Baltimore's only two wins of the 1981 season. It was known that the loser of that last game would have the first pick in the 1982 NFL draft, and the game was nicknamed “The Stupor Bowl.” [4] With the Patriots’ defeat, the team had the first pick, choosing University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims, an eventual “draft bust” as first overall pick in the NFL draft. 22 years later, in their Super Bowl XXXVIII-winning season, the Patriots went 14–2, becoming the second franchise in NFL history to have both a 2–14 season and a 14–2 season. [Note 1]

Offseason

NFL draft

1981 New England Patriots draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
119 Brian Holloway  *  Tackle Stanford
247 Tony Collins  *  Running back East Carolina
4102 Don Blackmon   Linebacker Tulsa
5130 Stevan Clark   Defensive tackle Kansas State
6157 Ron Wooten   Guard North Carolina
7185 Ken Toler   Wide receiver Ole Miss
8194Ken Naber  Placekicker Stanford
8212 Lin Dawson   Tight end North Carolina State
11295Brian Buckley  Quarterback Harvard
12323 Cris Crissy   Defensive back Princeton
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Bill BurkeRunning BackAIC
Mike BushWide receiver Cal Poly
Rich Camarillo Punter Washington
Charles CassidyTackleMnsflid St.(PA)
Russ ComptonCenter Indiana
Charles CookDefensive end Miami (FL)
Reggie EcclestonWide receiver Connecticut
Tim GoldenLinebacker Florida
Colin McCartyDefensive tackle Temple
Mark RossPunterNE Oklahoma
Tim Ross Linebacker Bowling Green
Tony SidorTight End Syracuse
Kyle StevensRunning Back Washington
Ronald TateRunning back North Carolina Central
John Tautolo Guard UCLA
Bob ReganTackle Yale
Jim RillCtener Dartmouth
Rich VillellaRunning Back Brown
Lea WalkerRunning Back Texas Southern
John WebbDefensive backConnecticut
Darrell WilsonDefensive backConnecticut

Staff

New England Patriots 1981 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Roster

1981 New England Patriots roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Season summary

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 6 Baltimore Colts L 28–290–1 Schaefer Stadium 49,572
2September 13at Philadelphia Eagles L 3–130–2 Veterans Stadium 71,089
3September 21 Dallas Cowboys L 21–350–3Schaefer Stadium60,311
4September 27at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–27 (OT)0–4 Three Rivers Stadium 53,344
5October 4 Kansas City Chiefs W 33–171–4Schaefer Stadium55,931
6October 11at New York Jets L 24–281–5 Giants Stadium 55,093
7October 18 Houston Oilers W 38–102–5Schaefer Stadium60,474
8October 25at Washington Redskins L 22–242–6 RFK Stadium 50,394
9November 1at Oakland Raiders L 17–272–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 44,246
10November 8 Miami Dolphins L 27–30 (OT)2–8Schaefer Stadium60,436
11November 15 New York Jets L 6–172–9Schaefer Stadium45,342
12November 22at Buffalo Bills L 17–202–10 Rich Stadium 71,593
13November 29 St. Louis Cardinals L 20–272–11Schaefer Stadium39,946
14December 6at Miami Dolphins L 14–242–12 Miami Orange Bowl 50,421
15December 13 Buffalo Bills L 10–192–13Schaefer Stadium42,549
16December 20at Baltimore Colts L 21–232–14 Memorial Stadium 17,073
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins (2)1141.7195–2–18–3–1345275W4
New York Jets (4)1051.6566–1–18–5–1355287W2
Buffalo Bills (5)1060.6256–29–3311276L1
Baltimore Colts 2140.1252–62–10259533W1
New England Patriots 2140.1250–82–10322370L9

See also

Notes

  1. The San Francisco 49ers had 2–14 seasons in 1978 and 1979, and 14–2 seasons in 1989, 1990 and 1992.

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References

  1. Madden, Michael (October 4, 1981). "Patriots Tops In Draft? It's a Myth". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. p. 80.
  2. Madden, Michael (September 29, 1981). "Hard Times, Hard Talk: Hannah, Erhardt Blast Patriots' Attitude". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 35.
  3. "Patriots Fire Erhardt after Worst Year". Democrat and Chronicle . Rochester, New York. December 23, 1981. p. D1.
  4. "Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment".