1984 New England Patriots season

1984 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Patrick Sullivan
Head coach	Ron Meyer (fired October 25th; 5-3 record) Raymond Berry (interim; 4-4 record)
Home stadium	Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G John Hannah T Brian Holloway LB Steve Nelson LB Andre Tippett
All-Pros	G John Hannah (2nd team)
←  1983 Patriots seasons 1985  →

The Patriots hosting the Cardinals in December 1984.

The 1984 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League and 25th overall. The Patriots finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East Division.

Head coach Ron Meyer, who had coached the Patriots for the previous two seasons, was fired halfway through the season. Meyer had angered several of his players with public criticism. After a 44–24 loss to Miami in week 8, Meyer fired popular defensive coordinator Rod Rust; Meyer himself was fired by Patriots management shortly thereafter. ^[1]

The Patriots went outside the organization to hire Raymond Berry, who had been New England's receivers coach from 1978 to 1981 under coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Ron Erhardt. Berry had been working in the private sector in Medfield, Massachusetts, when the Patriots called him to replace Meyer. Berry's first order of business was to immediately rehire Rust.

Under Berry's leadership, the Patriots won four of their last eight games. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win–loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room – "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years," according to running back Tony Collins. ^[2]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

1984 New England Patriots draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Irving Fryar  *	Wide receiver	Nebraska
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

New England Patriots 1984 staff
Front office President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan Vice-president – Bucko Kilroy General manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of player development – Dick Steinberg Director of college scouting – Joe Mendes Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Head coaches Head coach – Ron Meyer Interim head coach – Raymond Berry Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Lew Erber Offensive backs – Cleve Bryant Receivers – Steve Endicott Offensive line – Bill Muir			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rod Rust Defensive line – Tommy Brasher Linebackers – Steve Sidwell Secondary – Steve Walters Special teams coaches Special teams/tight ends – Dante Scarnecchia Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – LeBaron Caruthers

Roster

New England Patriots 1984 roster
Quarterbacks 11 Tony Eason 14 Steve Grogan 19 Mike Kerrigan Running backs 33 Tony Collins 32 Craig James FB 30 Mosi Tatupu FB 24 Robert Weathers 44 Jon Williams Wide receivers 80 Irving Fryar 83 Cedric Jones 86 Stanley Morgan 81 Stephen Starring 82 Clarence Weathers Tight ends 87 Lin Dawson 40 Greg Hawthorne FB 88 Derrick Ramsey 41 Bo Robinson FB		Offensive linemen 58 Pete Brock C 66 Paul Fairchild G 73 John Hannah G 68 Darryl Haley T 76 Brian Holloway T 67 Steve Moore T 75 Guy Morriss C 61 Ron Wooten G Defensive linemen 85 Julius Adams DE 60 Luther Henson NT 98 Dennis Owens NT 65 Doug Rogers DE 77 Kenneth Sims DE 70 Scott Virkus DE 72 Lester Williams NT 90 Toby Williams DE		Linebackers 55 Don Blackmon OLB 59 Tim Golden LB 51 Brian Ingram LB 50 Larry McGrew ILB 57 Steve Nelson ILB 52 Johnny Rembert ILB 95 Ed Reynolds LB 56 Andre Tippett OLB 54 Ed Williams LB Defensive backs 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 47 Paul Dombroski S 43 Ernest Gibson CB 38 Roland James SS 22 Keith Lee CB 42 Ronnie Lippett CB 31 Fred Marion FS 31 Rod McSwain S 25 Rick Sanford FS 27 Ricky Smith CB Special teams  3 Rich Camarillo P  1 Tony Franklin K 17 Luke Prestridge P		Reserve lists 12 Tom Ramsey QB (IR) 53 Clayton Weishuhn LB (IR) 82 Derwin Williams WR (IR)

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 2	at Buffalo Bills	W 21–17	1–0	Rich Stadium	48,528
2	September 9	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–28	1–1	Miami Orange Bowl	66,083
3	September 16	Seattle Seahawks	W 38–23	2–1	Sullivan Stadium	43,140
4	September 23	Washington Redskins	L 10–26	2–2	Sullivan Stadium	60,503
5	September 30	at New York Jets	W 28–21	3–2	Giants Stadium	68,978
6	October 7	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–16	4–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	53,036
7	October 14	Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	5–2	Sullivan Stadium	48,154
8	October 21	Miami Dolphins	L 24–44	5–3	Sullivan Stadium	60,711
9	October 28	New York Jets	W 30–20	6–3	Sullivan Stadium	60,513
10	November 4	at Denver Broncos	L 19–26	6–4	Mile High Stadium	74,908
11	November 11	Buffalo Bills	W 38–10	7–4	Sullivan Stadium	43,313
12	November 18	at Indianapolis Colts	W 50–17	8–4	Hoosier Dome	60,009
13	November 22	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–20	8–5	Texas Stadium	55,341
14	December 2	St. Louis Cardinals	L 10–33	8–6	Sullivan Stadium	53,558
15	December 9	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–27	8–7	Veterans Stadium	41,581
16	December 16	Indianapolis Colts	W 16–10	9–7	Sullivan Stadium	22,383
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

Behind two Steve Grogan touchdown throws, the Patriots raced to a 21–0 lead. They withstood a second-half Bills comeback attempt, and won 21–17.

Week 2 (Sunday, September 9, 1984): at Miami Dolphins

^[3]

Week 2: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots (1–1)	0	7	0	0	7
Dolphins (2–0)	0	7	14	7	28

at Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

• Date: September 9, 1984
• Game time: 1:02 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C); relative humidity 65%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Game attendance: 66,083
• Referee: Chuck Heberling
• TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph (play-by-play) and Bob Griese (color commentator)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NE	Passing	Steve Grogan	20/42, 217 YDS, 1 TD, 4 INTs
	Rushing	Tony Collins	20 CAR, 87 YDS
	Receiving	Derrick Ramsey	5 REC, 70 YDS
MIA	Passing	Dan Marino	17/28, 269 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Tony Nathan	10 CAR, 36 YDS
	Receiving	Mark Clayton	5 REC, 75 YDS, 2 TDs

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NE MIA 2 5:37 2 55 0:16 Dolphins Duper 35-yard touchdown reception from Jensen, von Schamann kick good 0 7 2 0:56 10 90 4:31 Patriots Dawson 5-yard touchdown reception from Grogan, Franklin kick good 7 7 3 12:38 4 73 2:22 Dolphins Clayton 35-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good 7 14 3 11:02 2 16 0:43 Dolphins Clayton 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good 7 21 4 2:53 — — — Dolphins Interception returned 60 yards for touchdown by Judson, von Schamann kick good 7 28 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 28

• Point spread: Dolphins by 6
• Over/Under: 43.0 (under)
• Time of Game: 3 hours, 3 minutes

Patriots	Game Statistics	Dolphins
18	First downs	17
28–127	Rushes–yards	30–74
217	Passing yards	269
20–42–4	Passes	17–28–2
2–12	Sacked–yards	0–0
205	Net passing yards	269
332	Total yards	343
74	Return yards	183
8–39.6	Punts	5–41.6
2–1	Fumbles–lost	0–0
6–53	Penalties–yards	6–46
30:46	Time of Possession	29:14

Grogan had a miserable day as he was intercepted four times; William Judson ran back one for a 60-yard touchdown. The Dolphins, led by two Dan Marino touchdown passes, won 28–7.

Week 3

The first home game of the season ended Grogan's season as he failed to complete any of his four passes and Kenny Easley ran back his interception for a 25-yard touchdown. The Seahawks scored three touchdowns marred by a missed PAT. Tony Eason replaced Grogan with six minutes left in the first half and in the final minute ran in a 25-yard touchdown. From there three Patriots backs rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns and Eason tossed scores to Derrick Ramsey and Irving Fryar while Dave Krieg of the Seahawks was bullied into two interceptions. The Patriots came back to win 38–23. The 23-point comeback was the largest in Patriots franchise history, a team record held until 2013. ^[4]

Week 8 (Sunday, October 21, 1984): vs. Miami Dolphins

^[5]

Week 8: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins (8–0)	3	13	14	14	44
Patriots (5–3)	3	7	7	7	24

at Sullivan Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts

• Date: October 21, 1984
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); relative humidity 53%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Game attendance: 60,711
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones (play-by-play) and Bob Griese (color commentator)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
MIA	Passing	Dan Marino	24/39, 316 YDS, 4 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Joe Carter	14 CAR, 92 YDS
	Receiving	Mark Clayton	7 REC, 99 YDS, 1 TD
NE	Passing	Tony Eason	19/29, 313 YDS, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Mosi Tatupu	20 CAR, 90 YDS
	Receiving	Derrick Ramsey	5 REC, 32 YDS, 1 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MIA NE 1 8:33 13 74 3:55 Dolphins 28-yard field goal by von Schamann 3 0 1 2:33 12 49 5:54 Patriots 48-yard field goal by Franklin 3 3 2 14:32 7 65 2:51 Dolphins Johnson 1-yard touchdown run, von Schamann kick good 10 3 2 1:55 8 66 4:03 Patriots Weathers 14-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good 10 10 2 0:06 11 80 1:49 Dolphins Moore 19-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick no good 16 10 3 6:40 13 80 8:20 Dolphins Johnson 5-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good 23 10 3 6:22 1 76 0:18 Patriots Morgan 76-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good 23 17 3 2:31 7 75 2:51 Dolphins Clayton 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good 30 17 4 11:27 12 61 7:04 Patriots Ramsey 5-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good 30 24 4 8:24 6 66 3:04 Dolphins Moore 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good 37 24 4 1:11 10 69 4:39 Dolphins Johnson 3-yard touchdown run, von Schamann kick good 44 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 44 24

• Point spread: Dolphins by 4
• Over/Under: 42.0 (over)
• Time of Game: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Dolphins	Game Statistics	Patriots
33	First downs	18
37–236	Rushes–yards	27–102
316	Passing yards	313
24–39–1	Passes	19–29–0
0–0	Sacked–yards	1–7
316	Net passing yards	306
552	Total yards	408
75	Return yards	113
1–38.0	Punts	3–57.0
0–0	Fumbles–lost	1–1
6–36	Penalties–yards	6–36
31:59	Time of Possession	28:01

Week 9

New York Jets at New England Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 10 10 0 0 20 •Patriots 0 6 10 14 30 Date: October 28 Location: Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h) Referee: Chuck Heberling Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Jets Pat Leahy 46-yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 Jets Rocky Klever 7-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 10–0 2 Patriots Tony Franklin 20-yard field goal Jets 10–3 2 Jets Pat Leahy 18-yard field goal Jets 13–3 2 Jets Marion Barber 2-yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 20–3 2 Patriots Tony Franklin 27-yard field goal Jets 20–6 3 Patriots Tony Franklin 47-yard field goal Jets 20–9 3 Patriots Craig James 25-yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Jets 20–16 4 Patriots Stephen Starring 5-yard pass from Tony Eason (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 23–20 4 Patriots Tony Collins 4-yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 30–20

Raymond Berry's first game as Patriots' head coach.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins (1)	14	2	0	.875	8–0	10–2	513	298	W2
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	6–2	9–3	362	352	W1
New York Jets	7	9	0	.438	3–5	7–7	332	364	L1
Indianapolis Colts	4	12	0	.250	2–6	4–8	239	414	L5
Buffalo Bills	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–11	250	454	L2

References

1. Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 486, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN   0-312-11073-1
2. Quoted in Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 76
3. The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.
4. "Watch Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots [11/24/2013] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
5. The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.