1981 Cleveland Browns

1981 Cleveland Browns season
Head Coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home Field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	5–11–0
Place	4th AFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1980	1982

The 1981 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 32nd season with the National Football League. In a highly disappointing season filled with a number of key injuries at different streches during the campaign, the Browns finished the year with five straight defeats, their longest losing streak since 1975, and dropped seven of their final eight games. By contrast, in 1980, the Browns enjoyed a five-game winning streak, their longest since 1976, and won eight of nine during one stretch.

Season summary

In 1980, the Kardiac Kids reached their zenith with last-second win after last-second win -- 13 of the 16 games were decided in the final two minutes -- they finished 11-5 and captured the AFC Central crown. Every time the Browns needed to make a play, they did so. Every time they needed something good to happen, it did.

As much of a storybook, magic season it was, it was even more so for quarterback Brian Sipe, as he set a franchise record for touchdown passes with 30 en route to being named the NFL MVP. The season came to an abrupt halt in dramatic and disappointing fashion with a 14-12 divisional playoff loss to the Oakland Raiders when Sipe's ill-fated pass into the end zone in the waning seconds on a play called Red Right 88 was intercepted. But rather than an end, that game was looked upon at the time as being simply a beginning, and the Browns and their fans fully expected to take the next step in 1981 and get that elusive first appearance in the Super Bowl -- or the "Siper Bowl", as it was referred to in Cleveland.

As it turned out, the Browns did indeed have a similar kind of season in 1981 -- eight of the games were decided by six points or less, and five were decided by three points or less. Only this time, the Browns were on the losing end of things. Every time they needed to make a play, they didn't. Every time they needed something good to happen, it didn't. In 1980, Sipe broke nearly every club passing record, throwing, as mentioned, for 30 TDs with just 14 interceptions while completing nearly 61 percent of his passes, good for a 91.4 quarterback rating. In 1981, he threw more interceptions (25) than TDs (17), his completion rate fell to just over 55 percent and his quarterback rating plummeted to 68.2.

As the quarterback goes, so goes any team, which explains the rise and fall of the Browns in 1980 and '81. FB Mike Pruitt rushed for more than 1,000 yards (1,103) for the third straight year in 1981, and caught 63 passes for the second season in a row. Tight end Ozzie Newsome set a team record (since broken) for receptions with 69 and had the second-most receiving yards in Browns history at the time with 1,002. HB Greg Pruitt established a personal best with 65 catches.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	22	Hanford Dixon	Defensive Back	Southern Miss
4	92	Mike Robinson	Defensive End	Arizona
5	134	Steve Cox	Punter	Arkansas
6	160	Ron Simmons	Defensive Tackle	Florida State
7	187	Eddie Johnson	Linebacker	Louisville
9	244	Randy Schleusener	Guard	Nebraska
10	271	Dean Prater	Defensive End	Oklahoma State
11	298	Larry Friday	Defensive Back	Mississippi State
12	325	Kevin McGill	Offensive Tackle	Oregon

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1981 Cleveland Browns final staff
	Front Office President and Owner – Art Modell Assistant to the President – Peter Hadhazy Head Coaches Head Coach – Sam Rutigliano Offensive Coaches Quarterbacks – Paul Hackett Running Backs – Jim Garrett Receivers – Rich Kotite Offensive Line – Rod Humenuik			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Marty Schottenheimer Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Dave Adolph Defensive Backs - Len Fontes Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – John Petercuskie Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Director of Pro Personnel - Allan Webb Film Coordinator - Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy

Roster

1981 Cleveland Browns final roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Paul McDonald 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 35 Calvin Hill 30 Cleo Miller FB 34 Greg Pruitt 43 Mike Pruitt FB 25 Charles White Wide receivers 80 Willis Adams 83 Ricky Feacher 86 Danny Fulton 85 Dave Logan 33 Reggie Rucker Tight ends 82 Ozzie Newsome 84 McDonald Oden 87 Curtis Weathers LB		Offensive linemen 64 Joe DeLamielleure G 54 Tom DeLeone C 73 Doug Dieken T 68 Robert E. Jackson G 71 Matt Miller T 63 Cody Risien T 65 Henry Sheppard G 79 Gerry Sullivan C/T Defensive linemen 77 Lyle Alzado DE 91 Henry Bradley DT 97 Thomas Brown DE 94 Elvis Franks DE 90 Marshall Harris DE 92 Mike Robinson DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT		Linebackers 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 50 Don Goode OLB 58 Bruce Huther ILB 56 Robert L. Jackson ILB 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 57 Clay Matthews Jr. OLB Defensive backs 24 Autry Beamon FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 49 Clinton Burrell SS/CB 27 Thom Darden FS 29 Hanford Dixon CB 20 Judson Flint CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 22 Clarence Scott SS 12 Rick Trocano FS/QB Special teams  9 Matt Bahr K 15 Steve Cox P 26 Dino Hall KR/PR 10 Dave Jacobs K 24 Cleo Montgomery KR/PR		Reserve lists 53 Bill Cowher ILB (IR) 68 Joel Patten T (IR) Practice squad 75 Ray Bloch T -- Chuck Correal C 27 Gary Davis RB Rookies in italics 50 Active, 1 Inactive, 3 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1981	San Diego Chargers	L 44–14	78,904
2	September 13, 1981	Houston Oilers	L 9–3	79,483
3	September 20, 1981	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–17	52,170
4	September 27, 1981	Atlanta Falcons	W 28–17	78,283
5	October 4, 1981	at Los Angeles Rams	L 27–16	63,924
6	October 11, 1981	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–7	53,255
7	October 18, 1981	New Orleans Saints	W 20–17	76,059
8	October 25, 1981	Baltimore Colts	W 42–28	78,986
9	November 1, 1981	at Buffalo Bills	L 22–13	78,266
10	November 8, 1981	at Denver Broncos	L 23–20 (OT)	74,859
11	November 15, 1981	at San Francisco 49ers	W 15–12	52,455
12	November 22, 1981	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 32–10	77,958
13	November 29, 1981	Cincinnati Bengals	L 41–21	75,186
14	December 3, 1981	at Houston Oilers	L 17–13	44,502
15	December 12, 1981	New York Jets	L 14–13	56,866
16	December 20, 1981	at Seattle Seahawks	L 42–21	51,435

Standings

AFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Cincinnati Bengals	12	4	0	.750	421	304
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	0	.500	356	297
Houston Oilers	7	9	0	.438	281	355
Cleveland Browns	5	11	0	.313	276	375

External links

• 1981 Cleveland Browns season article at Wikipedia
• 1981 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1981 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1981 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1981 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com