1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachJim Hanifan
Home fieldBusch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place5th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the franchise was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5–11, winning seven games.[1] Despite the improvement the team failed – for the sixth consecutive season – to reach the playoffs.

After a 3–7 start, including a horrendous 52–10 loss to the Eagles on November 8, Head Coach Jim Hanifan benched Jim Hart for Neil Lomax. The team would win four of its last six games.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft
1981 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 E. J. Junior *  Linebacker Alabama
2 33 Neil Lomax *  Quarterback Portland State
3 61 Jeff Griffin  Cornerback Utah
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
John Allman Defensive back Indiana State
Tom Brazill Defensive back Wisconsin–La Crosse
Jim Schletzer Punter North Carolina

Personnel

Staff

1981 St. Louis Cardinals staff

Front office

  • President – Bill Bidwill
  • Vice President of Operations – Joe Sullivan
  • Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson
  • Director of Player Personnel – George Boone

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Chuck Banker

Strength and conditioning

  • Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown

Roster

1981 St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 Miami Dolphins L 7–20 0–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,351
2 September 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–30 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,602
3 September 20 Washington Redskins W 40–30 1–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,592
4 September 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–20 1–3 Tampa Stadium 65,850
5 October 4 Dallas Cowboys W 20–17 2–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,477
6 October 11 at New York Giants L 14–34 2–4 Giants Stadium 67,128
7 October 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–41 2–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,458
8 October 25 Minnesota Vikings W 30–17 3–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039
9 November 1 at Washington Redskins L 21–42 3–6 RFK Stadium 50,643
10 November 8 Philadelphia Eagles L 10–52 3–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,421
11 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 24–0 4–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,214
12 November 22 at Baltimore Colts W 35–24 5–7 Memorial Stadium 24,784
13 November 29 at New England Patriots W 27–20 6–7 Schaefer Stadium 39,946
14 December 6 New Orleans Saints W 30–3 7–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,923
15 December 13 New York Giants L 10–20 7–8 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,358
16 December 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 0–38 7–9 Veterans Stadium 56,656
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 8–4 367 277 L1
Philadelphia Eagles(4) 10 6 0 .625 4–4 7–5 368 221 W1
New York Giants(5) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–6 295 257 W3
Washington Redskins 8 8 0 .500 3–5 6–6 347 349 W3
St. Louis Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 2–6 4–8 315 408 L2

References

  1. ^ 1981 St. Louis Cardinals
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