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1980 Detroit Lions
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Record: 9-7-0, Finished 1st in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 334 points (20.9/g), 11th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 272 points (17.0/g), 5th.
Differential of 62 points (3.9/g), 7th.
Expected W-L: 9.9-6.1.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +3 (0.2/g), 11th.
Simple Rating System: Total 1.7, Offense: -0.8, Defense: 2.5, SoS: -2.2, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Monte Clark (9-7-0)
Training Camp: Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Gary Danielson | 29 | 4 | 16 | 244 for 417, 3,223 yards, 13 td, 11 int, & 48 rushes for 232 yards and 2 td | |
| RB | Billy Sims* | 25 | Rook | 16 | 313 rushes for 1,303 yards, 13 td, & 51 catches for 621 yards and 3 td | Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980 |
| FB | Dexter Bussey | 28 | 6 | 16 | 145 rushes for 720 yards, 3 td, & 39 catches for 364 yards and 0 td | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 65th pick / 1974 |
| WR | Freddie Scott | 28 | 6 | 16 | 53 catches for 834 yards, 4 td, & 5 rushes for 86 yards and 1 td | Baltimore Colts / 7th / 174th pick / 1974 |
| WR | Leonard Thompson | 28 | 5 | 12 | 19 catches for 511 yards, 3 td, & 6 rushes for 61 yards and 0 td | Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975 |
| TE | David Hill | 26 | 4 | 16 | 39 catches for 424 yards, 1 td | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1976 |
| LT | Karl Baldischwiler | 24 | 2 | 16 | Miami Dolphins / 7th / 178th pick / 1978 | |
| LG | Homer Elias | 25 | 2 | 13 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978 | |
| LG | Burton Lawless | 27 | 5 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 44th pick / 1975 | |
| C | Amos Fowler | 24 | 2 | 12 | 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1978 |
| C | Tommie Ginn | 22 | Rook | 5 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 120th pick / 1980 | |
| RG | Russ Bolinger | 26 | 4 | 15 | 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 68th pick / 1976 |
| RT | Keith Dorney | 23 | 1 | 8 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979 | |
| RT | Homer Elias | 25 | 2 | 13 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978 | |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Dave Pureifory | 31 | 8 | 16 | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 142nd pick / 1972 | |
| LDT | William Gay | 25 | 2 | 9 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978 | |
| LDT | John Woodcock | 26 | 4 | 8 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 76th pick / 1976 |
| RDT | John Mendenhall | 32 | 8 | 12 | New York Giants / 3rd / 55th pick / 1972 | |
| RDE | Al Baker* | 24 | 2 | 15 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 40th pick / 1978 |
| LLB | Charlie Weaver | 31 | 9 | 16 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 48th pick / 1971 |
| MLB | Ken Fantetti | 23 | 1 | 16 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979 |
| RLB | Stan White | 31 | 8 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Baltimore Colts / 17th / 438th pick / 1972 |
| LCB | Wayne Smith | 23 | Rook | 8 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 11th / 278th pick / 1980 |
| LCB | Walt Williams | 26 | 3 | 8 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1977 |
| RCB | James Hunter | 26 | 4 | 16 | 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1976 |
| SS | Jimmy Allen | 28 | 6 | 15 | 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 100th pick / 1974 |
| FS | Ray Oldham | 29 | 7 | 12 | 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Baltimore Colts / 8th / 189th pick / 1973 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Eddie Murray*+ | 24 | Rook | 0 | 27 of 42 field goals & 35 of 36 extra points | Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980 |
| P | Tom Skladany | 25 | 2 | 0 | 72 punts for a 42.2 average, 1 blocked | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 46th pick / 1977 |
| PR | John Arnold | 25 | 1 | 0 | 28 punt returns for a 7.3 average and 0 td | |
| KR | Rick Kane | 26 | 3 | 0 | 23 kick returns for a 21.5 average and 0 td | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1977 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Jimmy Allen | 28 | DB | 15 | 15 | 194 | 6-2 | Pierce College (CA),UCLA | 3/6/1952 | 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 100th pick / 1974 |
| 47 | John Arnold | 25 | WR | 10 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | Wyoming | 10/5/1955 | 1 | |
| 60 | Al Baker* | 24 | DE | 15 | 15 | 265 | 6-6 | Colorado St. | 12/9/1956 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 40th pick / 1978 |
| 76 | Karl Baldischwiler | 24 | T | 16 | 16 | 265 | 6-5 | Oklahoma | 1/19/1956 | 2 | Miami Dolphins / 7th / 178th pick / 1978 |
| 73 | Russ Bolinger | 26 | G-T | 16 | 15 | 255 | 6-5 | California-Riverside,Long Beach St. | 9/10/1954 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 68th pick / 1976 |
| 27 | Luther Bradley | 25 | DB | 8 | 4 | 195 | 6-2 | Notre Dame | 5/7/1955 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 11th pick / 1978 |
| 24 | Dexter Bussey | 28 | RB | 16 | 16 | 195 | 6-1 | Oklahoma,Texas-Arlington | 3/11/1952 | 6 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 65th pick / 1974 |
| 31 | Ken Callicutt | 25 | RB | 13 | 0 | 190 | 6-0 | Clemson | 8/20/1955 | 2 | |
| 53 | Garry Cobb | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 227 | 6-2 | USC | 3/16/1957 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 247th pick / 1979 |
| 50 | Eddie Cole | 24 | LB | 13 | 0 | 235 | 6-2 | Mississippi | 12/16/1956 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 11th / 302nd pick / 1979 |
| 77 | Curley Culp | 34 | DT-NT-G | 3 | 2 | 265 | 6-2 | Arizona St. | 3/10/1946 | 12 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968 |
| 16 | Gary Danielson | 29 | QB | 16 | 16 | 195 | 6-2 | Purdue | 9/10/1951 | 4 | |
| 72 | Chris Dieterich | 22 | T-G | 16 | 3 | 262 | 6-3 | North Carolina St. | 7/27/1958 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 6th / 140th pick / 1980 |
| 70 | Keith Dorney | 23 | T-G | 9 | 8 | 268 | 6-5 | Penn St. | 12/3/1957 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979 |
| 61 | Homer Elias | 25 | G-T | 14 | 13 | 255 | 6-3 | Tennessee St. | 5/1/1955 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978 |
| 57 | Ken Fantetti | 23 | LB | 16 | 16 | 230 | 6-2 | Wyoming | 4/7/1957 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979 |
| 65 | Amos Fowler | 24 | C-G | 13 | 12 | 250 | 6-3 | Southern Miss | 2/11/1956 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1978 |
| 86 | Mike Friede | 23 | WR | 4 | 0 | 205 | 6-3 | Indiana | 9/22/1957 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1980 |
| 79 | William Gay | 25 | DE-DT-TE | 16 | 9 | 250 | 6-5 | USC | 5/28/1955 | 2 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978 |
| 66 | Tommie Ginn | 22 | C-G | 14 | 5 | 253 | 6-3 | Arkansas | 1/25/1958 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 5th / 120th pick / 1980 |
| 51 | James Harrell | 23 | LB | 5 | 0 | 224 | 6-1 | Florida | 7/19/1957 | 1 | |
| 81 | David Hill | 26 | TE | 16 | 16 | 229 | 6-2 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 1/1/1954 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1976 |
| 17 | Eric Hipple | 23 | QB | 15 | 0 | 196 | 6-2 | Utah St. | 9/16/1957 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 4th / 85th pick / 1980 |
| 68 | Vern Holland | 32 | T | 2 | 0 | 268 | 6-5 | Tennessee St. | 6/27/1948 | 9 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 15th pick / 1971 |
| 28 | James Hunter | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 195 | 6-3 | Grambling St. | 3/8/1954 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1976 |
| 32 | Rick Kane | 26 | RB | 16 | 0 | 200 | 5-11 | Oregon,San Jose St. | 11/12/1954 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1977 |
| 25 | Horace King | 27 | RB | 16 | 0 | 208 | 5-10 | Georgia | 3/5/1953 | 5 | Detroit Lions / 6th / 141st pick / 1975 |
| 19 | Jeff Komlo | 24 | QB | 4 | 0 | 200 | 6-2 | Delaware | 7/30/1956 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 9th / 231st pick / 1979 |
| 66 | Burton Lawless | 27 | G | 9 | 5 | 253 | 6-4 | Florida | 11/1/1953 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 44th pick / 1975 |
| 48 | Eddie Lewis | 27 | DB | 14 | 1 | 177 | 6-0 | Kansas | 12/15/1953 | 4 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 57th pick / 1976 |
| 63 | Alva Liles | 24 | NT-DT | 1 | 0 | 255 | 6-3 | Boise St. | 3/6/1956 | Rook | |
| 58 | Derrel Luce | 28 | LB | 9 | 0 | 226 | 6-3 | Baylor | 9/29/1952 | 5 | Baltimore Colts / 7th / 168th pick / 1975 |
| 63 | Mike McCoy | 32 | DT-NT | 4 | 0 | 284 | 6-5 | Notre Dame | 9/6/1948 | 10 | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1970 |
| 34 | Prentice McCray | 29 | DB | 7 | 0 | 188 | 6-1 | Arizona St. | 3/1/1951 | 6 | Detroit Lions / 8th / 200th pick / 1973 |
| 64 | John Mendenhall | 32 | DT-NT | 15 | 12 | 255 | 6-1 | Grambling St. | 12/3/1948 | 8 | New York Giants / 3rd / 55th pick / 1972 |
| 62 | John Mohring | 24 | LB | 1 | 0 | 240 | 6-3 | C.W. Post | 11/14/1956 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 8th / 213th pick / 1979 |
| 3 | Eddie Murray*+ | 24 | K | 16 | 0 | 177 | 5-10 | Tulane | 8/29/1956 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980 |
| 80 | Ulysses Norris | 23 | TE | 16 | 1 | 230 | 6-4 | Georgia | 1/15/1957 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 88th pick / 1979 |
| 23 | Ray Oldham | 29 | DB | 16 | 12 | 200 | 6-0 | Middle Tenn. St. | 2/23/1951 | 7 | Baltimore Colts / 8th / 189th pick / 1973 |
| 61 | Willie Parker | 32 | C-G | 4 | 1 | 245 | 6-3 | North Texas | 12/28/1948 | 7 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 75th pick / 1971 |
| 67 | Wally Pesuit | 26 | G-C-T-DE | 1 | 0 | 252 | 6-4 | Kentucky | 3/4/1954 | 4 | Dallas Cowboys / 5th / 151st pick / 1976 |
| 75 | Dave Pureifory | 31 | DE-DT | 16 | 16 | 260 | 6-1 | East. Michigan | 7/12/1949 | 8 | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 142nd pick / 1972 |
| 36 | Bo Robinson | 24 | RB-TE | 14 | 0 | 228 | 6-2 | West Texas A&M | 5/27/1956 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 67th pick / 1979 |
| 87 | Freddie Scott | 28 | WR | 16 | 16 | 180 | 6-2 | Amherst | 8/5/1952 | 6 | Baltimore Colts / 7th / 174th pick / 1974 |
| 63 | Dave Simmons | 23 | LB | 1 | 0 | 221 | 6-4 | North Carolina | 1/19/1957 | 1 | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 153rd pick / 1979 |
| 20 | Billy Sims* | 25 | RB | 16 | 16 | 212 | 6-0 | Oklahoma | 9/18/1955 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980 |
| 15 | Tom Skladany | 25 | P | 16 | 0 | 192 | 6-0 | Ohio St. | 6/29/1955 | 2 | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 46th pick / 1977 |
| 44 | Wayne Smith | 23 | DB | 16 | 8 | 171 | 6-0 | Wisc-LaCrosse,Purdue | 5/9/1957 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 11th / 278th pick / 1980 |
| 45 | Ken Talton | 24 | RB | 2 | 0 | 208 | 6-0 | Cornell | 6/25/1956 | Rook | |
| 84 | Jesse Thompson | 24 | WR | 11 | 2 | 185 | 6-1 | California | 3/12/1956 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 6th / 165th pick / 1978 |
| 39 | Leonard Thompson | 28 | WR-HB | 16 | 12 | 192 | 5-11 | Oklahoma St. | 7/28/1952 | 5 | Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975 |
| 71 | Tom Tuinei | 22 | DT | 12 | 2 | 250 | 6-4 | Hawaii | 2/21/1958 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 9th / 223rd pick / 1980 |
| 55 | Tom Turnure | 23 | C-G | 3 | 0 | 250 | 6-4 | Washington | 7/9/1957 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 57th pick / 1980 |
| 67 | Rod Walters | 26 | G-T | 2 | 0 | 258 | 6-3 | Iowa | 2/27/1954 | 4 | Kansas City Chiefs / 1st / 14th pick / 1976 |
| 59 | Charlie Weaver | 31 | LB | 16 | 16 | 220 | 6-2 | USC | 7/12/1949 | 9 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 48th pick / 1971 |
| 52 | Stan White | 31 | LB | 16 | 16 | 225 | 6-1 | Ohio St. | 10/24/1949 | 8 | Baltimore Colts / 17th / 438th pick / 1972 |
| 74 | Mike Whited | 22 | T | 16 | 2 | 250 | 6-4 | Pacific | 3/30/1958 | Rook | |
| 30 | Ray Williams | 22 | RB | 6 | 1 | 170 | 5-9 | Washington St. | 9/22/1958 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 12th / 307th pick / 1980 |
| 21 | Walt Williams | 26 | DB | 16 | 8 | 185 | 6-1 | Ashland,New Mexico St. | 7/10/1954 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1977 |
| 77 | John Woodcock | 26 | DT-DE | 8 | 8 | 246 | 6-3 | New Mexico,Hawaii | 3/19/1954 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 76th pick / 1976 |
| Team Total | 25.8 | 16 | 223.9 | 6-2.1 | 3.1 |