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Record: 9-7-0, Finished 1st in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 347 points (21.7/g), 15th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 286 points (17.9/g), 2nd.
Differential of 61 points (3.8/g), 6th.
Expected W-L: 9.8-6.2.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -2 (-0.1/g), 16th.
Coached by Monte Clark (9-7-0)
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1983 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Eric Hipple | 26 | 3 | 16 | 204 for 387, 2,577 yards, 12 td, 18 int, & 41 rushes for 171 yards and 3 td | Detroit Lions / 4th / 85th pick / 1980 |
| RB | Billy Sims | 28 | 3 | 12 | 220 rushes for 1,040 yards, 7 td, & 42 catches for 419 yards and 0 td | Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980 |
| FB | James R. Jones | 22 | Rook | 14 | 135 rushes for 475 yards, 6 td, & 46 catches for 467 yards and 1 td | Detroit Lions / 1st / 13th pick / 1983 |
| WR | Mark Nichols | 24 | 2 | 11 | 29 catches for 437 yards, 1 td, & 1 rush for 13 yards and 0 td | Detroit Lions / 1st / 16th pick / 1981 |
| WR | Leonard Thompson | 31 | 8 | 12 | 41 catches for 752 yards, 3 td, & 4 rushes for 72 yards and 1 td | Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975 |
| TE | Ulysses Norris | 26 | 4 | 15 | 26 catches for 291 yards, 7 td | Detroit Lions / 4th / 88th pick / 1979 |
| TE | Reese McCall | 27 | 5 | 5 | 1 catch for 6 yards, 0 td | Baltimore Colts / 1st / 25th pick / 1978 |
| LT | Chris Dieterich | 25 | 3 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 6th / 140th pick / 1980 |
| LG | Homer Elias | 28 | 5 | 14 | 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978 |
| C | Steve Mott | 22 | Rook | 12 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1983 |
|
| RG | Don Greco | 24 | 1 | 12 | 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 72nd pick / 1981 |
| RG | Larry Lee | 24 | 2 | 6 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 129th pick / 1981 |
|
| RT | Keith Dorney | 26 | 4 | 12 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979 |
|
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Curtis Green | 26 | 2 | 16 | 4.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1981 |
| LDT | Mike Dawson | 30 | 7 | 7 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | St. Louis Cardinals / 1st / 22nd pick / 1976 |
| LDT | Mike Fanning | 30 | 8 | 5 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 9th pick / 1975 |
| LDT | William Gay | 28 | 5 | 15 | 13.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978 |
| RDT | Doug English* | 30 | 8 | 15 | 13.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 38th pick / 1975 |
| RDE | William Gay | 28 | 5 | 15 | 13.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978 |
| RDE | Mike L. Cofer | 23 | Rook | 6 | 4.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 67th pick / 1983 |
| LLB | Garry Cobb | 26 | 4 | 15 | 1.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 247th pick / 1979 |
| MLB | Ken Fantetti | 26 | 4 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979 |
| RLB | Jimmy Williams | 23 | 1 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 1st / 15th pick / 1982 |
| LCB | Bobby Watkins | 23 | 1 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1982 |
| RCB | Al Latimer | 26 | 4 | 8 | 0.0 sacks, 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| RCB | Bruce McNorton | 24 | 1 | 8 | 0.0 sacks, 7 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 4th / 96th pick / 1982 |
| SS | Alvin Hall | 25 | 2 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| FS | William Graham | 24 | 1 | 14 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 5th / 127th pick / 1982 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Eddie Murray | 27 | 3 | 0 | 25 of 32 field goals & 38 of 38 extra points | Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980 |
| P | Mike Black | 22 | Rook | 0 | 71 punts for a 41.0 average, 1 blocked | Detroit Lions / 7th / 181st pick / 1983 |
| PR | Ken Jenkins | 24 | Rook | 0 | 23 punt returns for a 10.0 average and 0 td | |
| KR | Alvin Hall | 25 | 2 | 16 | 23 kick returns for a 21.4 average and 0 td |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roosevelt Barnes | 25 | LB | 16 | 1 | 226 | 6-2 | Purdue | 8/3/1958 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 10th / 266th pick / 1982 |
| Mike Black | 22 | P | 16 | 0 | 197 | 6-1 | Arizona State | 1/18/1961 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 7th / 181st pick / 1983 |
| Dexter Bussey | 31 | RB | 15 | 3 | 195 | 6-1 | Oklahoma,Texas-Arlington | 3/11/1952 | 9 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 65th pick / 1974 |
| Jim Caver | 23 | DB | 2 | 0 | 175 | 5-9 | Missouri | 9/28/1960 | Rook | |
| Jeff Chadwick | 23 | WR | 16 | 4 | 190 | 6-3 | Grand Valley State | 12/16/1960 | Rook | |
| Garry Cobb | 26 | LB | 15 | 15 | 227 | 6-2 | USC | 3/16/1957 | 4 | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 247th pick / 1979 |
| Mike L. Cofer | 23 | LB-DE | 16 | 6 | 245 | 6-5 | Tennessee | 4/7/1960 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 67th pick / 1983 |
| August Curley | 23 | LB | 10 | 0 | 226 | 6-3 | USC | 1/24/1960 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 4th / 94th pick / 1983 |
| Gary Danielson | 32 | QB | 10 | 0 | 195 | 6-2 | Purdue | 9/10/1951 | 7 | |
| Mike Dawson | 30 | DT-NT-DE | 16 | 7 | 270 | 6-4 | Arizona | 10/16/1953 | 7 | St. Louis Cardinals / 1st / 22nd pick / 1976 |
| Chris Dieterich | 25 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 262 | 6-3 | North Carolina State | 7/27/1958 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 6th / 140th pick / 1980 |
| Steve Doig | 23 | LB | 9 | 0 | 240 | 6-2 | New Hampshire | 3/28/1960 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1982 |
| Keith Dorney | 26 | T-G | 13 | 12 | 268 | 6-5 | Penn State | 12/3/1957 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979 |
| Homer Elias | 28 | G-T | 14 | 14 | 255 | 6-3 | Tennessee State | 5/1/1955 | 5 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978 |
| Doug English* | 30 | DT-NT | 15 | 15 | 255 | 6-5 | Texas | 8/25/1953 | 8 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 38th pick / 1975 |
| Mike Fanning | 30 | DT-DE-NT | 14 | 5 | 255 | 6-6 | Notre Dame | 2/2/1953 | 8 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 9th pick / 1975 |
| Ken Fantetti | 26 | LB | 16 | 16 | 230 | 6-2 | Wyoming | 4/7/1957 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979 |
| Amos Fowler | 27 | C-G | 16 | 4 | 250 | 6-3 | Southern Miss | 2/11/1956 | 5 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1978 |
| William Gay | 28 | DE-DT-TE | 15 | 15 | 250 | 6-5 | USC | 5/28/1955 | 5 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978 |
| William Graham | 24 | DB | 14 | 14 | 191 | 5-11 | Texas | 9/27/1959 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 127th pick / 1982 |
| Hector Gray | 26 | DB | 1 | 0 | 192 | 6-1 | Florida State | 1/2/1957 | 2 | |
| Don Greco | 24 | G | 12 | 12 | 260 | 6-3 | Western Illinois | 4/1/1959 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 72nd pick / 1981 |
| Curtis Green | 26 | DE-DT-NT | 16 | 16 | 256 | 6-3 | Alabama State | 6/3/1957 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1981 |
| Alvin Hall | 25 | DB | 16 | 16 | 193 | 5-10 | Miami (OH) | 8/12/1958 | 2 | |
| James Harrell | 26 | LB | 16 | 0 | 224 | 6-1 | Florida | 7/19/1957 | 4 | |
| Maurice Harvey | 27 | DB | 9 | 0 | 190 | 5-10 | Ball State | 1/14/1956 | 5 | Oakland Raiders / 4th / 86th pick / 1978 |
| Eric Hipple | 26 | QB | 16 | 16 | 196 | 6-2 | Utah State | 9/16/1957 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 85th pick / 1980 |
| Ken Jenkins | 24 | RB | 12 | 0 | 183 | 5-8 | Bucknell | 5/8/1959 | Rook | |
| Demetrious Johnson | 22 | DB | 14 | 2 | 190 | 5-11 | Missouri | 7/21/1961 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 5th / 115th pick / 1983 |
| James R. Jones | 22 | FB-RB-TB-TE | 14 | 14 | 229 | 6-2 | Florida | 3/21/1961 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 1st / 13th pick / 1983 |
| Rick Kane | 29 | RB | 14 | 0 | 200 | 5-11 | Oregon,San Jose State | 11/12/1954 | 6 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1977 |
| Horace King | 30 | RB | 16 | 1 | 208 | 5-10 | Georgia | 3/5/1953 | 8 | Detroit Lions / 6th / 141st pick / 1975 |
| Al Latimer | 26 | DB | 8 | 8 | 176 | 5-11 | Clemson,Ferrum | 10/14/1957 | 4 | |
| Larry Lee | 24 | G-C | 16 | 6 | 265 | 6-2 | UCLA | 9/10/1959 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 5th / 129th pick / 1981 |
| Robbie Martin | 25 | WR | 10 | 0 | 179 | 5-8 | Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | 12/3/1958 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 100th pick / 1981 |
| Reese McCall | 27 | TE | 16 | 5 | 239 | 6-6 | Auburn | 6/16/1956 | 5 | Baltimore Colts / 1st / 25th pick / 1978 |
| Bruce McNorton | 24 | DB | 16 | 8 | 175 | 5-11 | Georgetown (KY) | 2/28/1959 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 96th pick / 1982 |
| Martin Moss | 25 | DE | 15 | 0 | 250 | 6-4 | UCLA | 12/16/1958 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 8th / 208th pick / 1982 |
| Steve Mott | 22 | C | 13 | 12 | 266 | 6-3 | Alabama | 3/24/1961 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1983 |
| Eddie Murray | 27 | K | 16 | 0 | 177 | 5-10 | Tulane | 8/29/1956 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980 |
| Mark Nichols | 24 | WR | 16 | 11 | 210 | 6-2 | San Jose State | 10/29/1959 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 16th pick / 1981 |
| Ulysses Norris | 26 | TE | 15 | 15 | 230 | 6-4 | Georgia | 1/15/1957 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 4th / 88th pick / 1979 |
| Rob Rubick | 23 | TE | 16 | 1 | 232 | 6-3 | Grand Valley State | 9/27/1960 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 12th / 326th pick / 1982 |
| Freddie Scott | 31 | WR | 15 | 0 | 180 | 6-2 | Amherst | 8/5/1952 | 9 | Baltimore Colts / 7th / 174th pick / 1974 |
| Billy Sims | 28 | RB | 13 | 12 | 212 | 6-0 | Oklahoma | 9/18/1955 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980 |
| Rich Strenger | 23 | T | 16 | 4 | 280 | 6-7 | Michigan | 3/10/1960 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 40th pick / 1983 |
| Leonard Thompson | 31 | WR-HB | 13 | 12 | 192 | 5-11 | Oklahoma State | 7/28/1952 | 8 | Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975 |
| Vince Thompson | 26 | RB | 10 | 2 | 230 | 6-0 | Villanova | 2/21/1957 | 2 | |
| Tom Turnure | 26 | C-G | 16 | 0 | 250 | 6-4 | Washington | 7/9/1957 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 57th pick / 1980 |
| Danny Wagoner | 24 | DB | 14 | 0 | 180 | 5-10 | Kansas | 12/12/1959 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 9th / 231st pick / 1982 |
| Bobby Watkins | 23 | DB | 16 | 16 | 184 | 5-10 | Texas State | 5/31/1960 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1982 |
| Jimmy Williams | 23 | LB | 16 | 16 | 228 | 6-3 | Nebraska | 11/15/1960 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 1st / 15th pick / 1982 |
| Team Total | 25.8 | 16 | 220.3 | 6-1.5 | 3.0 |