You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > Teams > New York Giants > 1981 Starters, Roster, & Players
1981 New York Giants
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
Record: 9-7-0, Finished 3rd in NFC East Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 295 points (18.4/g), 22nd of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 257 points (16.1/g), 3rd.
Differential of 38 points (2.4/g), 13th.
Expected W-L: 9.3-6.7.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -2 (-0.1/g), 16th.
Coached by Ray Perkins (9-7-0)
Sponsor this page for $10 per year and help Pro-Football-Reference.com provide this service.
1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Phil Simms | 27 | 2 | 10 | 172 for 316, 2,031 yards, 11 td, 9 int, & 19 rushes for 42 yards and 0 td | New York Giants / 1st / 7th pick / 1979 |
| QB | Scott Brunner | 24 | 1 | 6 | 79 for 190, 978 yards, 5 td, 11 int, & 14 rushes for 20 yards and 0 td | New York Giants / 6th / 145th pick / 1980 |
| RB | Leon Perry | 24 | 1 | 8 | 72 rushes for 257 yards, 0 td, & 13 catches for 140 yards and 1 td | |
| FB | Rob Carpenter | 26 | 4 | 8 | 190 rushes for 748 yards, 5 td, & 24 catches for 201 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 84th pick / 1977 |
| WR | Mike Friede | 24 | 1 | 15 | 18 catches for 250 yards, 1 td | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1980 |
| WR | Johnny Perkins | 28 | 4 | 14 | 51 catches for 858 yards, 6 td, & 2 rushes for -1 yards and 0 td | New York Giants / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1977 |
| TE | Gary Shirk | 31 | 5 | 14 | 42 catches for 445 yards, 3 td | |
| LT | Brad Benson | 26 | 3 | 10 | New England Patriots / 8th / 219th pick / 1977 |
|
| LT | Jeff Weston | 25 | 2 | 5 | Miami Dolphins / 9th / 244th pick / 1979 |
|
| LG | Roy Simmons | 25 | 2 | 10 | 2 fumbles recovered | New York Giants / 8th / 201st pick / 1979 |
| LG | Billy Ard | 22 | Rook | 6 | 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 8th / 221st pick / 1981 |
| C | Ernie Hughes | 26 | 3 | 10 | 2 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 79th pick / 1978 |
| C | Jim Clack | 34 | 10 | 6 | ||
| RG | J.T. Turner | 28 | 4 | 16 | ||
| RT | Gordon King | 25 | 3 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 1st / 10th pick / 1978 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Curtis McGriff | 23 | 1 | 14 | ||
| LDE | George Martin | 28 | 6 | 6 | 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | New York Giants / 11th / 262nd pick / 1975 |
| NT | Bill Neill | 22 | Rook | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 5th / 115th pick / 1981 |
| RDE | Gary Jeter | 26 | 4 | 11 | New York Giants / 1st / 5th pick / 1977 |
|
| LOLB | Brad Van Pelt | 30 | 8 | 13 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | New York Giants / 2nd / 40th pick / 1973 |
| LILB | Brian Kelley | 30 | 8 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | New York Giants / 14th / 353rd pick / 1973 |
| RILB | Harry Carson* | 28 | 5 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 4th / 105th pick / 1976 |
| ROLB | Lawrence Taylor*+ | 22 | Rook | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 1st / 2nd pick / 1981 |
| LCB | Mark Haynes | 23 | 1 | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 1st / 8th pick / 1980 |
| RCB | Terry Jackson | 26 | 3 | 16 | 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New York Giants / 5th / 120th pick / 1978 |
| SS | Bill Currier | 26 | 4 | 14 | 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 9th / 232nd pick / 1977 |
| FS | Beasley Reece | 27 | 5 | 16 | 4 interceptions, 5 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 264th pick / 1976 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Joe Danelo | 28 | 6 | 0 | 24 of 38 field goals & 31 of 31 extra points | Miami Dolphins / 10th / 257th pick / 1975 |
| P | Dave Jennings | 29 | 7 | 0 | 97 punts for a 43.3 average, 0 blocked | |
| PR | Leon Bright | 26 | Rook | 1 | 52 punt returns for a 7.9 average and 0 td | |
| KR | Leon Bright | 26 | Rook | 1 | 25 kick returns for a 19.2 average and 0 td |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Ard | 22 | G | 13 | 6 | 265 | 6-3 | Wake Forest | 3/12/1959 | Rook | New York Giants / 8th / 221st pick / 1981 |
| Carl Barisich | 30 | DT-NT | 2 | 0 | 258 | 6-4 | Princeton | 7/12/1951 | 8 | Cleveland Browns / 11th / 281st pick / 1973 |
| Brad Benson | 26 | T-G-C | 11 | 10 | 262 | 6-3 | Penn State | 11/25/1955 | 3 | New England Patriots / 8th / 219th pick / 1977 |
| Leon Bright | 26 | RB | 15 | 1 | 192 | 5-9 | Florida State | 5/19/1955 | Rook | |
| Scott Brunner | 24 | QB | 16 | 6 | 206 | 6-5 | Delaware | 3/24/1957 | 1 | New York Giants / 6th / 145th pick / 1980 |
| Jim Burt | 22 | NT-DT | 13 | 0 | 260 | 6-1 | Miami (FL) | 6/7/1959 | Rook | |
| Rob Carpenter | 26 | RB | 10 | 8 | 224 | 6-1 | Miami (OH) | 4/20/1955 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 84th pick / 1977 |
| Harry Carson* | 28 | LB | 16 | 16 | 237 | 6-2 | South Carolina State | 11/26/1953 | 5 | New York Giants / 4th / 105th pick / 1976 |
| Jim Clack | 34 | C-G | 6 | 6 | 250 | 6-3 | Wake Forest | 10/26/1947 | 10 | |
| Bill Currier | 26 | DB | 16 | 14 | 196 | 6-0 | South Carolina | 1/5/1955 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 232nd pick / 1977 |
| Joe Danelo | 28 | K | 16 | 0 | 166 | 5-9 | Washington State | 9/2/1953 | 6 | Miami Dolphins / 10th / 257th pick / 1975 |
| Mike Dennis | 23 | DB | 16 | 0 | 190 | 5-10 | Wyoming | 6/6/1958 | 1 | |
| Larry Flowers | 23 | DB | 16 | 2 | 190 | 6-1 | Texas Tech | 4/19/1958 | Rook | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 4th / 102nd pick / 1980 |
| Ike Forte | 27 | RB | 5 | 3 | 203 | 6-0 | Arkansas | 3/8/1954 | 5 | New England Patriots / 2nd / 35th pick / 1976 |
| Mike Friede | 24 | WR | 16 | 15 | 205 | 6-3 | Indiana | 9/22/1957 | 1 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1980 |
| Alvin Garrett | 25 | WR-RB | 9 | 0 | 178 | 5-7 | Angelo State (TX) | 10/1/1956 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 9th / 237th pick / 1979 |
| Earnest Gray | 24 | WR | 16 | 3 | 195 | 6-3 | Memphis | 3/2/1957 | 2 | New York Giants / 2nd / 36th pick / 1979 |
| Mark Haynes | 23 | DB | 16 | 16 | 194 | 5-11 | Colorado | 11/6/1958 | 1 | New York Giants / 1st / 8th pick / 1980 |
| Ernie Hughes | 26 | C-G | 10 | 10 | 259 | 6-3 | Notre Dame | 1/24/1955 | 3 | San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 79th pick / 1978 |
| Byron Hunt | 23 | LB | 16 | 3 | 238 | 6-5 | SMU | 12/17/1958 | Rook | New York Giants / 9th / 224th pick / 1981 |
| Louis Jackson | 23 | RB | 11 | 3 | 195 | 5-11 | Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | 1/27/1958 | Rook | New York Giants / 7th / 168th pick / 1981 |
| Terry Jackson | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 197 | 5-10 | San Diego State | 12/9/1955 | 3 | New York Giants / 5th / 120th pick / 1978 |
| Dave Jennings | 29 | P | 16 | 0 | 203 | 6-4 | St. Lawrence | 6/8/1952 | 7 | |
| Gary Jeter | 26 | DE-DT | 12 | 11 | 259 | 6-4 | USC | 1/24/1955 | 4 | New York Giants / 1st / 5th pick / 1977 |
| Brian Kelley | 30 | LB | 16 | 16 | 230 | 6-3 | California Lutheran | 9/1/1951 | 8 | New York Giants / 14th / 353rd pick / 1973 |
| Gordon King | 25 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 275 | 6-6 | Stanford | 2/3/1956 | 3 | New York Giants / 1st / 10th pick / 1978 |
| Doug Kotar | 30 | RB | 7 | 4 | 205 | 5-11 | Kentucky | 6/11/1951 | 7 | |
| Frank Marion | 30 | LB | 16 | 0 | 227 | 6-3 | Florida A&M | 3/16/1951 | 4 | |
| George Martin | 28 | DE | 16 | 6 | 245 | 6-4 | Oregon | 2/16/1953 | 6 | New York Giants / 11th / 262nd pick / 1975 |
| Bo Matthews | 30 | RB | 5 | 1 | 230 | 6-4 | Colorado | 11/15/1951 | 7 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1974 |
| Ed McGlasson | 25 | C | 16 | 0 | 248 | 6-4 | Maryland,Youngstown State | 7/11/1956 | 2 | New York Jets / 10th / 263rd pick / 1979 |
| Curtis McGriff | 23 | DE-NT | 14 | 14 | 270 | 6-5 | Alabama | 5/17/1958 | 1 | |
| Joe McLaughlin | 24 | LB | 16 | 0 | 235 | 6-1 | Massachusetts | 7/1/1957 | 2 | |
| John Mistler | 23 | WR | 16 | 0 | 186 | 6-2 | Arizona State | 10/28/1958 | Rook | New York Giants / 3rd / 59th pick / 1981 |
| Tom Mullady | 24 | TE-WR | 16 | 3 | 232 | 6-3 | Rhodes | 1/30/1957 | 2 | Buffalo Bills / 7th / 170th pick / 1979 |
| Bill Neill | 22 | NT | 16 | 16 | 258 | 6-4 | Pittsburgh | 3/15/1959 | Rook | New York Giants / 5th / 115th pick / 1981 |
| Johnny Perkins | 28 | WR | 16 | 14 | 205 | 6-2 | Abilene Christian | 4/21/1953 | 4 | New York Giants / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1977 |
| Leon Perry | 24 | RB | 16 | 8 | 224 | 5-11 | Mississippi | 8/14/1957 | 1 | |
| Danny Pittman | 23 | WR | 8 | 0 | 205 | 6-2 | Wyoming | 4/3/1958 | 1 | New York Giants / 4th / 90th pick / 1980 |
| Beasley Reece | 27 | DB | 16 | 16 | 193 | 6-1 | North Texas | 3/18/1954 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 264th pick / 1976 |
| Gary Shirk | 31 | TE | 16 | 14 | 220 | 6-1 | Morehead State | 2/23/1950 | 5 | |
| Roy Simmons | 25 | G | 16 | 10 | 264 | 6-3 | Georgia Tech | 11/8/1956 | 2 | New York Giants / 8th / 201st pick / 1979 |
| Phil Simms | 27 | QB | 10 | 10 | 216 | 6-3 | Morehead State | 11/3/1954 | 2 | New York Giants / 1st / 7th pick / 1979 |
| Tim Stokes | 31 | T | 3 | 1 | 252 | 6-5 | Oregon | 3/16/1950 | 7 | Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 60th pick / 1973 |
| Phil Tabor | 25 | DE-NT-DT | 16 | 1 | 255 | 6-4 | Oklahoma | 11/30/1956 | 2 | New York Giants / 4th / 90th pick / 1979 |
| Billy Taylor | 25 | RB | 5 | 3 | 215 | 6-0 | Texas Tech | 7/6/1956 | 3 | New York Giants / 4th / 90th pick / 1978 |
| Lawrence Taylor*+ | 22 | LB | 16 | 16 | 237 | 6-3 | North Carolina | 2/4/1959 | Rook | New York Giants / 1st / 2nd pick / 1981 |
| J.T. Turner | 28 | G | 16 | 16 | 253 | 6-3 | Duke | 4/17/1953 | 4 | |
| Brad Van Pelt | 30 | LB | 14 | 13 | 235 | 6-5 | Michigan State | 4/5/1951 | 8 | New York Giants / 2nd / 40th pick / 1973 |
| Jeff Weston | 25 | T-DT | 14 | 5 | 259 | 6-5 | Notre Dame | 4/10/1956 | 2 | Miami Dolphins / 9th / 244th pick / 1979 |
| Mike Whittington | 23 | LB | 6 | 0 | 220 | 6-2 | Notre Dame | 8/9/1958 | 1 | |
| Dave Young | 22 | TE | 11 | 0 | 242 | 6-5 | Purdue | 2/9/1959 | Rook | New York Giants / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1981 |
| Team Total | 25.8 | 16 | 227.0 | 6-2.1 | 3.0 |