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1981 Houston Oilers
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Record: 7-9-0, Finished 3rd in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 281 points (17.6/g), 23rd of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 355 points (22.2/g), 18th.
Differential of -74 points (-4.6/g), 24th.
Expected W-L: 5.8-10.2.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -13 (-0.8/g), 22nd.
Coached by Ed Biles (7-9-0)
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1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Ken Stabler | 36 | 11 | 12 | 165 for 285, 1,988 yards, 14 td, 18 int, & 10 rushes for -3 yards and 0 td | Oakland Raiders / 2nd / 52nd pick / 1968 |
| RB | Earl Campbell* | 26 | 3 | 16 | 361 rushes for 1,376 yards, 10 td, & 36 catches for 156 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| FB | Tim Wilson | 27 | 4 | 9 | 13 rushes for 35 yards, 0 td, & 5 catches for 33 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| WR | Ken Burrough | 33 | 11 | 16 | 40 catches for 668 yards, 7 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| WR | Mike Renfro | 26 | 3 | 12 | 39 catches for 451 yards, 1 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 98th pick / 1978 |
| TE | Dave Casper | 30 | 7 | 10 | 33 catches for 572 yards, 8 td | Oakland Raiders / 2nd / 45th pick / 1974 |
| TE | Mike Barber | 28 | 5 | 6 | 13 catches for 190 yards, 1 td | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| LT | Leon Gray* | 30 | 8 | 16 | Miami Dolphins / 3rd / 78th pick / 1973 |
|
| LG | John Schuhmacher | 26 | 3 | 15 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 12th / 322nd pick / 1978 |
| C | David Carter | 28 | 4 | 13 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 6th / 165th pick / 1977 |
| RG | Ed Fisher | 32 | 7 | 16 | ||
| RT | Morris Towns | 27 | 4 | 16 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 11th pick / 1977 |
|
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Andy Dorris | 30 | 8 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 93rd pick / 1973 |
| NT | Ken Kennard | 27 | 4 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| RDE | Elvin Bethea | 35 | 13 | 14 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
|
| LOLB | Ted Washington | 33 | 8 | 16 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
| LILB | Gregg Bingham | 30 | 8 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| RILB | Daryl Hunt | 25 | 2 | 13 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 143rd pick / 1979 |
|
| ROLB | Robert Brazile* | 28 | 6 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| LCB | J.C. Wilson | 25 | 3 | 14 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 8th / 210th pick / 1978 |
| RCB | Greg Stemrick | 30 | 6 | 15 | 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| SS | Vernon Perry | 28 | 2 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| FS | Mike Reinfeldt | 28 | 5 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Toni Fritsch | 36 | 10 | 0 | 15 of 22 field goals & 32 of 34 extra points | |
| P | Cliff Parsley | 27 | 4 | 0 | 79 punts for a 39.7 average, 0 blocked | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| PR | Carl Roaches* | 28 | 1 | 0 | 39 punt returns for a 7.6 average and 0 td | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 14th / 377th pick / 1976 |
| KR | Willie Tullis | 23 | Rook | 0 | 32 kick returns for a 24.3 average and 1 td | Houston Oilers / 8th / 217th pick / 1981 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Adger Armstrong | 24 | RB | 16 | 2 | 213 | 6-0 | Texas A&M | 6/21/1957 | 1 | |
| 11 | Harold Bailey | 24 | WR | 11 | 0 | 195 | 6-2 | Oklahoma State | 4/12/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 8th / 217th pick / 1980 |
| 75 | Jesse Baker | 24 | DE | 16 | 2 | 269 | 6-5 | Jacksonville State | 7/10/1957 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 50th pick / 1979 |
| 86 | Mike Barber | 28 | TE | 16 | 6 | 235 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 6/4/1953 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| 65 | Elvin Bethea | 35 | DE | 15 | 14 | 260 | 6-2 | North Carolina A&T | 3/1/1946 | 13 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| 54 | Gregg Bingham | 30 | LB | 16 | 16 | 227 | 6-1 | Purdue | 3/13/1951 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| 52 | Robert Brazile* | 28 | LB | 16 | 16 | 241 | 6-4 | Jackson State | 2/7/1953 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| 88 | Billy Brooks | 28 | WR | 3 | 0 | 204 | 6-3 | Oklahoma | 8/20/1953 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 11th pick / 1976 |
| 00 | Ken Burrough | 33 | WR | 16 | 16 | 215 | 6-3 | Texas Southern | 7/14/1948 | 11 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| 34 | Earl Campbell* | 26 | RB | 16 | 16 | 232 | 5-11 | Texas | 3/29/1955 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| 26 | Rob Carpenter | 26 | RB | 4 | 4 | 224 | 6-1 | Miami (OH) | 4/20/1955 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 84th pick / 1977 |
| 58 | David Carter | 28 | C-G | 16 | 13 | 250 | 6-2 | Western Kentucky | 11/27/1953 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 165th pick / 1977 |
| 87 | Dave Casper | 30 | TE | 16 | 10 | 240 | 6-4 | Notre Dame | 9/26/1951 | 7 | Oakland Raiders / 2nd / 45th pick / 1974 |
| 47 | Ronnie Coleman | 30 | RB | 16 | 0 | 195 | 5-10 | Alabama A&M | 7/9/1951 | 7 | |
| 57 | John Corker | 23 | LB | 11 | 0 | 240 | 6-5 | Oklahoma State | 12/29/1958 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 134th pick / 1980 |
| 66 | Greg Davidson | 23 | C | 16 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | North Texas | 4/24/1958 | 1 | |
| 69 | Andy Dorris | 30 | DE | 15 | 15 | 238 | 6-4 | New Mexico State | 8/11/1951 | 8 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 93rd pick / 1973 |
| 78 | Nick Eyre | 22 | T | 6 | 0 | 276 | 6-5 | BYU | 6/16/1959 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 4th / 106th pick / 1981 |
| 77 | Angelo Fields | 24 | T | 14 | 0 | 321 | 6-6 | Michigan State | 9/15/1957 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 38th pick / 1980 |
| 60 | Ed Fisher | 32 | G-C-DE | 16 | 16 | 249 | 6-3 | Arizona State | 5/31/1949 | 7 | |
| 16 | Toni Fritsch | 36 | K | 16 | 0 | 190 | 5-7 | none | 7/10/1945 | 10 | |
| 74 | Leon Gray* | 30 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 256 | 6-3 | Jackson State | 11/15/1951 | 8 | Miami Dolphins / 3rd / 78th pick / 1973 |
| 36 | Carter Hartwig | 25 | DB | 16 | 1 | 205 | 6-0 | USC | 2/27/1956 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 8th / 214th pick / 1979 |
| 84 | Mike Holston | 23 | WR | 16 | 4 | 189 | 6-3 | Morgan State | 1/8/1958 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 79th pick / 1981 |
| 50 | Daryl Hunt | 25 | LB | 16 | 13 | 229 | 6-3 | Oklahoma | 11/3/1956 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 143rd pick / 1979 |
| 22 | Bill Kay | 21 | DB | 16 | 2 | 190 | 6-1 | Purdue | 1/10/1960 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 6th / 159th pick / 1981 |
| 71 | Ken Kennard | 27 | NT-DE | 16 | 16 | 248 | 6-2 | Angelo State (TX) | 10/4/1954 | 4 | |
| 55 | Carl Mauck | 34 | C | 14 | 4 | 243 | 6-4 | Southern Illinois | 7/7/1947 | 12 | Baltimore Colts / 13th / 337th pick / 1969 |
| 14 | Gifford Nielsen | 27 | QB | 5 | 2 | 205 | 6-4 | BYU | 10/25/1954 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1978 |
| 18 | Cliff Parsley | 27 | P | 16 | 0 | 211 | 6-1 | Oklahoma State | 12/26/1954 | 4 | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| 32 | Vernon Perry | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 211 | 6-2 | Jackson State | 9/22/1953 | 2 | |
| 8 | John Reaves | 31 | QB | 5 | 2 | 210 | 6-3 | Florida | 3/2/1950 | 9 | Philadelphia Eagles / 1st / 14th pick / 1972 |
| 37 | Mike Reinfeldt | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 192 | 6-2 | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 5/6/1953 | 5 | |
| 82 | Mike Renfro | 26 | WR | 12 | 12 | 184 | 6-0 | TCU | 6/19/1955 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 98th pick / 1978 |
| 53 | Avon Riley | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 230 | 6-3 | UCLA | 2/10/1958 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 9th / 243rd pick / 1981 |
| 85 | Carl Roaches* | 28 | WR | 16 | 0 | 168 | 5-8 | Texas A&M | 10/2/1953 | 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 14th / 377th pick / 1976 |
| 62 | John Schuhmacher | 26 | G-T | 16 | 15 | 271 | 6-3 | USC | 9/23/1955 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 12th / 322nd pick / 1978 |
| 90 | Daryle Skaugstad | 24 | NT | 16 | 0 | 254 | 6-5 | California | 4/8/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 52nd pick / 1980 |
| 83 | Tim Smith | 24 | WR | 4 | 1 | 201 | 6-2 | Nebraska | 3/20/1957 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 79th pick / 1980 |
| 12 | Ken Stabler | 36 | QB | 13 | 12 | 215 | 6-3 | Alabama | 12/25/1945 | 11 | Oakland Raiders / 2nd / 52nd pick / 1968 |
| 27 | Greg Stemrick | 30 | DB | 16 | 15 | 185 | 5-11 | Colorado State | 10/25/1951 | 6 | |
| 67 | Mike Stensrud | 25 | NT-DE-DT | 16 | 1 | 280 | 6-5 | Iowa State | 2/19/1956 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1979 |
| 56 | Art Stringer | 27 | LB | 5 | 1 | 223 | 6-1 | Ball State | 1/30/1954 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 256th pick / 1976 |
| 28 | Rich Thomaselli | 24 | RB | 12 | 0 | 199 | 6-1 | West Virginia Wesleyan | 2/26/1957 | Rook | |
| 51 | Ted Thompson | 28 | LB | 16 | 1 | 220 | 6-1 | SMU | 1/17/1953 | 6 | |
| 76 | Morris Towns | 27 | T | 16 | 16 | 270 | 6-4 | Missouri | 1/10/1954 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 11th pick / 1977 |
| 20 | Willie Tullis | 23 | DB | 16 | 0 | 193 | 6-0 | Southern Miss,Troy State | 4/5/1958 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 8th / 217th pick / 1981 |
| 59 | Ted Washington | 33 | LB | 16 | 16 | 244 | 6-1 | Miss. Valley State | 2/16/1948 | 8 | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
| 33 | J.C. Wilson | 25 | DB | 16 | 14 | 178 | 6-0 | Pittsburgh,Tampa | 3/11/1956 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 8th / 210th pick / 1978 |
| 45 | Tim Wilson | 27 | FB | 16 | 9 | 226 | 6-3 | Maryland | 1/14/1954 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| Team Total | 27.3 | 16 | 225.9 | 6-2.0 | 4.2 |