1980 Los Angeles Rams season

1980 Los Angeles Rams season
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
General manager	Don Klosterman
Head coach	Ray Malavasi
Home field	Anaheim Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Cowboys) 13–34

The Rams playing against the New Orleans Saints at Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League (NFL), the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from their 9–7 Super Bowl season from the previous year with an 11–5 record. They made the playoffs for the 8th straight season. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous season, the Rams had high hopes of winning the championship for the first time. After a slow start to the season, the Rams caught fire and won five games in a row to sit at 5–2. In week 15, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. In a highly anticipated matchup, the Rams wound up crushing the Cowboys 38–14. This win clinched a playoff berth for the Rams for the 8th straight season, still a team record. However, they couldn't beat Dallas when it mattered, losing at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card game 34–13. Because the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Rams were the only team from 1973 to this year that never missed the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1980 NFL Draft

1980 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Johnnie Johnson	Safety	Texas
2	50	Irv Pankey	Tackle	Penn State
3	58	Jewerl Thomas	Running back	San Jose State
3	70	LeRoy Irvin	Cornerback	Kansas
3	82	Phil Murphy	Defensive tackle	South Carolina State
6	154	Mike Guman	Running back	Penn State
7	176	Kirk Collins	Defensive back	Baylor	Made roster in 1981
7	192	Gerry Ellis	Running back	Missouri
8	220	Tom Pettigrew	Tackle	Eastern Illinois
9	248	George Farmer	Wide receiver	Southern	Made roster in 1982
10	276	Bob Gruber	Tackle	Pittsburgh
11	304	Terry Greer	Wide receiver	Alabama State
12	332	Kevin Scanlon	Quarterback	Arkansas
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1980 Los Angeles Rams staff

Front office Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Executive Vice President/General Manager – Don Klosterman Vice President of Special Projects - James D. Dooley Assistant General Manager – Jack Faulkner Director of Player Personnel – John Math Head coaches Head Coach – Ray Malavasi Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor Quarterbacks – Paul Lanham Running Backs – Hewritt Dixon Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Linebackers – Frank Lauterbur Special teams coaches Special Teams – Herb Paterra Strength and conditioning Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

1980 Los Angeles Rams roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Vince Ferragamo 11 Pat Haden 19 Bob Lee Running backs (RB) 32 Cullen Bryant 44 Mike Guman 22 Lydell Mitchell 33 Jewerl Thomas 26 Wendell Tyler Wide receivers (WR) 88 Preston Dennard 85 Drew Hill 82 Willie Miller 86 Jeff Moore 80 Billy Waddy Tight ends (TE) 84 Walt Arnold 81 Victor Hicks 83 Terry Nelson

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Bill Bain G 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 72 Kent Hill G 75 Irv Pankey T 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater T Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Larry Brooks DT 71 Reggie Doss DE 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning DT 76 Cody Jones DT 95 Phil Murphy DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 George Andrews 55 Carl Ekern 51 Joe Harris MLB 64 Jack Reynolds MLB 53 Jim Youngblood Defensive backs (DB) 21 Nolan Cromwell FS 41 Jeff Delaney 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 20 Johnnie Johnson 49 Rod Perry CB 23 Lucious Smith CB 37 Ivory Sully CB 27 Pat Thomas CB Special teams  3 Frank Corral K/P

Reserve 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB (IR) 42 Kirk Collins DB (IR) 84 George Farmer WR (IR) —- Bob Gruber DT (IR) 24 Eddie Hill RB (IR) 54 Ed McGlasson C (IR) 34 Elvis Peacock RB (IR) -- Tom Pettigrew T (IR)  8 Jeff Rutledge QB (IR) 56 Doug Smith C (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Detroit Lions	L 20–41	0–1	Anaheim Stadium	64,892
2	September 11	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 9–10	0–2	Tampa Stadium	66,576
3	September 21	Green Bay Packers	W 51–21	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	63,850
4	September 28	at New York Giants	W 28–7	2–2	Giants Stadium	73,414
5	October 5	San Francisco 49ers	W 48–26	3–2	Anaheim Stadium	62,188
6	October 12	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 21–13	4–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,230
7	October 19	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–17	5–2	Candlestick Park	55,360
8	October 26	at Atlanta Falcons	L 10–13	5–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	57,401
9	November 2	New Orleans Saints	W 45–31	6–3	Anaheim Stadium	59,909
10	November 9	Miami Dolphins	L 14–35	6–4	Anaheim Stadium	62,198
11	November 16	at New England Patriots	W 17–14	7–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,609
12	November 24	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–7	8–4	Louisiana Superdome	53,448
13	November 30	New York Jets	W 38–13	9–4	Anaheim Stadium	59,743
14	December 7	at Buffalo Bills	L 7–10 (OT)	9–5	Rich Stadium	77,133
15	December 15	Dallas Cowboys	W 38–14	10–5	Anaheim Stadium	65,154
16	December 21	Atlanta Falcons	W 20–17 (OT)	11–5	Anaheim Stadium	62,469
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Lions

See also: 1980 Detroit Lions season

Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	10	7	10	14	41
Rams	6	14	0	0	20

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear; 66 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 64,892
• TV: CBS
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter LA – Drew Hill 98-yard kickoff return (kick failed). Rams 6–0. DET – Eddie Murray 52-yard field goal. Rams 6–3. Drive: DET – Billy Sims 10-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 10–6. Drive: Second quarter LA – Cullen Bryant 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 13–10. Drive: LA – Elvis Peacock 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 20–10. Drive: DET – Billy Sims 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Rams 20–17. Drive: Third quarter DET – Eddie Murray 38-yard field goal. Tie 20–20. Drive: DET – Dexter Bussey 15-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 27–20. Drive: Fourth quarter DET – Billy Sims 41-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 34–20. Drive: DET – Horace King 4-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 41–20. Drive: Top passers DET – Gary Danielson – 10/19, 179 yards LA – Pat Haden – 13/24, 133 yards, 3 INT Top rushers DET – Billy Sims – 22 rushes, 153 yards, 3 TD LA – Elvis Peacock – 15 rushes, 67 yards, TD Top receivers DET – Billy Sims – 2 receptions, 64 yards LA – Preston Dennard – 4 receptions, 63 yards

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 28	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–34	0–1	Texas Stadium	64,533

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Atlanta Falcons(1)	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	405	272	L1
Los Angeles Rams(5)	11	5	0	.688	5–1	9–3	424	289	W2
San Francisco 49ers	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	320	415	L2
New Orleans Saints	1	15	0	.063	0–6	0–12	291	487	L1

See also

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1980

• 1980 California Angels season

References

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External links

• 1980 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com
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