1981 Los Angeles Rams season
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
General managerDon Klosterman
Head coachRay Malavasi
Home fieldAnaheim Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1981 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 44th year with the National Football League (NFL) and the 36th season in Los Angeles. The Rams looked to improve on their 11-5 record from 1980. The team failed to improve upon their 11-5 record, and finished with a mediocre 6-10 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1972.

This year's Rams squad also suffered the humiliation of being the first to be swept by NFC West rival New Orleans.

For the season, the Rams converted from gray facemasks to blue facemasks.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1981 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 9 Mel Owens  Linebacker Michigan
2 43 Jim Collins  Linebacker Syracuse
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jeff Kemp Quarterback Dartmouth

The Rams were touted as a possible Super Bowl contender prior to this season. However, Vince Ferragamo, who had previously led the Rams to Super Bowl XIV and set a Rams record the previous season with 30 touchdown passes, decided to bolt for the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. Pat Haden was named the starter, but with most of the offensive weapons that Ferragamo had, notably WR's Preston Dennard and Billy Waddy. Also, the Rams would benefit from the return of running back Wendell Tyler, who had missed most of the previous season with a hip injury from an automobile accident.

Personnel

Staff

1981 Los Angeles Rams staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

1981 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 Houston Oilers L 20–27 0–1 Anaheim Stadium 63,198
2 September 13 at New Orleans Saints L 17–23 0–2 Louisiana Superdome 62,063
3 September 20 Green Bay Packers W 35–23 1–2 Anaheim Stadium 61,286
4 September 28 at Chicago Bears W 24–7 2–2 Soldier Field 62,461
5 October 4 Cleveland Browns W 27–16 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 63,924
6 October 11 at Atlanta Falcons W 37–35 4–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,841
7 October 18 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–29 4–3 Texas Stadium 64,649
8 October 25 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–20 4–4 Candlestick Park 59,190
9 November 1 Detroit Lions W 20–13 5–4 Anaheim Stadium 61,814
10 November 8 New Orleans Saints L 13–21 5–5 Anaheim Stadium 61,068
11 November 15 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–24 5–6 Riverfront Stadium 56,836
12 November 22 San Francisco 49ers L 31–33 5–7 Anaheim Stadium 63,456
13 November 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–24 5–8 Three Rivers Stadium 51,854
14 December 6 at New York Giants L 7–10 5–9 Giants Stadium 59,659
15 December 14 Atlanta Falcons W 21–16 6–9 Anaheim Stadium 57,054
16 December 20 Washington Redskins L 7–30 6–10 Anaheim Stadium 52,224
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers(1) 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10-2 357 250 W5
Atlanta Falcons 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 426 355 L3
Los Angeles Rams 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 303 351 L1
New Orleans Saints 4 12 0 .250 2–4 2–10 207 378 L4

See also

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1981

References

  1. ↑ "1981 Los Angeles Rams draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.


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