1980-1989 | Down But Not Out

[@johnholt890]

Oct 17th 1983 I watched highlights the next Sunday on UK Channel 4 and that made me a Packers fan. I knew nothing about their storied history I just loved the incredible shootout game beating the Super Bowl Champions and the atmosphere of the crowd. One of the better decisions in my life. I really hope to pilgrimage to Lambeau one day soon.

[@TheMickey1892]

Save up your money and go. It’s worth it! I’ve been several times and actually just last week w my nephew and his boys to see them beat the Rams. Always a great experience (better when they win of course!). Go Pack Go!

[@ericthompson749]

What's not mentioned is that Lynn Dickey became the first Packer to throw for 4,000 yards in a season when he threw for 4,458 yards in 1983 (which led the NFL that year and stood as the team record until 2011). Still ranks second all time in Packers' history for passing yards in a season. Dickey also led the NFL with 32 touchdown passes that year as well.

[@MyKetoRecovery]

Bob Harlan doesn’t get the credit he rightly deserves. Many of his decisions made the Packers the crown jewel of the NFL again. Him toiling with the Packers he understood what the Packers could become. He is the biggest reason the franchise had a huge turnaround.

[@chrisconsorte7893]

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

[@blahblah5603]

TRUE THAT HEY!!

[@jpmnky]

The 1981, 1983, and 1989 NFL Drafts were loaded. Historically loaded. And GB blew it each and every time. It’s mind boggling in hindsight looking how badly they’d blown it every year in the draft. And the trades are a whole other matter. Crazy.

[@shoked99]

Love this series, learned so much about team history.

[@johngunderson6168]

I remember that Washington game. Stayed up with my dad to watch it.

[@DanStrayer]

Man: 9 years. Bart had plenty of time.

[@mikesandoval1052]

Lol that’s wild man

[@TheNBAfan101]

I do think Bart was a helluva coach. The problem was he was a terrible drafter and deal maker. But it doesn’t change the fact that he was an amazing person and player.

[@porterwake3898]

100% that was the issue with Starr and with Sherman in the 2000s.

[@lakebay972]

At 29:37, you'll noticed #66 Lawrence Pfohl who later became wrestling legend "The Total Package" Lex Luger. This picture was taken circa 1982. Pfohl never played a down for the Packers due being on Injured Reserve nor is he on the Packers All-Time Roster. Also, #66 was retired in 1983 honoring Ray Nitschke who wore it from 1958 to 1972.

[@chrisconsorte7893]

That’s Lex Luger alright. He’s paraplegic now.!!

[@user-zx8de8op9l]

I was at County stadium on October 26, 1986 when they lost to the 49'er's 17-31, my dad an I went as part of a group from our park district. Our seat were right in front of the player, may be 5 row from the field.

[@michaellong3836]

I was in junior high when Bart got fired. I remember reading articles in SI that stated that the majority of Green Bay fans wanted Starr gone. They even had bumper stickers that read, "Bye-Bye Bart!"

[@russellst.martin4255]

Surprised they didn't mention Majkowski was MVP runner up in 89.

[@jab1289]

Lloyd Eaton, their West Coast Scout, told Bob Harlan that it was a mistake (and that he couldn't play). Harlan asked him why he didn't say anything, and Eaton said that they didn't listen to him, anyway (they also had a scout throw a fit over Montana two years earlier, and Starr ignored him).

[@kylehehl808]

In '89, I became a fan. But it was only seventeen, not twenty seven years since their last great season

[@Lawomenshoops]

1980’s First Round Picks 1980 Bruce Clark. signed CFL. Came back and traded to Saints for 1983 1st rounder., used to select Tim Lewis 1981 Rich Campbell 1982 Ron Hallstrom. Part of the Jin Jefferson trade, Packers and SD swapped 1st rounders. SD traded pick to Saints who took Lindsay Scott with the Packers original pick. 1983. Packers picked traded to SD- they took Gary Anderson . Packers took Tim Lewis from the Bruce Clark trade. 1984 Alfonso Carrecker. 1985 Ken Ruettgers 1986 traded to SD for Mossy Cade. Terrible deal. Gerald Robinson picked with the Packers pick. 1987 Brett Fullwood 1988 Sterling Sharpe 1989 Tony Mandrich

[@joebeverstein6758]

ouch! that is worse than I realized.

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

The Packers of the 80s were better then the 70s and if they had a Defense in the 80s with their Great Offense they could’ve been a Dynasty and Loved the Replay Game Against the Bears in 1989

[@porterwake3898]

Dickey was awesome!!

[@Brian-dh9lp]

I was there. That play happened rifht in front of me. My favorite game I attended in my life.

[@mikesandoval1052]

Dude they traded away 8 first and second rd picks ??? That’s a prime example of why we do need an owner . Just ridiculous.

[@lakebay972]

At 13:19, the Cardinals players were pelting snow at the fans?! Today's NFL, they would've been fined and suspended if not banned from the league. However, Green Bay had the last laugh whooping their butts in the season opener.

[@DNSKansas]

That was the 1984 season opener. In the 1983 opener, the Packers nearly blew a 21-point lead in Houston, winning in overtime.

[@redmustangredmustang]

The thing is the Bears from 84 to 91 had that run making the playoffs except in 89. The Bears were just a better team and the Packers weren't. There were some games they pulled out in 84 and that Butler kick in 87, but other than that, the Bears were just a better team. They had that one Super Bowl, but couldn't sustain that effort like the 49ers did with their players and had a better head coach in Bill Walsh and especially QB in Joe Montana. The Vikings made a run in the late 80's, but ran into roadblocks with the Redskins and 49ers. Again the Packers just couldn't draft well to keep up with the Bears and Vikings.

[@jab1289]

@redmustangredmustang The Bears almost drafted Montana, according to Bill Tobin, who was a scout with Chicago in 1979. They were planning on taking him in the third round, but GM Jim Finks changed his mind. Also, they passed on HOF TE Kellen Winslow for DE Al Harris with their second first-round pick. If they would have drafted Winslow and Montana, we may be talking about the Bears as the Team of the 80's.

[@paulschwietering6194]

During the '70 's I was focused on the Bengals and their rivals , the Steelers, the Browns, and the Oilers. I didn't follow the Packers closely at all but I do remember that the last couple of years of Bart Starr's coaching career at Green Bay were marred by controversy, with some of his players referring to him as "J. R." ( After a reprehensible character on a Soap Opera of the day).

[@lakebay972]

A stint in Dallas would've been very interesting considering the Cowboys were rivals during his heyday. Mostly, JR Ewing, is a cultural Dallas icon.

[@theskeptic2010]

You'd be talking about "Dallas" the prime time soap that millions followed in it's heyday. I remember everyone - millions - wanted to know "Who shot J.R.?" Hard to believe now that a mere TV show was actually that popular. TV is such trash and garbage nowadays it's really not worth watching anymore.

[@lakebay972]

@@theskeptic2010 back then, you only had 3 channels: ABC, NBC and CBS. Dallas was on the latter. In larger cities, there was also an educational channel, a religious channel and an independent. It was Kristin Sheppard who shot JR. She was JR's sister-in-law.

[@redmustangredmustang]

Bart Starr just wasn't NFL coach material. He got all those years because of who he was. He got a long leash but the sad thing is they had Dickey who would have done great with another team, but basically wasted the talents of James Lofton and John Jefferson. The 89 Packers would have gone to the playoffs in any other year, but other teams had better divisional records so they lost out on those tie breakers. Sadly after 89 things just went down the toilet until Ron Wolf came along and got Holmgre and took a big chance on Favre. When Magic went down with that injury, it turned out that their fortunes would change for the better

[@exmaj5040]

The only thing I knew Rich Campbell for during his NFL career was being the signature sack of Howie Long's HOF career.

[@DNSKansas]

The 1985 snow bowl game vs. Tampa was not the season finale. There were three games after that.

[@MarkHermann-u5p]

Yes Dickey was a 4000 yard passer shouldve been noted

[@trevinschaerr3732]

32:55 Maybe that’s because they were the majority of the rogues on that team. I wouldn’t like ‘em either.

[@oldhickory4686]

I watched the Packers as a boy, and later watched many games from this era as an adult. I mean no disrespect to anyone, and I'm just saying things as a football fan and how it relates to the game itself. Bart Starr was an awful GM and head coach. If you watch those games and see how players reacted after making a catch for a big gain, or a run for a touchdown, they acted like they had never done it before. The lack of discipline on the field was staggering to watch. Even during a TV broadcast, one of the announcers had mentioned a player (who I believe was Coffman) saying in an interview, that Starr had let the players run the game, and tried not to interfere with their "talent". He said at times it seemed like the team suffered because of a lack of discipline. When I heard that, it corroborated what I was seeing on the field. Starr's firing was a long time coming. And to be honest, he should have resigned if people were worried about him "saving face". When they brought Gregg in, he was right. If you were a "Bart guy", he didn't want you around. Because all those players had spent a decade playing with no discipline. No wonder they resented Gregg; the disciplinarian. Dickey saying he lost the fun of the game. You had fun being mediocre? Well, wouldn't it be more fun to actually play on a winning team?! My final point is a rebuttal of players complaining about the poor defensive team they had. What they didn't tell you is a typical scenario that repeated itself over and over. The Packers would score, on say, a pass from Dickey to Lofton. Lofton would dance around like he had just won the Super Bowl. They would kick off and maybe stop the other team. The Packers would get the ball back at the 20 yd. line, and the first play Dickey would throw a floating duck nowhere near any receiver, and it would be an interception. Well, guess who is coming out on the field again? The defense! And not only are they back on the field, but the other team is already in the red zone. When your "highlight play" is your own blocked FG attempt with a run for a touchdown; that speaks volumes! And when your top pick chooses to play in Canada over an NFL team, that's when you need to start looking in the mirror.The 80's Packers were terrible from the top brass all the way down to the field. Without Bob Harlan and Ron Wolf, the 90's would have been a continuation of the 80's.

[@trevinschaerr3732]

Dickey played for K-State he was used to losing had no idea how to be a winner.

[@willdodge200]

The Mandarich pick was the right choice. Was he a bust? Yep, a huge one. But who would have blocked for Aikman or Sanders?

[@silverguard8105]

Barry Sanders barely needed an offensive line.

[@xman777b]

Barry is not what the Packers needed in Round 1

[@xman777b]

​@@silverguard8105 don't win games by running east & west. That's just fan service.

[@michaelleroy9281]

The 1980's were not so great, just like the 1970's

[@Lawomenshoops]

The John Jefferson trade, the Packers and San Diego Chargers swapped first round picks in 1982- so technically the Packers didn’t lose a 1st round pick. They went from pick 10 to 22 in the first round, and took Ron Hallstrom. They did lose their 83 first round pick. And 2nd round picks in 82 and 84! They did have a 83 first round pick, from New Orleans for Bruce Clark! They took CB Tim Lewis, whose career ended by a neck injury in 86 or 87. They passed up QB Jim Kelly! The Packers first round pick traded to SD was #22.

[@DNSKansas]

In 1983, the Packers also passed up some QB from Pitt named Marino. Also could have had Darrell Green instead of Tim Lewis if they wanted a CB.

[@classicrockbeagle]

Lofton: "Lynn Dickey was the best quarterback I ever played with". Dude! Ever heard of Jim Kelly?

[@mikesandoval1052]

Haha

[@williamstocker584]

Do you always get offended by peoples opinions

[@Hespeakstruth]

I thought Bruce Clarke wentbto the Saints?

[@DNSKansas]

He did after playing in Canada. Saints had to give Green Bay their #1 pick in 1983 to acquire him.

[@michaelleroy9281]

The opening game of 1980 was September 7, not September 17

[@DNSKansas]

As bad as the Packers were in the 1980s, there were two Wisconsin sports teams which were worse: Badger football and Badger basketball.

[@MarkHermann-u5p]

The packers shouldve hired Ron Wolf in the Spring of 78 Bart Starr went to the executive committee and told them according to Barts book Wolf is available we need him didnt do it😢

[@eric3298]

This series 🔥

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

Wish the Packers Drafted Barry Sanders in 1989

[@mikesandoval1052]

They could have taken Derrick Thomas …almost anyone except the incredible bulk

[@jab1289]

@XBC-4GOTY Allegedly (I read this on another site), Lindy Infante wanted Barry Sanders. However, Tom Braatz selected Mandarich instead.

[@xman777b]

​@mikesandoval1052 there you go. Way better selection than Barry. The masses are wrong yet again.

[@jimb5796]

I noticed that Randy Wright wasn't mentioned. I guess I can understand that since he's considered the worst QB in Packers history.

[@Lawomenshoops]

Hey Lynn who goes to Canada? The first pick in the 1979 NFL draft.

[@porterwake3898]

1983 should have been an 11-5 season and a run at the Super Bowl, just could NOT win the close ones.

[@MarkHermann-u5p]

Yes pack missed on Lott in 81 Marino 83 Rod Woodson 87 Sanders 89 awful