Dallas Cowboys 101...1983

[Hostile]

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Row 1
1 Rafael Septien, K
5 John Warren, P
11 Danny White, QB
14 Gary Hogeboom, QB
18 Glenn Carano, QB
20 Ron Springs, RB
23 James Jones, RB
24 Everson Walls, CB, Pro Bowl *, All Pro
25 Rod Hill, CB
26 Michael Downs, SRow 2

27 Ron Fellows, CB
30 Timmy Newsome, RB
32 Dennis Thurman, S
33 Tony Dorsett, RB, Pro Bowl
35 Chuck McSwain, RB
40 Bill Bates, S
44 Robert Newhouse, RB
47 Dextor Clinkscale, S
50 Jeff Rohrer
51 Anthony Dickerson, LBRow 3

52 Scott McLean, LB
53 Bob Breunig, LB
54 Randy White, DT, Pro Bowl *, All Pro
57 Angelo King, LB
58 Mike Hegman, LB 5
9 Mike Walter, LB
60 Donald Smerek, DE
61 Jim Cooper, T
62 Brian Baldinger, OL
63 Glen Titensor, GRow 4

64 Tom Rafferty, G
65 Kurt Petersen, G
66 Chris Schultz, T
67 Pat Donovan, T
68 Herbert Scott, G
70 Howard Richards, T
71 Mark Tuinei, OT/DL
72 Ed Jones, DE, Pro Bowl *
75 Phil Pozderac, T
76 Larry Bethea, DTRow 5

Buck Buchanan, Equipment Manager
77 Jim Jeffcoat, DE
78 John Dutton, DT
79 Harvey Martin, DE
80 Tony Hill, WR
83 Doug Donley, WR
84 Doug Cosbie, TE, Pro Bowl
86 Butch Johnson, WR
88 Drew Pearson, WR
89 Billy Joe DuPree, TE
Ken Locker, Assistant TrainerRow 6

Tom Landry, Head Coach
Jim Myers, Coach
Ermal Allen, Coach
Neill Armstrong, Coach
Al Lavan, Coach
Alan Lowry, Coach
Dick Nolan, Coach
Jim Shofner, Coach
Gene Stallings, Coach
Ernie Stautner, Coach
Jerry Tubbs, Coach
Bob Ward, Coach
Don Cochren, Trainer* = Starter


Mark Tuinei
2 time Pro Bowl...1994-95

Bill Bates
1 time Pro Bowl...1984


:star: 1983 Cowboys Draft :star:

1…Jim Jeffcoat, DE, Arizona State
2…Mike Walter, LB, Oregon
2…Bryan Caldwell, DE, Arizona State
4…Chris Faulkner, TE, Florida
5…Chuck McSwain, RB, Clemson
6…Reggie Collier, QB, Southern Mississippi
7…Chris Schultz, T, Arizona
8…Lawrence Ricks, RB, Michigan
9…Al Gross, DB, Arizona
10…Eric Moran, T, Washington
11…Dan Taylor, T, Idaho State
12…Lorenzo Bouier, RB, Maine



:star: 1983 Cowboys Schedule :star:

12-4
Year 18 of 20 year winning streak

9/5/83…Won @ Washington Redskins, 31-30
9/11/83…Won @ St. Louis Cardinals, 34-17
9/18/83…Won vs. New York Giants, 28-13
9/25/83…Won vs. New Orleans Saints, 21-20
10/2/83…Won @ Minnesota Vikings, 37-24
10/9/83…Won vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-24 OT
10/16/83…Won vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 37-7
10/23/83…Lost vs. Los Angeles Raiders, 38-40
10/30/83…Won @ New York Giants, 38-20
11/6/83…Won @ Philadelphia Eagles, 27-20
11/13/83…Lost @ San Diego Chargers, 23-24
11/20/83…Won vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 41-21
11/24/83…Won vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 35-17
12/4/83…Won @ Seattle Seahawks, 35-10
12/11/83…Lost vs. Washington Redskins, 10-31
12/19/83…Lost @ San Francisco 49ers, 17-42


6-2 @ Dallas
6-2 on the road

Points scored...479, 29.9 ppg
Points allowed...360, 22.5 ppg

1983 WILDCARD PLAYOFFS
12/26/83...Lost vs. Los Angeles Rams, 17-24

1983 Cowboys Stats (http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/1983-dal)

All time franchise record...214-119-6
All time Post Season Record...20-15

[lurkercowboy]

What a strange season this was, full of such highs for most of the year and ending with such a monumental collapse.

It began with a seven game winning streak highlighed by some great games. The opening comeback against the Redskins was one of the all-time Dallas games. Dallas was behind 23-3 and it looked bad. Dorsett was even caught from behind by Darrell Green on a long run. It was all going Washington's way in the first half.

In the second half, it was all Dallas. White started it off with a long bomb to Tony Hill and the Dallas D stuffed the Skins. The Cowboys were so unstoppable that Howard Cosell called it "inexorable" that Dallas would score the go-ahead TD. It was 31-23 before the Skins scored a late to produce the final score. What a way to start the year! Especially after the previous years playoff game.

Dallas reeled off a string of wins. The one against the Saints was memorable because Dallas was behind 20-19 late in the game with the Saints having the ball near their own goal. In a remarkable play, Dallas linebacker Anthony Dickerson sacked Kenny Stabler for a safety. Those two points put Dallas ahead and won the game 21-20.

It looked bad for Dallas against the Bucs on the day Roger Staubach entered the Ring of Honor. Dallas was behind by seven late. But Timmy Newsome scored on a long run after a pass. He actually stepped out of bounds but the refs missed the call. Dallas won in OT.

Dallas was the last undefeated team in the NFL at 7-0 before losing to the Raiders on a Sunday night game. The game was a shootout and featured Danny White scoring on a trick pass.

Dallas kept rolling. Winning games with a high-scoring offense. The only loss was a one-point setback to the Chargers. White, Dorsett, Hill, Pearson, Springs, Newsome, and the rest of the offense were clicking and racking up the yards and points.

In the big picture, the NFC race was coming down to another showdown between the Skins and Cowboys. This time, both teams were 12-2. Dallas had the tiebreaker already and their two losses had come by a combined three points. How amazing is that? Pretty amazing until you consider the Redskins's two losses had been by a combined TWO points.

So the showdown came. That morning the Virginian Pilot had a drawing of Texas Stadium on fire and stuck with arrows as if it were under seige from wild Indians. Guess what became kindling that morning for the family woodstove at my house? Unfortunately, the drawing was pretty much an accurate depiction of what actually occurred. It was a very one-sided game. Dallas could not move the ball and could not stop Washington. It was one of the most crushing defeats I have ever experienced as a Dallas fan, mostly because of the high expectations coming in.

That loss relegated 12-3 Dallas to a wild card team. The next week, on MNF against the 49ers, was meaningless to Dallas. And they played like it. The Niners blew them out. This just added to the bad feeling about the team. The hangover continued into the next week.

The team was in a funk heading in to the playoffs against the Rams. Landry started Bill Bates at safety in an attempt to bring some spirit to the squad, but it did not work. The Cowboys came out of the tunnel jumping around and high-fiving each other. John Madden commented, "Look at the emotion! They really want it today!" The emotion didn't last too long after the kickoff however. On a cold day in Dallas, the Cowboys could not recapture the magic of the first 14 games. A dull loss sent them home in the first round.

The tremendous disappointment of the 1983 season cast a gloom over the team and fans. The last few games seemingly banished all the good things Dallas did for most of the year. Even the NFL films Dallas highlight reel for 1983 did not even show any of the 1983 games, instead it featured a history of the franchise. Despite the stellar record (the third straight 12-4 season), and outstanding stats (a team record for passing yardage by White), it became a tough season to swallow for Dallas fans.

Note: 1983 was the final season for old hands Drew Pearson, Robert Newhouse, and Harvey Martin. It was the first for Jim Jeffcoat, Bill Bates, and Mark Tuinei.

[bbgun]

A season that started with so much promise but ended so cruely. Aside from the 23 picks, White had a phenomenal year, even gracing the cover of the Sporting News as "America's Quarterback." No Pro Bowl, however, and by the next year's training camp, he was out of a job. An incredible fall from grace. That Raider game was wild. If I'm not mistaken, Marc Wilson started for Plunkett and absolutely tore us up. The Skins game was very deflating, especially the "Fun Bunch" celebration in our endzone. My high school librarian was a kind woman but also a big Dallas hater, and she made sure that I saw the cover of that week's SI featured prominently among the other periodicals. Still haven't forgiven her. Can't recall much about the Rams loss other than the Texas Stadium toilets freezing solid. The Skins loss was so dispiriting that they played like zombies the rest of the way.

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[THUMPER]

Dallas was the last undefeated team in the NFL at 7-0 before losing to the Raiders on a Sunday night game. The game was a shootout and featured Danny White scoring on a trick pass.

That was a 15-yard TD pass from Ron Springs to Danny White after White had handed off to Springs. A great play and one they tried another time a few years later if I recall.

Very good write-up Lurker, thanks.