The 1985 Green Bay Packers - 8-8 (2ND-NFC Central Division)
Head Coach: Forrest Gregg
1985 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (2-2)
OFF DEF
AUGUST (1-3) RESULT RECORD ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB LEADING RUSHER LEADING PASSER LEADING RECEIVER
10 at Dallas Cowboys L 3-27 0- 1-0 41,847 Randy Wright Gary Ellerson (40) Randy Wright (91) Phil Epps (2-58)
17 at New York Giants L 2-10 0- 2-0 35,798 Randy Wright Gerry Ellis (27) Randy Wright (203) Paul Coffman (6-61)
24 M-ATLANTA FALCONS W 28-24 1- 2-0 49,703 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (23) Lynn Dickey (286) Phil Epps (6-161)
31 G-NEW YORK JETS L 20-30 1- 3-0 56,753 Randy Wright Jessie Clark (38) Randy Wright (256) James Lofton (5-82)
1985 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
SEPTEMBER (1-3)
8 at New England Patriots (0-0) L 20-26 0- 1-0 49,488 59 146 208 202 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (48) Lynn Dickey (205) Phil Epps (4-64)
15 G-NEW YORK GIANTS (1-0) W 23-20 1- 1-0 56,149 126 164 76 239 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (65) Lynn Dickey (188) James Lofton (4-88)
22 M-NEW YORK JETS (1-1) L 3-24 1- 2-0 53,667 71 122 106 120 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (30) Dickey/Wright (84) Eddie Lee Ivery (3-32)
29 at St. Louis Cardinals (2-1) L 28-43 1- 3-0 48,598 216 238 164 233 Randy Wright Jessie Clark (112) Lynn Dickey (175) James Lofton (7-87)
OCTOBER (2-2)
6 G-DETROIT LIONS (3-1) W 43-10 2- 3-0 55,914 285 227 56 317 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (74) Lynn Dickey (126) James Lofton (10-151)
13 M-MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-2) W 20-17 3- 3-0 54,674 135 145 62 223 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (83) Lynn Dickey (166) James Lofton (6-88)
21 at Chicago Bears (6-0) L 7-23 3- 4-0 65,095 96 223 175 167 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (50) Randy Wright (179) James Lofton (7-103)
27 at Indianapolis Colts (2-5) L 10-37 3- 5-0 59,708 74 203 230 266 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (27) Lynn Dickey (225) Paul Coffman (5-80)
NOVEMBER (2-2)
3 G-CHICAGO BEARS (8-0) L 10-16 3- 6-0 56,895 87 155 188 65 Jim Zorn Jessie Clark (58) Jim Zorn (179) Jessie Clark (3-62)
10 at Minnesota Vikings (5-4) W 27-17 4- 6-0 59,970 175 195 177 134 Jim Zorn Eddie Lee Ivery (111) Lynn Dickey (135) Phil Epps (6-118)
17 M-NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-7) W 38-14 5- 6-0 52,104 137 296 75 132 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (59) Lynn Dickey (305) James Lofton (5-92)
24 at Los Angeles Rams (8-2) L 17-34 5- 7-0 52,710 78 203 187 142 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (41) Lynn Dickey (239) Gerry Ellis (6-34)
DECEMBER (3-1)
1 G-TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2-10) W 21- 0 6- 7-0 19,856 232 280 54 11 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (109) Lynn Dickey (299) James Lofton (6-106)
8 G-MIAMI DOLPHINS (9-4) L 24-34 6- 8-0 52,671 125 241 63 345 Jim Zorn Gerry Ellis (50) Jim Zorn (247) James Lofton (4-91)
15 at Detroit Lions (7-7) W 26-23 7- 8-0 49,379 173 133 137 289 Jim Zorn Gary Ellerson (72) Jim Zorn (159) Gerry Ellis (3-52)
22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-13) W 20-17 8- 8-0 33,992 139 192 89 241 Jim Zorn Gery Ellerson (57) Jim Zorn (117) James Lofton (6-95)
G - Green Bay M - Milwaukee * - Overtime
1985 IN REVIEW
Green Bay finished at .500 for the third consecutive season, despite a passing game (197.7 net yards per game, the worst since 1979) which was hurt by the trade of John Jefferson to Cleveland and an injury-riddled season for Lynn Dickey. The 36-year old was demoted to second string for a time early in the season and went out with an injury in Week 14. Jim Zorn and Randy Wright were mostly inefficient in moving the team. Dickey would leave after the 1985 campaign, when he could not agree on a new contract. Eddie Lee Ivery, Gerry Ellis and Jessie Clark led a running game which averaged 138 yards per contest, the best since 1973. Ellis would end the season with a 5.49 yard per carry average, the best in team history. Lambeau Field also had a new look, with 72 luxury boxes being added, increasing the capacity from 56,263 to 56,926.
THE BLIZZARD OF 1985
(SOURCE: BucPower.com) Week 13 was a trip to Lambeau Field to play the Packers, not exactly world-beaters at the time themselves. And it was snowing in Green Bay. Hard. And getting worse. Six inches of snow fell the day before the game, six inches fell during the game and another foot and a half the following day. It was the worst weather Lambeau Field had seen on a game day in 30 years. Total white-out conditions at times, grounds crew trying to sweep the lines between plays and coaches and commentators alike having difficulty in seeing on to the field. And the Bucs were in white. The Bucs were outgained by the incredible margin of 512 yards to 61 and it was only two short missed field goals by Al Del Greco of the Packers (basically because he couldn't stand up straight to kick them) and a pair of fumbles that stopped the game being a total annihilation on the scoreboard. A shade under 20,000 were in the stands to see the game although probably many more were unable to travel across snowbound Wisconsin to get to Lambeau Field that afternoon. It was 30 first downs to five for the Pack and Lynn Dickey's passing performance was nothing short of unreal in the conditions. James Lofton had over 100 yards by half-time and Dickey's arm was every bit as good as Brett Favre who would follow him a decade later. Steve Young threw one out pass that sailed on the wind and flew over the receiver's head. He tried again on the next play and the wind knocked it down to fall incomplete five yards from Kevin House's feet. Backs and linemen were slipping all over the place unless they had a Packer helmet on, in which case they seemed to be playing on perfect grass. The 1985 Bucs were not
a great team and they quickly realised that as soon as the Packers scored, any hope of success was beyond them. Thanks to a fumble recovery, they did get inside the Green Bay 20-yard line at the end of the third quarter but the incompetent Leeman Bennett didn't call a time out and hence had to attempt the kick at the other end of the field at the start of the fourth quarter when the teams changed ends. I don't know if Igwebuike missed left, right or short - you simply couldn't see the ball flying off his foot. The Bucs did get out of Wisconsin on a flight that evening but several of the players had staged a protest convinced it was not safe to fly. Eventually the pilot had to come out of the cockpit to convince them that he had a wife and family and wouldn't put them at risk by taking off in dangerous conditions. "Show us the pictures" LB and current Buc radio show host Scot Brantley remembers calling out. "You could hear a pin drop when we rolled down the runway" he added.
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
John Anderson 59 LB 6- 3 229 Michigan 8 8 29 16 1978 Draft-1st round
Don Bracken 17 P 6- 0 205 Michigan 1 1 23 7 1985 FA
Robert Brown 93 DE 6- 2 270 Virginia Tech 4 4 25 16 1982 Draft-4th round
Ronnie Burgess 39 DB 5-11 175 Wake Forest 1 1 22 11 1985 Draft-10th round
Mike Butler 77 DE 6- 5 269 Kansas 7 7 31 12 1985 FA-TB (USFL)
Mossy Cade 24 CB 6- 1 195 Texas 1 1 23 14 1985 Trade-San Diego
Mark Cannon 58 C 6- 3 268 TX-Arlington 2 2 23 16 1984 Draft-11th round
Alphonso Carreker 76 DE 6- 6 270 Florida State 2 2 23 16 1984 Draft-1st round
Chuck Clanton 23 DB 5-11 192 Auburn 1 1 23 3 1985 USFL Draft-Birm
Jessie Clark 33 FB 6- 0 233 Arkansas 3 3 25 16 1983 Draft-7th round
Paul Coffman 82 TE 6- 3 225 Kansas State 8 8 29 16 1978 FA
George Cumby 52 LB 6- 0 224 Oklahoma 6 6 29 16 1980 Draft-1st round
Tony Degrate 95 DE 6- 3 280 Texas 1 1 23 1 1985 FA
Al Del Greco 10 K 5-10 195 Auburn 2 2 23 16 1984 FA
Preston Dennard 88 WR 6- 1 183 New Mexico 1 8 29 16 1985 Trade-Buffalo
Lynn Dickey 12 QB 6- 4 210 Kansas State 9 13 34 12 1976 Trade-Houston
John Dorsey 99 LB 6- 2 235 Connecticut 2 2 25 16 1984 Draft-4th round
Mike Douglass 53 LB 6- 0 214 San Diego State 8 8 30 16 1978 Draft-5th round
Gery Ellerson 42 RB 5-11 220 Wisconsin 1 1 22 15 1985 Draft-7th round
Gerry Ellis 31 FB 5-11 225 Missouri 6 6 27 16 1980 FA
Phillip Epps 85 WR 5-10 165 TCU 4 4 26 16 1982 Draft-12th round
Tom Flynn 41 S 6- 0 195 Pittsburgh 2 2 23 15 1984 Draft-5th round
Ron Hallstrom 65 G 6- 6 289 Iowa 4 4 26 16 1982 Draft-1st round
Gary Hayes 27 CB 5-10 180 Fresno State 2 2 28 16 1984 FA
Harlan Huckleby 25 HB 6- 1 201 Michigan 6 6 27 11 1980 FA
Tim Huffman 74 T 6- 5 280 Notre Dame 5 5 26 2 1981 Draft-9th round
Donnie Humphrey 79 DE 6- 3 275 Auburn 2 2 24 16 1984 Draft-3rd round
Eddie Lee Ivery 40 RB 6- 1 210 Georgia Tech 7 7 28 15 1979 Draft-1st round
Ezra Johnson 90 DE 6- 4 259 Morris Brown 9 9 29 16 1977 Draft-1st round
Daryll Jones 43 S 6- 0 195 Georgia 2 2 23 8 1984 Draft-7th round
Greg Koch 68 T 6- 4 276 Arkansas 9 9 30 16 1977 Draft-2nd round
Mark Lee 22 CB 5-11 188 Washington 6 6 27 14 1980 Draft-2nd round
Mark Lewis 89 TE 6- 2 237 Texas A&M 1 1 24 1 1985 Draft-6th round
Tim Lewis 26 CB 5-11 191 Pittsburgh 3 3 23 16 1983 Draft-1st round
James Lofton 80 WR 6- 3 197 Stanford 8 8 29 16 1978 Draft-1st round
Charles Martin 94 DE 6- 4 282 Livingston 2 2 26 16 1984 FA
Mike McLeod 28 S 6- 0 180 Montana State 2 2 27 8 1984 FA
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
Blake Moore 60 C 6- 5 272 Wooster 2 6 27 16 1984 FA-Cin (1983)
Rich Moran 57 G 6- 2 272 San Diego State 1 1 23 16 1985 Draft-3rd round
Mark Murphy 37 S 6- 2 201 West Liberty St 6 6 27 14 1980 FA
Brian Noble 91 LB 6- 2 229 Arizona State 1 1 22 16 1985 Draft-5th round
Guy Prather 51 LB 6- 2 229 Grambling 5 5 27 16 1981 FA
Joe Prokop 11 P 6- 3 225 Cal Poly-Pomona 1 1 25 9 1985 FA
Ken Ruettgers 75 T 6- 5 267 USC 1 1 23 16 1985 Draft-1st round
Randy Scott 55 LB 6- 1 228 Alabama 5 5 26 16 1981 FA
Mark Shumate 71 NT 6- 5 265 Wisconsin 1 1 25 3 1985 FA-NY Jets
Walter Stanley 87 WR 5- 9 180 Mesa 1 1 22 14 1985 Draft-4th round
Ken Stills 29 S 5-10 185 Wisconsin 1 1 22 8 1985 Draft-8th round
Karl Swanke 67 T 6- 6 275 Boston College 6 6 27 15 1980 Draft-6th round
Maurice Turner 20 RB 5-11 199 Utah State 1 2 25 13 1985 FA-Minnesota
Keith Uecker 70 G 6- 5 270 Auburn 2 4 25 8 1984 FA-Denver (1983)
Ed West 86 TE 6- 1 236 Auburn 2 2 24 16 1984 FA
Blake Wingle 61 G 6- 2 260 UCLA 1 3 25 2 1985 FA-Pittsburgh
Randy Wright 16 QB 6- 2 194 Wisconsin 2 2 24 7 1984 Draft-6th round
Jim Zorn 18 QB 6- 2 200 Cal Poly-Pomona 1 10 32 13 1985 FA-Sea (1984)
NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of Professional Football AGE - Age on September 1 G - Games Played FA - Free Agent
1985 PACKERS DRAFT (April 30 - May 1, 1985)
RND-PCK NAME POS COLLEGE NOTES
1 7 Ken Ruettgers T USC
2 42 Traded to Buffalo
3 71 Rich Moran C/G San Diego St
4 98 Walter Stanley WR Mesa State
5 125 Brian Noble LB Arizona State
6 155 Mark Lewis TE Texas A&M
7a 171 Eric Wilson LB Maryland (A)
7b 182 Gary Ellerson RB Wisconsin
8 209 Ken Stills S Wisconsin
9 239 Morris Johnson G Alabama A&M
10 266 Ronnie Burgess CB Wake Forest
11 294 Joe Shield QB Trinity (CN)
12 323 Jim Meyer P Arizona St
A-From Minnesota in Jan Stenerud trade
1985 PACKER TRADES - TRANSACTIONS
APR 26 - Traded a 1986 6th-round draft choice to DENVER for QB Scott Brunner
APR 30 - Traded a 1985 1st-round draft choice and a 1985 2nd-round draft choice to BUFFALO for a 1985 1st-round draft choice (T Ken Ruettgers) and a 1986 4th-round selection (LB Tim Harris)
AUG 20 - Traded a 1986 12th-round draft choice to BUFFALO for WR Preston Dennard
AUG 26 - Traded QB Scott Brunner to ST. LOUIS for a 1986 6th-round draft choice (LB Burnell Dent)
SEPT 4 - Traded a 1986 11th-round draft choice to CINCINNATI for G/T Mike Obrovac
SEPT 5 - Traded a 1986 1st-round draft choice and a 1987 5th-round draft choice to SAN DIEGO for DB Mossy Cade
SEPT 19 - Traded WR John Jefferson to CLEVELAND for the rights for OG Tom Robison (Browns choice in '84 USFL supplemental draft) and a 1987 7th-round pick (P Bill Smith)