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Dining In The 80’s:
The Cards Are Stacked On Offense
by Chris Brophy
11/2/2009
Now that the Super Bowl is done and the Steelers are attempting to take us back to the 1970’s with their recent dominance it’s time for the Diner to jump back in the Tardis and dig up some memories from the decade that brought us Blackadder, Only Fools And Horses and The Young Ones all nearly as funny as the recent chaos witnessed in Dallas!
However, the appearance of the Arizona Cardinals in the big game and the fact they got there in large part to the play of Kurt Warner, famous in St Louis for his part in the Rams Super Bowl win in 1999 got me thinking about some of the offensive (double meaning) entertainment the Cardinals of St Louis provided in the ’80’s. Here the Diner will recall some of those memories that involve a sometimes prolific quarterback, a deadly set of receivers and even a decent running attack.
It’s no secret that the Cardinals have been one of the more unsuccessful franchises in NFL history but in the 70’s under the direction of offensive guru Don Coryell and behind the arm of the teams all time passing leader – Jim Hart – the Cardinals had at least tasted some success with three double digit winning seasons and two post season appearances. Success soon faded back to normality though and several coaching changes followed before the appointment of Jim Hanifan in 1980.
By this time, Jim Hart was at the end of a long career and couldn’t go on so the Cardinals needed a new triggerman. That man would be Neil Lomax who the Cardinals selected in the 2nd round of the 1981 draft from Portland State. Lomax had a rags to riches story that whilst not quite that of Kurt Warner, is still worth recalling. He had joined Portland State on a partial scholarship as the 5th string QB but by the time he left he had gone through the ranks he had set 90 NCAA passing records. In one game he threw an amazing seven TD passes in one quarter!
 Now Lomax was charged with trying to get the Cardinals offense back on track. It was an offense that had lost its passing leader at the end of the last decade but did at least have one other young weapon in its arsenal running back OJ Anderson. Bursting onto the scene in 1979 as a rookie Anderson had instantly become one of the league’s best and being named all pro and offensive rookie of the year. 1980 would see another great season as Anderson made the pro bowl and he would prove to be the rock young Lomax could lean on as he got to grips with life in the NFL.
Lomax’s rookie season seen him take his lumps as he shared time with Hart but he showed enough promise to get the job full time the following season although the 1982 players strike didn’t allow him the chance to prove himself over a full season. The NFL’s play-off format was expanded due to the short season though and that meant the Cardinals 5-4 record was enough to see them make the play-offs. It was a short trip though as they were stuffed 41-16 by the Packers in Green Bay. It would turn out to be Lomas and Anderson’s only visit to post season with the Cardinals.
Lomax was getting better and the offense was able to become more balanced rather than leaning on Anderson so much. The current Cardinals offense has as good a set of receiving options as you could hope to find in the NFL but the receiving corps the Cardinals had over the course of the ’80’s certainly wasn’t chopped liver.
When Lomax arrived at the Cardinals he had veteran Pat Tilley, a pro bowler in 1980, to aim at but the guy who would turn out to be the Cardinals best receiver over the decade was playing defense at the time. Roy Green had been a 4th round pick in the 1979 draft and had already made an impact in the league as a kick returner (he returned a kick 106 yards versus Dallas as a rookie, tying the record for the league’s longest play) but he also played cornerback. In 1981 he started playing receiver part time and amassed 33 catches at a superb average of 21.5 yards per catch. The switch to offense was made full time the following season and his nickname of Jet stream was well earned with his deep speed a threat to go the distance every time. 1984 would prove to be the pinnacle for this new look offense. Lomax would throw for 4614 yards and 28TD’s. Not uncommon numbers by today’s standards but before 1984 the 4000 passing yards in a season mark had only been breached five times previous. Lomax’s total for that era is impressive but was lost in the blaze of glory that was Dan Marino’s then insane 5084 yards that same season (Phil Simms would also pass for 4000+ yards that year). A lot of those passes went to Roy Green who posted 78 catches at just under 20 yards per reception for 1555 yards the third highest receiving total ever at the time! Green also took passes to the house twelve times. Pat Tilley provided decent support opposite Green with 52 catches for 758 yards and 5 TD’s whilst tight end Doug Marsh added 39 catches for just over 600 yards and another five scores. Each of those receptions went for just under 16 yards which for a tight end is very impressive average.
The passing game had ample support on the ground too. OJ Anderson once again led the way with nearly 1200 yards rushing and he was joined in the backfield by young bucks Stump Mitchell and Earl Ferrell who had joined the team in the 1981 and 1982 drafts respectively. The young duo added over 600 yards to Anderson’s total and between the three of them they managed 122 receptions (Anderson had 70).
For the year the offense ranked 3rd in the NFL in total yardage and 4th in scoring and scored 30 points or more in seven games. All very positive you would think and enough to be a play-off team but the Cardinals didn’t play in the NFC West back then and the NFC East they sat in featured a Dallas Cowboy team that had made the post season umpteen times in a row, the Washington Redskins who would make the Super Bowl three times in the decade. Add in the New York Giants ultimately successful rebuild under Bill Parcells that would see a championship in 1987 and the Eagles who had made the big game in 1980 and going 9-7 in this division just didn’t cut it.
The Cardinals did hold their fate in their own hands though. In the final game of the season they travelled to RFK Stadium to face the Redskins and the divisional title was at stake with whoever winning going to post season and whoever lost staying at home. Trailing by 2 points in the 4th quarter Lomax managed to lead a last gasp drive into field goal range but in the swirling winds of that day kicker Phil O’Donoghue sent his kick wide and the Cardinals best chance of success in the decade was gone.
 The offense would never reach those heady heights again in the decade. By the end of 1985 Hanifan was gone and replaced by Gene Stallings. Pat Tilley left but the Cardinals did find a fine replacement in JT Smith who enjoyed a great Indian summer for the Cardinals after disappointing for the majority of his career previously (with the Redskins and Chiefs). Smith enjoyed two 1000 yard seasons in 1986 and 1987 with only himself, Jerry Rice and Gary Clark managing to break the 1000 yard barrier in the strike shortened 1987 season (although it should be noted Smith did play in the replacement games whilst Clark and Rice didn’t).
OJ Anderson would also move on, being traded to the Giants and handing over the keys to the running game to Mitchell and Ferrell. Interesting, just as that duo were coming to the end of the productive years in the late 80’s Anderson would become the comeback player of the year in 1989 and Super Bowl XXV MVP (to add to the Super Bowl XXI ring he had already won).
Anderson isn’t the only example of a Cardinal offensive player from the 80’s making good after he left the Cardinals. Tight end Jay Novacek had been developing nicely for the Cardinals in the late 80’s but for some strange reason the Cardinals left him unprotected on Plan B and he was picked up by the Cowboys who would go on to win three Super Bowls in the 90’s with Novacek as a vital cog in their offense.
Neil Lomax also never got back to the heady heights of 1984 although he returned to the pro bowl after a very good 1987 season where he managed over 3300 yards and 24TD’s in just 12 games. However, a serious hip injury ended his career in 1990 after missing the whole of 1989 and by 1991 it had become so severe he had to have a hip replacement.
Roy Green too would never get back to anywhere near his crazy numbers of 1984. He only managed one more 1000 yard season but he did end his career averaging over 16 yards per catch and 83TD’s.
They would still have their moments though and in 1988 they would manage victories over the defending Super Bowl Champion Redskins whilst also knocking off the 49ers whom would end up winning the lot that season.
Of course, by 1988 the Cardinals were on the move. St Louis was to be left without football until the Rams shot into town in 1995. The Cardinals loss wasn’t too heavily mourned as they had spent many years frustrating the fans of St Louis but it would take another 20 years before the residents of Arizona would get to overcome that same frustration.
The Cardinals certainly weren’t a great team in the 80’s, but they did have a capable offense that could give any team fits and whilst no one will dare say it is better than the offensive product the Cardinals put on the field this past season, it might just have been that bit more balanced and might just have had a bit more success if it had been able to bypass the tough division they played in.
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