St. Louis Cardinals under Jim Hanifan, 1980-thru-'85

[74_75_78_79_]

A half-decade era under the Arch that, in hindsight, I would have liked to see more success.

Beating the NFC-champs-to-be at Busch after starting out 0-3 in 'year one' under Hanifan can be seen as the first sign of winning to come.

Beating Dallas, also at Busch, in Wk#5 the following year can be seen as the second! But with quite more growing pains just ahead! The next two weeks they get waffled at NYG and at a now-struggling Atlanta team by 34-14 and 41-20 respectively. They snap Minny's 5-game-win-streak at Busch the following week but then do it again suffering respective 42-21 and 52-10 blowouts at RFK and at home to the Eagles.

And then came a four-game-win-streak starting with a 24-0 shutout at Busch vs Buffalo who'd return to the playoffs! At 7-7, with NYG & @Phi remaining, they actually were in control of their own destiny. Win-out and at least be in the Wild Card game. But not to be. They lose convincing-enough to the G-men and then lay a serious egg at the Vet against a falling Eagles team, 38-0.

Hanifan then makes it to his only playoff appearance in the infamously strike-shortened 1982 campaign just as Bart Starr as a HC made his only post-season that year as well - and both teams played against each other in the 1st Rd! The 5-3-1 Pack routed the 5-4 Cards at home, 41-16! The Cards winning in Atlanta to even their record to 2-2, I guess, can be seen as the only quality-win in that abbreviated season (Atl also made the 'tournament' at 5-4), but I believe I always felt they making it to the Wild Card game had the strike not happened. I believe on an old hypo-'82 thread no longer available I picked StL to finish 9-7 and go to RFK.

1983? Yes, the minus-54 PD but total yardage-wise, they did FWIW finish with a plus-145 whilst finishing #6 in total defense. Yes, Floyd Peters was onboard guiding the defense to 59 sacks! The problem sure was allowing the opposition to put up the points in quite a few cases! Losing their first three games (en route to a 1-5 start), San Fran puts up 42 on them for that third loss. Regular season juggernaut Washington beats them 38-14, handing StL that fifth defeat, and then blow them out again four weeks later at RFK, 45-7, dropping them to 3-6-1.

They then bounce back vs playoff-bound Seattle, 33-28, then followed by ripping apart a no-longer-playoff-caliber San Diego, 44-14! But then another blowout loss to a quality team, 35-17, at Big D who beat them as well in Wk#2, 34-17. And not just quality opponents! KC put up 38 on them in Wk#5. Yes, the exact final score as the following week - the aforementioned first loss to Washington. But then the clouds finally cleared. They win their last three games - five of their last six - which, of course, is highlighted by that penultimate game at Champs-to-be Raiders, 34-24! A second winning season in a row at 8-7-1.

And then that following year! Clearly the best season in this era! Real close to a 2nd-seed NFC finish which, in numerous ways, they sure looked the part! #3 offense, #8 defense that put up another 55 sacks! After losing to unbeaten SB-bound Miami at Busch to drop them to 2-3, they win 4-straight starting with 31-20 at Dallas and then two more quality wins, 38-21 and 26-24, over Chicago and defending-NFC champ, Washington! Sitting SO pretty now at 6-3, the best the Cards have looked since a decade prior under Coryell!

But then that painful three-game-skid vs Rams, Dallas, and at NYG! Each loss was a close one! Cards commit a grand total of 16 turnovers in those three losses; and in each loss they had a longer time of possession - that especially goes for the first two games mentioned! They'd then go on a three-game-win-streak, and avenge things at home vs the Giants penultimate week, but we sadly all know what'd happen in that finale at RFK. Just one win in that stretch and they would have been in, win-or-lose! Win all three...and they're resting their starters!

And then 1985 following that 3-1 start...(though they'd beat Dallas Wk#9 at Busch on MNF for a "last hurrah")...


Further thoughts?


'Beyond Xs & Os, My Thirty Years in the NFL' sounds like a great read! He, apparently, was a big storyteller!

This, here, is a good one...https://thebigredzone.com/2020/11/28/th ... o-a-train/

It's great that he was on staff for two Lombardi-winners ('91 & '99). It just would have been nice if Cards had better success with him along with he staying longer. Enough success, and maybe they never move to 'Zona?

[ChrisBabcock]

Those Cardinals teams were always intriguing to me. A respectable team in the leagues toughest division. I picked up a Neil Lomax autobiography at last year's western NY PFRA chapter meeting book exchange.

[7DnBrnc53]

What's weird is that they fell off a cliff for most of 85 and 86, and then they returned to respectability in 87 and 88 before Neil Lomax's career ending injury.

[Brian wolf]

Injuries to Ottis Anderson and Roy Green killed their momentum. Even Al Baker couldnt help their defense enough in the best division in football ...