1983 Cleveland Browns season

The 1983 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 34th season with the National Football League.

1983 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Chip Banks
← 1982 Browns seasons 1984 →

Season summary

In a season which was eerily similar to the 1979 campaign, which was arguably the beginning of "The Kardiac Kids" period, seven contests were decided by seven points or less, with the Browns going 4–3. Like the '79 and '80 seasons, the Browns scored often and gave up almost as many points, with the Browns scoring 356 to their opponents' 342. Quarterback Brian Sipe, in his last season with the Browns before jumping to the USFL, had 26 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions, nearly the same ratio (28-to-26) he had had in 1979. It was a good way to go out for Sipe, who had lost his starting job to Paul McDonald late in the 1982 season and then re-gained it in the '83 training camp. Fullback Mike Pruitt, in his last great season with the Browns, rushed for 1,184 yards. And finally, in his last season in Cleveland before being traded to the Denver Broncos, wide receiver Dave Logan was second on the team in receptions with 37, but that was far behind the team-record 89 hauled in by Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome in a season that could be dubbed "The Kardiac Kids' Last Hurrah".^[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1983 NFL draft.

1983 Cleveland Browns Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	41	Ron Brown	Wide receiver	Arizona State
3	68	Reggie Camp	Defensive end	California
5	122	Bill Contz	Offensive tackle	Penn State
6	145	Tim Stracka	Tight end	Wisconsin
6	149	Dave Puzzuoli	Nose tackle	Pittsburgh
7	176	Rocky Belk	Wide receiver	Miami
8	209	Mike McClearn	Guard	Temple
10	262	Thomas Hopkins	Offensive tackle	Alabama A&M
11	288	Boyce Green	Running back	Carson Newman College
11	305	Howard McAdoo	Linebacker	Michigan State
12	316	Paul Farren	Offensive tackle	Boston University

^[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 4	Minnesota Vikings	L 21–27	0–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,087	Recap
2	September 11	at Detroit Lions	W 31–26	1–1	Pontiac Silverdome	60,095	Recap
3	September 15	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–7	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	79,700	Recap
4	September 25	at San Diego Chargers	W 30–24	3–1	Jack Murphy Stadium	49,482	Recap
5	October 2	Seattle Seahawks	L 9–24	3–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	75,446	Recap
6	October 9	New York Jets	W 10–7	4–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,235	Recap
7	October 16	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–44	4–3	Three Rivers Stadium	59,263	Recap
8	October 23	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 21–28	4–4	Riverfront Stadium	50,047	Recap
9	October 30	Houston Oilers	W 25–19	5–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	68,851	Recap
10	November 6	at Green Bay Packers	L 21–35	5–5	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,089	Recap
11	November 13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 20–0	6–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	56,091	Recap
12	November 20	at New England Patriots	W 30–0	7–5	Sullivan Stadium	40,987	Recap
13	November 27	Baltimore Colts	W 41–23	8–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	65,812	Recap
14	December 4	at Denver Broncos	L 6–27	8–6	Mile High Stadium	70,912	Recap
15	December 11	at Houston Oilers	L 27–34	8–7	Houston Astrodome	29,746	Recap
16	December 18	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–17	9–7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	72,313	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

• TV Network: NBC
• Announcers: Jay Randolph and Gene Washington

Brian Sipe throws four touchdowns to lead the Browns to a 31-26 win at Detroit. Sipe becomes Cleveland's career leader, raising his TD total to 135 (surpassing Frank Ryan) with throws to Ricky Feacher, Mike Pruitt, Ozzie Newsome and Dave Logan. Pruitt also rushes for 137 yards.

Week 4

• TV Network: NBC
• Announcers: Jay Randolph and Bob Chandler

Harry Holt, a 25-year-old NFL rookie, catches a 48-yard touchdown pass from Sipe on Cleveland's fourth play of overtime as The Browns beat The Chargers, 30-24, at San Diego. Holt catches his first NFL touchdown after Matt Bahr forces overtime with a 32-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Week 6

• TV Network: NBC
• Announcers: Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Linebacker Tom Cousineau records 15 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery while leading Cleveland to a 10-7 win over the New York Jets. His interception stops a Jets drive at the Browns' 5-yard line and his fumble recovery stops New York at the Cleveland 9. The Browns' only touchdown is scored by wide receiver Bobby Jones on a 32-yard pass from Sipe.

Week 8

The Browns lose a tough one at Cincinnati, 28-21, when Bengals' cornerback Ken Riley intercepts a Sipe pass and returns it 42 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Riley's 60th career interception spoils a three-TD pass performance by Sipe.

Week 12

After going eight seasons without a shutout, the Browns made it two straight with a 30-0 rout of the Patriots at Foxboro. One week after posting a 20-0 win over Tampa Bay, Pruitt runs for 136 yards and Matt Bahr kicks three field goals. The defensive star is linebacker Chip Banks, who returns an interception 65 yards for a touchdown and records two sacks. Cousineau and Hanford Dixon each intercept two passes.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	355	303	L1
Cleveland Browns	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	356	342	W1
Cincinnati Bengals	7	9	0	.438	4–2	4–8	346	302	L1
Houston Oilers	2	14	0	.125	1–5	1–11	288	460	L1

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1983 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office President and owner – Art Modell Assistant to the president – Peter Hadhazy Head coaches Head coach – Sam Rutigliano Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Larrye Weaver Offensive Backfield Coach - Joe Scanella Running backs – Jim Garrett Receivers – Joe Daniels Offensive line – Howard Mudd

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Marty Schottenheimer Defensive line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Dave Adolph Special assistant – Darvin Wallis Special teams coaches Special teams – John Petercuskie Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Dave Redding Film Coordinator - Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy

Roster

1983 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 12 Rick Trocano 16 Paul McDonald 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 24 Vagas Ferguson 26 Dino Hall KR/PR 30 Boyce Green RB 38 Johnny Davis FB 42 Dwight Walker KR/PR 43 Mike Pruitt FB Wide receivers 80 Willis Adams 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan 88 Rocky Belk 89 Bobby Jones Tight ends 81 Harry Holt 82 Ozzie Newsome 87 Tim Stracka		Offensive linemen 54 Tom DeLeone C 61 Mike Baab C 63 Cody Risien T 64 Joe DeLamielleure G 68 Robert E. Jackson G 70 Thomas Hopkins T 73 Doug Dieken T 74 Paul Farren T/G 75 Bill Contz T Defensive linemen 72 Dave Puzzuoli NT 79 Bob Golic NT 94 Elvis Franks DE 96 Reggie Camp DE 97 Thomas Brown DE 99 Keith Baldwin DE		Linebackers 50 Tom Cousineau ILB 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 55 Curtis Weathers OLB 56 Chip Banks OLB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 58 Scott Nicolas ILB 59 Dale Carver ILB Defensive backs 21 Mike Whitwell FS 22 Clarence Scott SS 29 Hanford Dixon CB 31 Al Gross S 40 Rod Perry CB 47 Larry Braziel CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 49 Clinton Burrell SS Special teams  7 Jeff Gossett P  9 Matt Bahr K 15 Steve Cox P rookies in italics

Awards and records

• Brian Sipe, NFL Leader, Touchdown Passes (26), Tied with another player

References

1. "Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com". Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
2. "1983 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

External links

• 1983 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1983 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1983 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1983 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com