CFL Statistical Roundup for the 1980's

[Will]

1980 Passing


<tbody>
Offense
Pass











Comp
ATT
PCT
Y/ATT
Y/COM
Total Yardage
Per Game
TD
INT


Winnipeg
314
531
59.1
8.3
14.0
4392
274.5
29
16


Edmonton
265
479
55.3
8.8
15.8
4198
262.4
32
20


Toronto
280
503
55.7
7.4
13.3
3718
232.4
18
25


Calgary
259
490
52.9
7.5
14.2
3689
230.6
26
27


Montreal
226
408
55.4
8.4
15.2
3440
215.0
19
30


Saskatchewan
280
544
51.5
6.3
12.2
3424
214.0
17
32


Hamilton
234
444
52.7
7.2
13.7
3196
199.8
16
37


BC
221
395
55.9
7.6
13.6
3016
188.5
22
20


Ottawa
229
399
57.4
7.5
13.1
3006
187.9
23
22

</tbody>



1980 Rushing


<tbody>
Offense
Rush






Total Yardage
Per Game
TD
AVG


BC
2226
139.1
12
5.2


Edmonton
2130
133.1
19
5.4


Montreal
2114
132.1
19
4.8


Ottawa
1983
123.9
13
4.9


Hamilton
1929
120.6
11
4.5


Calgary
1707
106.7
15
5.7


Toronto
1598
99.9
11
4.5


Saskatchewan
1499
93.7
7
4.6


Winnipeg
1478
92.4
11
4.2

</tbody>



1980 Total Offense


<tbody>
Offense
Total




Total Yardage
Per Game


Edmonton
6328
395.5


Winnipeg
5870
366.9


Montreal
5554
347.1


Calgary
5396
337.3


Toronto
5316
332.3


BC
5242
327.6


Hamilton
5125
320.3


Ottawa
4989
311.8


Saskatchewan
4923
307.7

</tbody>


The defensive statistics will follow, but I don't want to have a long, long post, but I'll be going from 1980-1989 in this post, but will probably post the bulk of it Sunday. It isn't a surprise to see Dieter Brock and Warren Moon led teams at the top of the passing statistics. As we can see though, Edmonton was a more balanced team as they were #2 in rushing while Winnipeg was #9 in rushing.

I was a bit surprised to see where the 6-10 Argos ranked in passing. Nobody here speaks rather fondly of the QB situation that year, but they still managed to finish #3 in the CFL. The Argos (to OV's delight) would probably have benefited from a stronger running game in 1980.

As we can see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats made the Grey Cup that year in spite of a rather brutal passing attack.

[Will]

1980 vs. Pass


<colgroup><col><col span="3"><col span="2"><col><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody>
Defence
Pass










Team
Comp
ATT
PCT
Y/ATT
Y/COM
Total Yardage
Per Game
TD
INT


Montreal
230
435
52.9
7.0
13.3
3058
191.1

21


Hamilton
241
449
53.7
7.0
13.1
3149
196.8

23


Toronto
256
445
57.5
7.3
12.7
3251
203.2

30


Saskatchewan
230
441
52.2
7.8
15.0
3454
215.9

24


Calgary
259
452
57.3
8.0
13.9
3604
225.3

26


Winnipeg
253
477
53.0
7.8
14.7
3724
232.8

31


BC
269
476
56.5
8.0
14.2
3831
239.4

21


Ottawa
287
476
60.3
8.2
13.6
3915
244.7

20


Edmonton
283
542
52.2
7.2
13.9
3923
245.2

33

</tbody>

1980 vs Run


<colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody>
Team
Total Yardage
Per Game


Hamilton
1331
83.2


Edmonton
1512
94.5


BC
1869
116.8


Ottawa
1964
122.8


Winnipeg
2089
130.6


Montreal
2123
132.7


Calgary
2127
132.9


Saskatchewan
2203
137.7


Toronto
2286
142.9

</tbody>

1980 Total Defense


<colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody>
Team
Total Yardage
Per Game


Hamilton
4480
280.0


Montreal
5181
323.8


Edmonton
5435
339.7


Toronto
5537
346.1


Saskatchewan
5657
353.6


BC
5700
356.3


Calgary
5731
358.2


Winnipeg
5813
363.3


Ottawa
5879
367.4


</tbody>

I had to recheck the data to be sure that the Eskimos really were last against the pass in 1980. You wouldn't expect that from that dynasty team. I think we might be able to conclude that the 1980 Argonauts were a tad unlucky. I think they ended up surrendering fewer points than several of the other eastern teams, but it appears that they suffered from a weak rushing attack and a weak rushing defense. Hamilton really benefited from its defense to get out of the east before they were absolutely demolished by the Eskimos 48-10 in the Grey Cup, and curious to see that Montreal hasn't really fallen off the cliff defensively yet.

1981 to follow and, yes Argo fans, it will not be pretty.

[argolio]

Esks may have been last against the pass in terms of yards per game, but I bet they were at or near the top in terms of pass efficiency defence. Just look at the completion percentage they allowed (tied for 1st) and interceptions (1st). And because the Esks often had the lead in the 4th quarter, opponents passed more trying to catch up.

Some of those TD-INT ratios are downright scary, and the passing attacks of the Esks and Bombers made the rest of the league look almost prehistoric.