1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Don Coryell
Home field	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Tom Banks; G Conrad Dobler; T Dan Dierdorf; QB Jim Hart; RB Terry Metcalf; WR Mel Gray; CB Roger Wehrli
	← 1976; Cardinals seasons; 1978 →;

The 1977 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise’s 56th year with the National Football League and the 18th season in St. Louis. This was the final season in St Louis for head coach Don Coryell who began coaching the San Diego Chargers the following year. The Cardinals hosted the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving, replacing the Dallas Cowboys.

Coryell's final game with the Cardinals was an embarrassing 17–7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won for the first time at Tampa Stadium following 13 consecutive home defeats. It was the Bucs' second consecutive victory following an NFL-record 26-game losing streak; Tampa Bay won 33–14 at New Orleans the previous week.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1977 St. Louis Cardinals draft
1	19	Steve Pisarkiewicz	Quarterback	Missouri
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1977 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Jeff Blanc	Running back	BYU
David Burke	Running back	Kearney State
Wayne Carmody	Defensive back	Southern Illinois
Rob Fitzgerald	Defensive back	Missouri
Gil Foushee	Wide receiver	Duke
David Headstream	Linebacker	SMU
Doug Jackson	Punter	South Dakota State

Personnel

Staff

**1977 St. Louis Cardinals staff**
	Front office Owner – Bill Bidwill Director of Operations – Joe Sullivan Assistant director of Operations – Larry Wilson Head coaches Head coach – Don Coryell Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive Backs – Joe Gibbs Offensive Line – Jim Hanifan Special Assignments – Dan Brooks			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ray Willsey Defensive Line – Willie Zapalac Defensive Backs – Chuck Weber

Roster

**1977 St. Louis Cardinals roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Bill Donckers 17 Jim Hart 15 Steve Pisarkiewicz Running backs (RB) 34 Steve Jones 32 Jerry Latin 21 Terry Metcalf 24 Wayne Morris FB 35 Jim Otis FB Wide receivers (WR) 85 Mel Gray 84 Ike Harris 83 Pat Tilley Tight ends (TE) 88 J. V. Cain 81 Jackie Smith		Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Hank Allison G 54 Tom Banks C 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 66 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie T 65 Brad Oates T 62 Keith Wortman T 64 Bob Young G Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Bob Bell DT 76 Charlie Davis DT 73 Mike Dawson DE 74 Walt Patulski DE 78 Ron Yankowski DE 63 John Zook DE		Linebackers (LB) 50 Kurt Allerman 57 Mark Arneson 58 Tim Black 56 Tim Kearney 59 Marv Kellum 53 Steve Neils 55 Eric Williams Defensive backs (DB) 30 Bill Bradley FS 26 Rondy Colbert CB 28 Robert Giblin S 38 Lee Nelson CB 36 Ken Reaves SS 46 Jeff Severson SS 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 25 Jim Bakken K 12 Duane Carrell P				Reserve -- Rick Fenlaw LB (IR) -- George Franklin RB (IR) 20 Mike Sensibaugh FS (IR) 45 Perry Smith DB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

On November 24, 1977, Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese would throw for six touchdown passes in a Thanksgiving Day match versus the Cardinals.^[1] The Dolphins would set a franchise record for most points scored in one game with 55.^[2] Of note, the Dolphins would score eight touchdowns and accumulate 34 first downs. This would end the experiment of the Cardinals playing on Thanksgiving, and the following season the Dallas Cowboys would go back in that holiday slot.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 18	at Denver Broncos	L 0–7	0–1	Mile High Stadium	75,002
2	September 25	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	1–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,878
3	October 2	at Washington Redskins	L 14–24	1–2	RFK Stadium	55,031
4	October 9	Dallas Cowboys	L 24–30	1–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,129
5	October 16	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–17	2–3	Veterans Stadium	60,535
6	October 23	New Orleans Saints	W 49–31	3–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,417
7	October 31	New York Giants	W 28–0	4–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,323
8	November 6	at Minnesota Vikings	W 27–7	5–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,066
9	November 14	at Dallas Cowboys	W 24–17	6–3	Texas Stadium	64,038
10	November 20	Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–16	7–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,768
11	November 24	Miami Dolphins	L 14–55	7–4	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,269
12	December 4	at New York Giants	L 7–27	7–5	Giants Stadium	71,826
13	December 10	Washington Redskins	L 20–26	7–6	Busch Memorial Stadium	36,067
14	December 18	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 7–17	7–7	Tampa Stadium	56,922
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 5

Place: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Television: CBS
Announcers: Gary Bender, Tom Matte

Jim Hart, questionable all week with an injury, passed 38 yards to Ike Harris for a TD. Terry Metcalf and Jerry Latin both scored on runs of 10 and two yards to lift the Cardinals to a much-needed win over the Eagles.

Week 6

Place: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Television: CBS
Announcers: Gary Bender, Tom Matte

Mel Gray caught passes from quarterback Jim Hart and running back Terry Metcalf for touchdowns and Wayne Morris scored four times on short distance runs in St. Louis Wide-open victory and now are back in the running for a playoff spot. Bobby Scott passed for two touchdowns for the Saints, who wiped out a 21-0 lead, then fell back again. The Saints total 440 yards on offense while the victorious Cardinals gained 494 yards.

Week 8

Place: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
Television: CBS
Announcers: Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

"I think we we're fortunate to catch them a little flat and we were at the top of our game" Don Coryell said after his Cardinals beat the front running Central Division leaders Vikings. The Cardinals rolled up 316 yards on the ground and Jim Hart completed 10 of 14 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. The short scoring passes to Wayne Morris and Terry Metcalf came in the first half. The two running backs each scored twice as the Cardinals piled up a 27-0 lead before Minnesota scored late in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Fran Tarkenton to Sammy White. Vikings coach Bud Grant said "The Cardinals offense is outstanding. We didn't think we could stop them but we did think we could outscore them. Had we scored a couple times when we were down there, it might have been a different game."

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys⁽¹⁾	12	2	0	.857	7–1	11–1	345	212	W4
Washington Redskins	9	5	0	.643	4–4	8–4	196	189	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	7	7	0	.500	4–4	7–5	272	287	L4
Philadelphia Eagles	5	9	0	.357	2–6	4–8	220	207	W2
New York Giants	5	9	0	.357	3–5	5–7	181	265	L2

References

^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.44
^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.176

[1] 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.44

[2] 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.176

[1]

[2]