1979 Atlanta Falcons season

1979 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1979 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 14th season. The Falcons were trying to improve upon their 9–7 record in 1978 and make it to the playoffs for the second time in team history, their first appearance being the year before. Rookie fullback William Andrews rushed for 167 yards in a 40–34 overtime win over the Saints in the season opener in New Orleans. Andrews set a team record with 1,023 yards, while quarterback Steve Bartkowski became the first Falcon to surpass the 2,000-yard mark with 2,505. However, the Falcons' defense allowed 388 points and the team finished 6–10.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft

1979 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Don Smith	Defensive tackle	Miami (FL)
2	49	Pat Howell	Guard	USC
3	75	James Mayberry	Running back	Colorado
3	79	William Andrews *	Running back	Auburn
4	100	Lynn Cain	Running back	USC
4	101	Charles Johnson	Defensive back	Grambling State
5	127	Mike Zele	Nose tackle	Kent State
6	154	Mike Moroski	Quarterback	UC Davis
7	186	Roger Westlund	Offensive tackle	Washington
8	212	Keith Miller	Linebacker	Northeastern State
9	239	Dave Parkin	Defensive back	Utah State
10	266	Bruce Beekley	Linebacker	Oregon
11	292	Bill Leer	Center	Colorado State
12	323	Stuart Walker	Linebacker	Colorado
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Putt Choate	Linebacker	SMU
Don Lukas	Wide receiver	Michigan Tech

Personnel

Staff

1979 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of player personnel – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head coach – Leeman Bennett Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive backs – John North Receivers – Ted Plumb Offensive line – Bill Walsh

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jerry Glanville Defensive line – Jim Champion Linebackers – Doug Shively

Roster

1979 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Steve Bartkowski  9 Larry Fortner 15 Mike Moroski 14 June Jones Running backs (RB) 31 William Andrews FB 44 Bubba Bean 39 James Mayberry 24 Haskel Stanback Wide receivers (WR) 89 Wallace Francis 85 Alfred Jackson 84 Alfred Jenkins 81 Dennis Pearson 82 Billy Ryckman Tight ends (TE) 87 Russ Mikeska 86 Jim Mitchell

Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Warren Bryant T -- Chuck Correal C 64 Pat Howell G 78 Mike Kenn T 73 Phil McKinnely T 53 Paul Ryczek C 70 Dave Scott G 68 R.C. Thielemann G 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen (DL) 74 Wilson Faumuina DT 77 Edgar Fields DT 69 Mike Lewis DT 65 Don Smith DE 79 Jeff Yeates DE 63 Mike Zele DT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Greg Brezina 51 Brian Cabral 55 Tony Daykin 54 Fulton Kuykendall 56 Ron McCartney 52 Dewey McClain 59 Robert Pennywell 58 Joel Williams Defensive backs (DB) 38 Rick Byas CB 32 Ray Easterling FS 36 Bob Glazebrook 33 Jerome King CB 22 Rolland Lawrence CB 45 Tom Moriarty S 27 Tom Pridemore FS 28 Frank Reed SS Special teams  6 John James P  4 Tim Mazzetti K

Reserve 21 Lynn Cain RB (IR) 48 Putt Choate LB (IR) 26 Mike Esposito RB (IR) 88 Lewis Gilbert TE (IR) -- Don Lukas WR (IR) 75 Jeff Merrow DE (IR) 25 Ray Strong RB (IR) 83 James Wright TE (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 2	at New Orleans Saints	W 40–34	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	70,940
2	September 10	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 14–10	2–0	Veterans Stadium	66,935
3	September 16	Denver Broncos	L 17–20	2–1	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	57,677
4	September 23	at Detroit Lions	L 23–24	2–2	Pontiac Silverdome	56,249
5	September 30	Washington Redskins	L 7–16	2–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	56,819
6	October 7	Green Bay Packers	W 25–7	3–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	56,184
7	October 14	at Oakland Raiders	L 19–50	3–4	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,900
8	October 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 15–20	3–5	Candlestick Park	33,952
9	October 29	Seattle Seahawks	L 28–31	3–6	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	52,566
10	November 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–14	4–6	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	55,150
11	November 11	at New York Giants	L 3–24	4–7	Giants Stadium	60,860
12	November 19	at Los Angeles Rams	L 14–20	4–8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	54,097
13	November 25	New Orleans Saints	L 6–37	4–9	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	42,815
14	December 2	at San Diego Chargers	W 28–26	5–9	San Diego Stadium	50,198
15	December 9	Los Angeles Rams	L 13–34	5–10	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	49,236
16	December 16	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–21	6–10	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	37,211
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams(3)	9	7	0	.563	5–1	7–5	323	309	L1
New Orleans Saints	8	8	0	.500	4–2	8–4	370	360	W1
Atlanta Falcons	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	300	388	W1
San Francisco 49ers	2	14	0	.125	1–5	2–10	308	416	L1

External links

• 1979 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com