1979 Atlanta Falcons season

1979 Atlanta Falcons season
1979 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1978; Falcons seasons; 1980 →;

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 in a 6–10 start.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1979 Atlanta Falcons draft
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

^[1]

Undrafted free agents[]

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Putt Choate	Linebacker	SMU
Joel Williams	Linebacker	Wisconsin–La Crosse

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 final roster**

	Quarterbacks 10 Steve Bartkowski 15 Mike Moroski 14 June Jones Running backs 31 William Andrews FB 44 Bubba Bean 21 Lynn Cain 39 James Mayberry 24 Haskel Stanback Wide receivers 89 Wallace Francis 85 Alfred Jackson 84 Alfred Jenkins 81 Dennis Pearson 82 Billy Ryckman Tight ends 87 Russ Mikeska 86 Jim Mitchell		Offensive linemen 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 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 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 38 Rick Byas CB 32 Ray Easterling FS 36 Bob Glazebrook 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 lists -- Putt Choate LB (IR) 26 Mike Esposito RB (IR) 88 Lewis Gilbert TE (IR) 75 Jeff Merrow DE (IR) 25 Ray Strong RB (IR) 83 James Wright TE (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2	at New Orleans Saints	W 40–34	70,940
2	September 10	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 14–10	66,935
3	September 16	Denver Broncos	L 20–17	57,677
4	September 23	at Detroit Lions	L 24–23	56,249
5	September 30	Washington Redskins	L 16–7	56,819
6	October 7	Green Bay Packers	W 25–7	56,184
7	October 14	at Oakland Raiders	L 50–19	52,900
8	October 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–15	33,952
9	October 29	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–28	52,566
10	November 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–14	55,150
11	November 11	at New York Giants	L 24–3	60,860
12	November 19	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–14	54,097
13	November 25	New Orleans Saints	L 37–6	42,815
14	December 2	at San Diego Chargers	W 28–26	50,198
15	December 9	Los Angeles Rams	L 34–13	49,236
16	December 16	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–21	37,211

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	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

References[]

^ "1979 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

External links[]

1979 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "1979 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

[1]

v t Atlanta Falcons
Founded in 1966 Based in Atlanta, Georgia Headquartered in Flowery Branch, Georgia
Franchise	Franchise Team history Seasons Players Quarterbacks Head coaches Expansion draft Draft history First-round draft picks
Stadiums	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Culture	Rankin M. Smith Sr. Arthur Blank Freddie Falcon Cheerleaders The "Dirty Bird" (dance) "2 Legit 2 Quit"
Lore	Grits Blitz Gary Anderson's missed field goal Michael Vick dog fighting investigation 28–3
Rivalries	Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Philadelphia Eagles
Wild card / First round berths (8)	1978 1982 1991 1995 2002 2008 2011 2017
Division championships (6)	1980 1998 2004 2010 2012 2016
Conference championships (2)	1998 2016
Ring of Honor	10 21 28 31 42 57 58 60 78 84 87
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t Atlanta Falcons seasons
1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance