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1979 Atlanta Falcons
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Record: 6-10-0, Finished 3rd in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 300 points (18.8/g), 19th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 388 points (24.2/g), 26th.
Differential of -88 points (-5.5/g), 26th.
Expected W-L: 5.6-10.4.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -7 (-0.4/g), 20th.
Coached by Leeman Bennett (6-10-0)
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1979 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Steve Bartkowski | 27 | 4 | 14 | 204 for 380, 2,505 yards, 17 td, 20 int, & 14 rushes for 36 yards and 2 td | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 1st pick / 1975 |
| RB | Bubba Bean | 25 | 3 | 11 | 88 rushes for 393 yards, 1 td, & 12 catches for 137 yards and 0 td | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 9th pick / 1976 |
| FB | William Andrews | 24 | Rook | 15 | 239 rushes for 1,023 yards, 3 td, & 39 catches for 309 yards and 2 td | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 79th pick / 1979 |
| WR | Wallace Francis | 28 | 6 | 16 | 74 catches for 1,013 yards, 8 td | Buffalo Bills / 5th / 110th pick / 1973 |
| WR | Alfred Jenkins | 27 | 4 | 16 | 50 catches for 858 yards, 3 td | |
| TE | Jim R. Mitchell | 32 | 10 | 0 | 16 catches for 118 yards, 2 td | Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 81st pick / 1969 |
| LT | Mike Kenn | 23 | 1 | 16 | 2 fumbles recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 13th pick / 1978 |
| LG | Dave Scott | 26 | 3 | 16 | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 71st pick / 1976 |
|
| C | Jeff Van Note | 33 | 10 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 11th / 262nd pick / 1969 |
| RG | R.C. Thielemann | 24 | 2 | 11 | 2 fumbles recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 2nd / 36th pick / 1977 |
| RG | Pat Howell | 22 | Rook | 5 | Atlanta Falcons / 2nd / 49th pick / 1979 |
|
| RT | Warren Bryant | 24 | 2 | 16 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 6th pick / 1977 |
|
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Jeff Yeates | 28 | 5 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 5 fumbles recovered | Buffalo Bills / 4th / 103rd pick / 1973 |
| LDT | Wilson Faumuina | 25 | 2 | 14 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 20th pick / 1977 |
| RDT | Edgar Fields | 25 | 2 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1977 |
| RDE | Don L. Smith | 22 | Rook | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 17th pick / 1979 |
| LLB | Fulton Kuykendall | 26 | 4 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 6th / 132nd pick / 1975 |
| MLB | Robert Pennywell | 25 | 2 | 16 | 1 interception, 3 fumbles recovered | San Francisco 49ers / 6th / 168th pick / 1976 |
| RLB | Greg Brezina | 33 | 11 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 11th / 275th pick / 1968 |
| LCB | Rolland Lawrence | 28 | 6 | 16 | 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| RCB | Rick Byas | 29 | 5 | 0 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| SS | Frank Reed | 25 | 3 | 11 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 8th / 219th pick / 1976 |
| SS | Ray Easterling | 30 | 7 | 0 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 223rd pick / 1972 |
| FS | Ray Easterling | 30 | 7 | 0 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 223rd pick / 1972 |
| FS | Tom Pridemore | 23 | 1 | 5 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 236th pick / 1978 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Tim Mazzetti | 23 | 1 | 0 | 13 of 25 field goals & 31 of 37 extra points | |
| P | John James | 30 | 7 | 0 | 83 punts for a 39.7 average, 1 blocked | |
| PR | Dennis Pearson | 24 | 1 | 0 | 12 punt returns for a 9.6 average and 0 td | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 125th pick / 1978 |
| KR | Dennis Pearson | 24 | 1 | 0 | 30 kick returns for a 19.0 average and 0 td | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 125th pick / 1978 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | William Andrews | 24 | RB | 15 | 15 | 206 | 6-0 | Auburn | 12/25/1955 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 79th pick / 1979 |
| 10 | Steve Bartkowski | 27 | QB | 14 | 14 | 216 | 6-4 | California | 11/12/1952 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 1st pick / 1975 |
| 44 | Bubba Bean | 25 | RB | 11 | 11 | 195 | 5-11 | Texas A&M | 1/26/1954 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 9th pick / 1976 |
| 50 | Greg Brezina | 33 | LB | 16 | 0 | 226 | 6-0 | Houston | 1/7/1946 | 11 | Atlanta Falcons / 11th / 275th pick / 1968 |
| 66 | Warren Bryant | 24 | T | 16 | 16 | 273 | 6-6 | Kentucky | 11/11/1955 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 6th pick / 1977 |
| 38 | Rick Byas | 29 | DB | 16 | 0 | 180 | 5-9 | Eastern Michigan,Wayne State (MI) | 10/19/1950 | 5 | |
| 51 | Brian Cabral | 23 | LB | 3 | 0 | 233 | 6-1 | Colorado | 6/23/1956 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 95th pick / 1978 |
| 21 | Lynn Cain | 24 | RB | 10 | 2 | 205 | 6-1 | USC | 10/16/1955 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 100th pick / 1979 |
| 55 | Tony Daykin | 24 | LB | 11 | 0 | 215 | 6-1 | Georgia Tech | 5/13/1955 | 2 | Detroit Lions / 11th / 293rd pick / 1977 |
| 32 | Ray Easterling | 30 | DB | 16 | 0 | 195 | 6-0 | Richmond | 9/3/1949 | 7 | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 223rd pick / 1972 |
| 74 | Wilson Faumuina | 25 | DT-DE-NT | 14 | 14 | 275 | 6-5 | San Jose State | 8/11/1954 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 20th pick / 1977 |
| 77 | Edgar Fields | 25 | DT-DE | 16 | 15 | 255 | 6-2 | Texas A&M | 3/10/1954 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1977 |
| 89 | Wallace Francis | 28 | WR | 16 | 16 | 190 | 5-11 | Ark-Pine Bluff | 11/7/1951 | 6 | Buffalo Bills / 5th / 110th pick / 1973 |
| 36 | Bob Glazebrook | 23 | DB | 13 | 0 | 200 | 6-1 | Fresno State | 3/7/1956 | 1 | Oakland Raiders / 11th / 304th pick / 1978 |
| 64 | Pat Howell | 22 | G | 15 | 5 | 257 | 6-5 | USC | 3/12/1957 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 2nd / 49th pick / 1979 |
| 85 | Alfred Jackson | 24 | WR | 12 | 0 | 176 | 5-11 | Texas | 8/3/1955 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 7th / 167th pick / 1978 |
| 6 | John James | 30 | P | 16 | 0 | 197 | 6-3 | Florida | 1/21/1949 | 7 | |
| 84 | Alfred Jenkins | 27 | WR | 16 | 16 | 170 | 5-10 | Morris Brown | 1/25/1952 | 4 | |
| 14 | June Jones | 26 | QB | 5 | 2 | 200 | 6-4 | Hawaii,Oregon,Portland State | 2/19/1953 | 2 | |
| 78 | Mike Kenn | 23 | T | 16 | 16 | 273 | 6-7 | Michigan | 2/9/1956 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 13th pick / 1978 |
| 33 | Jerome King | 24 | DB | 1 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | Purdue | 1/4/1955 | Rook | |
| 54 | Fulton Kuykendall | 26 | LB | 16 | 16 | 225 | 6-4 | UCLA | 6/10/1953 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons / 6th / 132nd pick / 1975 |
| 22 | Rolland Lawrence | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 179 | 5-10 | Tabor | 3/24/1951 | 6 | |
| 69 | Mike Lewis | 30 | DT-DE-NT | 13 | 0 | 261 | 6-4 | Ark-Pine Bluff,Wiley | 7/14/1949 | 8 | |
| 39 | James Mayberry | 22 | RB | 16 | 1 | 210 | 5-11 | Colorado | 11/5/1957 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 75th pick / 1979 |
| 4 | Tim Mazzetti | 23 | K | 16 | 0 | 175 | 6-1 | Pennsylvania | 2/1/1956 | 1 | |
| 56 | Ron McCartney | 25 | LB | 16 | 0 | 220 | 6-1 | Tennessee | 7/20/1954 | 2 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 53rd pick / 1976 |
| 52 | Dewey McClain | 25 | LB | 15 | 0 | 236 | 6-3 | East Central (OK) | 4/25/1954 | 3 | |
| 73 | Phil McKinnely | 25 | T-G-TE | 15 | 0 | 248 | 6-4 | UCLA | 7/8/1954 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 246th pick / 1976 |
| 75 | Jeff Merrow | 26 | DE-DT-LB | 3 | 2 | 236 | 6-4 | West Virginia | 7/12/1953 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons / 11th / 263rd pick / 1975 |
| 87 | Russ Mikeska | 24 | TE | 16 | 0 | 225 | 6-3 | Texas A&M | 9/10/1955 | Rook | |
| 86 | Jim R. Mitchell | 32 | TE | 16 | 0 | 234 | 6-1 | Prairie View | 10/19/1947 | 10 | Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 81st pick / 1969 |
| 45 | Tom Moriarty | 26 | DB | 16 | 0 | 185 | 6-0 | Bowling Green | 4/7/1953 | 2 | |
| 15 | Mike Moroski | 22 | QB | 2 | 0 | 200 | 6-4 | California-Davis | 9/4/1957 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 6th / 154th pick / 1979 |
| 33 | Ricky Patton | 25 | RB | 4 | 0 | 190 | 5-11 | Ferris State,Jackson State,Michigan | 4/6/1954 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 257th pick / 1978 |
| 81 | Dennis Pearson | 24 | WR | 16 | 0 | 177 | 5-11 | San Diego State,Washington | 2/9/1955 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 125th pick / 1978 |
| 59 | Robert Pennywell | 25 | LB | 16 | 16 | 222 | 6-1 | Grambling State | 11/6/1954 | 2 | San Francisco 49ers / 6th / 168th pick / 1976 |
| 27 | Tom Pridemore | 23 | DB | 16 | 5 | 186 | 5-10 | West Virginia | 4/29/1956 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 236th pick / 1978 |
| 28 | Frank Reed | 25 | DB | 11 | 11 | 193 | 5-11 | Washington | 5/13/1954 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 8th / 219th pick / 1976 |
| 82 | Billy Ryckman | 24 | WR | 14 | 0 | 172 | 5-11 | Louisiana Tech | 2/28/1955 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 257th pick / 1977 |
| 53 | Paul Ryczek | 27 | C | 16 | 0 | 230 | 6-2 | Virginia | 6/25/1952 | 5 | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 252nd pick / 1974 |
| 70 | Dave Scott | 26 | G-T | 16 | 16 | 276 | 6-4 | Kansas | 12/26/1953 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 71st pick / 1976 |
| 65 | Don L. Smith | 22 | NT-DE-DT | 16 | 16 | 256 | 6-5 | Miami (FL) | 5/9/1957 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 1st / 17th pick / 1979 |
| 24 | Haskel Stanback | 27 | RB | 13 | 0 | 210 | 6-0 | Tennessee | 3/19/1952 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 114th pick / 1974 |
| 25 | Ray Strong | 23 | RB | 6 | 0 | 184 | 5-9 | UNLV | 5/7/1956 | 1 | Atlanta Falcons / 10th / 263rd pick / 1978 |
| 68 | R.C. Thielemann | 24 | G-C | 11 | 11 | 255 | 6-4 | Arkansas | 8/12/1955 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 2nd / 36th pick / 1977 |
| 57 | Jeff Van Note | 33 | C-G-LB | 16 | 16 | 247 | 6-2 | Kentucky | 2/7/1946 | 10 | Atlanta Falcons / 11th / 262nd pick / 1969 |
| 58 | Joel Williams | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 222 | 6-1 | Peru State,Wisconsin-LaCrosse | 12/13/1956 | Rook | |
| 79 | Jeff Yeates | 28 | DE-DT-G | 16 | 16 | 248 | 6-3 | Boston College | 8/3/1951 | 5 | Buffalo Bills / 4th / 103rd pick / 1973 |
| 63 | Mike Zele | 23 | NT-DT | 13 | 0 | 239 | 6-3 | Kent State | 7/3/1956 | Rook | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 127th pick / 1979 |
| Team Total | 25.5 | 16 | 217.1 | 6-1.4 | 2.9 |