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1979 New Orleans Saints

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Record: 8-8-0, Finished 2nd in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 370 points (23.1/g), 6th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 360 points (22.5/g), 22nd.
 Differential of 10 points (0.6/g), 14th.
 Expected W-L: 8.3-7.7.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +6 (0.4/g), 8th.

Coached by Dick Nolan (8-8-0)

1979 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Starters

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters
Pos Age Yrs GS Summary of Player Stats Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
 Offensive Starters Complete Team Stats
QB Archie Manning* 30 8 16 252 for 420, 3,169 yards, 15 td, 20 int, & 35 rushes for 186 yards and 2 td

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 2nd pick / 1971

RB Chuck Muncie* 26 3 15 238 rushes for 1,198 yards, 11 td, & 40 catches for 308 yards and 0 td

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1976

FB Tony Galbreath 25 3 0 189 rushes for 708 yards, 9 td, & 58 catches for 484 yards and 1 td

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1976

WR Wes Chandler* 23 1 16 65 catches for 1,069 yards, 6 td

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1978

WR Ike Harris 27 4 14 25 catches for 395 yards, 2 td, & 2 rushes for 9 yards and 0 td

St. Louis Cardinals / 4th / 91st pick / 1974

TE Henry Childs* 28 5 16 51 catches for 846 yards, 5 td

Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 109th pick / 1974

LT J.T. Taylor 23 1 16

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1978

LG Emanuel Zanders 28 5 16
C John Hill 29 7 16

New York Giants / 6th / 132nd pick / 1972

RG Conrad Dobler 29 7 16 2 fumbles recovered

St. Louis Cardinals / 5th / 110th pick / 1972

RT Robert E. Woods 29 6 15

New York Jets / 2nd / 38th pick / 1973

 Defensive Starters
LDE Elois Grooms 26 4 16 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1975

LDT Barry Bennett 24 1 14

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 60th pick / 1978

RDT Derland Moore 28 6 15

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 29th pick / 1973

RDE Don Reese 28 5 12 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered

Miami Dolphins / 1st / 26th pick / 1974

LLB Ken Bordelon 25 3 14 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Los Angeles Rams / 5th / 149th pick / 1976

MLB Joe Federspiel 29 7 16 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 99th pick / 1972

RLB Pat Hughes 32 9 0 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

New York Giants / 9th / 221st pick / 1970

LCB Clarence Chapman 26 3 15 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Oakland Raiders / 7th / 204th pick / 1976

RCB Eric Felton 24 1 10 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

New Orleans Saints / 5th / 115th pick / 1978

RCB David Gray 24 Rook 6 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered
SS Ray Brown 30 8 12 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered

Atlanta Falcons / 6th / 148th pick / 1971

FS Tom Myers* 29 7 15 7 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 74th pick / 1972

 Special Teams Starters
K Garo Yepremian 35 13 0 12 of 16 field goals & 39 of 40 extra points
P Rick Partridge 22 Rook 0 57 punts for a 40.9 average, 0 blocked

Green Bay Packers / 8th / 208th pick / 1979

PR Rich Mauti 25 2 0 27 punt returns for a 8.1 average and 0 td
KR Rich Mauti 25 2 0 36 kick returns for a 22.2 average and 0 td

Roster

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ BirthDate Yrs Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
Barry Bennett 24 DT-DE 16 14 257 6-4 Concordia (MN) 12/10/1955 1

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 60th pick / 1978

Ken Bordelon 25 LB 16 14 228 6-4 LSU 8/26/1954 3

Los Angeles Rams / 5th / 149th pick / 1976

Ray Brown 30 DB 12 12 208 6-1 West Texas A&M 1/12/1949 8

Atlanta Falcons / 6th / 148th pick / 1971

Ed Burns 25 QB 16 0 210 6-3 Nebraska 12/7/1954 Rook
Joe Campbell 24 DE-NT 10 0 254 6-6 Maryland 5/8/1955 2

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 7th pick / 1977

Wes Chandler* 23 WR 16 16 196 6-0 Florida 8/22/1956 1

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1978

Clarence Chapman 26 DB 16 15 185 5-10 Eastern Michigan 12/10/1953 3

Oakland Raiders / 7th / 204th pick / 1976

Henry Childs* 28 TE 16 16 223 6-2 Kansas State 4/16/1951 5

Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 109th pick / 1974

Conrad Dobler 29 G 16 16 254 6-3 Wyoming 10/1/1950 7

St. Louis Cardinals / 5th / 110th pick / 1972

Russell Erxleben 23 P 1 0 223 6-4 Texas 1/13/1956 Rook

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 11th pick / 1979

Joe Federspiel 29 LB 16 16 230 6-1 Kentucky 5/6/1950 7

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 99th pick / 1972

Eric Felton 24 DB 13 10 200 6-0 Texas Tech 10/8/1955 1

New Orleans Saints / 5th / 115th pick / 1978

Roger Finnie 34 T-G-DT 8 0 245 6-3 Florida A&M 11/6/1945 10

New York Jets / 14th / 364th pick / 1969

Mike Fultz 25 DT 13 1 278 6-5 Nebraska 1/28/1954 2

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 34th pick / 1977

Tony Galbreath 25 RB 15 0 228 6-0 Missouri 1/29/1954 3

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1976

David Gray 24 DB 16 6 187 6-0 Oregon State,San Diego State 3/28/1955 Rook
Elois Grooms 26 DE-DT 16 16 249 6-4 Tennessee Tech 5/20/1953 4

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1975

Larry Hardy 23 TE 16 0 234 6-3 Jackson State 7/9/1956 1

New Orleans Saints / 12th / 309th pick / 1978

Ike Harris 27 WR 14 14 210 6-3 Iowa State 11/27/1952 4

St. Louis Cardinals / 4th / 91st pick / 1974

John Hill 29 C-T 16 16 249 6-2 Lehigh 4/16/1950 7

New York Giants / 6th / 132nd pick / 1972

Jack Holmes 26 RB 16 1 210 5-11 Texas Southern 6/20/1953 1

Houston Oilers / 15th / 377th pick / 1975

Pat Hughes 32 LB-C 16 0 240 6-2 Boston University 6/2/1947 9

New York Giants / 9th / 221st pick / 1970

Kim Jones 27 RB 2 0 238 6-4 Colorado State 1/19/1952 3

Baltimore Colts / 7th / 157th pick / 1975

Jim Kovach 23 LB 16 0 230 6-2 Kentucky 5/1/1956 Rook

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 93rd pick / 1979

Dave Lafary 24 T-G 16 0 280 6-7 Purdue 1/13/1955 2

New Orleans Saints / 5th / 118th pick / 1977

Archie Manning* 30 QB 16 16 212 6-3 Mississippi 5/19/1949 8

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 2nd pick / 1971

Reggie Mathis 23 LB 16 0 220 6-2 Oklahoma 3/18/1956 Rook

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 38th pick / 1979

Rich Mauti 25 WR 15 0 190 6-0 Penn State 5/25/1954 2
Ralph McGill 29 DB 13 0 183 5-11 Tulsa 4/28/1950 7

San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 28th pick / 1972

Jim Merlo 28 LB 16 0 221 6-1 Stanford 10/3/1951 6

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 86th pick / 1973

Derland Moore 28 DT-NT-DE 15 15 250 6-4 Oklahoma 10/7/1951 6

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 29th pick / 1973

Chuck Muncie* 26 RB 16 15 227 6-3 California 3/17/1953 3

New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1976

Tom Myers* 29 DB 15 15 184 5-11 Syracuse 10/24/1950 7

New Orleans Saints / 3rd / 74th pick / 1972

Tinker Owens 25 WR 13 2 170 5-11 Oklahoma 10/3/1954 3

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 95th pick / 1976

Rick Partridge 22 P 13 0 175 6-1 Utah 8/26/1957 Rook

Green Bay Packers / 8th / 208th pick / 1979

Jim Pietrzak 26 C-DT-T 11 0 260 6-5 Eastern Michigan 2/21/1953 5

New York Giants / 6th / 132nd pick / 1974

Elex Price 29 DT 6 0 260 6-3 Alcorn State 8/11/1950 6
Ricky Ray 22 DB 6 0 180 5-11 Norfolk State 5/30/1957 Rook

New Orleans Saints / 6th / 146th pick / 1979

Don Reese 28 DT-DE 16 12 254 6-6 Jackson State 9/4/1951 5

Miami Dolphins / 1st / 26th pick / 1974

Don Schwartz 23 DB 14 4 191 6-1 Washington State 2/24/1956 1

New Orleans Saints / 4th / 87th pick / 1978

Bobby Scott 30 QB 3 0 201 6-1 Tennessee 4/2/1949 6

New Orleans Saints / 14th / 340th pick / 1971

Mike Strachan 26 RB 10 0 199 6-0 Iowa State 5/24/1953 4

New Orleans Saints / 9th / 216th pick / 1975

Fred Sturt 28 G 16 0 255 6-4 Bowling Green 1/6/1951 5

St. Louis Cardinals / 3rd / 59th pick / 1973

J.T. Taylor 23 T 16 16 265 6-4 Missouri 8/12/1956 1

New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1978

John Watson 30 G-T-C 5 0 249 6-4 Oklahoma 1/11/1949 8

San Francisco 49ers / 7th / 179th pick / 1971

Brooks Williams 25 TE 16 0 226 6-4 North Carolina 12/7/1954 1

New Orleans Saints / 8th / 199th pick / 1978

Wayne Wilson 22 RB 14 0 215 6-3 Shepherd 9/4/1957 Rook

Houston Oilers / 12th / 324th pick / 1979

Robert E. Woods 29 T-G 15 15 255 6-3 Tennessee State 7/26/1950 6

New York Jets / 2nd / 38th pick / 1973

Garo Yepremian 35 K 14 0 175 5-8 none 6/2/1944 13
Emanuel Zanders 28 G 16 16 251 6-1 Jackson State 7/31/1951 5
Team Total 26.5 16 224.3 6-2.1 3.8