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1979 New England Patriots

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Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in AFC East Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 411 points (25.7/g), 2nd of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 326 points (20.4/g), 15th.
 Differential of 85 points (5.3/g), 3rd.
 Expected W-L: 10.1-5.9.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +4 (0.2/g), 9th.

Simple Rating System: Total 5.1, Offense: 6.1, Defense: -1.1, SoS: -0.2, versus averages of 0.0.

Coached by Ron Erhardt

 Offensive Coordinator: Jim Ringo
 Defensive Coordinator: Fritz Shurmur

Training Camp: Bryant College (Smithfield, Rhode Island)

Team Stats and Rankings

Tot Yds & TO Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 411 5470 1128 4.8 318 237 475 3218 30 23 6.1 159 604 2252 16 3.7 132 39 16 27
Team Defense 326 4323 1019 4.2 283 246 467 2553 13 20 4.9 139 495 1770 22 3.6 118 43 23 26
Lg Rank Offense 2 8 7 13 8 1 16 10 6 15 15 22 15 11
Lg Rank Defense 15 3 12 15 8 3 17 3 3 5 20 7 6 3

Team Games & Schedule

Score Offense Defense
Week Day Date OT Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Mon September 3 boxscore L OT 0-1 Pittsburgh Steelers 13 16 16 244 82 162 2 20 309 191 118 2
2 Sun September 9 boxscore W 1-1 New York Jets 56 3 30 597 365 232 3 12 134 45 89 6
3 Sun September 16 boxscore W 2-1 @ Cincinnati Bengals 20 14 18 332 167 165 17 198 32 166 1
4 Sun September 23 boxscore W 3-1 San Diego Chargers 27 21 20 291 140 151 2 15 232 193 39 2
5 Mon October 1 boxscore L 3-2 @ Green Bay Packers 14 27 26 401 239 162 6 19 317 199 118 2
6 Sun October 7 boxscore W 4-2 Detroit Lions 24 17 22 251 111 140 2 9 211 156 55 3
7 Sun October 14 boxscore W 5-2 @ Chicago Bears 27 7 25 360 218 142 2 5 169 96 73 2
8 Sun October 21 boxscore W 6-2 Miami Dolphins 28 13 17 299 170 129 1 13 204 69 135 5
9 Sun October 28 boxscore L 6-3 @ Baltimore Colts 26 31 19 408 298 110 2 23 396 256 140 4
10 Sun November 4 boxscore W 7-3 @ Buffalo Bills 26 6 20 438 327 111 3 15 264 181 83 5
11 Sun November 11 boxscore L 7-4 @ Denver Broncos 10 45 8 92 34 58 3 21 289 182 107 3
12 Sun November 18 boxscore W 8-4 Baltimore Colts 50 21 22 417 169 248 1 24 263 174 89 3
13 Sun November 25 boxscore L OT 8-5 Buffalo Bills 13 16 21 309 136 173 4 18 281 201 80 2
14 Thu November 29 boxscore L 8-6 @ Miami Dolphins 24 39 21 420 327 93 6 22 322 152 170 2
15 Sun December 9 boxscore L 8-7 @ New York Jets 26 27 19 320 213 107 1 20 281 127 154
16 Sun December 16 boxscore W 9-7 Minnesota Vikings 27 23 14 291 222 69 1 30 453 299 154 1

Passing

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk% 4QC GWD
14 Steve Grogan 26 QB 16 16 9-7-0 206 423 48.7 3286 28 6.6 20 4.7 63 7.8 7.0 16.0 205.4 77.4 45 341 6.29 5.57 9.6 1 1
17 Tom Owen 27 6 0 27 47 57.4 248 2 4.3 3 6.4 32 5.3 3.3 9.2 41.3 59.5 4 41 4.06 2.20 7.8 1 1
83 Don Westbrook 27 16 0 2 2 100.0 52 0 0.0 0 0.0 28 26.0 26.0 26.0 3.3 118.7 0 0 26.00 26.00 0.0
12 Matt Cavanaugh 23 13 0 1 1 100.0 10 0 0.0 0 0.0 10 10.0 10.0 10.0 0.8 108.3 0 0 10.00 10.00 0.0
8 Eddie Hare 22 P 16 0 1 1 100.0 4 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 4.0 4.0 4.0 0.3 83.3 0 0 4.00 4.00 0.0
29 Harold Jackson 33 WR 16 16 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.0
Team Total 26.4 16 9-7-0 237 475 49.9 3600 30 6.3 23 4.8 63 7.6 6.7 15.2 225.0 76.1 49 382 6.14 5.31 9.4 2 2
Opp Total 16 246 467 52.7 3065 13 2.8 20 4.3 6.6 5.19 12.5 191.6 64.8 57 512 4.9 3.7 10.9

Rushing & Receiving

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
39 Sam Cunningham 29 FB 12 12 159 563 5 27 3.5 46.9 13.3 29 236 8.1 0 20 2.4 19.7 799 5 4
23 Horace Ivory 25 RB 11 9 143 522 1 52 3.7 47.5 13.0 23 216 9.4 2 24 2.1 19.6 738 3 4
44 Don Calhoun 27 fb 16 6 137 456 5 29 3.3 28.5 8.6 15 66 4.4 1 14 0.9 4.1 522 6 2
14 Steve Grogan 26 QB 16 16 64 368 2 26 5.8 23.0 4.0 368 2 12
32 Andy Johnson 27 rb 5 5 43 132 1 15 3.1 26.4 8.6 9 68 7.6 0 11 1.8 13.6 200 1 0
30 Mosi Tatupu 24 16 0 23 71 0 12 3.1 4.4 1.4 2 9 4.5 0 5 0.1 0.6 80 0 0
35 Allan Clark 22 KR 16 0 19 84 2 19 4.4 5.3 1.2 2 35 17.5 0 20 0.1 2.2 119 2 0
86 Stanley Morgan* 24 PR/WR 16 16 7 39 0 17 5.6 2.4 0.4 44 1002 22.8 12 63 2.8 62.6 1041 12 1
29 Harold Jackson 33 WR 16 16 3 12 0 12 4.0 0.8 0.2 45 1013 22.5 7 59 2.8 63.3 1025 7 0
83 Don Westbrook 27 16 0 2 8 0 4 4.0 0.5 0.1 9 173 19.2 1 38 0.6 10.8 181 1 0
17 Tom Owen 27 6 0 2 -1 0 0 -0.5 -0.2 0.3 -1 0 1
12 Matt Cavanaugh 23 13 0 1 -2 0 -2 -2.0 -0.2 0.1 -2 0 0
8 Eddie Hare 22 P 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0 0 0
81 Russ Francis 26 TE 12 12 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 39 557 14.3 5 44 3.3 46.4 557 5 0
80 Don Hasselbeck 24 te 16 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 13 158 12.2 0 41 0.8 9.9 158 0 1
88 Carlos Pennywell 23 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 35 8.8 1 13 0.7 5.8 35 1 0
87 Ray Jarvis 30 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 30 15.0 1 15 0.3 4.3 30 1 0
82 Al Chandler 29 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 2 2.0 0 2 0.1 0.3 2 0 0
Team Total 26.4 16 604 2252 16 52 3.7 140.8 37.8 237 3600 15.2 30 63 14.8 225.0 5852 46 29
Opp Total 16 495 1770 22 3.6 110.6 30.9 246 2553 10.4 13 15.4 159.6 4323 35 35

Kick & Punt Returns

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
35 Allan Clark 22 KR 16 0 37 816 0 38 22.1 935
86 Stanley Morgan* 24 PR/WR 16 16 29 289 1 80 10.0 1 12 0 12 12.0 1342
83 Don Westbrook 27 16 0 2 5 0 5 2.5 11 151 0 30 13.7 337
25 Rick Sanford 22 db 16 4 1 1 0 1 1.0 10 179 0 23 17.9 180
40 Mike Haynes* 26 RCB 16 15 5 16 0 5 3.2 16
30 Mosi Tatupu 24 16 0 3 15 0 12 5.0 95
26 Raymond Clayborn 24 LCB 16 16 2 33 0 20 16.5 33
23 Horace Ivory 25 RB 11 9 1 15 0 15 15.0 753
21 Mark Washington 32 12 0 1 18 0 18 18.0 18
Team Total 26.4 16 37 311 1 80 8.4 66 1239 0 38 18.8 7402
Opp Total 16 28 1 80 1621 0 20.3

Kicking & Punting

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
8 Eddie Hare 22 P 16 0 83 3038 58 1 36.6
1 John Smith 30 K 16 0 6 6 13 11 14 6 33 23 69.7% 49 46 93.9%
Team Total 26.4 16 6 6 13 11 14 6 33 23 69.7% 49 46 93.9% 83 3038 58 1 36.6
Opp Total 16 26 18 69.2% 39 36 92.3% 94 3638 38.7

Defense & Fumbles

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
14 Steve Grogan 26 QB 16 16 0 12 4 -12 0
40 Mike Haynes* 26 RCB 16 15 3 66 0 33 0 0 1 3 0 0
26 Raymond Clayborn 24 LCB 16 16 5 56 0 27 0
23 Horace Ivory 25 RB 11 9 0 4 1 0 0
39 Sam Cunningham 29 FB 12 12 0 4 0 0 0
34 Prentice McCray 28 ss 14 5 3 48 0 26 0 0 0 1 0 0
27 Doug Beaudoin 25 SS 10 8 1 30 0 30 0 0 0 2 0 0
44 Don Calhoun 27 fb 16 6 0 2 1 0 0
55 Ray Costict 24 lb 16 1 1 22 0 22 0 0 0 2 16 0
48 Tim Fox 26 FS 16 16 2 38 0 25 0 0 0 1 4 0
25 Rick Sanford 22 db 16 4 1 39 0 27 0 0 0 2 10 0
58 Pete Brock 25 lt 16 7 0 2 0 0 0
35 Allan Clark 22 KR 16 0 0 0 2 0 0
8 Eddie Hare 22 P 16 0 0 0 2 0 0
59 Mike Hawkins 24 LOLB 16 14 2 35 1 35 0
72 Mel Lunsford 29 LDE 16 16 0 0 2 0 0
57 Steve Nelson 28 LILB 15 15 1 18 0 18 0 0 0 1 0 0
56 Rod Shoate 26 ROLB 14 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
85 Julius Adams 31 de 16 2 0 0 1 0 0
64 Richard Bishop 29 RDE 14 14 0 0 1 0 0
63 Mark Buben 22 16 0 0 0 1 0 0
75 Bob Cryder 23 t 16 2 0 0 1 0 0
73 John Hannah*+ 28 LG 16 16 0 0 1 0 0
80 Don Hasselbeck 24 te 16 3 0 1 0 0 0
50 Sam Hunt 28 RILB 15 15 0 0 1 0 0
74 Shelby Jordan 27 RT 14 12 0 0 1 0 0
67 Bill Lenkaitis 33 C 16 16 0 0 1 0 0
86 Stanley Morgan* 24 PR/WR 16 16 0 1 0 0 0
17 Tom Owen 27 6 0 0 1 0 0 0
83 Don Westbrook 27 16 0 0 0 1 0 0
62 Dwight Wheeler 24 LT 13 10 0 1 0 -14 0
Team Total 26.4 16 20 352 1 35 0 0 29 34 4 0
Opp Total 16 49 35 12 1

Scoring Summary

ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD AllTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
1 John Smith 30 K 16 0 46 23 115
86 Stanley Morgan* 24 PR/WR 16 16 12 1 13 78
29 Harold Jackson 33 WR 16 16 7 7 42
44 Don Calhoun 27 fb 16 6 5 1 6 36
39 Sam Cunningham 29 FB 12 12 5 5 30
81 Russ Francis 26 TE 12 12 5 5 30
23 Horace Ivory 25 RB 11 9 1 2 3 18
35 Allan Clark 22 KR 16 0 2 2 12
14 Steve Grogan 26 QB 16 16 2 2 12
59 Mike Hawkins 24 LOLB 16 14 1 1 6
87 Ray Jarvis 30 7 0 1 1 6
32 Andy Johnson 27 rb 5 5 1 1 6
88 Carlos Pennywell 23 6 0 1 1 6
25 Rick Sanford 22 db 16 4 1 1 6
83 Don Westbrook 27 16 0 1 1 6
Team Total 26.4 16 16 30 1 1 1 49 46 23 409
Opp Total 16 22 13 1 36 18 1 326