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1978 Houston Oilers
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
Record: 10-6-0, Finished 2nd in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 283 points (17.7/g), 14th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 298 points (18.6/g), 16th.
Differential of -15 points (-0.9/g), 15th.
Expected W-L: 7.5-8.5.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -4 (-0.2/g), 19th.
Simple Rating System: Total -0.4, Offense: -0.6, Defense: 0.2, SoS: 0.5, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Bum Phillips
Defensive Coordinator: Ed Biles
Training Camp: Angelo State (San Angelo, Texas)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Dan Pastorini | 29 | 7 | 16 | 199 for 368, 2,473 yards, 16 td, 17 int, & 18 rushes for 11 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| RB | Earl Campbell*+ | 23 | Rook | 14 | 302 rushes for 1,450 yards, 13 td, & 12 catches for 48 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| FB | Tim Wilson | 24 | 1 | 13 | 126 rushes for 431 yards, 0 td, & 15 catches for 91 yards and 1 td | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| WR | Ken Burrough | 30 | 8 | 0 | 47 catches for 624 yards, 2 td, & 3 rushes for -11 yards and 0 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| WR | Mike Renfro | 23 | Rook | 10 | 26 catches for 339 yards, 2 td, & 1 rush for 9 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 98th pick / 1978 |
| TE | Mike Barber | 25 | 2 | 16 | 32 catches for 513 yards, 3 td, & 2 rushes for 14 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| LT | Greg Sampson | 28 | 6 | 0 | 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1972 |
| LG | George Reihner | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 38th pick / 1977 |
| C | Carl Mauck | 31 | 9 | 16 | Baltimore Colts / 13th / 337th pick / 1969 | |
| RG | Ed Fisher | 29 | 4 | 16 | ||
| LG | Conway Hayman | 29 | 3 | 16 | Washington Redskins / 6th / 141st pick / 1971 | |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Jim Young | 28 | 1 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| NT | Curley Culp* | 32 | 10 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968 |
| RDE | Elvin Bethea* | 32 | 10 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| LOLB | Ted Washington | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
| LILB | Steve Kiner | 31 | 8 | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1970 |
| RILB | Gregg Bingham | 27 | 5 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| ROLB | Robert Brazile*+ | 25 | 3 | 16 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| LCB | Willie Alexander | 29 | 7 | 16 | 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 6th / 134th pick / 1971 |
| RCB | Greg Stemrick | 27 | 3 | 16 | 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| SS | Bill Currier | 23 | 1 | 11 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 9th / 232nd pick / 1977 |
| FS | Mike Reinfeldt | 25 | 2 | 16 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Toni Fritsch | 33 | 7 | 0 | 14 of 18 field goals & 31 of 32 extra points | |
| P | Cliff Parsley | 24 | 1 | 0 | 91 punts for a 38.9 average, 1 blocked | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| PR | Ronnie Coleman | 27 | 4 | 0 | 16 punt returns for a 8.9 average and 0 td | |
| KR | Johnnie Dirden | 26 | Rook | 0 | 32 kick returns for a 24.4 average and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 10th / 1st pick / 1978 Supp |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | AV | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Willie Alexander | 29 | LCB | 16 | 16 | 194 | 6-2 | Alcorn St. | 9/21/1949 | 7 | 7 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 134th pick / 1971 |
| 86 | Mike Barber | 25 | TE | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 6/4/1953 | 2 | 9 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| 63 | Steve Baumgartner | 27 | 16 | 0 | 256 | 6-7 | Purdue | 3/26/1951 | 5 | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 51st pick / 1973 | |
| 65 | Elvin Bethea* | 32 | RDE | 16 | 16 | 260 | 6-2 | North Carolina A&T | 3/1/1946 | 10 | 9 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| 54 | Gregg Bingham | 27 | RILB | 16 | 16 | 227 | 6-1 | Purdue | 3/13/1951 | 5 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| 52 | Robert Brazile*+ | 25 | ROLB | 16 | 16 | 241 | 6-4 | Jackson St. | 2/7/1953 | 3 | 12 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| 00 | Ken Burrough | 30 | WR | 16 | 0 | 215 | 6-3 | Texas Southern | 7/14/1948 | 8 | 8 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| 34 | Earl Campbell*+ | 23 | RB | 15 | 14 | 232 | 5-11 | Texas | 3/29/1955 | Rook | 13 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| 26 | Rob Carpenter | 23 | 11 | 0 | 224 | 6-1 | Miami (OH) | 4/20/1955 | 1 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 84th pick / 1977 | |
| 58 | David Carter | 25 | 16 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | West. Kentucky | 11/27/1953 | 1 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 165th pick / 1977 | |
| 88 | Rich Caster | 30 | 14 | 0 | 228 | 6-5 | Jackson St. | 10/16/1948 | 8 | 6 | New York Jets / 2nd / 46th pick / 1970 | |
| 47 | Ronnie Coleman | 27 | PR | 15 | 0 | 195 | 5-10 | Alabama A&M | 7/9/1951 | 4 | 5 | |
| 78 | Curley Culp* | 32 | NT | 16 | 0 | 265 | 6-2 | Arizona St. | 3/10/1946 | 10 | 10 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968 |
| 20 | Bill Currier | 23 | SS | 14 | 11 | 196 | 6-0 | South Carolina | 1/5/1955 | 1 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 232nd pick / 1977 |
| 28 | Anthony Davis | 26 | 2 | 0 | 190 | 5-10 | USC | 9/8/1952 | 1 | 0 | New York Jets / 2nd / 37th pick / 1975 | |
| 67 | Jimmy Dean | 23 | 3 | 0 | 252 | 6-4 | Texas A&M | 1/8/1955 | Rook | 0 | Buffalo Bills / 4th / 86th pick / 1977 | |
| 81 | Johnnie Dirden | 26 | KR | 16 | 0 | 188 | 6-0 | Sam Houston St. | 3/14/1952 | Rook | 0 | Houston Oilers / 10th / 1st pick / 1978 Supp |
| 69 | Andy Dorris | 27 | 16 | 0 | 238 | 6-4 | New Mexico St. | 8/11/1951 | 5 | 1 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 93rd pick / 1973 | |
| 31 | Brian Duncan | 26 | 5 | 0 | 201 | 6-0 | SMU | 3/31/1952 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 60 | Ed Fisher | 29 | RG | 16 | 16 | 249 | 6-3 | Arizona St. | 5/31/1949 | 4 | 6 | |
| 16 | Toni Fritsch | 33 | K | 16 | 0 | 190 | 5-7 | none | 7/10/1945 | 7 | 0 | |
| 70 | Conway Hayman | 29 | LG | 16 | 16 | 264 | 6-3 | Delaware | 1/9/1949 | 3 | 6 | Washington Redskins / 6th / 141st pick / 1971 |
| 15 | Al Johnson | 28 | 7 | 0 | 200 | 6-0 | Cincinnati | 6/17/1950 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 84 | Billy Johnson | 26 | 5 | 0 | 170 | 5-9 | Widener | 1/21/1952 | 4 | 0 | Houston Oilers / 15th / 365th pick / 1974 | |
| 71 | Ken Kennard | 24 | 16 | 0 | 248 | 6-2 | Angelo State (TX) | 10/4/1954 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 57 | Steve Kiner | 31 | LILB | 16 | 16 | 220 | 6-1 | Tennessee | 6/12/1947 | 8 | 8 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1970 |
| 25 | Kurt Knoff | 24 | 16 | 0 | 191 | 6-2 | Kansas | 4/6/1954 | 1 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 43rd pick / 1976 | |
| 55 | Carl Mauck | 31 | C | 16 | 16 | 243 | 6-4 | Southern Illinois | 7/7/1947 | 9 | 6 | Baltimore Colts / 13th / 337th pick / 1969 |
| 24 | Alvin Maxson | 27 | 1 | 0 | 205 | 5-11 | SMU | 11/12/1951 | 4 | 0 | New Orleans Saints / 8th / 201st pick / 1974 | |
| 29 | Guido Merkens | 23 | 12 | 0 | 200 | 6-1 | Sam Houston St. | 8/14/1955 | Rook | 0 | ||
| 14 | Gifford Nielsen | 24 | 2 | 0 | 205 | 6-4 | BYU | 10/25/1954 | Rook | 0 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1978 | |
| 18 | Cliff Parsley | 24 | P | 16 | 0 | 211 | 6-1 | Oklahoma St. | 12/26/1954 | 1 | 0 | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| 7 | Dan Pastorini | 29 | QB | 16 | 16 | 208 | 6-2 | Santa Clara | 5/26/1949 | 7 | 11 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| 39 | Larry Poole | 26 | 9 | 0 | 195 | 6-1 | Kent St. | 7/31/1952 | 3 | 0 | Cleveland Browns / 9th / 213th pick / 1975 | |
| 64 | George Reihner | 23 | LG | 9 | 0 | 263 | 6-4 | Penn St. | 4/27/1955 | 1 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 38th pick / 1977 |
| 37 | Mike Reinfeldt | 25 | FS | 16 | 16 | 192 | 6-2 | Wisc-Milwaukee | 5/6/1953 | 2 | 6 | |
| 82 | Mike Renfro | 23 | WR | 14 | 10 | 184 | 6-0 | TCU | 6/19/1955 | Rook | 4 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 98th pick / 1978 |
| 87 | Conrad Rucker | 24 | 13 | 0 | 255 | 6-3 | Southern | 11/15/1954 | Rook | 1 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 154th pick / 1978 | |
| 73 | Greg Sampson | 28 | LT | 16 | 0 | 265 | 6-6 | Stanford | 10/25/1950 | 6 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1972 |
| 62 | John Schuhmacher | 23 | 11 | 0 | 271 | 6-3 | USC | 9/23/1955 | Rook | 1 | Houston Oilers / 12th / 322nd pick / 1978 | |
| 27 | Greg Stemrick | 27 | RCB | 16 | 16 | 185 | 5-11 | Colorado St. | 10/25/1951 | 3 | 6 | |
| 53 | Art Stringer | 24 | 7 | 0 | 223 | 6-1 | Ball St. | 1/30/1954 | 1 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 256th pick / 1976 | |
| 51 | Ted Thompson | 25 | 16 | 0 | 220 | 6-1 | SMU | 1/17/1953 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 76 | Morris Towns | 24 | RT | 16 | 12 | 270 | 6-4 | Missouri | 1/10/1954 | 1 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 11th pick / 1977 |
| 46 | Robert Turner | 24 | 4 | 0 | 200 | 5-11 | Oklahoma St. | 3/6/1954 | Rook | 0 | Miami Dolphins / 9th / 237th pick / 1977 | |
| 59 | Ted Washington | 30 | LOLB | 16 | 0 | 244 | 6-1 | Miss. Valley St. | 2/16/1948 | 5 | 7 | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
| 38 | C.L. Whittington | 26 | 12 | 0 | 200 | 6-1 | Prairie View | 8/1/1952 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 33 | J.C. Wilson | 22 | db | 16 | 2 | 178 | 6-0 | Tampa,Pittsburgh | 3/11/1956 | Rook | 2 | Houston Oilers / 8th / 210th pick / 1978 |
| 45 | Tim Wilson | 24 | FB | 16 | 13 | 226 | 6-3 | Maryland | 1/14/1954 | 1 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| 42 | Robert Woods | 23 | 3 | 0 | 170 | 5-7 | Grambling St. | 7/3/1955 | Rook | 1 | Kansas City Chiefs / 5th / 134th pick / 1978 | |
| 77 | Jim Young | 28 | LDE | 16 | 16 | 260 | 6-2 | Texas Southern | 7/8/1950 | 1 | 7 | |
| Team Total | 26.2 | 16 | 221.4 | 6-1.5 | 3.1 |
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