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1979 Houston Oilers
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Record: 11-5-0, Finished 2nd in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 362 points (22.6/g), 8th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 331 points (20.7/g), 16th.
Differential of 31 points (1.9/g), 10th.
Expected W-L: 8.8-7.2.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +18 (1.1/g), 2nd.
Coached by Bum Phillips (11-5-0)
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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 | Dan Pastorini | 30 | 8 | 15 | 163 for 324, 2,090 yards, 14 td, 18 int, & 15 rushes for 23 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| RB | Earl Campbell*+ | 24 | 1 | 16 | 368 rushes for 1,697 yards, 19 td, & 16 catches for 94 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| FB | Tim Wilson | 25 | 2 | 16 | 84 rushes for 319 yards, 2 td, & 29 catches for 208 yards and 1 td | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| WR | Ken Burrough | 31 | 9 | 0 | 40 catches for 752 yards, 6 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| WR | Rich Caster | 31 | 9 | 0 | 18 catches for 239 yards, 1 td, & 4 rushes for 25 yards and 0 td | New York Jets / 2nd / 46th pick / 1970 |
| TE | Mike Barber | 26 | 3 | 15 | 27 catches for 377 yards, 3 td, & 2 rushes for 4 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| LT | Leon Gray*+ | 28 | 6 | 16 | Miami Dolphins / 3rd / 78th pick / 1973 |
|
| LG | Conway Hayman | 30 | 4 | 16 | Washington Redskins / 6th / 141st pick / 1971 |
|
| C | Carl Mauck | 32 | 10 | 16 | 4 fumbles recovered | Baltimore Colts / 13th / 337th pick / 1969 |
| RG | Ed Fisher | 30 | 5 | 16 | ||
| RT | Morris Towns | 25 | 2 | 14 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 11th pick / 1977 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Andy Dorris | 28 | 6 | 16 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 93rd pick / 1973 |
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| NT | Curley Culp | 33 | 11 | 0 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968 |
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| RDE | Elvin Bethea* | 33 | 11 | 14 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| LOLB | Ted Washington | 31 | 6 | 0 | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
|
| LILB | Gregg Bingham | 28 | 6 | 16 | 3 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| RILB | Art Stringer | 25 | 2 | 8 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 9th / 256th pick / 1976 |
| ROLB | Robert Brazile*+ | 26 | 4 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| LCB | J.C. Wilson | 23 | 1 | 16 | 6 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 8th / 210th pick / 1978 |
| RCB | Greg Stemrick | 28 | 4 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| SS | Vernon Perry | 26 | Rook | 16 | 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| FS | Mike Reinfeldt*+ | 26 | 3 | 16 | 12 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Toni Fritsch*+ | 34 | 8 | 0 | 21 of 25 field goals & 41 of 43 extra points | |
| P | Cliff Parsley | 25 | 2 | 0 | 93 punts for a 40.6 average, 0 blocked | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| PR | Rich Ellender | 22 | Rook | 0 | 31 punt returns for a 6.5 average and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 9th / 243rd pick / 1979 |
| KR | Rich Ellender | 22 | Rook | 0 | 24 kick returns for a 21.4 average and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 9th / 243rd pick / 1979 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Alexander | 30 | DB | 13 | 0 | 194 | 6-2 | Alcorn State | 9/21/1949 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 134th pick / 1971 |
| Jesse Baker | 22 | DE | 16 | 2 | 269 | 6-5 | Jacksonville State | 7/10/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 50th pick / 1979 |
| Mike Barber | 26 | TE | 15 | 15 | 235 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 6/4/1953 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1976 |
| Steve Baumgartner | 28 | DE-LB | 12 | 0 | 256 | 6-7 | Purdue | 3/26/1951 | 6 | New Orleans Saints / 2nd / 51st pick / 1973 |
| Elvin Bethea* | 33 | DE | 14 | 14 | 260 | 6-2 | North Carolina A&T | 3/1/1946 | 11 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| Gregg Bingham | 28 | LB | 16 | 16 | 227 | 6-1 | Purdue | 3/13/1951 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 79th pick / 1973 |
| Robert Brazile*+ | 26 | LB | 16 | 16 | 241 | 6-4 | Jackson State | 2/7/1953 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1975 |
| Ken Burrough | 31 | WR | 16 | 0 | 215 | 6-3 | Texas Southern | 7/14/1948 | 9 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| Earl Campbell*+ | 24 | RB | 16 | 16 | 232 | 5-11 | Texas | 3/29/1955 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 1st pick / 1978 |
| Rob Carpenter | 24 | RB | 16 | 0 | 224 | 6-1 | Miami (OH) | 4/20/1955 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 84th pick / 1977 |
| David Carter | 26 | C-G | 16 | 2 | 250 | 6-2 | Western Kentucky | 11/27/1953 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 165th pick / 1977 |
| Rich Caster | 31 | TE-WR | 16 | 0 | 228 | 6-5 | Jackson State | 10/16/1948 | 9 | New York Jets / 2nd / 46th pick / 1970 |
| Boobie Clark | 29 | RB | 15 | 0 | 245 | 6-2 | Bethune-Cookman | 11/8/1950 | 6 | Cincinnati Bengals / 12th / 302nd pick / 1973 |
| Ronnie Coleman | 28 | RB | 14 | 0 | 195 | 5-10 | Alabama A&M | 7/9/1951 | 5 | |
| Curley Culp | 33 | DT-NT-G | 16 | 0 | 265 | 6-2 | Arizona State | 3/10/1946 | 11 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968 |
| Bill Currier | 24 | DB | 16 | 0 | 196 | 6-0 | South Carolina | 1/5/1955 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 232nd pick / 1977 |
| Andy Dorris | 28 | DE | 16 | 16 | 238 | 6-4 | New Mexico State | 8/11/1951 | 6 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 93rd pick / 1973 |
| Rich Ellender | 22 | RB | 13 | 0 | 171 | 5-11 | McNeese State | 6/9/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 9th / 243rd pick / 1979 |
| Jimbo Elrod | 25 | LB | 4 | 0 | 220 | 6-0 | Oklahoma | 5/25/1954 | 3 | Kansas City Chiefs / 5th / 144th pick / 1976 |
| Ed Fisher | 30 | G-C-DE | 16 | 16 | 249 | 6-3 | Arizona State | 5/31/1949 | 5 | |
| Eddie Foster | 25 | WR | 1 | 0 | 185 | 5-10 | Houston | 6/5/1954 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 8th / 205th pick / 1977 |
| Toni Fritsch*+ | 34 | K | 16 | 0 | 190 | 5-7 | none | 7/10/1945 | 8 | |
| Leon Gray*+ | 28 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 256 | 6-3 | Jackson State | 11/15/1951 | 6 | Miami Dolphins / 3rd / 78th pick / 1973 |
| Jeff Groth | 22 | WR | 6 | 0 | 176 | 5-10 | Bowling Green | 7/2/1957 | Rook | Miami Dolphins / 8th / 206th pick / 1979 |
| Carter Hartwig | 23 | DB | 16 | 0 | 205 | 6-0 | USC | 2/27/1956 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 8th / 214th pick / 1979 |
| Conway Hayman | 30 | G-T | 16 | 16 | 264 | 6-3 | Delaware | 1/9/1949 | 4 | Washington Redskins / 6th / 141st pick / 1971 |
| Daryl Hunt | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 229 | 6-3 | Oklahoma | 11/3/1956 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 6th / 143rd pick / 1979 |
| Charles Jefferson | 22 | DB | 5 | 0 | 178 | 6-0 | McNeese State | 5/5/1957 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 4th / 105th pick / 1979 |
| Billy Johnson | 27 | WR | 2 | 0 | 170 | 5-9 | Widener | 1/21/1952 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 15th / 365th pick / 1974 |
| Ken Kennard | 25 | NT-DE | 16 | 0 | 248 | 6-2 | Angelo State (TX) | 10/4/1954 | 2 | |
| Kenny King | 22 | RB | 12 | 0 | 203 | 5-11 | Oklahoma | 3/7/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 72nd pick / 1979 |
| Carl Mauck | 32 | C | 16 | 16 | 243 | 6-4 | Southern Illinois | 7/7/1947 | 10 | Baltimore Colts / 13th / 337th pick / 1969 |
| Guido Merkens | 24 | WR-QB-DB | 16 | 0 | 200 | 6-1 | Sam Houston State | 8/14/1955 | 1 | |
| Mike Murphy | 22 | LB | 3 | 0 | 222 | 6-2 | Southwest Missouri State | 1/14/1957 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 6th / 159th pick / 1979 |
| Gifford Nielsen | 25 | QB | 16 | 1 | 205 | 6-4 | BYU | 10/25/1954 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1978 |
| Cliff Parsley | 25 | P | 16 | 0 | 211 | 6-1 | Oklahoma State | 12/26/1954 | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 6th / 147th pick / 1977 |
| Dan Pastorini | 30 | QB | 15 | 15 | 208 | 6-2 | Santa Clara | 5/26/1949 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| Vernon Perry | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 211 | 6-2 | Jackson State | 9/22/1953 | Rook | |
| Wes Phillips | 26 | T | 8 | 0 | 275 | 6-5 | Lenoir-Rhyne,Savannah State | 8/1/1953 | Rook | |
| Tom Randall | 23 | G | 13 | 0 | 245 | 6-5 | Iowa State | 8/3/1956 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 194th pick / 1978 |
| George Reihner | 24 | G | 2 | 0 | 263 | 6-4 | Penn State | 4/27/1955 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 38th pick / 1977 |
| Mike Reinfeldt*+ | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 192 | 6-2 | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 5/6/1953 | 3 | |
| Mike Renfro | 24 | WR | 15 | 2 | 184 | 6-0 | TCU | 6/19/1955 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 98th pick / 1978 |
| Conrad Rucker | 25 | TE | 16 | 0 | 255 | 6-3 | Southern | 11/15/1954 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 154th pick / 1978 |
| Greg Stemrick | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 185 | 5-11 | Colorado State | 10/25/1951 | 4 | |
| Mike Stensrud | 23 | NT-DE-DT | 6 | 0 | 280 | 6-5 | Iowa State | 2/19/1956 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1979 |
| Art Stringer | 25 | LB | 8 | 8 | 223 | 6-1 | Ball State | 1/30/1954 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 256th pick / 1976 |
| Ted Thompson | 26 | LB | 16 | 2 | 220 | 6-1 | SMU | 1/17/1953 | 4 | |
| Morris Towns | 25 | T | 16 | 14 | 270 | 6-4 | Missouri | 1/10/1954 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 11th pick / 1977 |
| Ted Washington | 31 | LB | 15 | 0 | 244 | 6-1 | Miss. Valley State | 2/16/1948 | 6 | Kansas City Chiefs / 17th / 439th pick / 1972 |
| J.C. Wilson | 23 | DB | 16 | 16 | 178 | 6-0 | Pittsburgh,Tampa | 3/11/1956 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 8th / 210th pick / 1978 |
| Tim Wilson | 25 | FB | 16 | 16 | 226 | 6-3 | Maryland | 1/14/1954 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 66th pick / 1977 |
| Jim Young | 29 | DE | 5 | 0 | 260 | 6-2 | Texas Southern | 7/8/1950 | 2 | |
| Team Total | 26.3 | 16 | 224.8 | 6-1.7 | 3.4 |