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1979 San Diego Chargers
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Record: 12-4-0, Finished 1st in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 411 points (25.7/g), 2nd of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 246 points (15.4/g), 2nd.
Differential of 165 points (10.3/g), 1st.
Expected W-L: 12.3-3.7.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +11 (0.7/g), 5th.
Coached by Don Coryell (12-4-0)
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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 Fouts*+ | 28 | 6 | 16 | 332 for 530, 4,082 yards, 24 td, 24 int, & 26 rushes for 49 yards and 2 td | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| RB | Mike Thomas | 26 | 4 | 9 | 91 rushes for 353 yards, 1 td, & 32 catches for 388 yards and 0 td | Washington Redskins / 5th / 108th pick / 1975 |
| RB | Lydell Mitchell | 30 | 7 | 5 | 63 rushes for 211 yards, 0 td, & 19 catches for 159 yards and 1 td | Baltimore Colts / 2nd / 48th pick / 1972 |
| FB | Clarence Williams | 24 | 2 | 16 | 200 rushes for 752 yards, 12 td, & 51 catches for 352 yards and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 124th pick / 1977 |
| WR | John Jefferson*+ | 23 | 1 | 15 | 61 catches for 1,090 yards, 10 td | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 14th pick / 1978 |
| WR | Charlie Joiner* | 32 | 10 | 16 | 72 catches for 1,008 yards, 4 td, & 1 rush for -12 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| TE | Bob Klein | 32 | 10 | 14 | 37 catches for 424 yards, 5 td | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 21st pick / 1969 |
| LT | Billy Shields | 26 | 4 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 136th pick / 1975 |
| LG | Doug Wilkerson | 32 | 9 | 12 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 |
| C | Bob Rush | 24 | 2 | 10 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 24th pick / 1977 |
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| C | Don Macek | 25 | 3 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 |
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| RG | Ed White* | 32 | 10 | 16 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 |
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| RT | Russ Washington* | 33 | 11 | 16 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 4th pick / 1968 |
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| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Leroy Jones | 29 | 3 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 48th pick / 1975 |
| LDT | Wilbur Young | 30 | 8 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Kansas City Chiefs / 2nd / 39th pick / 1971 |
| RDT | Gary Johnson* | 27 | 4 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1975 |
| RDE | Fred Dean* | 27 | 4 | 12 | 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1975 |
| LLB | Ray Preston | 25 | 3 | 16 | 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 295th pick / 1976 |
| MLB | Bob Horn | 25 | 3 | 16 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 94th pick / 1976 |
| RLB | Woodrow Lowe | 25 | 3 | 14 | 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| LCB | Willie Buchanon | 29 | 7 | 16 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 7th pick / 1972 |
| RCB | Mike H. Williams | 26 | 4 | 16 | 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1975 |
| SS | Mike Fuller | 26 | 4 | 0 | 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| FS | Glen Edwards | 32 | 8 | 13 | 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Mike Wood | 25 | 1 | 0 | 11 of 14 field goals & 28 of 31 extra points | Minnesota Vikings / 8th / 204th pick / 1978 |
| P | Jeff West | 26 | 4 | 0 | 75 punts for a 36.5 average, 0 blocked | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 122nd pick / 1975 |
| PR | Mike Fuller | 26 | 4 | 0 | 46 punt returns for a 9.7 average and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| KR | Artie Owens | 26 | 3 | 2 | 35 kick returns for a 22.6 average and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 115th pick / 1976 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Audick | 25 | T-G | 16 | 4 | 252 | 6-3 | Hawaii | 11/15/1954 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 106th pick / 1977 |
| Hank Bauer | 25 | RB | 16 | 0 | 200 | 5-10 | California Lutheran | 7/15/1954 | 2 | |
| Rolf Benirschke | 24 | K | 4 | 0 | 171 | 6-0 | California-Davis | 2/7/1955 | 2 | Oakland Raiders / 12th / 334th pick / 1977 |
| Willie Buchanon | 29 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 6-0 | San Diego State | 11/4/1950 | 7 | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 7th pick / 1972 |
| Larry Burton | 28 | WR | 12 | 0 | 192 | 6-1 | Purdue | 12/15/1951 | 4 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 7th pick / 1975 |
| Fred Dean* | 27 | DE | 13 | 12 | 230 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 2/24/1952 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1975 |
| Charles DeJurnett | 27 | NT-DT | 12 | 4 | 263 | 6-4 | San Jose State | 6/17/1952 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 17th / 418th pick / 1974 |
| Jerome Dove | 26 | DB | 16 | 0 | 190 | 6-0 | Colorado State | 10/3/1953 | 2 | Oakland Raiders / 8th / 220th pick / 1976 |
| Frank Duncan | 23 | DB | 4 | 0 | 190 | 6-1 | San Francisco State | 11/16/1956 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 12th / 321st pick / 1979 |
| Glen Edwards | 32 | DB | 15 | 13 | 185 | 6-0 | Florida A&M | 7/31/1947 | 8 | |
| John Floyd | 23 | WR | 8 | 2 | 195 | 6-1 | La-Monroe | 9/10/1956 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 104th pick / 1979 |
| Dan Fouts*+ | 28 | QB | 16 | 16 | 204 | 6-3 | Oregon | 6/10/1951 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| Mike Fuller | 26 | DB | 16 | 0 | 188 | 5-10 | Auburn | 4/7/1953 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| Roy Gerela | 31 | K | 3 | 0 | 185 | 5-10 | New Mexico State | 4/2/1948 | 10 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 96th pick / 1969 |
| Don Goode | 28 | LB | 12 | 1 | 234 | 6-2 | Kansas | 6/21/1951 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 15th pick / 1974 |
| James Harris | 32 | QB | 8 | 0 | 210 | 6-4 | Grambling State | 7/20/1947 | 10 | Buffalo Bills / 8th / 192nd pick / 1969 |
| Bob Horn | 25 | LB | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-3 | Oregon State | 2/6/1954 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 94th pick / 1976 |
| John Jefferson*+ | 23 | WR | 15 | 15 | 198 | 6-1 | Arizona State | 2/3/1956 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 14th pick / 1978 |
| Gary Johnson* | 27 | DT-DE-NT | 16 | 15 | 257 | 6-2 | Grambling State | 8/31/1952 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1975 |
| Charlie Joiner* | 32 | WR | 16 | 16 | 188 | 5-11 | Grambling State | 10/14/1947 | 10 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| Leroy Jones | 29 | DE | 16 | 15 | 263 | 6-8 | Norfolk State | 9/29/1950 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 48th pick / 1975 |
| Louie Kelcher | 26 | DT-NT | 1 | 0 | 291 | 6-5 | SMU | 8/23/1953 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 30th pick / 1975 |
| Linden King | 24 | LB | 16 | 1 | 241 | 6-4 | Colorado State | 6/28/1955 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1977 |
| Bob Klein | 32 | TE | 15 | 14 | 235 | 6-5 | USC | 7/27/1947 | 10 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 21st pick / 1969 |
| John Lee | 26 | DE | 10 | 2 | 255 | 6-2 | Nebraska | 2/17/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 13th / 351st pick / 1976 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 25 | LB | 16 | 14 | 227 | 6-0 | Alabama | 6/9/1954 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| Don Macek | 25 | C-G | 10 | 6 | 261 | 6-3 | Boston College | 7/21/1954 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 |
| Bo Matthews | 28 | RB | 16 | 0 | 230 | 6-4 | Colorado | 11/15/1951 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1974 |
| Greg McCrary | 27 | TE | 14 | 0 | 233 | 6-1 | Clark (GA) | 3/24/1952 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 123rd pick / 1975 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 30 | RB | 12 | 5 | 204 | 5-11 | Penn State | 5/30/1949 | 7 | Baltimore Colts / 2nd / 48th pick / 1972 |
| Cliff Olander | 24 | QB | 4 | 0 | 191 | 6-5 | New Mexico State | 5/15/1955 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 128th pick / 1977 |
| Artie Owens | 26 | WR-RB | 16 | 2 | 176 | 5-10 | West Virginia | 1/14/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 115th pick / 1976 |
| Ralph Perretta | 26 | C-G | 16 | 0 | 252 | 6-2 | Purdue | 1/30/1953 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 206th pick / 1975 |
| Ray Preston | 25 | LB | 16 | 16 | 218 | 6-0 | Syracuse | 1/25/1954 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 295th pick / 1976 |
| Bob Rush | 24 | C-T | 16 | 10 | 265 | 6-5 | Memphis | 2/27/1955 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 24th pick / 1977 |
| Pete Shaw | 25 | DB | 16 | 3 | 183 | 5-10 | Northwestern | 8/25/1954 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 152nd pick / 1977 |
| Billy Shields | 26 | T | 16 | 16 | 272 | 6-8 | Georgia Tech | 8/23/1953 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 136th pick / 1975 |
| Hal Stringert | 27 | DB | 15 | 1 | 185 | 5-11 | Hawaii,Willamette | 1/2/1952 | 4 | |
| Mike Thomas | 26 | RB | 14 | 9 | 190 | 5-11 | Oklahoma,UNLV | 7/17/1953 | 4 | Washington Redskins / 5th / 108th pick / 1975 |
| Cliff Thrift | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 232 | 6-1 | East Central (OK) | 5/3/1956 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1979 |
| Russ Washington* | 33 | T-DT | 16 | 16 | 289 | 6-6 | Missouri | 12/17/1946 | 11 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 4th pick / 1968 |
| Jeff West | 26 | P-TE | 16 | 0 | 212 | 6-3 | Cincinnati | 4/6/1953 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 122nd pick / 1975 |
| Ed White* | 32 | G-T | 16 | 16 | 269 | 6-1 | California | 4/4/1947 | 10 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 |
| Doug Wilkerson | 32 | G | 12 | 12 | 253 | 6-3 | North Carolina Central | 3/27/1947 | 9 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 |
| Clarence Williams | 24 | RB | 16 | 16 | 194 | 5-9 | South Carolina | 1/25/1955 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 124th pick / 1977 |
| Mike H. Williams | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 181 | 5-10 | LSU | 11/22/1953 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1975 |
| Kellen Winslow | 22 | TE | 7 | 1 | 251 | 6-5 | Missouri | 11/5/1957 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 13th pick / 1979 |
| Mike Wood | 25 | K | 9 | 0 | 199 | 5-11 | Southeast Missouri State | 9/3/1954 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 8th / 204th pick / 1978 |
| Don Woods | 28 | RB | 15 | 0 | 210 | 6-1 | New Mexico Highlands,New Mexico | 2/17/1951 | 5 | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 134th pick / 1974 |
| Wilbur Young | 30 | DE-DT | 16 | 16 | 285 | 6-6 | William Penn | 4/20/1949 | 8 | Kansas City Chiefs / 2nd / 39th pick / 1971 |
| Team Total | 26.9 | 16 | 222.1 | 6-1.7 | 4.2 |