1979 Atlanta Falcons season

1979 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Owner	Rankin M. Smith, Sr.
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1979 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcon's 14th season. The Falcons were trying to improve upon their 9-7 record in 1978 and make it to the playoffs for the second time in team history, their first appearance being the year before. Rookie fullback William Andrews has an impressive debut rushing for 167 yards in a 40-34 overtime win over the Saints in the season opener in New Orleans. Andrews would go on to set a club record with 1,023 yards, while Quarterback Steve Bartkowski became the first Falcon to surpass the 2,000-yard mark with 2,505. However, the Falcons defense struggled allowing 388 points in a disappointing 6-10 start.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1979 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Don Smith	Defensive tackle	Miami (FL)
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1979 Atlanta Falcons staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith, Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General Manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of Player Personnel – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head Coach – Leeman Bennett Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive Backs – John North Receivers – Ted Plumb Offensive Line – Bill Walsh			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jerry Glanville Defensive Line – Jim Champion Linebackers – Doug Shively

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2, 1979	at New Orleans Saints	W 40–34	70,940
2	September 10, 1979	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 14–10	66,935
3	September 16, 1979	Denver Broncos	L 20–17	57,677
4	September 23, 1979	at Detroit Lions	L 24–23	56,249
5	September 30, 1979	Washington Redskins	L 16–7	56,819
6	October 7, 1979	Green Bay Packers	W 25–7	56,184
7	October 14, 1979	at Oakland Raiders	L 50–19	52,900
8	October 21, 1979	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–15	33,952
9	October 29, 1979	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–28	52,566
10	November 4, 1979	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–14	55,150
11	November 11, 1979	at New York Giants	L 24–3	60,860
12	November 19, 1979	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–14	54,097
13	November 25, 1979	New Orleans Saints	L 37–6	42,815
14	December 2, 1979	at San Diego Chargers	W 28–26	50,198
15	December 9, 1979	Los Angeles Rams	L 34–13	49,236
16	December 16, 1979	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–21	37,211

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams^(3)	9	7	0	.563	5–1	7–5	323	309	L1
New Orleans Saints	8	8	0	.500	4–2	8–4	370	360	W1
Atlanta Falcons	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	300	388	W1
San Francisco 49ers	2	14	0	.125	1–5	2–10	308	416	L1

References

1. "1979 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

External links

• 1979 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com