1979 Miami Dolphins season

1979 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach Don Shula
Home field Orange Bowl
Results
Record 10–6
Division place 1st AFC East
Playoff finish Lost AFC Divisional Playoff

The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the 14th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Prior to the start of the season the Dolphins re-signed Larry Csonka who left to join the WFL after the 1974 season. Despite struggles from Bob Griese all year, the Dolphins finished 10-6 and won their first division title in five years. Among the season highlights were the Dolphins 19th and 20th consecutive wins over the Buffalo Bills. For the entire decade of the 1970s (1970–79) the Dolphins hold a perfect 20-0 record over the Bills, which contributed to O.J. Simpson never seeing any postseason success in his career. In the Divisional Playoff the Dolphins were no match for the Pittsburgh Steelers who jump out to a 20-0 lead in the 1st Quarter to win 34-14 on their way to their second Straight Super Bowl title.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft
1979 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 24 Jon Giesler  Offensive tackle Michigan
2 53 Jeff Toews  Guard Washington
3 61 Tony Nathan *  Running back Alabama
3 63 Mel Land  Linebacker Michigan State
3 65 Ronnie Lee  Offensive tackle Baylor
4 107 Steve Howell  Fullback Baylor
5 134 Don Bessillieu  Defensive back Georgia Tech
6 162 Steve Lindquist  Guard Nebraska
7 189 Uwe von Schamann  Placekicker Oklahoma
8 206 Jeff Groth  Wide receiver Bowling Green
8 215 Glenn Blackwood  Defensive back Texas
9 244 Jeff Weston  Offensive tackle Notre Dame
10 258 Jerome Stanton  Defensive back Michigan State
10 272 Mike Kozlowski  Defensive back Colorado
11 299 Mike Blanton  Defensive end Georgia Tech
12 327 Larry Fortner  Quarterback Miami (OH)
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1979 Miami Dolphins staff
Front office
  • President – Joe Robbie
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Robbie
  • Vice President – Don Shula
  • Director of Player Personnel – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff
  • Punting – Tom Keane

Regular season

Schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Dolphins points Opponents Record Attendance
1 Sep 2 at Buffalo Bills Win 9 7 1–0
69,441
2 Sep 9 Seattle Seahawks Win 19 10 2–0
56,233
3 Sep 16 at Minnesota Vikings Win 27 12 3–0
46,187
4 Sep 23 Chicago Bears Win 31 16 4–0
66,011
5 Sep 30 at New York Jets Loss 27 33 4–1
51,496
6 Oct 8 at Oakland Raiders Loss 3 13 4–2
52,419
7 Oct 14 Buffalo Bills Win 17 7 5–2
45,597
8 Oct 21 at New England Patriots Loss 13 28 5–3
61,096
9 Oct 28 Green Bay Packers Win 27 7 6–3
47,741
10 Nov 5 Houston Oilers Loss 6 9 6–4
70,273
11 Nov 11 Baltimore Colts Win 19 0 7–4
50,193
12 Nov 18 at Cleveland Browns Loss (OT) 24 30 7–5
80,374
13 Nov 25 at Baltimore Colts Win 28 24 8–5
38,016
14 Nov 29 New England Patriots Win 39 24 9–5
69,174
15 Dec 9 at Detroit Lions Win 28 10 10–5
78,087
16 Dec 15 New York Jets Loss 24 27 10–6
49,915

[2]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(3) 10 6 0 .625 5–3 6–6 341 257 L1
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 411 326 W1
New York Jets 8 8 0 .500 4–4 5–7 337 383 W3
Buffalo Bills 7 9 0 .438 4–4 5–7 268 279 L3
Baltimore Colts 5 11 0 .313 3–5 4–10 271 351 W1

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff: at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 7714
Steelers 20 0 7734

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: Sunday December 30, 1979
  • Game time: 12:30 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 50,214
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Awards and honors

Larry Csonka returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

References

  1. ↑ "1979 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia

External links

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