1979 New England Patriots Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 9-7
Finishing 2nd in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Coach: Ron Erhardt (9-7)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1979 New England Patriots StatisticsTeam Record: 9-7
Finishing 2nd in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Coach: Ron Erhardt (9-7)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1979 New England Patriots Results
The New England Patriots of the National Football League ended the 1979 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, finishing second in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference.
The Patriots moved the ball well, scoring 411 points, and the defensive squad yielded 326. Steve Grogan triggered the aerial attack, throwing for 3,286 yards. Harold Jackson paced all receivers, catching 45 passes for 1,013 yards. Russ Francis and Stanley Morgan contributed to the receiving game, too.
Sam Cunningham rushed for a team-best 563 yards for New England, while Don Calhoun and Horace Ivory additionally contributed to the rushing attack.
The opportunistic defense created 43 turnovers. Raymond Clayborn snatched 5 opponent throws.
Ron Erhardt coached the team.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Julius Adams | DE | April 26, 1948 | 6'3" | 270 | Texas Southern | Macon, GA USA | 16 | 2 |
| 61 | Sam Adams | RG | September 20, 1948 | 6'3" | 256 | Prairie View | Jasper, TX USA | 15 | 13 |
| 27 | Doug Beaudoin | SS | May 15, 1954 | 6'1" | 193 | Minnesota | Dickinson, ND USA | 10 | 8 |
| 64 | Richard Bishop | RDE | March 23, 1950 | 6'1" | 275 | Louisville | Cleveland, OH USA | 14 | 14 |
| 58 | Pete Brock | LT | July 14, 1954 | 6'5" | 267 | Colorado | Portland, OR USA | 16 | 7 |
| 63 | Mark Buben | DE-NT | March 23, 1957 | 6'3" | 260 | Tufts | Auburn, MA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 44 | Don Calhoun | FB | April 29, 1952 | 6'0" | 206 | Kansas St. | Muskogee, OK USA | 16 | 6 |
| 12 | Matt Cavanaugh | QB | October 27, 1956 | 6'2" | 212 | Pittsburgh | Youngstown, OH USA | 13 | 0 |
| 82 | Al Chandler | TE | November 18, 1950 | 6'2" | 233 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, OK USA | 7 | 0 |
| 35 | Allan Clark | KR | June 8, 1957 | 5'10" | 186 | Northern Arizona | Grand Rapids, MN USA | 16 | 0 |
| 26 | Raymond Clayborn | LCB | January 2, 1955 | 6'0" | 186 | Texas | Fort Worth, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 22 | Dick Conn | DB | January 9, 1951 | 6'0" | 185 | Georgia | Louisville, KY USA | 1 | 0 |
| 55 | Ray Costict | LB | March 19, 1955 | 6'0" | 217 | Mississippi St. | Moss Point, MS USA | 16 | 1 |
| 75 | Bob Cryder | T | September 7, 1956 | 6'4" | 275 | Alabama | East St. Louis, IL USA | 16 | 2 |
| 39 | Sam Cunningham | FB | August 15, 1950 | 6'3" | 226 | USC | Santa Barbara, CA USA | 12 | 12 |
| 68 | Terry Falcon | G-T | August 30, 1955 | 6'3" | 260 | Minot St. | Culbertson, MT USA | 10 | 0 |
| 48 | Tim Fox | FS | November 1, 1953 | 5'11" | 186 | Ohio St. | Canton, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 81 | Russ Francis | TE | April 3, 1953 | 6'6" | 240 | Oregon | Seattle, WA USA | 12 | 12 |
| 51 | Bob Golic | NT-DT-LB-DE | October 26, 1957 | 6'2" | 264 | Notre Dame | Cleveland, OH USA | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Steve Grogan | QB | July 24, 1953 | 6'4" | 210 | Kansas St. | San Antonio, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 71 | Ray Hamilton | NT | January 20, 1951 | 6'1" | 244 | Oklahoma | Omaha, NE USA | 16 | 16 |
| 73 | John Hannah | LG | April 4, 1951 | 6'2" | 265 | Alabama | Canton, GA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 8 | Eddie Hare | P | May 30, 1957 | 6'4" | 209 | Tulsa | Ulysses, KS USA | 16 | 0 |
| 80 | Don Hasselbeck | TE | April 1, 1955 | 6'7" | 245 | Colorado | Cincinnati, OH USA | 16 | 3 |
| 59 | Mike Hawkins | LOLB | October 29, 1955 | 6'2" | 235 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | Bay City, TX USA | 16 | 14 |
| 40 | Mike Haynes | RCB | July 1, 1953 | 6'2" | 192 | Arizona St. | Denison, TX USA | 16 | 15 |
| 50 | Sam Hunt | RILB | August 6, 1951 | 6'1" | 248 | S.F. Austin | Longview, TX USA | 15 | 15 |
| 23 | Horace Ivory | RB | August 8, 1954 | 6'0" | 197 | Oklahoma | Fort Worth, TX USA | 11 | 9 |
| 29 | Harold Jackson | WR | January 6, 1946 | 5'10" | 175 | Jackson St. | Hattiesburg, MS USA | 16 | 16 |
| 87 | Ray Jarvis | WR | February 2, 1949 | 6'0" | 200 | Norfolk St. | Chesapeake, VA USA | 7 | 0 |
| 32 | Andy Johnson | RB | October 18, 1952 | 6'0" | 204 | Georgia | Athens, GA USA | 5 | 5 |
| 74 | Shelby Jordan | RT | January 23, 1952 | 6'7" | 260 | Washington (MO) | St. Louis, MO USA | 14 | 12 |
| 52 | Steve King | LB | June 10, 1951 | 6'4" | 232 | Tulsa | McAlester, OK USA | 16 | 1 |
| 67 | Bill Lenkaitis | C | June 30, 1946 | 6'4" | 255 | Penn St. | Cleveland, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 72 | Mel Lunsford | LDE | June 13, 1950 | 6'3" | 256 | Central State (OH) | Cincinnati, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 53 | Bill Matthews | LB | March 12, 1956 | 6'2" | 235 | South Dakota St. | Santa Monica, CA USA | 16 | 1 |
| 34 | Prentice McCray | SS | March 1, 1951 | 6'1" | 188 | Arizona St. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 14 | 5 |
| 78 | Tony McGee | DE | January 18, 1949 | 6'4" | 250 | Wyoming | Battle Creek, MI USA | 16 | 2 |
| 86 | Stanley Morgan | PR | February 17, 1955 | 5'11" | 181 | Tennessee | Easley, SC USA | 16 | 16 |
| 57 | Steve Nelson | LILB | April 26, 1951 | 6'2" | 230 | Augsburg | Farmington, MN USA | 15 | 15 |
| 17 | Tom Owen | QB | September 1, 1952 | 6'1" | 195 | Wichita St. | Shreveport, LA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 88 | Carlos Pennywell | WR | March 18, 1956 | 6'2" | 180 | Grambling St. | Crowley, LA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 77 | Garry Puetz | G | March 14, 1952 | 6'3" | 263 | Valparaiso | Elmhurst, IL USA | 5 | 4 |
| 25 | Rick Sanford | DB | January 9, 1957 | 6'1" | 192 | South Carolina | Rock Hill, SC USA | 16 | 4 |
| 56 | Rod Shoate | ROLB | April 26, 1953 | 6'1" | 214 | Oklahoma | Spiro, OK USA | 14 | 14 |
| 1 | John Smith | K | December 30, 1949 | 6'0" | 186 | King Alfred's (England) | Leafield, England | 16 | 0 |
| 30 | Mosi Tatupu | RB | April 26, 1955 | 6'0" | 227 | USC | Pago Pago, American Samoa | 16 | 0 |
| 21 | Mark Washington | DB | December 28, 1947 | 5'10" | 188 | Morgan St. | Chicago, IL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 83 | Don Westbrook | WR | November 1, 1952 | 5'10" | 185 | Nebraska | Cheyenne, WY USA | 16 | 0 |
| 62 | Dwight Wheeler | LT | January 13, 1955 | 6'3" | 269 | Tennessee St. | Memphis, TN USA | 13 | 10 |
| 54 | John Zamberlin | LB | February 13, 1956 | 6'2" | 230 | Pacific Lutheran | Tacoma, WA USA | 16 | 1 |
