1979 Green Bay Packers season

1979 Green Bay Packers season
1979 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home field	Lambeau Field; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1978; Packers seasons; 1980 →;

The 1979 Green Bay Packers season was their 61st season overall and their 59th in the National Football League. The team posted a 5–11 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a fourth-place finish in the NFC Central division. The offense was still one of the worst in the NFL and the defense could not pick up the slack finishing dead last against the run.

The only notable win the Packers had was a 27–14 victory on a Monday night against the New England Patriots, the first night game at Lambeau Field (previous night games had to be played at Milwaukee County Stadium, since Lambeau Field's original light standards were insufficient for night broadcasts). The Packers also defeated the archrival Minnesota Vikings at home for the first time since 1970.

Offseason

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1979 Green Bay Packers draft
1	15	Eddie Lee Ivery	Running back	Georgia Tech
2	44	Steve Atkins	Running back	Maryland
3	71	Charles Johnson	Defensive tackle	Maryland
6	153	Dave Simmons	Linebacker	North Carolina
7	184	Rich Wingo	Linebacker	Alabama
8	193	Ron Cassidy	Wide receiver	Utah State
9	235	John Thompson	Tight end	Utah State
10	264	Frank Lockett	Wide Receiver	Nebraska
11	290	Mark Thorson	Defensive back	Ottawa
12	318	Bill Moats	Punter	South Dakota
Made roster

Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Varian Bristow	Tight end	Johnson C. Smith
Steve Brothers	Defensive back	Baylor
Kyle Grossart	Quarterback	Oregon State
Carlos Henderson	Defensive back	Eastern Michigan
Randy Hughley	Linebacker	Wyoming
Bobby Kimball	Wide Receiver	Oklahoma
John Kelly	Tight end	C. W. Post
Vince McCoy	Tight end	Tennessee State
Scott O'Brien	Defensive end	Wisconsin–Superior
James Pickens	Defensive Back	Michigan
Michael Rieker	Quarterback	Lehigh
Ron Smith	Linebacker	Clemson
Bob Unruh	Kicker	Wheaton

Roster and Coaches

Staff

**1979 Green Bay Packers staff**
	Front office President – Dominic Olejniczak Vice President – Robert J. Parins Corporate General Manager – Bob Harlan Director of Player Personnel – Dick Corrick Head coaches Head Coach/General Manager – Bart Starr Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Zeke Bratkowski Offensive Line – Bill Curry & Ernie McMillan Receivers – Lew Carpenter			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Asst. Head Coach – Dave Hanner Defensive Line – Fred von Appen Linebackers – John Meyer Defensive Backs – Dick LeBeau Special teams coaches Special Teams – Dick Rehbein

^[1]

Roster

**1979 Green Bay Packers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Lynn Dickey 17 David Whitehurst Running backs (RB) 32 Steve Atkins 42 Walt Landers 34 Terdell Middleton 30 Ricky Patton 48 Nate Simpson 26 Eric Torkelson Wide receivers (WR) 88 Ron Cassidy 80 James Lofton 89 Aundra Thompson 87 Walter Tullis Tight ends (TE) 82 Paul Coffman 83 John Thompson		Offensive linemen (OL) 57 Derrel Gofourth G 69 Leotis Harris G 71 Melvin Jackson G 63 Greg Koch T 79 Mark Koncar T 54 Larry McCarren C 76 Tim Stokes T 65 Mike Wellman C 73 Steve Young T Defensive linemen (DL) 70 Bob Barber DE 77 Mike Butler DE 73 Earl Edwards DT 99 Charles Johnson DT 90 Ezra Johnson DE 63 Terry Jones DT 72 Kit Lathrop DT 78 Casey Merrill DE		Linebackers (LB) 59 John Anderson 53 Mike Douglass 51 Jim Gueno 62 Joe McLaughlin 58 Paul Rudzinski 61 Dave Simmons 58 Steve Stewart 52 Gary Weaver 50 Rich Wingo Defensive backs (DB) 24 Johnnie Gray FS 38 Estus Hood CB 46 Steve Luke SS 29 Mike McCoy CB 36 Howard Sampson S/CB 20 Wylie Turner CB 21 Steve Wagner SS Special teams 11 David Beverly P 19 Tom Birney K		Reserve 75 Carl Barzilauskas DT (IR) 55 Mike Hunt LB (IR) 40 Eddie Lee Ivery RB (IR) 39 Sammy Johnson RB (IR) 85 Bobby Kimball WR (IR) 13 Chester Marcol K (IR) 56 Rick Nuzum C (IR) 33 Barty Smith RB (IR) 47 Mark Thorson DB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Opponent	Result	Stadium	Record	Attendance
1	at Chicago Bears	L 3–6	Soldier Field	0–1	56,515
2	New Orleans Saints	W 28–19	Milwaukee County Stadium	1–1	53,184
3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–10	Lambeau Field	1–2	55,498
4	at Minnesota Vikings	L 27–21 (OT)	Metropolitan Stadium	1–3	46,524
5	New England Patriots	W 27–14	Lambeau Field	2–3	52,842
6	at Atlanta Falcons	L 7–25	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	2–4	56,184
7	Detroit Lions	W 24–16	Milwaukee County Stadium	3–4	53,930
8	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 3–21	Tampa Stadium	3–5	67,186
9	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–27	Orange Bowl	3–6	47,741
10	New York Jets	L 22–27	Lambeau Field	3–7	54,201
11	Minnesota Vikings	W 19–7	Milwaukee County Stadium	4–7	52,706
12	at Buffalo Bills	L 12–19	Rich Stadium	4–8	39,679
13	Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–21	Lambeau Field	4–9	50,023
14	at Washington Redskins	L 21–38	RFK Stadium	4–10	51,682
15	Chicago Bears	L 14–15	Lambeau Field	4–11	54,207
16	at Detroit Lions	W 18–13	Pontiac Silverdome	5–11	57,376

Season summary

Week 15: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 15: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	3	0	9	15
Packers	0	7	0	7	14

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: December 9, 1979
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 29 °F (−2 °C)
TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Sonny Jurgensen
[1]

Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

Top passers

CHI – Mike Phipps – 10/25, 113 yards, 1 INT
GB – Lynn Dickey – 20/37, 283 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

CHI – Walter Payton – 25 rushes, 115 yards
GB – Ricky Patton – 18 rushes, 35 yards

Top receivers

CHI – Rickey Watts – 4 receptions, 68 yards
GB – James Lofton – 6 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers⁽²⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–6	273	237	W1
Chicago Bears⁽⁵⁾	10	6	0	.625	5–3	8–4	306	249	W3
Minnesota Vikings	7	9	0	.438	5–3	6–6	259	337	L1
Green Bay Packers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	246	316	W1
Detroit Lions	2	14	0	.125	1–7	2–10	219	365	L3

In popular media

The Packers versus Bears game of week 15 was used in an episode of That '70s Show ("Street Fighting Man") and was part of the seventh season. Eric invites his father, Red, to the game at Lambeau Field. Oddly, the Packers win in this episode, as opposed to real life, where they lost.^[2] Eric refers to the Bears as the "underdogs", when the Packers would have likely been the underdogs in the game, since the Packers were 4–10 heading into the game and the Bears were 9–5 heading to the game.

References

^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
^ List of That '70s Show episodes#Season 7: 2004.E2.80.932005

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[1] "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2011.

[2] List of That '70s Show episodes#Season 7: 2004.E2.80.932005

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