1979 Miami Dolphins (NFL) |
| 1st place • American Football Conference • Eastern Division • 10-6-0 .625 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Don Shula |
| Bill Arnsparger | Assistant Head Coach/Defense |
| Steve Crosby | Special Teams |
| Dan Henning | Receivers |
| Tom Keane | Defensive Backs/Punters |
| John Sandusky | Offensive Line/Running Game |
| Mike Scarry | Defensive Line/Run Defense |
| Carl Taseff | Offensive Backs/Special Teams |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Fri | 8/3/1979 | H | New Orleans Saints | 14-7 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 44704 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1979 | A | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13-7 | W | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 64481 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1979 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 21-10 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45790 | |
| Fri | 8/24/1979 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 14-13 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 47951 | |
| Sun | 9/2/1979 | A | Buffalo Bills | 9-7 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 69441 | |
| Sun | 9/9/1979 | H | Seattle Seahawks | 19-10 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 56233 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1979 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 27-12 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46187 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1979 | H | Chicago Bears | 31-16 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 66011 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1979 | A | New York Jets | 27-33 | L | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 51496 | |
| Mon | 10/8/1979 | A | Oakland Raiders | 3-13 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 52419 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1979 | H | Buffalo Bills | 17-7 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 45597 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1979 | A | New England Patriots | 13-28 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 61096 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1979 | H | Green Bay Packers | 27-7 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 47471 | |
| Mon | 11/5/1979 | H | Houston Oilers | 6-9 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 72073 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1979 | H | Baltimore Colts | 19-0 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 50193 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1979 | A | Cleveland Browns | 24-30 | L | OT | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 80374 |
| Sun | 11/25/1979 | A | Baltimore Colts | 28-24 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 38016 | |
| Thu | 11/29/1979 | H | New England Patriots | 39-24 | W | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 69174 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1979 | A | Detroit Lions | 28-10 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 78087 | |
| Sat | 12/15/1979 | H | New York Jets | 24-27 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 49915 | |
| AFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sun | 12/30/1979 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 14-34 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 50214 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Charlie Babb | 49 | S | 6-0 | 190 | 29 | Memphis | 5 | 0 |
| Carl Barisich | 78 | NT | 6-4 | 256 | 28 | Princeton | 11 | 0 |
| Bob Baumhower | 73 | NT | 6-5 | 265 | 24 | Alabama | 16 | 16 |
| Guy Benjamin | 7 | QB | 6-3 | 208 | 24 | Stanford | 4 | 0 |
| Don Bessillieu | 46 | S | 6-1 | 200 | 23 | Georgia Tech | 16 | 0 |
| Doug Betters | 75 | RDE | 6-7 | 260 | 23 | Montana; Nevada-Reno | 16 | 14 |
| Glenn Blackwood | 47 | CB | 6-0 | 190 | 22 | Texas | 11 | 0 |
| Kim Bokamper | 58 | LOLB | 6-6 | 250 | 25 | Concordia (Moorhead); San Jose CC; San Jose State | 14 | 13 |
| Norm Bulaich | 31 | RB | 6-1 | 217 | 33 | Texas Christian | 9 | 0 |
| Jimmy Cefalo | 81 | WR | 5-11 | 189 | 23 | Penn State | 16 | 3 |
| Rusty Chambers | 51 | RILB | 6-1 | 218 | 26 | Tulane | 16 | 16 |
| Neal Colzie | 20 | FS | 6-2 | 196 | 26 | Ohio State | 16 | 16 |
| Larry Csonka | 39 | FB | 6-3 | 238 | 33 | Syracuse | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Current | 71 | ROT | 6-4 | 267 | 34 | Ohio State | 16 | 16 |
| Gary Davis | 27 | HB | 5-10 | 200 | 25 | Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) | 16 | 3 |
| Vern Den Herder | 83 | LDE | 6-6 | 251 | 31 | Central (Iowa) | 16 | 16 |
| Mark Dennard | 63 | C | 6-1 | 250 | 24 | Texas A&M | 16 | 7 |
| A.J. Duhe | 77 | RDE | 6-4 | 249 | 24 | Louisiana State | 13 | 2 |
| Tim Foley | 25 | SS | 6-0 | 194 | 31 | Purdue | 15 | 15 |
| Jon Giesler | 79 | OT | 6-5 | 265 | 23 | Michigan | 16 | 0 |
| Larry Gordon | 50 | ROLB | 6-4 | 230 | 25 | Arizona State | 16 | 16 |
| Cleveland Green | 61 | OT | 6-3 | 262 | 22 | Southern University | 16 | 0 |
| Bob Griese | 12 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 34 | Purdue | 14 | 12 |
| Jeff Groth | 85 | WR | 5-10 | 172 | 22 | Bowling Green State | 4 | 0 |
| Bruce Hardy | 84 | TE | 6-4 | 234 | 23 | Arizona State | 16 | 14 |
| Duriel Harris | 82 | WR | 5-11 | 176 | 25 | New Mexico State | 15 | 14 |
| Steve Howell | 36 | RB | 6-2 | 230 | 23 | Baylor | 16 | 0 |
| Mike Kozlowski | 37 | SS | 6-1 | 198 | 23 | San Diego State; Brigham Young; MiraCosta JC; Colorado | 16 | 1 |
| Bob Kuechenberg | 67 | LOT | 6-2 | 255 | 32 | Notre Dame | 16 | 16 |
| Eric Laakso | 68 | ROG | 6-4 | 260 | 23 | Tulane | 10 | 2 |
| Mel Land | 52 | LB | 6-3 | 242 | 24 | Michigan State | 16 | 0 |
| Jim Langer | 62 | C | 6-2 | 253 | 31 | South Dakota State | 9 | 9 |
| Ronnie Lee | 86 | TE | 6-3 | 272 | 23 | Baylor | 16 | 2 |
| Larry Little | 66 | ROG | 6-1 | 270 | 34 | Bethune-Cookman | 15 | 14 |
| Bob Matheson | 53 | LOLB | 6-4 | 241 | 35 | Duke | 16 | 3 |
| Nat Moore | 89 | WR | 5-9 | 188 | 28 | Tennessee-Martin; Miami-Dade JC; Florida | 16 | 14 |
| Tony Nathan | 22 | RB | 6-0 | 206 | 23 | Alabama | 16 | 0 |
| Ed Newman | 64 | LOG | 6-2 | 240 | 28 | Duke | 16 | 16 |
| Ralph Ortega | 54 | LB | 6-2 | 220 | 26 | Florida | 8 | 0 |
| Earnie Rhone | 55 | LB | 6-2 | 224 | 26 | Henderson State | 16 | 0 |
| George Roberts | 4 | P | 6-0 | 181 | 24 | Virginia Tech | 16 | 0 |
| Gerald Small | 48 | RCB | 5-11 | 192 | 23 | San Jose State | 16 | 16 |
| Don Strock | 10 | QB | 6-5 | 230 | 29 | Virginia Tech | 16 | 4 |
| Ed Taylor | 45 | CB | 6-0 | 175 | 24 | Memphis | 5 | 0 |
| Norris Thomas | 41 | LCB | 5-11 | 175 | 25 | Southern Mississippi | 16 | 16 |
| Jeff Toews | 60 | OT | 6-3 | 255 | 22 | Washington | 11 | 0 |
| Bob Torrey | 38 | RB | 6-4 | 230 | 22 | Penn State | 7 | 0 |
| Steve Towle | 56 | LILB | 6-2 | 230 | 26 | Kansas | 16 | 16 |
| Uwe von Schamann | 5 | K-P | 6-1 | 188 | 23 | Oklahoma | 16 | 0 |
| Delvin Williams | 24 | HB | 6-0 | 200 | 28 | Kansas | 14 | 13 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 24 | Jon Giesler | T | Michigan |
| 2 | 53 | Jeff Toews | T | Washington |
| 3 | 61 | Tony Nathan | RB | Alabama |
| 3 | 63 | Mel Land | LB | Michigan State |
| 3 | 65 | Ronnie Lee | TE | Baylor |
| 4 | 107 | Steve Howell | RB | Baylor |
| 5 | 134 | Don Bessillieu | DB | Georgia Tech |
| 6 | 162 | Steve Lindquist | OG | Nebraska |
| 7 | 189 | Uwe Von Schamann | K | Oklahoma |
| 8 | 206 | Jeff Groth | WR | Bowling Green State |
| 8 | 215 | Glenn Blackwood | DB | Texas |
| 9 | 244 | Jeff Weston | DT | Notre Dame |
| 10 | 258 | Jerome Stanton | DB | Michigan State |
| 10 | 272 | Mike Kozlowski | RB | Colorado |
| 11 | 299 | Mike Blanton | DE | Georgia Tech |
| 12 | 327 | Larry Fortner | QB | Miami (Ohio) |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 71 | 75 | 80 | 115 | 0 | 341 |
| Opponents Totals | 24 | 71 | 87 | 69 | 6 | 257 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 297 | 126 | 140 | 31 | 95/209 45.5% | / % | 79 | 651 | |
| Opponents Totals | 238 | 87 | 135 | 16 | 88/221 39.8% | / % | 107 | 834 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uwe Von Schamann | 0 | 36 | 40 | 90.0 | 21 | 29 | 72.4 | 0 | 99 |
| Larry Csonka | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | ||
| Nat Moore | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Delvin Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Norm Bulaich | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Jimmy Cefalo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Bruce Hardy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Duriel Harris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Tony Nathan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Gary Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bob Torrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 40 | 36 | 40 | 90.0 | 21 | 29 | 72.4 | 1 | 341 |
| Opponents Totals | 31 | 26 | 30 | 86.7 | 15 | 26 | 57.7 | 0 | 257 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uwe von Schamann | 21 | 29 | 72.4 | 2 | 53 | 0/0 | 8/8 | 9/14 | 2/4 | 2/3 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 29 | 72.4 | 2 | 53 | 0/0 | 8/8 | 9/14 | 2/4 | 2/3 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 26 | 57.7 | 0/0 | 2/3 | 7/9 | 6/14 | 0/0 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Csonka | 220 | 837 | 3.8 | 22 | 12 |
| Delvin Williams | 184 | 703 | 3.8 | 39 | 3 |
| Gary Davis | 98 | 383 | 3.9 | 42 | 1 |
| Tony Nathan | 16 | 68 | 4.3 | 18 | 0 |
| Bob Torrey | 13 | 61 | 4.7 | 17 | 1 |
| Norm Bulaich | 9 | 37 | 4.1 | 9 | 2 |
| Bob Griese | 11 | 30 | 2.7 | 18 | 0 |
| Nat Moore | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 18 | 0 |
| Duriel Harris | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Don Strock | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Steve Howell | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 5 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 561 | 2187 | 3.9 | 42 | 19 |
| Opponents Totals | 484 | 1702 | 3.5 | 30 | 9 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Griese | 310 | 176 | 56.8 | 118 | 2160 | 7.0 | 12.3 | 51 | 14 | 4.5 | 16 | 5.2 | 26 | 223 | 1937 | 72.0 |
| Don Strock | 100 | 56 | 56.0 | 38 | 830 | 8.3 | 14.8 | 53 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 6.0 | 2 | 22 | 808 | 78.3 |
| Guy Benjamin | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 1 | 28 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 17 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 10 | 18 | 93.8 |
| Bruce Hardy | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Delvin Williams | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 416 | 235 | 56.5 | 159 | 3018 | 7.3 | 12.8 | 53 | 20 | 4.8 | 22 | 5.3 | 29 | 255 | 2763 | 73.4 |
| Opponents Totals | 418 | 230 | 55.0 | 165 | 3051 | 7.3 | 13.3 | 78t | 17 | 4.1 | 23 | 5.5 | 36 | 314 | 2737 | 69.0 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nat Moore | 48 | 840 | 17.5 | 53 | 6 |
| Duriel Harris | 42 | 798 | 19.0 | 51 | 3 |
| Gary Davis | 34 | 215 | 6.3 | 18 | 0 |
| Bruce Hardy | 30 | 386 | 12.9 | 28 | 3 |
| Delvin Williams | 21 | 175 | 8.3 | 38 | 1 |
| Tony Nathan | 17 | 213 | 12.5 | 35 | 2 |
| Larry Csonka | 16 | 75 | 4.7 | 18 | 1 |
| Jimmy Cefalo | 12 | 223 | 18.6 | 30 | 3 |
| Norm Bulaich | 8 | 53 | 6.6 | 13 | 1 |
| Steve Howell | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 11 | 0 |
| Ronnie Lee | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Bob Torrey | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 8 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 235 | 3018 | 12.8 | 53 | 20 |
| Opponents Totals | 230 | 3051 | 13.3 | 78t | 17 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neal Colzie | 5 | 86 | 17.2 | 56 | 0 |
| Gerald Small | 5 | 74 | 14.8 | 40 | 0 |
| Larry Gordon | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 33 | 0 |
| Norris Thomas | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 24 | 0 |
| Earnie Rhone | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 10 | 0 |
| Tim Foley | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Bob Matheson | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 |
| Rusty Chambers | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Charlie Babb | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Kim Bokamper | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Steve Towle | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 285 | 12.4 | 56 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 22 | 382 | 17.4 | 58t | 3 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Roberts | 69 | 2772 | 40.2 | 68 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 131 | 2421 | 34.6 |
| Uwe Von Schamann | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11.0 |
| Team Totals | 71 | 2803 | 39.5 | 68 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 131 | 2432 | 34.3 |
| Opponents Totals | 77 | 2919 | 37.9 | 60 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 337 | 2442 | 31.7 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Nathan | 28 | 14 | 306 | 10.9 | 86t | 1 |
| Mike Kozlowski | 3 | 4 | 21 | 7.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Jimmy Cefalo | 2 | 3 | 10 | 5.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Charlie Babb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nat Moore | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 34 | 27 | 337 | 9.9 | 86t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 17 | 131 | 5.2 | 34 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Nathan | 45 | 1016 | 22.6 | 43 | 0 | |
| Mike Kozlowski | 4 | 85 | 21.3 | 28 | 0 | |
| Gary Davis | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 16 | 0 | |
| Don Bessillieu | 0 | 20 | 20L | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 51 | 1148 | 22.5 | 43 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 69 | 1518 | 22.0 | 55 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Vern Den Herder | 9.0 | |
| Bob Baumhower | 7.0 | |
| Doug Betters | 6.5 | |
| Kim Bokamper | 4.5 | |
| Larry Gordon | 4.0 | |
| A.J. Duhe | 2.0 | |
| Carl Barisich | 1.5 | |
| Norris Thomas | 1.0 | |
| Steve Towle | 0.5 | |
| Team Totals | 36.0 | 314.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29.0 | 255.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Babb | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Baumhower | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Bulaich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rusty Chambers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Csonka | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mike Current | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Davis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vern Den Herder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Dennard | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Foley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Larry Gordon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0 |
| Bob Griese | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | |
| Steve Howell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kozlowski | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mel Land | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Langer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Little | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nat Moore | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tony Nathan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Earnie Rhone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Strock | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Towle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Delvin Williams | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 27 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 12 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 0 |
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