1979 New York Giants

1979 New York Giants season
Head Coach	Ray Perkins
Home Field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Place	4th NFC East
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1978	1980

The 1979 New York Giants season was the 55th season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants had a 6–10 record in 1979 and finished in fourth place in the National Football Conference East Division.^[1]

Offseason[]

Before the 1979 NFL Draft, Bill Walsh, who was the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers, flew to Morehead State University with assistant coach Sam Wyche to work out quarterback Phil Simms.^[2] Walsh was so impressed with him that he planned to draft Simms in the third round, actually preferring him over another young quarterback they scouted and ultimately drafted, future Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana.^[3] The Giants, however, decided to make Simms their first-round pick to the surprise of many.^[4] As Simms acknowledged, "most people have never heard of me."^[4] When Simms' name was announced by Commissioner Pete Rozelle, his selection was booed loudly by Giants fans.^[5] However, he became more popular with his teammates, who jokingly dubbed him "Prince Valiant" in his rookie training camp.^[6]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1

Regular season[]

Simms won his first five starts in his rookie year.^[7] He led the team to a 6–4 record as a starter, throwing for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdown passes, and was named to the NFL All Rookie Team.^[8] According to his 1981 Topps trading card, he was runner-up in 1979 for Rookie of the Year, losing out to future teammate Ottis Anderson.^[9]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–17	67,366
2	September 9	St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–14	71,370
3	September 17	at Washington Redskins	L 27–0	54,672
4	September 23	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–13	74,265
5	September 30	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–14	51,543
6	October 7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–14	72,841
7	October 14	San Francisco 49ers	W 32–16	70,352
8	October 21	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–17	44,362
9	October 28	at Los Angeles Rams	W 20–14	43,376
10	November 4	Dallas Cowboys	L 16–14	76,490
11	November 11	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–3	60,860
12	November 18	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–3	70,261
13	November 25	Washington Redskins	W 14–6	72,641
14	December 2	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–7	63,787
15	December 9	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 29–20	39,802
16	December 16	Baltimore Colts	L 31–7	58,711

Standings[]

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	11	5	0	.688	371	313	W-3
Philadelphia Eagles	11	5	0	.688	339	282	W-1
Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	348	295	L-1
New York Giants	6	10	0	.375	237	323	L-3
St. Louis Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	307	358	L-1

References[]

↑ 1979 New York Giants. Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved on May 9, 2009.
↑ Simms, Phil and Meier, Rick. Phil Simms On Passing. New York City: William Morrow and Company, 1998. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-688-16108-1.
↑ King, Peter. "The Rating Game: Nfl Quarterback", Sports Illustrated, August 27, 2001, accessed May 10, 2009. ISSN: 0038 – 822X.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Katz, Michael. "Giants Defend 'Value' in Choice of Simms; Perkins Optimistic Giants Selections", The New York Times, May 5, 1979, accessed March 20, 2007.
↑ Mooney, Roger. "No team takes Phil Simms first in today's NFL", The Bradenton Herald, April 22, 2007, p. 1D.
↑ Katz, Michael. "Giants Test Simms in A Workout; Pisarcik Overweight", The New York Times, May 11, 1979, accessed March 20, 2007.
↑ Rovell, Darren. Roethlisberger in demand, ESPN, November 4, 2004, accessed January 1, 2007.
↑ Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. New York City: St. Martin's Press, 1994. p. 660. ISBN 0-312-11435-4.
↑ Topps Football (1981). Card #55.

[1] 1979 New York Giants. Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved on May 9, 2009.

[2] Simms, Phil and Meier, Rick. Phil Simms On Passing. New York City: William Morrow and Company, 1998. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-688-16108-1.

[Sports_Illustrated-3] King, Peter. "The Rating Game: Nfl Quarterback", Sports Illustrated, August 27, 2001, accessed May 10, 2009. ISSN: 0038 – 822X.

[Simms-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Katz, Michael. "Giants Defend 'Value' in Choice of Simms; Perkins Optimistic Giants Selections", The New York Times, May 5, 1979, accessed March 20, 2007.

[5] Mooney, Roger. "No team takes Phil Simms first in today's NFL", The Bradenton Herald, April 22, 2007, p. 1D.

[6] Katz, Michael. "Giants Test Simms in A Workout; Pisarcik Overweight", The New York Times, May 11, 1979, accessed March 20, 2007.

[Rovell-7] Rovell, Darren. Roethlisberger in demand, ESPN, November 4, 2004, accessed January 1, 2007.

[8] Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. New York City: St. Martin's Press, 1994. p. 660. ISBN 0-312-11435-4.

[1981_Topps_Football-9] Topps Football (1981). Card #55.

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