1978 New York Jets season - Misplaced Pages

1978 season of NFL team New York Jets

1978 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Walt Michaels
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Wesley Walker
← 1977 Jets seasons 1979 →

The 1978 New York Jets season was the nineteenth season for the franchise and the ninth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from each of the previous three seasons under head coach Walt Michaels. Following an opening-game upset over the Miami Dolphins at Shea Stadium, the Jets stayed in contention for most of the season before finishing with an 8–8 record, with Matt Robinson starting most of the season at quarterback.

Offseason

The Jets overhauled their uniforms and logos for the 1978 season, abandoning the jerseys they had worn since 1963 and the helmet and logo they’d used since 1965 in favor of a more modern look using the same kelly-green-and-white color scheme. The new helmets were solid green with white facemasks, and a stylized “JETS” wordmark in white on each side. The mark featured angular lettering and a silhouette of a modern jet airplane extending horizontally to the right from the top of the “J” above the “ETS”. The jerseys featured large TV numerals on the shoulders and two thick parallel stripes on the sleeves, while the pants had a single green stripe from hip to knee on each side.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	4	Chris Ward	Offensive Tackle	Ohio State
2	31	Mark Merrill	Linebacker	Minnesota
3	61	Mickey Shuler	Tight End	Penn State
6	141	Bobby Jackson	Cornerback	Florida State

Undrafted free agents

1978 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Bob Nelson	Quarterback	Shippensburg

Personnel

Staff

**1978 New York Jets staff**
	Front office Leon Hess – Owner Jim Kensil – President/CEO Mike Hickey – Director of player personnel Jim Royer – Pro personnel coordinator Ernie Zampese – Scout Carroll Huntress – Scout Connie Nicholas – Personnel assistant Head coaches Walt Michaels – Head coach Offensive coaches John Idzik – Offensive coordinator Bob Ledbetter – Running backs Dan Henning – Receivers Bob Fry – Offensive line			Defensive coaches Dan Sekanovich – Defensive line Joe Gardi – Linebackers/special teams John Mazur – Defensive backs

Roster

**1978 New York Jets roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Matt Robinson 4 Pat Ryan Running backs (RB) 25 Scott Dierking 21 Clark Gaines FB 42 Bruce Harper 33 Kevin Long FB 44 Tom Newton Wide receivers (WR) 80 Kevin Bell 81 Derrick Gaffney 86 Bobby Jones 85 Wesley Walker Tight ends (TE) 83 Jerome Barkum 88 Mark Iwanowski 82 Mickey Shuler		Offensive linemen (OL) 60 Dan Alexander G 67 Darrell Austin T 65 Joe Fields C 79 Marvin Powell T 66 Randy Rasmussen G 61 John Roman G 70 Stan Waldemore G 72 Chris Ward T Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Joe Klecko DT 71 Joe Moreino DT/DE 77 Joe Pellegrini DE 76 Lawrence Pillers DE 64 Gregg Robinson DE 74 Abdul Salaam DT		Linebackers (LB) 51 Greg Buttle 63 John Hennessy 52 Mike Hennigan 56 Larry Keller 59 Bob Martin 58 Mark Merrill 50 Mike Mock Defensive backs (DB) 49 Reggie Grant CB 40 Bobby Jackson CB 37 Tim Moresco 22 Burgess Owens FS 48 Ken Schroy 23 Shafer Suggs SS 38 Ed Taylor CB Special teams 5 Pat Leahy K 15 Chuck Ramsey P		Reserve 47 Jim Earley RB (IR) -- Neil Hutton DB (Left squad) 86 Bob Raba TE (IR) 34 Larry Riley CB (IR) -- Randy Sidler LB (Left squad) 87 Bruce Stephens WR (IR) 14 Richard Todd QB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 3	Miami Dolphins	W 33–20	1–0	Shea Stadium	49,598
2	September 10	at Buffalo Bills	W 21–20	2–0	Rich Stadium	40,985
3	September 17	Seattle Seahawks	L 17–24	2–1	Shea Stadium	46,911
4	September 24	at Washington Redskins	L 3–23	2–2	R.F. Kennedy Stadium	54,729
5	October 1	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–28	2–3	Shea Stadium	52,058
6	October 8	Buffalo Bills	W 45–14	3–3	Shea Stadium	44,545
7	October 15	at Baltimore Colts	W 33–10	4–3	Memorial Stadium	45,563
8	October 22	St. Louis Cardinals	W 23–10	5–3	Shea Stadium	49,244
9	October 29	at New England Patriots	L 21–55	5–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,585
10	November 5	at Denver Broncos	W 31–28	6–4	Mile High Stadium	74,983
11	November 12	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 9–17	6–5	Veterans Stadium	60,249
12	November 19	New England Patriots	L 17–19	6–6	Shea Stadium	55,568
13	November 26	at Miami Dolphins	W 24–13	7–6	Orange Bowl	49,255
14	December 3	Baltimore Colts	W 24–16	8–6	Shea Stadium	50,248
15	December 10	at Cleveland Browns	L 34–37 (OT)	8–7	Cleveland Stadium	36,881
16	December 17	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–30	8–8	Shea Stadium	52,532
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	0	6	7	7	20
• Jets	10	10	7	6	33

Date: September 3
Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 49,598
Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)

Scoring summary

1	NYJ	Wesley Walker 47 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)	Jets 7–0

1	NYJ	Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal	Jets 10–0

2	NYJ	Pat Leahy 22 yard field goal	Jets 13–0

2	MIA	Delvin Williams 58 yard run (kick failed)	Jets 13–6

2	NYJ	Mickey Shuler 1 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)	Jets 20–6

3	NYJ	Wesley Walker 43 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)	Jets 27–6

3	MIA	Nat Moore 1 yard pass from Don Strock (Garo Yepremian kick)	Jets 27–13

4	NYJ	Pat Leahy 46 yard field goal	Jets 30–13

4	NYJ	Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal	Jets 33–13

4	MIA	Loaird McCreay 5 yard pass from Guy Benjamin (Garo Yepremian kick)	Jets 33–20