Age: 23 (Nov. 12)
College: California
Height: 6’4” Weight: 213
Prelude:
The Falcons traded star OT
George Kunz to the Colts to obtain the first overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft
in order to select Bartkowski, who passed for 2580 yards as a senior and was
already acclaimed for having a strong throwing arm, although he was also
immobile and strictly a pocket passer. He was immediately inserted into the
starting lineup.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared and started in 11
of 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate
league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 255 [19]
Most attempts, game – 37 vs.
San Francisco
Completions – 115
Most completions, game – 19 vs.
San Francisco
Yards – 1662 [19]
Most yards, game – 305 vs. San Francisco
Completion percentage – 45.1
Yards per attempt – 6.5 [20]
TD passes – 13 [14, tied with Roman Gabriel]
Most TD passes, game – 3 vs.
Washington
Interceptions – 15 [13, tied with James Harris]
Most interceptions, game – 3
at LA Rams 10/19, vs. Denver 11/23, vs. Washington
Passer rating – 59.3
300-yard passing games – 1
200-yard passing games – 3
Rushing
Attempts – 14
Most attempts, game - 5 (for
5 yds.) at St. Louis
Yards – 15
Most yards, game – 7 yards
(on 3 carries) at Oakland
Yards per attempt – 1.1
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Awards & Honors:
NFC Rookie of the Year: NEA,
Sporting News
Falcons went 4-10 to finish
third in the NFC West and ranked 20th in the league in total offense
(3861 yards) and 19th in passing offense (2067 yards) and scoring
(240 points).
Aftermath:
Bartkowski followed up his
promising rookie year with two poor seasons in 1976 and ’77, missing much time
to injury and playing badly when healthy, and seemed on his way to becoming a
major first-round bust. However, he regained his starting job four weeks into
the 1978 season and led the Falcons to the first postseason appearance in
franchise history. He also played well in the Wild Card playoff win over the
Eagles and a near-upset of the Cowboys in the Divisional round. While the team
dipped in ’79, Bartkowski continued to improve and had two Pro Bowl years in
1980 and ’81. He threw for 3544 yards and a league-leading 31 TDs in ’80 and a
career-high 3829 yards and 30 touchdowns in 1981. Atlanta Atlanta
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie of the
Year in the NFL (including NFC/AFC), AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization
(Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise Association,
United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league itself – Pepsi NFL
Rookie of the Year).
[Updated 2/9/14]
[Updated 2/9/14]
One of my childhood hometown heroes, having grown up in the Atlanta area. Despite a decent rookie year, Bartkowski's development was rushed early on and without much of a supporting cast, resulting in some painful injuries and subpar play his first few years. He did have some solid, but not great, receivers to throw to (Alfred Jenkins, Wallace Francis, Jim Mitchell) but his best years came when William Andrews and Lynn Cain gave the Falcons a much-needed ground attack and some secondary receivers. Bart was one of the deadliest deep throwers at the time, possessing arm strength still unmatched by few, but lacked touch on his short passes (though improved in his later years) and had limited mobility which only got worse as age and injuries progressed. In his final years, with the deterioration of his offensive line, he became almost helpless in pass situations as teams would often blitz him knowing he couldn't get away. Finally the debilitating injuries and the inability of any team to adequately protect him forced his retirement.
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