Width	280px
Currentteam	New England Patriots
Currentnumber	12
Currentposition	Quarterback
Birth date	August 03, 1977
Birth place	San Mateo, California
Highschool	Junípero Serra
Heightft	6
Heightin	4
Weight	225
Debutyear	2000
Debutteam	New England Patriots
Highlights	Rated #21 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season 6× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010) 2× First-team All-Pro selection (2007, 2010) 1× Second-team All-Pro selection (2005) 3× Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) 2× Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII) Sportsman of the Year (2005) SI NFL POY (x1) Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (2004, 2007) AP Male Athlete of the Year (2007) 2× AP NFL MVP (2007, 2010) 2× AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010) AFC Offensive Player of the Year (2007) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009) New England Patriots All-time leader (Passing touchdowns) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team List of his accomplishments
College	Michigan
Draftyear	2000
Draftround	6
Draftpick	199
Pastteams	New England Patriots (–present)
Status	Active
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	4,710
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	2,996
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	63.6
Statlabel4	TD–INT
Statvalue4	261–103
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	34,744
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	95.2
Nfl	BRA371156 }}

Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

He has played in four Super Bowls, winning three of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX). He has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII), has been selected to six Pro Bowls (and invited to seven, although he declined the 2006 invitation), and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season. His career postseason record is 14–5. He also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons (2003–04), and in 2007 he led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular season since the institution of the 16-game schedule. Brady has the fifth-highest career passer rating of all time (95.2) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts. He, along with Joe Montana, are the only two players in NFL history to have won multiple NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards (2 NFL MVPs, 2 Super Bowl MVPs).

He was named ''Sports Illustrated's'' Sportsman of the Year in 2005, and was named "Sportsman of the Year" by ''The Sporting News'' in 2004 and 2007. He was also named the 2007 and 2010 NFL MVP (becoming in the 2010 season the first player to be unanimously chosen as MVP) as well as 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time an NFL player has been honored since Joe Montana won in 1990.

Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records, including: most touchdown passes in a regular season (50); highest touchdown-to-interception ratio in a single season (9:1); highest single-game completion percentage, regular season or postseason (26/28, 92.9%); most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (339, still active); most consecutive regular-season home wins (28, still active); highest winning percentage of any quarterback ever during his first 100 starts (76 wins); most completions in one Super Bowl (32); and the longest streak of games with 3 or more touchdown passes (10 games). most career completions in Super Bowl history (100); Brady is the fourth-fastest player to reach 200 career passing touchdowns (116 games). He is the first quarterback in NFL history to have reached said mark with under 100 career interceptions (he had 88 interceptions). Considering his many numerous achievements, and his late draft selection (6th round, 199th selection), many analysts, including those at the NFL Network, have called Brady the best NFL draft pick (or draft steal) of all time, as well as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Early years

Brady was born near San Francisco in San Mateo, California to Tom Sr. and Galynn. He was raised in a Irish American Catholic family of exceptionally gifted athletes. Brady regularly attended 49ers games in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; since then, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol. Brady Sr. mentioned that they were in the endzone with Brady when "The Catch" was made by Dwight Clark.

Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California.

Brady was also drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.

College career

Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the University of Michigan. He was a backup his first two years, while teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese led the Wolverines to a share of the national championship in 1997 in the Rose Bowl. When he enrolled at Michigan, Brady was seventh on the depth chart and had an intense struggle to get some playing time. At one point, Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety and even considered transferring to Cal. Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson, ultimately starting every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. During his first full year as starter, he set Michigan records for most pass attempts and completions in a season (214). Brady was All-Big Ten (honorable mention) both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games when he started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. Brady capped that season with a win over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl. In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan to an overtime win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns.

Professional career

2000 season

Brady was selected with pick #199, a compensatory pick, in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. According to Michael Holley's book ''Patriot Reign'', the Patriots were considering Brady and Tim Rattay, both of whom had received positive reviews from then-quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein. Ultimately, the Patriots front office chose Brady. Ironically, even though the Patriots drafted a future superstar in the next to last round, the class of 2000 was a mediocre vintage for quarterbacks: aside from Brady, only Chad Pennington developed into a first-rate pro quarterback as well as Pro Bowler Marc Bulger.

The Patriots made the unusual decision to carry four quarterbacks (instead of three) on the roster. Brady started the season as the fourth string quarterback, behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael Bishop; by season's end, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe. During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for six yards.

2001 season

The Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 loss at Cincinnati, with Bledsoe as the starting quarterback. Their second game, and home opener, on September 23, was against their AFC East rival, the New York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter, when in the fourth quarter he suffered internal bleeding after a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Bledsoe returned for the next series, but was replaced with Brady for that Pats' final series of the game. New York would hold on to win, 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the season.

Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as starter, Brady posted unspectacular passer ratings of 79.6 and 58.7, respectively, in a 44–13 victory over the Colts (in their last season in the AFC East) and a 30–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

In the Pats' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visiting San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, Brady led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal. Brady finished the game with 33 pass completions on 54 attempts, for 364 yards, and two touchdowns. The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win. The Patriots went on to win 11 of the 14 games Brady started, and six straight to finish the regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the playoffs with a first-round bye. Brady finished with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

In Brady's first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, he threw for 312 yards and led the Patriots back from a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. A controversial play in that game came when, trailing by three in the fourth quarter, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by fellow Wolverine Charles Woodson. Oakland initially recovered the ball, but, citing the "tuck rule," which states that any forward throwing motion by a quarterback begins a pass even if the quarterback loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body, referee Walt Coleman overturned the call on instant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.

In the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady injured his knee, and was relieved by Bledsoe. The Patriots won the game and were immediately instituted by Las Vegas oddsmakers as 14-point underdogs against the NFC champion St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

The score was tied with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl and the Patriots were at their own 15—with no timeouts—when sportscaster and Super Bowl-winning coach John Madden said he thought the Patriots should run out the clock and try to win the game in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots' offense down the field to the Rams 31 before spiking the ball with seven seconds left. The Patriots won the game on another Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired. Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, becoming the then-youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.

2002 season

Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9–7, tied with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division; however, the Jets won the division on the third tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.

Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes and 921 more yards than in 2001, though his fourteen interceptions would turn out to be a career high. However, Brady played much of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and New England head coach Bill Belichick has since indicated that if the Patriots had made the playoffs, Brady would not have been able to play in the first game due to that injury.

2003 season

In the 2003 NFL season, after a 2–2 start, Brady led the Patriots to twelve consecutive victories to finish the season, thus winning the AFC East. Statistically, Brady's strongest game of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high quarterback rating of 122.9. Brady finished with 3,620 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, and was second in NFL MVP voting to rival Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. On February 1, 2004, Brady led the Patriots to a 32–29 victory over the NFC champion Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII and was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time. During the game, Brady threw for 354 yards with three touchdowns and set the record for most completions by a QB in a Super Bowl (32). With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied 29–29, Brady engineered a drive to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning field goal.

2004 season

During the 2004 season, Brady helped the Patriots set an NFL record with 21 straight wins dating from the previous year, an accomplishment honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (though for official records, the NFL considers it an 18-game regular season winning streak; it does not count playoff games). New England's 14–2 record equalled that of their 2003 season, as well as the best regular-season record ever for a defending champion. The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional title for the third time in four years. Brady threw for 3,692 yards and 28 touchdowns, with a 92.6 passer rating, and was voted to his second Pro Bowl. In the AFC playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady played his best game of the year in Pittsburgh despite requiring intravenous treatment the previous night when he ran a temperature of 103 degrees. Against the NFL's best defensive team, Brady recorded a quarterback passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season. On February 6, 2005, the Brady-led Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl XXXIX. Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, most of which went to Deion Branch, while capturing the Patriots' third championship in four years.

2005 season

During the 2005 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Tom Brady's passing, due to injuries suffered by running backs Corey Dillon, Patrick Pass, and Kevin Faulk. Brady also had to adjust to a new center and a new running back: Heath Evans. The results were positive; Brady finished first in the league with 4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns. At 92.3, his 2005 passer rating was the second-highest of his career at the time, although he equalled his career high for interceptions with fourteen. He also rushed for 89 yards and fumbled a career-low four times. Brady and the Patriots finished with a 10–6 record, winning their third straight AFC East title. Some of the highlights of the season included another game with the Steelers, in which Brady helped lead the team on the game-winning drive. When the Patriots visited the Atlanta Falcons, Brady achieved a regular season-high rating of 140.3.

In the playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to a 28–3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild card round; however, on January 14, 2006, the Patriots lost 27–13 to the Denver Broncos at INVESCO Field. Brady threw for 346 yards in the game with one touchdown and two interceptions, in the first playoff loss of his career. After the season's end, it was revealed that Brady had been playing with a sports hernia since December. Linebacker Willie McGinest commented on it and said he knew, but Brady continued on playing. This is the main reason Brady did not go to the Pro Bowl when he was invited.

Despite not playing in the game, Brady was present at Super Bowl XL, as the official coin tosser and as part of a celebration of Super Bowl MVP Award winners.

2006 season

Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs despite having an almost completely new receiving corps. In the regular season, Brady threw for 3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was not among the players initially selected to the Pro Bowl, although he was offered an injury-replacement selection when Philip Rivers was forced to withdraw (which he declined).

In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals, the New York Jets, in the wild-card round. The Patriots defeated the Jets 37–16, as Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two TDs. In the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers. This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight points, Brady and the Patriots started a key drive that would ultimately decide the game. After a 49-yard pass play to Reche Caldwell, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal gave the Patriots a 24–21 win.

In the AFC championship, the Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots and Colts had faced each other twice in the previous three postseasons at Foxboro; this game, however, was played at Indianapolis. The Patriots led at halftime, 21–6; however, the Colts staged a comeback, resulting in a last minute interception thrown by Brady, and a Patriots loss.

2007 season

Playing with a dramatically overhauled receiver corps—in the 2007 offseason, the Patriots acquired wide receivers Donté Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington and Randy Moss; tight end Kyle Brady; and running back Sammy Morris—Brady enjoyed what some sports writers have described as the best season ever by a quarterback. Brady, along with Moss, decided to withdraw from the 2008 Pro Bowl. The average score of a 2007 Patriots regular season game would be 37–17 by the end of the year. Brady not only led the Patriots to a 16–0 record, outscoring opponents by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but attained numerous career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones:

Week 6: Visiting Dallas, he had a career-high five passing touchdowns in a 48–27 win. The win tied him with Roger Staubach for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback in his first 100 regular-season games, with 76. Week 7: In a 49–28 win at Miami, he had yet another record day, with six passing touchdowns, setting a franchise record. He also had the first perfect passer rating of his career.

Week 8: In a 52–7 rout at home against Washington, he threw three touchdowns, giving him a career-best 30 for the season; his previous best was 28—in an entire season—in 2002 and 2004. The win also gave Brady a victory over every NFL franchise except New England.

Week 9: In a come-from-behind 24–20 victory at Indianapolis, he threw for another three touchdowns, for a total of 33 on the season; his 32nd touchdown of the season, to Wes Welker, broke Babe Parilli's Patriots record of 31 touchdowns in a season—in five fewer games. It was also the ninth consecutive game in which he had thrown three or more touchdowns, breaking Peyton Manning's NFL record of eight.

Week 11: Following the Patriots' bye week, Brady threw for another five touchdown passes in a 56–10 rout of Buffalo, breaking Steve Grogan's franchise record for career touchdown passes with 185.

Week 12: In a 31–28 win over Philadelphia, he only threw for a single touchdown, ending his streak of three-touchdown games at ten, but reached 25,000 regular-season passing yards.

Week 13: In another come-from-behind win, a 27–24 win against the Baltimore Ravens, he became the fourth quarterback—after Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Dan Marino (who did it twice)—to throw 40 touchdown passes in a season.

Week 14: In a 34–13 victory against Pittsburgh, he threw four touchdowns, putting him third all-time for touchdown passes in a single season with 45, behind Peyton Manning in 2004 and Marino in 1984. It was his eleventh game with at least three touchdown passes, beating Marino's 1984 record of ten. He also reached the 4,000 yards passing mark for the second time in his career.

Week 15: Brady, making his 108th consecutive regular-season start at quarterback, surpassed Joe Ferguson for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history, after Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski.

Week 16: Brady's third touchdown of the day was the Patriots' 71st total touchdown of the season, breaking the NFL record of 70 set by the Miami Dolphins in 1984. This was his twelfth game of the season with three or more touchdown passes, extending his own NFL record. This was also the Patriots', and Brady's, 18th consecutive regular-season win, tying the NFL record they set in 2003 and 2004.

Week 17: Brady threw two touchdown passes; his second touchdown was his 50th, breaking Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49. The pass was also Randy Moss' 23rd touchdown catch of the season, breaking Jerry Rice's record of 22 in a season. The win finished off the first 16–0 season in NFL history, and was the Patriots' 19th consecutive regular season win, breaking their own 2003–2004 league record of 18. Brady finished 398/578 for 4,806 yards (#3 all-time) and 50 touchdowns (#1 all time) versus only eight interceptions, and a 117.2 passer rating (#2 all-time). His 398 completions were fifth all-time. Brady was named the NFL MVP for this season, as well as Offensive Player of the Year.

2007 playoffs

In the Patriots' first playoff game, an AFC Divisional game against Jacksonville, Brady began the game with an NFL postseason record sixteen consecutive completed passes, and finished the game with 26 completions in 28 attempts, a completion rate of 92.9%. That mark is the highest single-game completion percentage (for passers with at least 20 attempts) in NFL history, regular season or postseason. With the win, the Patriots matched the Dolphins as the only team to win 17 consecutive games in one season.

Statistically, Brady did not fare as well in the AFC Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers, throwing three interceptions (including his first interception in the red zone since the playoff loss to Denver). Nevertheless, the Patriots won their 18th game of the season, 21–12, to advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven seasons. Brady, with the 100th win of his career, also set an NFL record for the fewest games needed by a starting quarterback to do so: his 100–26 record is sixteen games better than Joe Montana's. In Super Bowl XLII, Brady was pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots did manage to take the lead with a Brady touchdown to Moss with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were able to score a last-minute touchdown to upset the Patriots 17–14.

Awards

Brady won numerous NFL awards during the season: he was voted FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week (an award for quarterbacks) four times (in Weeks 6, 7, 11, and 17), selected as AFC Offensive Player of the Week five times (in Weeks 3, 6, 7, 14, and 17), and AFC Offensive Player of the Month for both September and October. On 2008-01-05, Brady was named the NFL MVP, garnering a record-tying 49 of 50 possible votes (the other vote went to Brett Favre), making him the first Patriot to ever win the award. He was also named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2010.

2008 season

Brady did not play any of the 2008 preseason due to a right foot injury from the previous AFC Championship game. In the Patriots' 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium, Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway through the first quarter on a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard; he left the game and did not return. The team later confirmed that Brady would need surgery, and that he had been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. It is believed he tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial collateral ligament. The injury ended Brady's streak of 111 consecutive starts (fourth in the list of most consecutive starts by an NFL quarterback, behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski). Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic October 6, using Brady's patellar tendon graft to replace the torn ligament, and also repaired his medial collateral ligament, through a separate incision in his left knee. An infection in the wound resulted in further debridement surgery several times since the original procedure. Brady underwent IV antibiotics for this infection which, at the time, threatened to delay his rehab.

2009 season

In his first official game back from injury, Brady threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns in the 2009 season opener against the Buffalo Bills. In the final minutes of the game, the Patriots were down 24–13 before Brady and Benjamin Watson connected on two straight touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. Brady was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 13th time in his career for his performance.

On October 18, 2009, in an early season snowstorm, Brady set an NFL record against the Tennessee Titans for most touchdowns in a single quarter, throwing five (two to Moss, one to Faulk, and two to Welker) in the second quarter. Brady finished the game with six touchdowns, tying his career best, and 380 yards, completing 29 of 34 attempts, finishing with a nearly perfect passer rating of 152.8. The Patriots' 59–0 victory over the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and set a record for largest halftime lead in NFL history (they led 45–0). He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week again for his performance. In Week 16, Brady set a Patriots regular season record with an 88.5% completion percentage against the Jacksonville Jaguars; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the game.

Brady would finish the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating, despite a broken right ring finger and three fractured ribs, all which were suffered over the course of the season. He was selected as a reserve to the 2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Brady ended the 2009 season throwing 3 interceptions in a Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 33–14, his first career home playoff loss, and the first playoff loss at home by a New England Patriots quarterback since 1978.

2010 season – Second MVP

On September 10, 2010, Brady signed a four-year, $72 million contract extension making him the highest-paid player in the NFL. The extension includes $48.5 million in guaranteed money and will likely keep Brady with the Patriots through the 2014 NFL season. The news of the contract occurred on the same day Brady escaped uninjured from a 6:30 a.m. car accident with what the ''Boston Herald'' called, "a road scofflaw".

Brady became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins by helping his team defeat the Miami Dolphins 41–14 on October 4, 2010.

On November 21, 2010, Brady tied Brett Favre's record of winning 25 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 31–28 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Brady's last regular-season loss at home was on November 12, 2006, a 17–14 loss to the New York Jets. On December 6, 2010, Brady set an NFL record by winning 26 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 45–3 victory over the New York Jets.

On December 19, 2010, in a 31–27 home win over the Green Bay Packers, Brady had his seventh straight two-touchdown game without an interception, surpassing Don Meredith's NFL record of six such games. The next week in a 34–3 road win over the Buffalo Bills, Brady surpassed Bernie Kosar's 1990–1991 record of 308 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

Brady's 9:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (36:4) would break his own single-season record of 6.25:1, which he set in 2007. No other qualifying quarterback in NFL history has had a 6:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for a season. Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He had an 111.0 passer rating, giving him two of the top five season ratings in NFL history, and making him the first player to finish with a rating above 110 in two different seasons.

Brady was selected as a starter to the 2011 Pro Bowl. However, he pulled out of the game (and was replaced by former backup Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs) after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot dating back to 2008. Brady was also the only unanimous selection for the AP All-Pro Team and was named the 2010 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He also achieved by unanimous decision the MVP award for the second time in his career.

Statistics

Regular season

3 !2001 NFL season 413 !2002 NFL season 601 !2003 NFL season 527 !2004 NFL season 474 !2005 NFL season 530 !2006 NFL season 516 !2007 NFL season 578 !2008 NFL season 11 !2009 NFL season 565 !2010 NFL season 492

rowspan="2"	Year !! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|G !! rowspan="2"|GS !! colspan="8" |Passing !! colspan="4" |Rushing !! colspan="2" |Sacked !! colspan="2" |Fumbles
! Att !! Comp !! Pct !! Yds !! Y/A !! TD !! Int !! Rtg !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Sack !! Yds !! Fum !! Lost
![[2000 NFL season	1	0	|	1	33.3	6	2.0	0	0	42.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2001 !	NE	15	14	|	264	63.9	2,843	6.9	18	12	86.5	36	43	1.2	0	41	216	12	3
2002 !	NE	16	16	|	373	62.1	3,764	6.3	28	14	85.7	42	110	2.6	1	31	190	11	5
2003 !	NE	16	16	|	317	60.2	3,620	6.9	23	12	85.9	42	63	1.5	1	32	219	13	5
2004 !	NE	16	16	|	288	60.8	3,692	7.8	28	14	92.6	43	28	0.7	0	26	162	7	5
2005 !	NE	16	16	|	334	63.0	4,110	7.8	26	14	92.3	27	89	3.3	1	26	188	4	3
2006 !	NE	16	16	|	319	61.8	3,529	6.8	24	12	87.9	49	102	2.1	0	26	175	12	4
2007 !	NE	16	16	|	398	68.9	4,806	8.3	50	8	117.2	37	98	2.6	2	21	128	6	4
2008 !	NE	1	1	|	7	63.6	76	6.9	0	0	83.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2009 !	NE	16	16	|	371	65.7	4,398	7.8	28	13	96.2	29	44	1.5	1	16	86	4	2
2010 !	NE	16	16	|	324	65.9	3,900	7.9	36	4	111.0	31	30	1.0	1	25	175	3	1
Total !! 145 !! 143 !! 4,710 !! 2,996 !! 63.6 !! 34,744 !! 7.4 !! 261 !! 103 !! 95.2 !! 336 !! 607 !! 1.8 !! 7 !! 244 !! 1,539 !! 72 !! 32

Playoffs

97 !2003–04 NFL playoffs 126 !2004–05 NFL playoffs 81 !2005–06 NFL playoffs 63 !2006–07 NFL playoffs 119 !2007–08 NFL playoffs 109 !2009–10 NFL playoffs 42 !2010–11 NFL playoffs 45

rowspan="2"	Year !! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|G !! rowspan="2"|GS !! colspan="8" |Passing !! colspan="4" |Rushing !! colspan="2" |Sacked !! colspan="2" |Fumbles
! Att !! Comp !! Pct !! Yds !! Y/A !! TD !! Int !! Rtg !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Sack !! Yds !! Fum !! Lost
![[2001–02 NFL playoffs	3	3	|	60	61.9	572	5.9	1	1	77.3	8	22	2.8	1	5	36	1	0
2003 !	NE	3	3	|	75	59.5	792	6.3	5	2	84.5	12	18	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
2004 !	NE	3	3	|	55	67.9	587	7.2	5	0	109.4	7	3	0.4	1	0	0	1	1
2005 !	NE	2	2	|	35	55.6	542	8.6	4	2	92.2	3	8	2.7	0	4	12	2	0
2006 !	NE	3	3	|	70	58.8	724	6.1	5	4	76.5	8	18	2.2	0	4	22	2	0
2007 !	NE	3	3	|	77	70.6	737	6.8	6	3	96.0	4	−1	−0.2	0	8	52	1	1
2009 !	NE	1	1	|	23	54.8	154	3.7	2	3	49.1	0	0	0	0	3	22	1	1
2010 !	NE	1	1	|	29	64.4	299	6.6	2	1	89.0	2	2	1.0	0	5	40	1	0
Total !! 19 !! 19 !! 682 !! 424 !! 62.2 !! 4,407 !! 6.5 !! 30 !! 16 !! 85.7 !! 44 !! 70 !! 1.6 !! 2 !! 29 !! 184 !! 9 !! 3

Personal life

Brady dated actress Bridget Moynahan from 2004 until late 2006. On February 18, 2007, Moynahan confirmed to ''People'' magazine that she was more than three months pregnant with her and Brady's child. Brady and Moynahan ended their relationship sometime in early December 2006, around the time Moynahan became pregnant. Brady was present when the baby, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, was born on August 22, 2007 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. The baby has Brady's first and middle names as middle names, though in reverse order (Moynahan's father's first name is Edward, however).

Brady married Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen on February 26, 2009 in an intimate Catholic ceremony in Santa Monica, California. On June 19, 2009, reports surfaced that Bündchen was pregnant. On September 11, 2009, Brady confirmed to ESPN that they were indeed expecting, and that Bündchen was due in December 2009. On December 8, 2009, Bündchen gave birth to the couple's first child together, a son. On December 18, 2009, Bündchen posted a message on her website indicating that their son's name is Benjamin. In the April 2010 issue of ''Vogue'' magazine, Bündchen confirmed that his name is Benjamin Rein Brady and that his middle name is a shortened version of her father's name Reinoldo. They christened their 6-month-old son Benjamin in Santa Monica on June 22, 2010.

Two paparazzi photographers claim they were shot at by security guards after Brady and Bundchen renewed their wedding vows in Costa Rica on April 5, 2009. Photographs appeared in the ''Boston Herald'' of the shattered rear window of a vehicle belonging to one of these two paparazzi. The photographers, Yuri Cortez and Rolando Aviles, filed a lawsuit in New York against Brady and Bündchen seeking over $1 million in damages over the incident.

Notable accomplishments

NFL records

Wins

Fewest starts to achieve 100 regular-season wins as a starter (131 starts)

Most consecutive wins, postseason: 10 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)

Most consecutive wins, regular season and postseason: 21 (2003–2004)

Most consecutive wins in regular-season home games: 28 (2006–''present'')

Most seasons finishing 8–0 at home: 5 (2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010)

Only quarterback to start and win 3 Super Bowls before his 28th birthday

Touchdowns

Most passing touchdowns, regular season: 50 (2007)

Most passing touchdowns, regular season and postseason combined: 56 (2007)

Most touchdown passes, month: 20 (October 2007)

Most passing touchdowns, quarter: 5 (second quarter vs. Tennessee, October 18, 2009)

Largest touchdown to interception differential: +42 (2007)

Highest touchdown to interception ratio, season: 9.0 to 1 (36 TD/4 INT, 2010)

Highest touchdown pass–interception ratio, career: 2.52-1 (260 TD/103 INT)

Most games with 3+ touchdown passes, regular season: 12 (2007)

Most consecutive games with 3+ touchdown passes, regular season: 10 (2007)

Most consecutive games with 2+ touchdown passes and no interceptions: 9 (2010, October 24–''present''

Most games with 1 touchdown pass and no interceptions, season: 14 (2010)

Most games with 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions, season: 11 (2010)

Most games with 3 touchdown passes and no interceptions, season: 8 (2007)

Most games with 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions, season: 5 (2007)

Most games with 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions, career: 12 – tied with Brett Favre

Most games with 5 touchdown passes and no interceptions, season: 3 (2007)

Most games with 5 touchdown passes and no interceptions, career: 4 – tied with Peyton Manning

Most games with 6 touchdown passes and no interceptions, career 2 – tied with Peyton Manning

Completions Highest single-game completion percentage, postseason: 92.9% (vs. Jacksonville, January 12, 2008)

Tied for most completions in a Super Bowl: 32 (XXXVIII)

Most career Super Bowl completions: 100 (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII)

Largest completion–interception ratio, season: 81.0-1 (324-4) (mininimum 150 completions), 2010

Most games with 20 completions and no interceptions, season: 10 (2007)

Most games with 30 completions and no interceptions, career: 9 – tied with Drew Brees

Most games with 30 completions and no interceptions, season: 5 (2007)

Most games with 50 pass attempts and no interceptions, career: 3

Yards

Largest passing yards–interception ratio, career: 337.3-1 (34,744-103) (mininimum 20,000 passing yards)

Largest passing yards–interception ratio, season: 975.0-1 (3,900-4) (mininimum 2,000 passing yards), 2010

Most games with 300 yards passing and no interceptions, season: 8 (2007)

Interception-free streaks and interception percentage

Most consecutive pass attempts to start a career without an interception: 162 (2000–2001)

Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception, regular season: 338 (2010, October 24–''present'')

Third-lowest interception percentage (interceptions per attempt), career: 2.19% (Aaron Rodgers ranks first @ 1.99%; Neil O'Donnell is second @ 2.11%)

Career bests

Excluding the list of NFL records above:

Highest single-game quarterback rating: 158.3 (at Miami, October 21, 2007 and at Detroit, November 25, 2010) Perfect Rating

Highest single-season quarterback rating: 117.2 (2007) 2nd highest all-time

Most passing touchdowns, game: 6 (at Miami, October 21, 2007 and vs. Tennessee, October 18, 2009)

Most passing yards, game: 410 (vs. Kansas City, 2002)

Most passing yards, season: 4,806 (2007)

Lowest interception total, season (minimum 2 starts): 4 (2010)

21-game win streak statistics (including post-season)

690 passes attempted

412 passes completed

4,953 passing yards

34 passing touchdowns

13 passes intercepted

20.29 passing attempts per touchdown

53.07 passing attempts per interception

59.71 completion rate

90.3 passer rating

Career

111–32 (regular season), 125–37 (career) as a starter

8–1 (career) in overtime games

34–6 (career) vs. NFC teams

32 game-winning drives after a Patriots' fourth-quarter tie or deficit

Post-season records and statistics

NFL record for most consecutive wins in post season: 10 (broke record of Green Bay's Bart Starr).

Most consecutive post season wins (college and professional combined): 12

3 Super Bowl victories

2 Super Bowl MVP awards

Most completions in a Super Bowl (32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII)

Most career Super Bowl completions (100 in four games)

Highest completion percentage in a single game, minimum 20 attempts (26 of 28, 92.9%, against Jacksonville in 2007 AFC Divisional round)

See also

Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)

Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL)

Most career 300-yard passing games by NFL quarterbacks

List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

List of NFL starting quarterback playoff records

List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating

Lists of Michigan Wolverines football passing leaders

Saturday Night Live hosts

2005 ''Simpsons'' episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass"

2006 ''Family Guy'' episode "Patriot Games"

References

Further reading

External links

Tom Brady's official website

Tom Brady biography on the New England Patriots' official website

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Michigan Wolverines football players Category:New England Patriots players Category:People from San Mateo, California Category:Players of American football from California Category:Super Bowl MVPs

da:Tom Brady de:Tom Brady es:Tom Brady fr:Tom Brady ko:톰 브래디 it:Tom Brady he:טום בריידי lv:Toms Breidijs hu:Tom Brady nl:Tom Brady ja:トム・ブレイディ no:Tom Brady pt:Tom Brady ru:Брэди, Том simple:Tom Brady fi:Tom Brady sv:Tom Brady zh:汤姆·布雷迪

Name	Cris Collinsworth
Currentnumber	80
Position	Wide receiver
Birth date	January 27, 1959
Birth place	Dayton, Ohio
Heightft	6
Heightin	5
Weight	192
Highschool	Astronaut High SchoolTitusville, Florida
College	University of Florida
Draftyear	1981
Draftround	2
Draftpick	37
Debutyear	1981
Debutteam	Cincinnati Bengals
Finalteam	Cincinnati Bengals
Finalyear	1988
Pastteams	Cincinnati Bengals (–)
Highlights	First-team All-SEC (1978, 1979, 1980) First-team All-American (1980) First-team Academic All-American (1980) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame Pro Bowl (1981, 1982, 1983) Second-team All-Pro (1981, 1982, 1985) First-team All-Pro (1983)
Statlabel1	Receptions
Statvalue1	417
Statlabel2	Receiving Yards
Statvalue2	6,698
Statlabel3	Touchdowns
Statvalue3	36
Nfl	COL717780
Pfr	CollCr00
Dbf	COLLICRI01 }}

Anthony Cris Collinsworth (born January 27, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons in the 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played his entire professional career for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. Collinsworth now works as an Emmy Award-winning television sportscaster.

Early life

Collinsworth was born in Dayton, Ohio but moved to Titusville, Florida with his family as a child. He attended Astronaut High School in Titusville, Florida where he was high school football All-American quarterback and the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A 100-yard-dash state champion for the Astronaut War Eagles in 1976.

College career

Collinsworth's exceptional height and quickness attracted the attention of college football coaches throughout the South. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Doug Dickey and coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football teams from 1977 to 1980. He was recruited as a quarterback by Doug Dickey's staff and in his first game as a Gator, Collinsworth threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Gaffney against the Rice Owls, which remains tied for the longest touchdown pass in NCAA history.

He later switched to wide receiver as the Gators transitioned from a run-oriented option offense to an offensive scheme that employed more passing. As a Gator wide receiver, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1978, 1979 and 1980, and a first-team All-American, a first-team Academic All-American, and a team captain in 1980. During his career at Florida, he caught 120 passes for 1,977 yards and fourteen touchdowns, while also scoring two rushing touchdowns and one on a kickoff return.

As a senior in 1980, Collinsorth was a member of the Gators team that posted the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football—from 0–10–1 in 1979 to an 8–4 bowl team in 1980.

While he was an undergraduate, Collinsworth was also an active member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity (Florida Alpha Omega Chapter), and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. He graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1981, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1991.

Professional career

After college, Collinsworth was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round (thirty-seventh pick overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft, and spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Bengals. He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving four times (in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986) and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1981, 1982 and 1983. At six feet, five inches in height, Collinsworth often created mismatches against much smaller cornerbacks. In addition to his height advantage, Collinsworth was a legitimate deep threat due to his speed.

In Super Bowl XVI, Collinsworth caught four passes for 107 yards, but committed a costly fumble when he was hit by San Francisco defensive back Eric Wright.

In 1985, Collinsworth signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, but the contract was voided when he failed the physical due to a bad ankle. He returned to the Bengals and played for them until the end of the 1988 season, catching three passes for forty yards in Super Bowl XXIII, the final game of his career. He finished his eight-season NFL career with 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and thirty-six touchdowns in 107 games.

Broadcasting career

After his retirement as an NFL player, Collinsworth began a broadcasting career as a sports radio talk show host on Cincinnati station WLW. Initially, he was a guest host for Bob Trumpy (also a Bengals alumnus), but took over the show full-time as Trumpy accepted more television assignments. He then became a reporter for HBO's (now Showtime's) ''Inside the NFL'' in 1989.

In 1990, he became a part of the NBC network's NFL broadcasts, as well as some of the college programming. He joined the NBC pregame show in 1996.

In 1998, Collinsworth joined the ''NFL on Fox'' team after NBC lost their broadcast rights to CBS. After several years as a color commentator on the ''Fox NFL Sunday'' pregame show, Collinsworth was assigned to the network's lead game broadcasting crew (teaming with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) in 2002. He worked on Fox's Super Bowl XXXIX telecast three years later. Collinsworth was also the host of the television show ''Guinness World Records Primetime'' during his stay at Fox.

In 2006, Collinsworth could be seen on three networks during football season. In addition to co-hosting ''Inside the NFL'' on HBO, he returned to NBC as a studio analyst for that network's Sunday night NFL coverage and did color commentary on the NFL Network. He also served as color commentator for NFL Network Thursday night games (and one Saturday-night game) alongside play-by-play man Bryant Gumbel and Bob Papa.

In the NBC broadcasts of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Collinsworth appeared alongside Bob Costas as a commentator on numerous occasions. Collinsworth and Costas paired again during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. He also continued his work on ''Inside the NFL'' when it debuted on its new home on Showtime.

Collinsworth is also the color commentator on ''Madden NFL 09'' and ''Madden NFL 10'' with Tom Hammond, as well as in ''Madden NFL 11'' with Gus Johnson.

It was announced on April 16, 2009 that Collinsworth would replace John Madden on NBC's ''Sunday Night Football''.

Colinsworth is the host of ''Inside the Vault'' on WGN America.

Honors

Collinsworth received a Sports Emmy Award in April 1998 as "Outstanding Studio Analyst" and his second in 1999. In 2001, he was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame. He was also recognized with his third and fourth Sports Emmy Awards in 2003 and 2004 as "Outstanding Sports Personality/Studio Analyst." In May 2006, he added a fifth with an Emmy Award again in the category "Outstanding Sports Personality/Studio Analyst" for his work on HBO. Collinsworth served as a correspondent for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Collinsworth currently lives in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, with his wife Holly , and their four children. He received his law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991.

His son, Austin Collinsworth, plays football at the University of Notre Dame.

On March 12, 2011, it was reported that Collinsworth was rescued after a restaurant that he was eating in began to float down the flooded Ohio River. He was among eighty-three people eating at Jeff Ruby's restaurant in Covington, Kentucky which floats atop the river, when it tore loose from its moorings and began to drift.

See also

1980 College Football All-America Team

Florida Gators

Florida Gators football, 1970–1979

Florida Gators football, 1980–1989

History of the Cincinnati Bengals

List of Alpha Tau Omega brothers

List of Florida Gators football players

List of University of Cincinnati people

List of University of Florida alumni

References

Bibliography

Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0794822983.

Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.

Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.

McCarthy, Kevin M., ''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football'', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.

Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196x.

External links

NFL.com writer profile

HBO: Inside the NFL

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:All-American college football players Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football wide receivers Category:American sports radio personalities Category:Cincinnati Bengals players Category:College football announcers Category:Florida Gators football players Category:National Football League announcers Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football broadcasters Category:Parade High School All-Americans (football) Category:People from Dayton, Ohio Category:People from Brevard County, Florida Sports Emmy Award winners Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers broadcasters Category:University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni

Name	Phil Simms
Width	250px
Currentnumber	11
Currentpositionplain	Quarterback
Birth date	November 03, 1954
Birth place	Lebanon, Kentucky
Heightft	6
Heightin	3
Weight	216
Highschool	Southern High School
College	Morehead State
Draftyear	1979
Draftround	1
Draftpick	7
Debutyear	1979
Debutteam	New York Giants
Finalteam	New York Giants
Finalyear	1993
Pastteams	New York Giants (-)
Highlights	2× Pro Bowl selection (1985, 1993) 1× Newspaper Enterprise Association first-team All-Pro selection (1986) 2× Super Bowl champion (XXI, XXV) 1987 Super Bowl MVP 1986 NEA National Football League Most Valuable Player Award 1985 Pro Bowl MVP New York Giants #11 retired Member of the New York Giants Ring of Honor
Statseason	1993
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	4,647
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	2,576
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	55.4
Statlabel4	TD-INT
Statvalue4	199-157
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	33,462
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	78.5
Nfl	SIM342758 }}

Phillip Martin "Phil" Simms (born November 3, 1954) is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) with the number seven selection overall in the 1979 NFL Draft. Simms played his entire professional career with the Giants and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Super Bowl XXI, after he led the Giants to a 39–20 victory over the Denver Broncos and set the record for highest completion percentage in a super bowl, going 22 for 25. He also was named to the Pro Bowl for his performances in the 1985 and 1993 seasons.

He finished his career with 33,462 passing yards and has since gone on to a career broadcaster of NFL games—first as an analyst for ESPN, then as a in-game color commentator with NBC, and currently with CBS. He is the father of quarterback Chris Simms and former University of Louisville and current University of Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms.

Early life and rookie season

Simms was born in Springfield, Kentucky on his grandfather's farm, a place now called Maple Hill Manor in Washington County, Kentucky where he attended St. Dominic's Elementary. While an elementary school student his family moved and Simms grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Southern High School in Louisville and was quarterback of the Southern Trojans, graduating in 1974. Simms chose to attend Morehead State University in nearby Morehead, Kentucky. The team featured a ball control offense, and Simms' numbers at Morehead State were unspectacular—in his senior season he completed 92 of 173 passes for a 53.2% completion percentage and totalled 6 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions, and 1,229 yards. The team also finished with a paltry 2–6–1 record in his senior season and failed to make a bowl game during Simms' four years. Simms finished his career at Morehead State with 409 completions in 835 attempts for a 48.9% completion percentage. He also totalled 32 touchdowns, 45 interceptions, and a school-record 5,545 yards.

Before the 1979 NFL Draft, Bill Walsh, who was the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers, flew to Morehead State with Assistant Coach Sam Wyche to work out Simms. 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, Joe Montana. But the New York Giants decided to make Simms their first round pick to the surprise of many. As Simms acknowledged, "most people have never heard of me." When Simms's name was announced by Commissioner Pete Rozelle in front of the audience at the draft (which was held in New York), his selection was booed loudly by the Giants fans in attendance. Simms was not happy being a Giant either, "All I was thinking was which teams I would rather play for—the Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego, San Francisco..." Nonetheless, he became popular with his teammates who jokingly dubbed him "Prince Valiant" in his rookie training camp.

Simms won his first five starts of his rookie year. 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. He was runner-up in 1979 for Rookie of the Year, losing out to future teammate, Ottis Anderson.

Early career: 1980–1986

Simms' next four years were marred by injuries and inconsistent play. He finished the 1980 season with 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, while completing a subpar 48.0% of his passes for 2,321 yards. In 1981, Simms threw for 2,031 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions on 54.4% completion percentage before suffering a separated shoulder in a November 15 loss to the Washington Redskins. With Simms out, the Giants went on a run led by Scott Brunner and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Simms suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game against the New York Jets, preventing him from playing the entire 1982 season. Following the season, Ray Perkins resigned as head coach to take over the same position at the University of Alabama, and was replaced by the team's defensive coordinator Bill Parcells. In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Simms.

One of Parcells first decisions as coach was to replace Simms as the starting quarterback with Brunner. Simms asked to be traded after the benching, but his request was ignored. During the sixth game of the Giants' 1983 Season, Simms came in to replace the struggling Brunner against the Philadelphia Eagles. On his second drive, Simms suffered a season-ending injury when the thumb on his throwing hand hit a player's helmet on his follow-through. The injury was reported as a dislocation, but according to the book, ''Simms to McConkey'', written by Phil McConkey, Simms, and Dick Schaap, the injury was much more severe, with the thumb literally hanging off after impact, and the bone sticking out through the skin.

During his first few years on the team, Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms, who they felt was a disappointment. He commented that his wife "had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me." However, in 1984, after many seasons plagued by injuries and up-and-down play, Simms finally emerged as a team offensive leader. During his 1983 injury, offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt talked Simms into watching more game film, something he had not regularly done in college or the pros. He gained a better understanding of NFL defenses, his team's formations, and pass protection schemes, and improved his ability to audible at the line of scrimmage. He also changed his strength training regimen in an attempt to make his body more resistant to injury. He passed for 4,044 yards (second most in the National Football Conference (NFC)), 22 touchdown passes, and led the Giants to a playoff berth.

He was voted to the Pro Bowl and named Pro Bowl MVP as he led the NFC to a comeback win over the American Football Conference (AFC) by throwing three touchdowns. In 1985, he passed for 3,829 yards, 22 touchdowns, and led the Giants to 10 victories, the most for a Giants team since 1963. In a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 1985 season, Simms passed for 513 yards—the fifth most passing yards in a single game in NFL history. In 1986, he passed for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdown passes during a season in which the Giants won 14 games. In week 11, he completed a desperate fourth-and-17 pass to Bobby Johnson late in the game to set up Raul Allegre's game-winning field goal, which gave the Giants a 22–20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Simms later commented:

Super Bowl XXI

On January 25, 1987, the Giants met the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. In the biggest game of his life, Simms had one of the finest performances in Super Bowl history. He completed 22 of 25 passes (with 2 of his 3 incompletions being drops by receivers) for 268 yards, setting Super Bowl records for consecutive completions (10), accuracy (88%), and passer rating (150.9). In addition, he threw 3 touchdown passes and his passer rating set an NFL postseason record. "This might be the best game a quarterback has ever played," Giants coach Bill Parcells later said. Two of the most famous plays from the game were the flea flicker to McConkey, and the touchdown pass caught by McConkey off of the fingertips of Giants tight end, Mark Bavaro. The Giants defeated the Broncos 39-20, and Simms was named MVP of Super Bowl XXI. He is credited for being the first to use the phrase "I'm going to Disney World!" following a championship victory.

Later career: 1987–1993

Simms performed well in the strike-shortened 1987 NFL season, finishing with the second highest quarterback rating in the NFC. He threw for 2,230 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He passed for 3,359 yard, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while completing 54.9% of his passes in the 1988 season. The Giants rebounded from a 6–9–1 record in 1987 to finish 10–6 but missed the playoffs due to the NFL tie-breaker system. In 1989, the Giants started 8–1 and finished 12–4, Simms passed for 3,061 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions on 56.3% completion percentage. He performed consistently most of the season except for a two game stretch against the Eagles and 49ers where he produced seven turnovers, six of which resulted in points for the opposition. He also struggled in the Giants playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, and the Giants lost 19–13. In 1990, Simms was having one of his finest seasons, leading the NFC with the highest quarterback rating (92.7) and the Giants to an 11–3 record. But his season was cut short due to a broken foot suffered in the fourteenth game against the Giants' eventual Super Bowl XXV opponent, the Buffalo Bills. The Giants went on to defeat the Bills 20–19 in the Super Bowl.

After the Giants Super Bowl victory, Parcells resigned and was replaced by the team's running backs coach Ray Handley. One of Handley's first decisions was to select Jeff Hostetler, who had quarterbacked the team to a victory in Super Bowl XXV, as the team's starting quarterback. Simms only saw spot action in two games prior to Week 13, when Hostetler broke his back in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Simms finished the game and reclaimed the starting job, but only won once in his remaining four starts as the Giants failed to return to the playoffs at 8-8. Simms was named starter for the 1992 season after beating out Hostetler, who Handley was still high on as a quarterback, in the preseason. However, Simms suffered a severe arm injury in a Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders and missed the remainder of the season. In those two seasons Simms only amassed a combined 1,905 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions while completing 59.3% of his passes. The Giants finished the 1992 season at 6-10, which led to the termination of the unpopular Handley and the hiring of former Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves. As part of an overall house cleaning, Reeves released Hostetler and named Simms his starting quarterback. He started all 16 games in 1993, being one of only seven quarterbacks to do so, and led the Giants to a resurgent 11–5 season including a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs. However, Simms underwent shoulder surgery after the 1993 NFL Season to repair a torn labrum. The surgery was successful, and team doctor Russell F. Warren's prognosis for recovery was excellent, and Simms was expected to be ready in time for training camp. However, later during that offseason, Simms was released by the Giants, and subsequently decided to retire. Upon his release, co-owner Wellington Mara called it "a day of overwhelming sadness."

In his 14 seasons with the Giants, Simms completed 2,576 out of 4,647 passes for 33,462 yards and 199 touchdowns. His career passing yardage total ranks him twenty first in NFL history. He added 349 carries for 1,252 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. Simms owns many of the New York Giants passing records, along with Kerry Collins. He set team records for most passes completed and attempted in one game (40 and 62, respectively), season (286, 533) and career (2,576, 4,647), most career touchdown passes (199) and most 300-yard games in a career (21). ''Sports Illustrated'' considered him to be the "Most Underrated Quarterback" in NFL History in their August 27, 2001 issue entitled, "The Most Overrated and Underrated".

Life off the field

Simms and his wife Diana live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. They have three children: Chris Simms, Deirdre and Matthew (former freshman QB at Louisville, now at Tennessee). Simms is fond of New Jersey, remarking in 1987; "I wasn't overjoyed about coming to New York. When I thought of New York I thought of New York ''City''. But out here, it's just like anywhere else."

On September 4, 1995, Simms' jersey was retired in a halftime ceremony of a game versus the Dallas Cowboys. During an emotional speech, Simms stated that he wanted to don his jersey one final time, and throw "one more pass" to teammate Lawrence Taylor. Simms later commented, "[a]ll of a sudden it kind of hit me, I've put Lawrence in a really tough spot; national TV, he's got dress shoes and a sports jacket on, and he's had a few beers and he's going to run down the field and I'm going to throw him a pass." Simms then motioned for Taylor to run a longer pattern, and after 30–40 yards, threw him the pass. Taylor later stated that the situation made him more nervous than any play of his career, "I'm saying to myself (as the pass is being thrown), 'If I drop this pass, I got to run my black ass all the way to Upper Saddle River because there ain't no way I'm going to be able to stay in that stadium'." Taylor caught the pass however, and the capacity crowd in attendance cheered in approval. Since he has been retired for more than five years, Simms is eligible for selection into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he has yet to be inducted, however.

After his retirement as a player in 1994, Simms first joined ESPN then went on to join NBC's lead broadcast crew, teaming with Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire on that network's coverage of Super Bowl XXX and Super Bowl XXXII. Simms also announced Weightlifting at the 1996 Summer Olympics and served as a sideline reporter on the ''NBA on NBC'' for NBC Sports. In 1998, he moved to CBS with the AFC package, teaming first with Greg Gumbel (through the end of the 2003 season) and currently with Jim Nantz on the CBS's lead broadcast team. He also worked with Armen Keteyian, Bonnie Bernstein and Lesley Visser. He hosts ''Inside the NFL'' on Showtime (another CBS holding) with Warren Sapp and Cris Collinsworth. He has appeared on CBS Daytime since joining CBS, with a 2007 appearance as himself on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns,'' and in February 2010 an appearance on ''The Price Is Right'' (with Nantz) to present a Super Bowl XLIV Showcase, including saying the show's signature ''A New Car''.

Passing statistics

{|class="wikitable" |- !|Year !|Team !|GP !|Att !|Com !|Pct !|Yds !|TD !|Int !|Rate |- |1979||New York Giants||12||265||134||50.6||1743||13||14||66.0 |- |1980||New York Giants||13||402||193||48.0||2321||15||19||58.9 |- |1981||New York Giants||10||316||172||54.4||2031||11||9||74.0 |- |1983||New York Giants||2||13||7||53.8||130||0||1||56.6 |- |1984||New York Giants||16||533||286||53.7||4044||22||18||78.1 |- |1985||New York Giants||16||495||275||55.6||3829||22||20||78.6 |- |1986||New York Giants||16||468||259||55.3||3487||21||22||74.6 |- |1987||New York Giants||9||282||163||57.8||2230||17||9||90.0 |- |1988||New York Giants||15||479||253||54.9||3359||21||11||82.1 |- |1989||New York Giants||15||405||228||56.3||3061||14||14||77.6 |- |1990||New York Giants||14||311||184||59.2||2284||15||4||92.7 |- |1991||New York Giants||6||141||82||58.3||993||8||4||87.0 |- |1992||New York Giants||4||137||83||60.6||812||5||3||83.3 |- |1993||New York Giants||16||400||247||61.8||3038||15||9||88.3 |- !Career Totals |||164||4647||2576||55.4||33462||199||157||78.5 |} Key to Abbreviations GP= Games Played Att= Passes attempted Com= Passes Completed Pct= Completion percentage Yds= Yards TD= Touchdowns Int= Interceptions Rate= Passer rating

See also

History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)

List of NFL Quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards

List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating

List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a passer rating of zero

List of 300-Yard Passing Games by NFL Quarterbacks

List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings

List of NFL on CBS commentator pairings

Notes

Sources

McConkey, Phil, Simms, Phil, and Schaap, Dick. ''Simms to McConkey: Blood, Sweat, and Gatorade'', New York: Random House. 1987 ISBN 0517567032

Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. ''The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present.'' New York: St. Martin's Press. 1994 ISBN 0312114354

Pervin, Lawrence A. ''Football's New York Giants: A History.'' McFarland 2009 ISBN 0786442689

Pooley, Eric. ''True Blue'', ''New York'', New York Media LLC, January 26, 1987 issue ISSN 0028-7369 (available online)

Schwartz, John. ''Tales from the New York Giants Sideline'', Sports Publishing LLC, 2004 ISBN 1582617589

Simms, Phil and Meier, Rick. ''Phil Simms On Passing'', New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1998 ISBN 0688161081

Whittingham, Richard. ''What Giants They Were.'' Chicago: Triumph Books 2000 ISBN 157243368X

External links

Phil Simms at Database Football

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Morehead State Eagles football players Category:National Basketball Association broadcasters Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players Category:National Football League announcers Category:New York Giants players Category:National Football League players with retired numbers Category:People from Marion County, Kentucky Category:People from Washington County, Kentucky Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky Category:Players of American football from Kentucky Category:Super Bowl MVPs Category:American television sports announcers Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football broadcasters

de:Phil Simms es:Phil Simms fr:Phil Simms it:Phil Simms pt:Phil Simms simple:Phil Simms fi:Phil Simms

Name	Rob Gronkowski
Currentteam	New England Patriots
Currentnumber	87
Currentposition	Tight end
Birth date	May 14, 1989
Birth place	Amherst, New York
Heightft	6
Heightin	6
Weight	265
College	Arizona
Draftyear	2010
Draftround	2
Draftpick	42
Debutyear	2010
Debutteam	New England Patriots
Pastteams	New England Patriots (–present)
Status	Active
Highlights	2008 Associated Press third-team All-American 1× First-team All-Pac-10 (2008)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Receptions
Statvalue1	42
Statlabel2	Receiving Yards
Statvalue2	546
Statlabel3	Touchdowns
Statvalue3	10
Nfl	GRO135948 }}

Rob Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Arizona.

Early years

Gronkowski was born on May 14, 1989 in Amherst, New York to parents Gordon Gronkowski and Diane Gronkowski. His father started for three years as an offensive guard at Syracuse. His great-grandfather, Ignatius, was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic cycling team in Paris. Rob has four brothers: Chris, who played football for two years at Maryland before transferring to Arizona; Chris is now the starting fullback for the Dallas Cowboys. Dan, who played as a tight end at Maryland and was selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, now a tight end for the Denver Broncos; Gordie, Jr., played baseball at Jacksonville University and is currently on the Worcester Tornadoes 2011 roster; and Glenn, who is currently attending high school.

Rob Gronkowski was raised in Williamsville, New York near Buffalo and attended Williamsville North High School for three years. He played football as a tight end and basketball as a center. As a junior, he recorded 36 receptions for 648 yards and seven touchdowns, and 73 tackles and six sacks on defense. He was named an All-Western New York first-team and All-State second-team player.

In 2006, he moved to Pennsylvania, where he attended Woodland Hills High School as a senior. He was initially ruled ineligible by the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, but that ruling was overturned and Gronkowski recorded eight receptions for 152 yards and four touchdowns at Woodland Hills. He was named a SuperPrep All-American, PrepStar All-American, Associated Press Class 4-A all-state, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' "Fabulous 22", ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' first-team all-conference, ''The Patriot-News'' (Harrisburg, PA) "Platinum 33", and a ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' "Terrific 25" player. He was recruited by Arizona, Clemson, Louisville, Maryland, Ohio State, and Syracuse.

College career

Following high school, Gronkowski attended the University of Arizona. As a true freshman in 2007, Gronkowski recorded 28 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns. His 18.8 yards per reception average was the best on the team and his receiving yards were a then school record for a tight end. He was named a ''The Sporting News'' freshman All-American, Rivals.com freshman All-American, ''The Sporting News'' freshman Pac-10, and All-Pac-10 honorable mention player.

Gronkowski missed the first three games of the 2008 season, but later recorded 47 receptions for 672 yards and a team-best ten touchdowns. Five of his touchdowns were scored in his first two games. He was twice named the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week, including for his performance in a failed comeback bid against Oregon, where he caught 12 passes for 143 yards. He set the school tight end records for single-game, single-season, and career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Gronkowski was named an Associated Press third-team All-American and All-Pac-10 first-team tight end.

Prior to the 2009 season, he was named to the Lombardi Award watchlist for the most outstanding college football lineman or linebacker.

Professional career

Pre-draft

{{nfl predraft | height ft = 6 | height in = 6 | weight = 264 | dash = 4.65 | ten split = | twenty split = | shuttle = 4.47 | cone drill = 7.18 | vertical = | broad ft = 9 | broad in = 11 | bench = 23 | wonderlic = | arm span = 34¼ | hand span = 10¾ | note = All values from NFL Scouting Combine. }}

New England Patriots

Gronkowski was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract on July 25, 2010.

2010 season

During the preseason, Gronkowski was one of three NFL players to score four touchdowns, tying Victor Cruz, a rookie wide receiver for the New York Giants and Anthony Dixon, a running back for the San Francisco 49ers. On one of those touchdowns, a 14-yard pass from Tom Brady, Gronkowski dragged St. Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis several yards before diving into the end zone. In the Week 1 game against Cincinnati, Gronkowski caught his first regular season touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one-yard pass from Brady.

In a Week 10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes from Brady, becoming the first rookie in Patriots history, and the youngest rookie in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

Returning to his home city of Buffalo in Week 16, Gronkowski caught two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills, giving him nine touchdown catches on the season. He added a touchdown in the season finale, giving him 10 on the season, and making him the first rookie tight end since the NFL-AFL merger to score 10 touchdowns. In 16 games played (11 starts), Gronkowski caught 42 passes for 546 yards. Despite missing his entire 2009 college season following back surgery, Gronkowski did not miss a single game or practice all season.

Gronkowski was nominated three times for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, in Weeks 10, 14, and 17, losing in Week 10 to Tim Tebow, and winning in Weeks 14 and 17. Gronkowski also finished fifth in fan balloting at tight end for the 2011 Pro Bowl, and fourth overall among rookies. Gronkowski also received one writer's vote for the Associated Press 2010 All-Pro Team (writers only vote for one tight end).

References

External links

New England Patriots bio

Arizona Wildcats bio

NFL combine profile

ESPN bio

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American football tight ends Category:Arizona Wildcats football players Category:New England Patriots players Category:People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Category:People from Erie County, New York Category:Players of American football from New York Category:Players of American football from Pennsylvania

Currentteam	Denver Broncos
Currentnumber	92
Currentposition	Defensive End
Birth date	January 19, 1984
Birth place	Miami, Florida
Heightft	5
Heightin	11
Weight	260
Debutyear	2006
Debutteam	Denver Broncos
College	Louisville
Highlights	Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2005) Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2005) Ted Hendricks Award (2005) Bill Willis Award (2005) 1× Pro Bowl selection (2009) 1× All-Pro selection (2009) NFL Alumni Pass Rusher of the Year (2009)
Draftyear	2006
Draftround	4
Draftpick	126
Pastteams	Denver Broncos (–present)
Status	Active
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Tackles
Statvalue1	129
Statlabel2	Sacks
Statvalue2	43.0
Statlabel3	INTs
Statvalue3	1
Statlabel4	Forced Fumbles
Statvalue4	10
Nfl	DUM179959 }}

Elvis Kool Dumervil (born January 19, 1984) is an American football Defensive End for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Broncos in the 2006 NFL Draft in the 4th round. He played college football at Louisville.

Early years

Dumervil's parents were Haitian immigrants to Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. Separated when Dumervil was 3, they raised a total of 10 children. Rated among the top 25 defensive ends by most publications, Dumervil had a Miami Jackson High School record 78 career sacks.

College career

His college career began slowly as a modest contributor during his first two seasons at the University of Louisville; he tallied just 28 tackles and two sacks. John L. Smith's staff had planned on redshirting him during the 2002 season, but injuries to other players and a lackluster performance by the defensive line forced him into the rotation.

He emerged during the 2004 season as a junior, recording 10 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss. His 2005 season was one of the best for a defensive end in both NCAA and school history, when he broke the NCAA single-game sack record (6) in a game against rival the University of Kentucky, and break the NCAA record for forced fumbles. His sack total also broke the Big East record set by Dwight Freeney, who was a player that Elvis desired to emulate. He won several awards for the 2005 season, including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Ted Hendricks Award, Big East player of the year, and First-team All-American.

In the 2006 Gator Bowl, Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick intentionally stomped on the back of Dumervil's leg after a whistle. While no penalty was called, the backlash from this play (in combination with a misdemeanor charge for driving with a suspended license) led to Vick's permanent dismissal from the Virginia Tech football team. Vick claimed that he had apologized to Dumervil after the game, while Dumervil disputed that claim and stated that he didn't receive any kind of apology from Vick.

In college he was known for the "strip-sack" maneuver where he would sometimes strip the ball from ball carriers or quarterbacks.

NFL

Pre-draft

Despite his collegiate success and comparisons to Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Dumervil was selected on the second day of the NFL draft due to concerns about his small size (5'11", 258 lbs), and the fact that he went without a sack in his final three collegiate games. This may have been due to his being consistently doubled teamed, but it was perceived by some as a sign of fatigue. Several teams considered moving him to linebacker or only using him in pass rushing situations.

{{nfl predraft | height ft = 5 | height in = 11⅜ | weight = 257 | dash = 4.78 | ten split = 1.65 | twenty split = 2.81 | shuttle = | cone drill = | vertical = | broad ft = | broad in = | bench = 30 | wonderlic = | arm span = | hand span = | note = All values from NFL Combine }}

Denver Broncos

Dumervil was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan stated that he planned to keep Dumervil at defensive end.

Early in his rookie season, Dumervil saw little playing time. However, his minutes increased as the season progressed and he finished the year with 8.5 sacks in 13 games. In the first game of the 2007 NFL season he would get the first interception of his career. Dumervil would go on to lead the Broncos, and finish among league leaders, with 12.5 sacks in 2007.

His half brother, Curry Burns, also played at the University of Louisville and was later drafted by the Houston Texans in the 2003 NFL Draft.

With the Josh McDaniels coaching regime entering the 2009 season, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan moved Dumervil around as an outside linebacker in his 3-4 defensive scheme, but keeping him as a defensive end on 4-3 passing down situations. Dumervil led the league in sacks with 17.

In July 2010, Dumervil signed a six-year $61.5 million contract extension (including $43.168 million in guaranteed payments) to keep him with the Broncos through 2015. However, on August 4, 2010, Dumervil suffered a torn pectoral muscle during practice, and missed the entire 2010 season.

Records and rankings

1st - NCAA single game sack total, 6 vs the University of Kentucky (2005-Sep-1)

1st - Big East Conference single season sack total

2nd - University of Louisville career sacks (to DeWayne White)

References

External links

Denver Broncos bio

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:American football defensive ends Category:American football outside linebackers Category:Louisville Cardinals football players Category:Denver Broncos players Category:Players of American football from Florida Category:American people of Haitian descent

da:Elvis Dumervil ht:Elvis Dumervil