year	2008
nflchampion	Pittsburgh Steelers
regular season	''September 4'' to ''December 28, 2008''
playoffs start	''January 3, 2009''
afcchampion	Pittsburgh Steelers
nfcchampion	Arizona Cardinals
sb name	XLIII
sb date	February 1, 2009
sb site	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
pb date	February 8, 2009
champion	Pittsburgh Losers }}

The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."

Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the Arizona Cardinals 27–23 and winning their NFL-record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy. Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with an imperfect season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season, finishing their season 0-16.

The regular season began on September 4 with the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants defeating the Washington Redskins 16–7, and concluded with the 2009 Pro Bowl on February 8, 2009 in Honolulu.

Schedule

Preseason

In preseason games, the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was played August 3 between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, which aired on NBC. Washington won the game, 30–16. Other preseason highlights included the first game of the Toronto Series, which was played August 14 between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Toronto's Rogers Centre. The Bills won that game, 24–21.

Regular season

Formula

Based on the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2008 were:

Division !! AFC opponent !! NFC opponent
AFC East	West	West
AFC North	South
AFC South	North
AFC West	East
NFC East	North
NFC North	South
NFC South	West
NFC West	East

Opening Weekend

The annual NFL Kickoff Game to start the season took place on September 4 and featured the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants winning over their division rivals, the Washington Redskins, at Giants Stadium by a score of 16–7. The game's kickoff was ninety minutes earlier than previous years, at 7 p.m. EDT, because of a time conflict with the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Other featured games during the opening week included the NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts (the first regular season game at Lucas Oil Stadium, and a rematch of Super Bowl XLI), in which the Kyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. In addition, there were two Monday Night Football contests, both division rivalries, as part of the now annual doubleheader: The Minnesota Vikings at the Green Bay Packers (the Packers' first Monday night game without Brett Favre since 1992) in which Aaron Rodgers helped the Packers win, 24–19, and the Denver Broncos at the Oakland Raiders, where Jay Cutler and Eddie Royal led the Broncos in beating the Raiders, 41–14.

Flexible scheduling

The 2008 season also was the third season of the use of the "flexible scheduling" for Sunday games starting with Week 11.

International play

This was the second consecutive season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of its International Series. The contest between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints was played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 26, with New Orleans winning 37–32. The Chargers played at Buffalo the week beforehand on October 19 so they could immediately travel to London afterward in order to get used to the time difference.

The league has also approved the Bills' request to play at least one regular season home game at Toronto's Rogers Centre over each of the next five seasons. Team owner Ralph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his club's fan base in Ontario. The game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the 2008 CFL season, against the Miami Dolphins; Miami won 16-3. CBS televised both games regionally; the Toronto game was carried across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and City TV.

Thanksgiving

The traditional Thanksgiving Day games were held on November 27, with the Detroit Lions hosting the Tennessee Titans at 12:30 PM EST on CBS (with the then 10–1 Titans handily defeating the then 0–11 Lions by a 47–10 score), and the Dallas Cowboys' home game following suit on Fox at 4:15 PM EST against the Seattle Seahawks (Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 34–9). A third game on NFL Network, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles followed at 8:15 PM EST. It was the first home game for the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day since 1940, and their first Thanksgiving game at any location since the infamous Bounty Bowl Game in 1989; the Eagles defeated the Cardinals by a score of 48–20. (The Cardinals and Eagles would, two months later, rematch in the NFC Championship Game, with Arizona winning this time by a score of 32–25.)

Christmas

Despite NFL tradition to play games on Christmas if the holiday lands on a day of the week when the NFL normally plays, and the fact that Christmas landed on a Thursday in 2008, the NFL opted not to hold a Christmas game this season, instead scheduling all of its week 17 matchups for Sunday, December 28.

Pro Bowl

The NFL's Pro Bowl all-star game at the end of the season was played at Aloha Stadium in the Honolulu, Hawaii for the 30th consecutive season. The league had the option under their current contract to hold the game elsewhere, including the possibility of moving it to the host site of the Super Bowl.

Final regular season standings

''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against''

''Playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green

;Tiebreakers N.Y. Giants clinched the NFC #1 seed over Carolina based on a head-to-head victory. Miami finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better conference record (8–4 to New England's 7–5). San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on a better division record (5–1 to Denver's 3–3). Baltimore clinched the AFC #6 seed over New England based on a better conference record (8–4 to New England's 7–5).

Playoffs

The playoffs began with Wild Card Weekend on January 3–4, 2009. The Divisional Playoffs were played on January 10–11 and the Conference Championship Games on January 18. Super Bowl XLIII was played on February 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning their record sixth Super Bowl.

Bracket

Rule changes

The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in Palm Beach, Florida during the week of March 31:

One defensive player will be allowed to wear a radio similar to the one worn by the quarterback to communicate with the coaching staff on the field.

The "force-out" rule on catches made near the sidelines has been eliminated. A receiver now must come down with the ball and both feet in bounds for a pass to be ruled complete; previously, passes would be ruled complete if the receiver was pushed by a defender while in the air and the official judged that he would have come down in bounds had he not been pushed. However, if a receiver is wrapped up in mid-air by a defender and carried out of bounds before both feet touch the ground, the official can still rule the play a completion.

The 5-yard incidental grabbing of the face mask penalty has been eliminated; incidental contact will not result in a penalty, though intentional grabbing of the face mask will remain a 15-yard personal foul.

Teams that win the opening coin toss now have the option to defer the decision until the start of the second half, the same as in college and Canadian football.

Field goal attempts that bounce off the goal post are now reviewable under instant replay. This change followed a decision during the previous season during a Browns-Ravens game when Phil Dawson's game-tying field goal hit an upright and then the curved support behind the crossbar, and then again went over the crossbar to land in front of the goal post.

Legal forward hand offs that touch the ground and attempted snaps when the ball hits the ground before the quarterback touches it are now considered fumbles; previously, forward hand offs were treated as incomplete passes, while a snap that hit the ground before the quarterback touched it was a 5-yard illegal procedure penalty.

Media

Television

This was the third season under the league's current television contracts with its American broadcast partners. CBS Sports and Fox Sports televised Sunday afternoon AFC and NFC away games, respectively. For primetime games, NBC broadcast ''Sunday Night Football'' and ESPN airs ''Monday Night Football''. The NFL Network's ''Run to the Playoffs'' also broadcast seven Thursday and one Saturday late season night games, although there were reportedly negotiations to move those games to ESPN Classic. This was also the last NFL season to be broadcast over the air in analog television in the United States; the digital television transition occurred in June 2009. Border stations in Canada and Mexico will continue to broadcast in analog; cable stations are unaffected and will be distributed in the format of the cable provider's choice.

NBC broadcast Super Bowl XLIII, their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXII at the end of the 1997 season.

Changes

ESPN reduced the on-air roles of sideline reporters Michele Tafoya and Suzy Kolber during the ''Monday Night Football'' telecast. Also, Emmitt Smith has been replaced on ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' by Cris Carter, who came over from HBO.

Meanwhile, NBC's ''Football Night in America'' reunited Dan Patrick with Keith Olbermann on television for the first time since 1997 when they co-hosted ''SportsCenter''.

The in-house NFL Network saw Bryant Gumbel resign as their play-by-play announcer after two seasons on the network's ''Run to the Playoffs'' package after critics described his play-by-play calling as "lackluster." New York Giants radio announcer Bob Papa took his place.

Additionally, NFL Films-produced ''Inside the NFL'' changed premium cable homes from Time Warner's HBO after three decades to CBS' Showtime. Also changed: James Brown (from the parent network's ''The NFL Today'') as host and Phil Simms as one of the analysts. Cris Collinsworth is staying, but Dan Marino has been dropped as a studio analyst, and the aforementioned Cris Carter moved to ESPN. Taking their place is Warren Sapp.

3-D Telecast

On December 4, the NFL Network broadcast its game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers to theaters in New York City, Boston and Los Angeles using state of the art 3-D technology. The viewings, which were limited to NFL and consumer electronics executives, served as a test for future use of 3D in NFL television games. Because of a technical glitch, the first half was not shown.

Radio

On radio, Westwood One has separated from its longtime corporate sister, CBS Radio. This could possibly affect the network's ''NFL on Westwood One'' coverage, which it has carried since the two networks merged in the late 1990s. The Westwood One coverage currently uses the ''NFL on CBS'' branding on its broadcasts. Also, the Sports USA Radio Network, another syndicator, has been sold along with parent company Jones Radio Networks to the Triton Media Group.

Internet television

On Internet television, both NFL.com and NBCSports.com are carrying complete live games, for the first time ever, of ''NBC Sunday Night Football''. NFL.com will continue its live coverage of ''Thursday and Saturday Night Football'', which began in 2007, however for the first time show the complete game rather than live look-ins from a studio.

Home video

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 season/Super Bowl XLIII championship home video went on sale on DVD on February 24, 2009. One week later on March 3, it was released on Blu-ray Disc, making it the first NFL Films home video release to be on Blu-ray Disc. The Blu-ray copy is "officially" sold exclusively through Amazon.com, though it is also available through the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl offer as well as eBay. Among its exclusive content included having most of the features in high-definition video as well as the NFL on Fox fourth-quarter coverage of the Steelers matchup against the Dallas Cowboys at Heinz Field in its entirety. The matchup, which took place during Week 14 and renewed the rivalry the two teams had in the 1970s & 1990s, saw the Steelers come back from a 4th quarter ten point deficit to win 20-13.

The New York Giants 2007 season/Super Bowl video was only released on DVD the previous year despite the fact that Toshiba dropped support of HD DVD (the primary rival of Blu-ray) just two weeks after Super Bowl XLII.

Uniforms

The Tennessee Titans switched their home jerseys. They changed their alternate Columbia blue jersey to make it their primary color while the navy blue jersey became the alternate jersey.

The Denver Broncos brought back the alternate orange jerseys after a three-year hiatus and wore them for games against the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.

In their first two home games, the New England Patriots wore their white jerseys against the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. It is the first time the Patriots have worn white at home since 1994.

For the first time in the teams history, the Oakland Raiders wore their white jerseys at home against the San Diego Chargers.

Changes

Coaching

The following teams hired new head coaches prior to the start of the 2008 season:

! Team	! 2008 Coach	! Former Coach(es)	! Reason for leaving	! Story/Accomplishments
Atlanta Falcons		Bobby Petrino; Emmitt Thomas, interim for 3 games		In his first and only season, Petrino went 3–10 before resigning. Under interim head coach Thomas, the Falcons went 1–2 over the remainder of the season. Thomas would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and remain as a special assistant coach for the Falcons.
Baltimore Ravens	John Harbaugh, Philadelphia Eagles special teams coach	Brian Billick	Fired
Miami Dolphins	Tony Sparano, Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach/offensive line coach	Cam Cameron	Fired	In his first and only season, the Cameron-led Dolphins finished with a league worst 1–15 record. After his sacking, Cameron became John Harbaugh's offensive coordinator at Baltimore.
Washington Redskins	Jim Zorn, Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach	Joe Gibbs	Retired	Finished 16 overall seasons as Redskins head coach. During his first tenure, 1981–92, the club won three Super Bowls (XVII, XXII, and XXVI) and four NFC Championships (1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991). After being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996, he rejoined the team in 2004, and returned to running the day-to-day operations of his self-owned racing team after his second retirement.

The following head coaches were fired during the 2008 season:

!Team	!Interim Coach	!Former Coach	!Reason for leaving	!Story/Accomplishments
St. Louis Rams	Jim Haslett, defensive coordinator; former head coach of the New Orleans Saints	Scott Linehan	Dismissed September 29 four games into the season
Oakland Raiders	Tom Cable, offensive line coach	Lane Kiffin	Relieved of duties September 30 after four games
San Francisco 49ers	Mike Singletary, assistant head coach and linebackers coach	Mike Nolan	Fired October 20 after seven games

The firing of Kiffin and Linehan marked the first time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the start of the modern era, that multiple head coaches were fired before Week 5 of the season, and the first since 1989 that any coach was fired this early in a season. Both were also released heading into their teams' respective bye weeks, while Nolan was released prior to the game just before the 49ers' bye.

:''For changes made since the end of the regular season, see 2009 NFL season: Coaching changes.''

New logo

This is the first season that the league used a new, updated logo. Unveiled on August 31, 2007 in USA Today, the new design features eight white stars, representing each of the league's eight divisions, instead of 25 on the old logo. The football has been redesigned and rotated to the same angle as the one on the top of the Vince Lombardi Trophy given to the Super Bowl champion. Darker shades of red and blue, specifically navy blue, are also used, along with font lettering to that of the league's current typeface for other logos. The new logo officially made its debut during the 2008 NFL Draft on April 26.

New stadiums

In addition to the Bills playing one home game in Toronto's Rogers Centre, this was the first season that the Indianapolis Colts played their home games at Lucas Oil Stadium. Meanwhile, 2008 was the final year that the Dallas Cowboys played at Texas Stadium; they moved to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in 2009.

Milestones

The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the regular season:

!Record	!Player/Team	!Date Broken/Opponent	!Previous Record Holder
Longest Field Goal Attempt (76 yards)			Mark Moseley, Nov. 25, 1979 (74 yards)
Most Receiving Yards by a Tight End, Career (10,887 yards)	Tony Gonzalez (tight end)		[[Shannon Sharpe, 1990-2003 (10,060)
Longest Overtime Blocked Punt Return for a Touchdown (3 yards)			''None, first time in NFL history''
Longest Overtime Field Goal (57 yards)			Chris Jacke, Oct. 4, 1996 (53)
Consecutive Games with 6+ Receptions, Start of Season (11 games)
Consecutive Games with 400+ Yards Passing (2)		November 17, vs New York Jets	[[Billy Volek, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Phil Simms (2)
Longest Interception Return (108 yards)			Ed Reed, Nov. 7, 2004 (106)
Most Passing Yards, First 10 Weeks of Season (3,254 yards)			Dan Fouts 1982 (3,164 yards)
Highest Total Points Scored in a Single Week (837 points)	All 32 teams	Nov 20-24, 2008	Done three times: Sept 5-9, 2002; Dec 5-6, 2004; and Dec 29-30, 2007 (788 points)
Longest Regular Season Interception Return without TD (98 yards)			Champ Bailey 2005 (97 yards)
Most Consecutive Games Lost, Start of Season(16)	rowspan="3"		[[1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
Most Consecutive Games Lost, End of Season(16)	rowspan="2"
Most Games Lost, Season(16)	Tied by 8 teams (15)
Fewest Sacks By A Team, Season(10)
Fewest Accepted Penalties, 16-game season(58)
Most Wins Without Making Playoffs, Since 1990(11)		December 28	Cleveland Browns, 2007 (10).''(1990 was the year the playoff field expanded to its current 12 teams. The last team to miss with 11 games was the 1985 Denver Broncos, at a time when only 10 teams made it into the playoffs.)''
Lowest Winning Percentage While Still Making Playoffs, Non-Strike Season (.500)		December 28	Tied with multiple teams
Most Super Bowl wins, team(6)	Pittsburgh Steelers	February 1 with win over Arizona	San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers (5 each)

Regular season statistical leaders

colspan=2	Team<
Points scored	New Orleans Saints (463)
Total yards gained	New Orleans Saints (6,571)
Yards rushing	New York Giants (2,518)
Yards passing	New Orleans Saints (5,069)
Fewest points allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (223)
Fewest total yards allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (3,795)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Minnesota Vikings (1,230)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (2,511)
colspan=2>Individual
Scoring	Stephen Gostkowski, New England (148 points)
Touchdowns	DeAngelo Williams, Carolina (20 TDs)
Most field goals made	Stephen Gostkowski, New England (36 FGs)
Rushing	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota (1,760 yards)
Passer rating	Philip Rivers, San Diego (105.5 rating)
Passing touchdowns	Drew Brees, New Orleans and Philip Rivers, San Diego (34 TDs)
Passing yards	Drew Brees, New Orleans (5,069 yards)
Pass receptions	Andre Johnson, Houston (115 catches)
Pass receiving yards	Andre Johnson, Houston (1,575 yards)
Punt returns	Santana Moss, Washington (6 for 124 yards, 20.7 average yards)
Kickoff returns	Domenik Hixon, New York Giants (3 for 180 yards, 60.0 average yards)not enough to qualify
Interceptions	Ed Reed, Baltimore (9)
Punting	Shane Lechler, Oakland (90 for 4,391 yards, 48.8 average yards)
Sacks	DeMarcus Ware, Dallas (20)

Season highlights

Awards

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" |- |Most Valuable Player|| Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts |- |Coach of the Year|| Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons |- |Offensive Player of the Year|| Drew Brees, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints |- |Defensive Player of the Year|| James Harrison, Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers |- |Offensive Rookie of the Year|| Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons |- |Defensive Rookie of the Year|| Jerod Mayo, Linebacker, New England Patriots |- |NFL Comeback Player of the Year||Chad Pennington, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins |- |Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award||Santonio Holmes, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers |} ---- ;All-Pro Team

Special teams
Placekicker	Kicker	Stephen Gostkowski, New England
Punter (football position)	Punter	Shane Lechler, Oakland
Kick returner	Leon Washington, New York Jets

2008 AFC Players of the Week

Week	Offense	Defense	Special Teams
1	RB Willie Parker, Pittsburgh	CB Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee	WR-KR Roscoe Parrish, Buffalo
2	WR Brandon Marshall, Denver	S Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh	LB Keith Bulluck, Tennessee
3	RB Ronnie Brown, Miami	CB Antonio Cromartie, San Diego	K Josh Scobee, Jacksonville
4	QB Brett Favre, New York	LB Derrick Johnson, Kansas City	K Jeff Reed, Pittsburgh
5	QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh	LB Gary Brackett, Indianapolis	K Matt Prater, Denver
6	QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis	CB Eric Wright, Cleveland	WR-PR Jacoby Jones, Houston
7	QB Matt Cassel, New England	LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore	K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland
8	QB Chad Pennington, Miami	S Chris Hope, Tennessee	WR-PR Jacoby Jones, Houston
9	QB Joe Flacco, Baltimore	DT Kris Jenkins, New York	K Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis
10	QB Jay Cutler, Denver	LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore	P Craig Hentrich, Tennessee
11	QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis	LB James Harrison, Pittsburgh	KR-RB Leon Washington, New York
12	QB Matt Cassel, New England	S Ed Reed, Baltimore	PR-WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Oakland
13	RB Steve Slaton, Houston	DE Robert Mathis, Indianapolis	CB Maurice Leggett, Kansas City
14	QB Matt Schaub, Houston	S Ed Reed, Baltimore	K Dan Carpenter, Miami
15	QB Philip Rivers, San Diego	DE Aaron Smith, Pittsburgh	KR-CB Ellis Hobbs, New England
16	QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis	CB Leon Hall, Cincinnati	P Sam Koch, Baltimore
17	QB Chad Pennington, Miami	S Tyrone Carter, Pittsburgh	P Chris Hanson, New England

2008 NFC Players of the Week

Week	Offense	Defense	Special Teams
1	RB Michael Turner, Atlanta	DE Adewale Ogunleye, Chicago	KR/PR Will Blackmon, Green Bay
2	QB Kurt Warner, Arizona	S Chris Horton, Washington	KR/RB Felix Jones, Dallas
3	RB Michael Turner, Atlanta	S Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia	K John Carney, New York
4	QB Jake Delhomme, Carolina	LB Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay	K Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay
5	RB Clinton Portis, Washington	CB Antoine Winfield, Minnesota	PR/RB Reggie Bush, New Orleans
6	QB Drew Brees, New Orleans	S Oshiomogho Atogwe, St. Louis	WR Sean Morey, Arizona
7	RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis	S Aaron Rouse, Green Bay	S Zackary Bowman, Chicago
8	QB Drew Brees, New Orleans	DE Mathias Kiwanuka, New York	PR/WR Santana Moss, Washington
9	QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta	S Antrel Rolle, Arizona	KR/PR Clifton Smith, Tampa Bay
10	RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota	DE Julius Peppers, Carolina	LB Chase Blackburn, New York
11	QB Shaun Hill, San Francisco	CB Aaron Ross, New York	K Neil Rackers, Arizona
12	QB Drew Brees, New Orleans	CB Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay	PR/WR Harry Douglas, Atlanta
13	RB Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia	DE Jared Allen, Minnesota	KR/PR Mark Jones, Carolina
14	RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina	LB Gerald Hayes, Arizona	RB/KR Pierre Thomas, New Orleans
15	QB Tavaris Jackson, Minnesota	LB DeMarcus Ware, Dallas	KR/S Danieal Manning, Chicago
16	RB Derrick Ward, New York	CB Josh Wilson, Seattle	P Ryan Plackemeier, Washington
17	RB Michael Turner, Atlanta	DE Chris Clemons, Philadelphia	K Ryan Longwell, Minnesota

Detroit Lions going 0-16

The 2008 Detroit Lions would mark the capstone of the ill decisions of President/General Manager Matt Millen since arriving on the job in 2001. After an 0-3 start, the Lions fired Millen on September 23 after seven seasons, during the team's bye week. During that time, the Lions compiled the worst record in the league (31-84, .270 percentage) and had many questionable draft choices.

However, by that point, the damage had been done. The Lions went on to lose every game and finished 0-16, the first imperfect season in the NFL since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season saw the Baltimore Colts finish 0-8-1, and the first full-season imperfect season since the expansion 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0-14. It marked the first time that a non-expansion team, non-strike shortened team, non-merged team finished winless since the 1944 Brooklyn Tigers finished 0-10. It was the second winless season for the Lions, who finished 0-11 in 1942.

Retirement/Unretirement of Brett Favre

The 2008 season marked the first time since September 20, 1992 that someone other than Brett Favre started at quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, as Aaron Rodgers became the new offensive "Leader of The Pack." At first, this was given Favre's announcement on March 4, 2008 that he would retire from the league after seventeen seasons. He owns many NFL records, including most wins as a quarterback, most touchdowns thrown, and most consecutive starts at quarterback, as well as most interceptions. He started every Packers game, regular season and postseason, for nearly sixteen full seasons (September 27, 1992–January 20, 2008). The Packers were scheduled to retire Favre's #4 jersey in a ceremony during the first week of the season. However, on July 2, 2008, he publicly indicated that he wanted to play again as the starting quarterback. On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers management asking for a unconditional release which will allow him to play for another team. The Packers did not give it to him, but they were unwilling to release him for fear that he would sign with division rival Minnesota Vikings (Favre's choice for an alternate team) also the Packers would not start him as quarterback if he came back to the team and named the other Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers the starting quarterback and Favre as the backup. From July 14 to July 15, Favre did t.v. interviews discussing his comeback, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers taking his place and frustrations on the Packers for not being honest with him, personally and publicly. On July 16, 2008, the Packers filed tampering charges against the Vikings for alleged improper communication between Favre, Vikings head coach Brad Childress and Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Favre filed for reinstatement on July 29, 2008 and by August 4, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Favre. Three days later on August 7, the Packers traded Favre to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. He played well for most of the year, but entering December he suffered a shoulder injury which dropped the Jets out of playoff contention. Favre again retired following the 2008 season. The Jets then released Favre in favor of moving in the direction of getting a star college quarterback in the draft, eventually landing Mark Sanchez. Another protracted "will he/won't he retire" saga emerged in 2009 which concluded in August of that year when Favre signed with, as expected, the Minnesota Vikings.

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike forced several changes to the 2008 schedule. The Houston Texans' Week 2 home game against the Baltimore Ravens was first postponed to Monday, September 15, before Ike made landfall; damage to Reliant Stadium forced a further postponement, to Week 10, on Sunday, November 9, giving the Texans and the Ravens their bye weeks in Week 2. Furthermore, to accommodate this move, the Texans' home game against the Cincinnati Bengals was moved up from November 9 to Sunday, October 26, pushing the Bengals' bye week from Week 8 to Week 10. Although no other games were postponed, Ike and its remnants also impacted several other Week 2 games on September 14.

The Texans ended up having to wait until Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts to have their home opener, the latest an NFL team went into the season before playing at home since the New Orleans Saints played their entire schedule on the road in 2005 due to the damages of the city of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina. (Every other NFL team had at least one home game by the end of Week 2.) With the Ravens eventually advancing to the AFC Championship Game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers (and having to enter the playoffs as a wild card team), the impromptu decision to give the Ravens and Texans their bye week so early in the season ended up having the unintended effect of the Ravens playing in an NFL-record 18 consecutive weeks without a break in the schedule.

New formations result in high scores

The 2008 season saw a marked increase in the use of two new offensive philosophies (at least new to the NFL, these offenses have previously seen extensive use in college football or in Canadian Football for a few years): the "wildcat formation," a formation based on the halfback option play, the "spread offense," which uses multiple wide-receiver sets and the quarterback frequently in shotgun, and the "Suggs package," which features two quarterbacks on the field at once. In week 3 of the season, the wildcat formation, used up until this point primarily as a trick play, was used eight times, including four times in a Miami Dolphins game and three times in a game between the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills. Season-ending injuries to the starting and backup quarterbacks for the Chiefs prompted the team's offensive coordinator Chan Gailey to switch to a spread offense after six games. In Baltimore, the Ravens, led by rookie head coach John Harbaugh, implemented the "Suggs package," which places two quarterbacks on the field at once, Joe Flacco and Troy Smith. Due mainly to the new formations, 837 points were scored league wide in Week 12, the most ever for one NFL weekend. The wildcat formation in particular was credited with turning the Miami Dolphins from a last-place team into the winner of the AFC East, and four of the top ten plays ranked by NFL.com were directly based on the wildcat (two others featured wide receivers throwing passes).

Tie game

On November 16, during Week 11, a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium ended in a 13-13 tie, the first NFL tie game since November 10, 2002, when the Atlanta Falcons and the Pittsburgh Steelers ended in a 34–34 draw. After the game, Donovan McNabb mentioned that he did not know there were ties in the NFL, apparently confusing the NFL's postseason rules (where teams can and have played double overtime games because those contests continue until a team finally wins) with the regular season rules. This drew the ire of many fans, who thought that a quarterback of his caliber should know some fundamental rules; however, none of McNabb's critics accused him of not playing to win during the OT period in Cincinnati, and his play was tied into a game that was widely derided as one of the ugliest, most disjointed results in NFL history.

Ironically, the tie game ultimately helped the Eagles make the playoffs, as it was the deciding tiebreaker for the #6 seed in the NFC; the Eagles went on to lose to the Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game. The Bengals finished 4-11-1, edging out the 4-12 Cleveland Browns to stay out of last place in the AFC North.

Tributes

St. Louis Rams and Georgia Frontiere

On January 18, 2008, Georgia Frontiere, owner of the St. Louis Rams died due to complications with breast cancer. The Rams announced that during the 2008 season they will wear a commemorative patch in her honor, with her signature on their left shoulder.

Kansas City Chiefs and Lamar Hunt

On January 31, 2008, Clark Hunt, chairman of the board for the Kansas City Chiefs announced that henceforth the team's Lamar Hunt/American Football League tribute patch that was introduced in the 2007 season will be a permanent part of the Chiefs' uniform. joining the Chicago Bears (with George Halas) and the Cleveland Browns (with Al Lerner) with such a patch.

Tim Russert

The stretch of highway outside Ralph Wilson Stadium along U.S. Route 20A in Orchard Park, New York has been named the Timothy J. Russert Highway. Russert, who was NBC News's chief Washington bureau correspondent and the host of ''Meet the Press'', was a Buffalo native and noted Buffalo Bills fan. He died of a heart attack in June 2008.

Gene Upshaw

The league is also honoring the memory of NFLPA leader Gene Upshaw, who died suddenly at age 63 on August 20 just three days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For the entire season, the Oakland Raiders are wearing a patch on the left chest of the jerseys with the initials "GU" and his number 63, his jersey number with the Raiders. All NFL teams also honored Upshaw with a video tribute and a replica of the uniform patch painted onto the field during the opening weekend. Originally, the patch on the field and the video tribute were only going to be done in Oakland at the Raiders' home opener against the Denver Broncos as Upshaw played his entire 15 year Hall of Fame career with the Silver and Black, and at Giants Stadium, when the Giants and Redskins opened the NFL season on September 4. All players wore the same patch during Week One, and have since changed to a smaller helmet decal. The Raiders wore the patch through the remainder of the season.

Sean Taylor

The Washington Redskins honored the anniversary of death of Sean Taylor this season in a home game against the visiting New York Giants.

Steelers ownership restructure

On July 7, 2008, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including Art Rooney's five sons who own 80% of the franchise, looked to restructure the ownership plan of the franchise in order to comply with NFL ownership regulations. Current Steelers Chairman, Dan Rooney, and his son, Art Rooney II, President of the franchise, wished to stay involved with the franchise, while the remainder of the brothers — Art Jr., Timothy, Patrick and John — wished to further pursue racetracks that they own in Florida and New York. Since 2006, many of the racetracks have added video slot machines, causing them to violate "NFL policy that prohibits involvement with racetrack and gambling interests". On July 11, it was confirmed that investor Stanley Druckenmiller had been in discussion with the five Rooney brothers. A Steelers fan for many years, Druckenmiller "has been known to paint his face black and gold" during games. Coach Mike Tomlin stated that the situation could become a distraction, but "I'm here to coach, they're [the players] here to play. Those questions will be answered by the Rooneys." On September 18, Druckenmiller withdrew his bid to purchase the team.

NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring of ownership on December 17, 2008, with Dan & Art II getting the mandated 30% stake. Meanwhile, brothers Timothy and Patrick (the ones who own race tracks with slot machines, which violate NFL ownership rules) are selling their shares outright, while Art Jr., John, and the McGinley family selling some shares but retaining smaller ownership roles, with the brothers reducing their shares from 16% to 6% and the McGinley family reducing their shares from 20% to 10%. Also coming on as partners are Pilot Corporation & Pilot Travel Centers president Jim Haslam III (son of founder Jim Haslam Jr. and brother of Knoxville, Tennessee mayor Bill Haslam), Legendary Pictures president & CEO Thomas Tull, and the Paul family of Pittsburgh & Los Angeles (who are primarily involved with Pittsburgh-based Ampco Pittsburgh Corporation and serve on numerous boards, including UPMC and Pitt), each getting a 16% stake in the team. Dan Rooney mentioned he has no ill will towards Druckenmiller, mentioning he's a great Steelers fan and wishes he remains one.

Apparel

The 2008 season will mark just the third time in the salary cap era (and first since 2001) that no NFL team made major changes to their uniforms or logo. Since 1993, half of the league's teams (Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Minnesota, New England, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee) have completely redesigned their uniforms (The Patriots doing it four times, though none since 2000) while another five (Detroit, Green Bay, Miami, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh) making minor, though noticeable, changes. The Titans are swapping home and alternate designations on their light blue and navy blue jerseys though.

The Detroit Lions, in celebration of their 75th season in Motown as well as by popular demand by the fans, abandoned their black third jerseys in favor of their '50s style throwback uniforms. They wore these uniforms against Jacksonville (November 9) and Tennessee (Thanksgiving Day – November 27). In addition, the Pittsburgh Steelers will make their throwbacks from the previous season their alternate uniform, wearing them against the Baltimore Ravens on September 29 and the New York Giants on October 26. The Jets wore their New York Titans throwbacks at home against Arizona on September 28 and Cincinnati on October 12 this season, and the Bills donned their retro uniforms at home against Oakland Raiders September 21.

See also

Super Bowl XLIII

2008 NFL Draft

External links

2008 NFL season at NFL.com

Football Outsiders 2008 DVOA Rankings

References

Category:National Football League seasons

de:NFL 2008 fr:Saison NFL 2008 it:National Football League 2008 pt:Temporada de 2008 da National Football League zh:2008 NFL赛季

The National Football League has enjoyed success in selling out many of their venues from season ticket sales alone. Out of 32 teams in the league, 24 claim to have waiting lists from under 1,000 people to over 150,000. For some fans, this means a wait not just of years, but decades. This is due mostly to the NFL's short window of play; there are only eight regular-season home games, forcing the most devoted fans into a desperate and sometimes costly search for a limited number of events.

Since 1973, the waiting lists have also had the by-product of preventing any home games of certain teams from being blacked out on local television. Home games must be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff before a telecast is allowed, and the longest waiting lists have ensured every home game of the applicable teams being locally televised. Prior to 1973, home games could not be locally televised even if they were sold out. Four teams have had the benefit of not seeing any blackouts ''at all'' since 1972.

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs)

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) is a license which grants the holder the right to buy season tickets for a particular team. PSLs were first used in the NFL by the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1993 to help finance their new stadium. Since that time, several teams have used the mechanism to finance new stadium projects including the Chicago Bears remodel of Soldier Field and more recently the Dallas Cowboys. The New York Jets and the New York Giants used PSL programs to finance the construction of New Meadowlands Stadium.

Criticism related to waiting lists

In 2003, the New York Jets changed their waiting list policy to require a $50 annual maintenance fee to remain on the waiting list. However, due to the long list of names and high renewal rates among existing ticket holders, there was uncertainty about the fees a person may possibly have to pay if they remained on the list for many years. After attention from the media and the New York Attorney General's Office, the Jets agreed to cap the maintenance fees at $500, allow the transfer of the waiting list position if the person moved out of state and provide at least 80% of non-renewed season tickets to waiting list members. In 2008, the Jets sent notices to those on the waiting list that the $50 annual maintenance fee would be waived and any money already accrued would be either refunded or credited toward the purchase of Jets merchandise.

In 2004, the New England Patriots, who have a substantial season ticket waiting list, received media attention for not allowing the son of a deceased season ticket holder to retain his father's season tickets. The following year, the New England Patriots introduced the "Pass It On" transfer program, which allows season ticket holders to transfer season tickets to immediate family members for $2,000 to $5,000 per ticket, depending on the location of the seat.

The NFL requires that season ticket purchasers not only purchase the regular season games, but also typically two preseason games whether they want the exhibition games or not. The legality of requiring the purchase of the preseason games has been challenged all the way to the Supreme Court but it has not resulted in a change of policy for the NFL.

Lengthiest waiting lists

The Green Bay Packers have the most famous waiting list, with more than 86,000 names. Turnover is generally low; the Packers estimate that only 90 tickets turn over every year, a rate which would mean a name placed on the list today would be eligible for season tickets in 955 years. It is a common custom in Green Bay and other Wisconsin cities to put a baby's name on the list as soon as the birth certificate is obtained. Transfer of standing to surviving relatives is permitted by the Packers.

The Washington Redskins were reported to have the most number of names on their waiting list at over 150,000. However, recent investigations question if a waiting list exists at all, which would seem to contradict the fact that FedExField has demolished 10,000 seats heading into the 2011 season. The New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos historically have also maintained long waiting lists for season tickets.

Waiting lists

2008 2008 ?? NA 2009 ?? NA NA NA ?? NA 1960 2002 2006 NA NA NA NA ?? 2006 1976 NA NA ?? 1972 NA NA 2006 NA N/A ?? 1966

!Team	!Year waiting list was started	!Approx. number of names on waiting list	!Approx. wait time	!Personal Seat License
Arizona Cardinals	|	2,000	1 year	No
Atlanta Falcons	|	4,500	2 years	No
Baltimore Ravens	|	3,000*	??	Yes
Buffalo Bills	|	No waiting list	None	No
Carolina Panthers	|	0	None	Yes
Chicago Bears	|	5,400	15 years	Yes, Some non-PSL season tickets are sold
Cincinnati Bengals	|	No waiting list	None	Yes
Cleveland Browns	|	No waiting list	None	Yes
Dallas Cowboys	|	No waiting list	None	Yes Cowboys Stadium only
Denver Broncos	|	32,200	15–20 years	No
Detroit Lions	|	No waiting list	None	No
Green Bay Packers	|	86,000	955 years	No
Houston Texans	|	3,500	??	Yes
Indianapolis Colts	|	16,000	3 years	No
Jacksonville Jaguars	|	No waiting list	None	No
Kansas City Chiefs	|	No waiting list	None	No
Miami Dolphins	|	No waiting list	None	No
Minnesota Vikings	|	No waiting list	None	No
New England Patriots	|	60,000	50 years	No
New Orleans Saints	|	60,000	Unknown	No
New York Giants	|	13	20 years	Yes, New Meadowlands Stadium only
New York Jets	|	No waiting list	None	Yes, upper level has no PSLs New Meadowlands Stadium only
Oakland Raiders	|	No waiting list	None	No
Philadelphia Eagles	|	71,000	15 years	Yes
Pittsburgh Steelers	|	88,000	50 years	Yes
San Diego Chargers	|	No waiting list	None	No
San Francisco 49ers	|	No waiting list	None	No
Seattle Seahawks	|	10,000	75 years	No
St. Louis Rams	|	No waiting list	None	Yes
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	|	No waiting list	none	No
Tennessee Titans	|	22,000	20 years	Yes
Washington Redskins	|	55,000 Dispute as to if a waiting list exists	5 years	No

(*): Baltimore Ravens waiting list capped at 3,000.

References

13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103984_pf.html

Category:National Football League

year	2008
date	April 26–27, 2008
time	3:00 PM EDT April 2610:00 AM EDT April 27
location	Radio City Music HallNew York City, New York
network	ESPN and NFL Network
first	Jake Long, OT Miami Dolphins
mr irrelevant	David Vobora, LB St. Louis Rams
fewest	Cleveland Browns (5) Jacksonville Jaguars Minnesota Vikings Oakland Raiders San Diego Chargers
most	Chicago Bears (12) Kansas City Chiefs
overall	252 }}

The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so. Of the 252 selections, 220 were regular selections in rounds one through seven, and 32 were compensatory selections, distributed among rounds three through seven. For the first time since the common draft began, no wide receiver was selected in the first round, even though Matt Millen was still the general manager of the Detroit Lions. Also, a record 34 trades were made during the draft itself.

Changes for 2008

The schedule for the draft was changed: day one began at 3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC), instead of noon, and consisted of just two rounds. Day two began with round three at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC), instead of 11:00 AM. Moreover, the time limits for day one selections were reduced, from 15 minutes to ten for first-round picks and from ten minutes to seven in the second. The limit remained five minutes for all picks in rounds three through seven.

The draft also marked the official debut of a new NFL shield logo, replacing the old shield logo which had been used since 1970, featuring eight white stars to represent each of the league's eight divisions, and a football rotated to the same angle as the one on the top of the Vince Lombardi Trophy given to the Super Bowl champion.

Player selections

		style="margin: 0.75em 0 0 0.5em;"
	= compensatory selection
	= Pro Bowler

| cellspacing="2"| |}

| probowl=yes |cfb page exists=yes|cfb page exists=yes}}

}}

i |cfb page exists=yes |cfb page exists=yes|cfb page exists=yes}}

==Notable undrafted players==

	= Pro Bowler

i | probowl=no | note= 54 receptions in rookie year is the second most in NFL history for an undrafted rookie | cfb page exists=yes}}

Pre-draft trades

First round

No. 7: 49ers to Patriots. San Francisco traded its first-round selection in 2008 and a fourth-round selection in the 2007 draft (No. 110, traded to the Oakland Raiders for Randy Moss, used to select John Bowie), to New England for one of its first-round selections in 2007 (No. 28, used to select Joe Staley). No. 17: Vikings to Chiefs. Minnesota traded its first-round selection and their two third-round selections (No. 73 and 82) to Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen. No. 22: Browns to Cowboys. Cleveland traded its first-round selection in 2008 and a second-round selection in 2007 (No. 36, later traded to Philadelphia, who selected Kevin Kolb) for Dallas' first-round selection in 2007 (No. 22, used to select Brady Quinn). No. 29: Colts to 49ers. Indianapolis traded its first-round selection in 2008 and a fourth-round selection in 2007 (No. 126, used to select Dashon Goldson) to San Francisco for San Francisco's second-round selection in 2007 (No. 42, used to select Tony Ugoh).

Second round

No. 34: Raiders to Falcons. Oakland traded its second-round selection in 2008 and its fifth-round selection in 2009 to Atlanta for cornerback DeAngelo Hall. No. 48: Texans to Falcons. Houston traded its second-round selection in 2008, and its second-round selection in 2007 (No. 39, used to select Justin Blalock) to Atlanta for quarterback Matt Schaub in a deal in which Houston and Atlanta swapped first-round draft picks (Atlanta selected Jamaal Anderson with No. 8, Houston drafted Amobi Okoye with No. 10). No. 56: Browns to Packers. Cleveland traded its second-round selection (used to select Brian Brohm) to the Green Bay Packers for Corey Williams. No. 57: Chargers to Dolphins. San Diego traded its second-round selection to Miami for wide receiver Chris Chambers.

Third round

No. 67: Jets to Panthers. The New York Jets traded their third-round and fifth-round selections to Carolina for Kris Jenkins. No. 69: Raiders to Patriots. Oakland traded its third-round selection in 2008, and the No. 211 selection in 2007 (used to select Oscar Lua) to New England for the No. 91 selection in 2007 (used to select Mario Henderson). No. 70 and 75: 49ers/Bears swap. As penalty for tampering with Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, Goodell ordered San Francisco to swap its third-round selection with Chicago's, and to forfeit its fifth-round selection. No. 71: Ravens to Bills. Baltimore traded its third-round selection in 2008, and the No. 92 and 239 selections in 2007 (used to select Trent Edwards and C. J. Ah You, respectively) to Buffalo for Willis McGahee. No. 71: Bills to Jaguars. Buffalo traded its third- and fifth- round selections to Jacksonville for defensive tackle Marcus Stroud. No. 73: Broncos to Vikings. Denver traded its third-round selection in 2008, and the No. 176 and 233 selections in 2007 to Minnesota for the No. 121 selection in 2007 (used to select Marcus Thomas).

No. 73: Vikings to Chiefs. ''See No. 17: Vikings to Chiefs above''.

No. 82: Vikings to Chiefs. ''See No. 17: Vikings to Chiefs above.''

No. 87: Browns to Lions. Cleveland traded its third-round selection and Leigh Bodden to Detroit for Shaun Rogers.

No. 90: Chargers to Bears. San Diego traded its third-round selection in 2008, as well as the No. 62, 93, and 167 selections in 2007 (used to select Dan Bazuin, Garrett Wolfe, and Kevin Payne, respectively) to Chicago for the No. 37 selection in 2007 (used to select Eric Weddle).

Fourth round

Dolphins to Cowboys. The Miami Dolphins traded their fourth-round selection in 2008 to the Dallas Cowboys for players Akin Ayodele and Anthony Fasano. Redskins to Broncos. The Washington Redskins traded their fourth-round selection in 2008, and their third-round selection in 2007 (used to select Ryan Harris) to Denver as part of a three-team trade in which Washington received T.J. Duckett and Atlanta received Ashley Lelie. (This was the result of a formula which could have had Denver and Washington swapping 2007 first-round selections.)

Saints to Jets. The New Orleans Saints traded their fourth-round selection to the New York Jets for Jonathan Vilma and a conditional pick in the 2009 draft.

Cowboys to Titans. The Dallas Cowboys traded their fourth-round selection to the Tennessee Titans for suspended defensive back Pacman Jones.

Fifth round

Jets to Panthers. As noted earlier, the Jets traded their third and fifth-round selections to Carolina in the Kris Jenkins deal.

Dolphins to Chiefs. Miami conditionally traded its fifth-round selection to Kansas City for Trent Green. The selection would have been upgraded to a fourth-round selection if Green had met certain performance criteria. However, Green was injured in a game against the Houston Texans and would up on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season. Bears to Bills. Chicago conditionally traded their fifth-round selection to Buffalo in exchange for Darwin Walker. The round of the selection was dependent on Walker's playing time. Panthers to Bears. Carolina traded their fifth-round selection to Chicago in exchange for Chris Harris. Raiders to Broncos. Oakland (conditionally) traded their fifth-round selection to Denver in exchange for Gerard Warren.

Bills to Jaguars. As part of the Marcus Stroud trade, Buffalo traded their third- and fifth-round selections to Jacksonville.

Seahawks to Jaguars. The Seattle Seahawks traded their fifth-round selection to Jacksonville for running back Alvin Pearman and the Jaguars' seventh-round pick.

Sixth round

Seahawks to Browns. Seattle traded their sixth-round selection to Cleveland in exchange for Charlie Frye. Packers to Giants. Green Bay traded their sixth-round selection to the New York Giants in exchange for running back Ryan Grant. Broncos to Rams. Denver traded their sixth-round selection to the St. Louis Rams for defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy. The trade occurred after the Broncos had tried to trade the same pick to Miami for defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson; that trade was voided. Browns to Eagles. Cleveland traded their sixth-round selection to Philadelphia for center Hank Fraley. The trade was conditional on games started by Fraley, and could have fallen to a seventh-round pick, but Fraley started all 16 games. Cowboys to Dolphins. Dallas and Miami exchanged their sixth-round selections in a trade with Jason Ferguson going to the Dolphins as part of the deal. Jaguars to Vikings. Jacksonville traded their sixth-round selection to Minnesota for Troy Williamson. Texans to Broncos. Houston traded their sixth-round selection to Denver for Chris Myers. Titans to Seahawks. The Tennessee Titans traded their sixth-round selection to Seattle for defensive end Bryce Fisher. Buccaneers to Chiefs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded their sixth-round selection to Kansas City for nose tackle Ryan Sims and running back Michael Bennett.

Seventh round

Steelers to Falcons. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their seventh-round selection to Atlanta for kick/punt returner Allen Rossum. Seahawks to Eagles. Seattle traded their seventh-round selection to Philadelphia for fullback Josh Parry. Eagles to Bills. Philadelphia traded their seventh-round selection, and defensive tackle Darwin Walker, to Buffalo for linebacker Takeo Spikes and quarterback Kelly Holcomb. Rams to Vikings. St. Louis traded their seventh-round selection to Minnesota for offensive tackle Adam Goldberg. Giants to Chiefs. The Giants traded their seventh-round selection to Kansas City for kicker Lawrence Tynes. Vikings to Jets. Minnesota traded their seventh-round selection to the Jets in exchange for Brooks Bollinger. Bengals to Rams. Cincinnati traded their seventh-round selection to St. Louis in exchange for Ryan Fitzpatrick

Jaguars to Seahawks. As noted above, the Jaguars exchanged their seventh-round pick along with running back Alvin Pearman to Seattle for the Seahawks' fifth-round selection.

Buccaneers to Broncos. Tampa Bay traded a conditional 2008 draft pick to Denver for the rights to quarterback Jake Plummer. If Plummer, who is currently retired, had reported to the Buccaneers before the first pick of the 2008 draft was made, Tampa Bay would have sent the Broncos their fourth-round selection. Since Plummer did not report, Denver will receive Tampa's seventh-round selection.

Draft day trades

First round

No. 7: Patriots to Saints. New England traded its first- and fifth-round selections (No. 7 and 164) to New Orleans for New Orleans' first- and third-round selections (No. 10 and 78).

No. 8: Ravens to Jaguars. Baltimore traded its first-round selection to Jacksonville for Jacksonville's first-round selection, two third-round selections, and fourth-round selection (No. 26, 71, 89, 125).

No. 15: Lions to Chiefs. Detroit traded its first- and third-round selections (No. 15 and 76) to Kansas City for Kansas City's second first-round selection, first third-round selection, and first fifth-round selection (No. 17, 66, and 136).

No. 18: Texans to Ravens. Houston traded its first-round selection to Baltimore for the first-round and (second) third-round selections Baltimore acquired from Jacksonville, and a sixth-round selection (No. 26, 89, and 173).

No. 19: Eagles to Panthers. Philadelphia traded its first-round selection to Carolina for Carolina's second- and fourth-round selections in 2008 (No. 43 and 109), and Carolina's first-round pick in 2009.

No. 21: Redskins to Falcons. Washington traded its first-, third-, and fifth-round selections (No. 21, 84, and 154) to Atlanta for two of Atlanta's second-round selections and its fourth-round selection (No. 34, 48, and 103).

No. 25: Seahawks to Cowboys. Seattle traded its first-round selection to Dallas for Dallas' remaining first-round selection (No. 28) and its fifth- and seventh-round selections (No. 163 and 235).

No. 30: Packers to Jets. Green Bay traded its first-round selection to the Jets for the Jets' second- and fourth-round selections (No. 36 and 113).

Second round

No. 34: Falcons to Redskins. ''See No. 21: Redskins to Falcons above.''

No. 36: Jets to Packers. ''See No. 30: Packers to Jets above.''

No. 38: Ravens to Seahawks. Baltimore traded its second-round selection (No. 38) to Seattle for Seattle's second- and third-round selections (No. 55 and 86).

No. 43: Panthers to Eagles. ''See No. 19: Eagles to Panthers above.''

No. 43: Eagles to Vikings. Philadelphia traded its second- and fifth-round selections (No. 43 and 152) to Minnesota for Minnesota's second- and fourth-round selections (No. 47 and 117).

No. 48: Falcons to Redskins. ''See No. 21: Redskins to Falcons above.''

No. 52: Buccaneers to Jaguars. Tampa Bay traded its second-round selection to Jacksonville for Jacksonville's second- and fifth-round selections (No. 58 and 158) and a seventh-round selection in 2009.

Third round

No. 64: Dolphins to Lions. Miami traded its third-round selection to Detroit for Detroit's third- and sixth-round selections (No. 66 and 176).

No. 66, 76: Lions/Chiefs swap. ''See No. 15: Lions to Chiefs above.''

No. 69: Patriots to Chargers. New England traded the first of its third-round selections to San Diego for San Diego's fifth-round selection in 2008 (No. 160) and second-round selection in 2009.

No. 78: Saints to Patriots. ''See No. 7: Patriots to Saints above.''

No. 84: Redskins to Falcons. ''See No. 21: Redskins to Falcons above.''

No. 89: Jaguars to Ravens. ''See No. 8: Ravens to Jaguars above.''

No. 89: Ravens to Texans. ''See No. 18: Texans to Ravens above.''

No. 92: Cowboys to Lions. Dallas traded its third-round selection to Detroit for Detroit's fourth-round selection in 2008 (No. 111) and fourth-round selection in 2009.

Fourth round

Jaguars to Ravens. ''See first-round trade above.''

Panthers to Eagles. ''See first-round trade above.''

Falcons to Redskins. ''See first-round trade above.''

Jets to Packers. ''See first-round trade above.''

Vikings to Eagles. ''See second-round trade above.''

Packers to Jets. Green Bay traded their fourth round selection (#113 overall) and fifth round selection (#162 overall) to the Jets for New York's fourth round selection (#102 overall)

Eagles to Dolphins. Philadelphia traded their fourth-round selection (#115 overall) to Miami for running back Lorenzo Booker.

Lions to Cowboys. ''See third-round trade above.''

Cowboys to Raiders. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#100 overall) to Oakland for their fourth-round selection (#104 overall) and seventh-round selection (#213 overall).

Cowboys to Browns. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#104 overall) to Cleveland for their fourth-round selection (#122 overall), and fifth-round selection (#155 overall).

Cowboys to Browns. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#111 overall) to Cleveland for their 2009 NFL Draft third-round selection.

Steelers to Giants. Pittsburgh traded their fourth-round selection (#123 overall) to New York Giants for their fourth-round selection (#130 overall), and a sixth-round selection (#194 overall).

Redskins to Titans. Washington traded their fourth-round selection (#103 overall) to Tennessee Titans for their fourth-round selection (#124 overall), and a fifth-round selection (#157 overall).

Ravens to Raiders. Baltimore traded the fourth-round selection obtained from Jacksonville in Round 1 (#125 overall) to the Oakland Raiders for CB Fabian Washington.

Fifth round

No. 164: Patriots to Saints. ''See No. 7: Patriots to Saints above.''

Chiefs to Lions. ''See first-round trade above.''

Redskins to Falcons. ''See first-round trade above.''

Cowboys to Seahawks. ''See first-round trade above.''

Eagles to Vikings. ''See second-round trade above.''

Jaguars to Cowboys. Jacksonville traded its fifth-round selection (#143 overall) to Dallas for its fifth-round selection (#155 overall) and seventh-round selection (#213 overall).

Packers to Vikings. Green Bay traded its fifth-round selection (#137 overall) to Minnesota for its fifth-round selection (#150 overall) and seventh-round selection (#209 overall).

Patriots to Buccaneers. New England traded fifth-round and seventh-round selections (#160 and #238 overall) to Tampa Bay for its fifth-round selection (#153 overall).

Redskins to Rams. Washington traded fifth-round and seventh-round selections (#157 and #228 overall) to St. Louis for its two sixth-round selections (#168 and #180 overall).

Sixth round

Ravens to Texans. ''See first-round trade above.''

Steelers to Giants. ''See fourth-round trade above.''

Eagles to Browns. Philadelphia traded to Cleveland the 6th round selection they had previously received from the Browns for Hank Fraley (#191 overall). ''(see Pre-Draft Trades above)'' In return, the Browns gave the Eagles their 5th round pick in the 2009 draft.

Seventh round

Cowboys to Seahawks. ''See first-round trade above.''

Raiders to Cowboys. ''See fourth-round trade above.''

Cowboys to Jaguars. ''See fifth-round trade above.''

Packers to Vikings. ''See fifth-round trade above.''

Patriots to Buccaneers. ''See fifth-round trade above.''

Draft breakdown

By position

! Round	! QB	! RB	! FB	! WR	! TE	! C	! OG	! OT	! DE	! DT	! LB	! CB	! S	! K	! P	! LS
1st	2	5	0	0	1	0	0		4	3	2	5	1	0	0	0
2nd	2	2	0		3	1	1	0	3	2	2	5	1	0	0	0
3rd	1	3	1	5	3	0	1	3		3	4	4	3	0	0	0
4th	0	1	0	5	3	2	1	5	3	2	4		2	0	0	0
5th	4	3	2	2	2	0	1	2	2		4	4	0	0	0	0
6th	2	5	0		2	2	1	2	5	2	5	1	5	1	1	1
7th	2	4	1		2	1	2		5	1	6	3	3	1	0	0

References

External links

NFL Draft at NFL.com

ESPN NFL Draft Central 2008

Category:National Football League Draft D

it:Draft NFL 2008 hu:A 2008-as NFL draft nl:2008 NFL Draft

Name	DeSean Jackson
Width	280px
Currentteam	Philadelphia Eagles
Currentnumber	10
Currentposition	Wide receiver
Birth date	December 01, 1986
Birth place	Los Angeles, California
Heightft	5
Heightin	10
Weight	175
College	California
Draftyear	2008
Draftround	2
Draftpick	49
Debutyear	2008
Debutteam	Philadelphia Eagles
Pastteams	Philadelphia Eagles (–Present)
Status	Active
Highlights	2× Pro Bowl selection (2009, 2010) 1× All-Pro selection (2009) 2× All-Pac-10 (2006, 2007) 2× All-American (2006, 2007) Randy Moss Award (2006) Pete Dawkins Trophy (2005)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Receptions
Statvalue1	171
Statlabel2	Receiving Yards
Statvalue2	3,124
Statlabel3	Receiving TDs
Statvalue3	17
Nfl	JAC127681 }}

DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jackson is the first player to be selected to the Pro Bowl at two different positions at once when he was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a wide receiver and return specialist. He was also named to the 2011 Pro Bowl.

Early years

Jackson attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, the same high school as future Eagles teammate Winston Justice and many other current NFL players. He became one of the top wide receiver recruits in the nation, with many collegiate football programs pursuing his services. He was named the 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as Southern California's player of the year. He also played baseball and was scouted by both the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies in his senior year.

Jackson caught 60 passes for 1,075 yards for 15 touchdowns his senior year, leading the Jackrabbits to a CIF Southern Section championship. He was pressed into service last minute as a defensive back in the section title game against Los Alamitos High School, responding with two interceptions, one which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown to help fuel Long Beach Poly's 21–6 victory.

To cap off his high school career, Jackson was voted the Most Valuable Player at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, where he caught seven passes for 141 yards and passed for a 45-yard touchdown in leading the West to a 35–3 victory in a game that featured 80 of the nation's top players. However, he was also involved in an embarrassing play when he attempted to somersault from the five-yard line for a touchdown, but landed on the one-yard line, leaving the ball there. ''ESPN.com'''s Tom Lemming rated him as the number four wide receiver in the country, ''PrepStar Magazine'' named him an All-American and a member of its Dream Team Top 100 players, and Calhisports.com voted him the 2004 Mr. Football State Player of the Year. He committed to the football program at the University of California, Berkeley under Coach Jeff Tedford, making his announcement on Southern California's FSN West. Jackson waited until the deadline to choose between scholarship offers for California and the University of Southern California.

College career

Wearing the number 1, in his first collegiate game against Sacramento State in 2005, Jackson scored both an offensive and special teams touchdown, returning a punt 49 yards for a score. Throughout his freshman season, Jackson picked up 38 receptions for 601 yards along with seven touchdowns, eclipsing the 100-yard mark three times. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl game against BYU, Jackson tallied 130 yards and two scores.

Coming into his sophomore year with high expectations, Jackson displayed more of his talent and playmaking ability, tallying 1,060 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Jackson also returned four punts for touchdowns. He earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors as both a punt returner and a wide receiver. Jackson garnered national recognition with selections to first-team All-America by the ''Associated Press'', Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, the ''Sporting News'' and ''Rivals.com'' as a punt returner. Jackson also captured the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top return man in the nation. In one of only two California losses in Pac-10 play, Jackson had a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown against Arizona.

Jackson entered his junior season being considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. His season began promisingly, with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tennessee in the opening game of the season. Against eleventh-ranked Oregon, he caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bears to their first victory in Autzen Stadium since 1987. Jackson finished the 2007 season with 65 catches for 762 yards, and scored six touchdowns as a receiver. Jackson was named an All-American as a return specialist. Jackson suffered several minor injuries that limited his effectiveness at times during the season, along with a right thigh injury that forced him to miss most of the game against Washington and the Big Game against Stanford. He also missed the first quarter of the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl for violating undisclosed team rules.

Jackson left Cal following the 2007 season, declaring for the 2008 NFL Draft. He departed holding Pac-10 records for punts returned for a touchdown both in a season (four), and in a career (six). Jackson ranks third all-time at California for receiving yards with 2,423 and receiving touchdowns with 22. He is sixth in receptions (162). Jackson finished with 52 career plays of 20 yards or more, making up 23 percent of his 226 touches.

Professional career

Pre-draft

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Going to the 2008 NFL Draft Jackson was considered one of the top ten wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was quoted saying that Jackson "has all the talent in the world. There's no reason he can't be everything he wants to be at the next level." At the 2008 NFL Combine, Jackson had an impressive showing, running an official 4.35 40-yard dash. He performed well in positional drills, running routes fluidly and catching passes very well displaying his well-known agility and quickness. He also posted a standing broad jump of 10 feet.

Philadelphia Eagles

2008 season

On April 26, 2008, Jackson was drafted in the second round (49th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the seventh wide receiver taken in the draft which saw for the first time ever no wide receivers drafted in the first round. On July 20, he agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the team.

Jackson had a good preseason performance, which included a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots in week 3. After the Eagles' roster was cut to its maximum 53-man limit for the season, he was listed as the starting punt returner and as a second-string wide receiver.

Due to injuries sustained by Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, Jackson was the first rookie to start opening day for head coach Andy Reid. On September 7, Jackson collected six catches for 106 yards in a 38–3 win over the St. Louis Rams. He also returned eight punts for a total of 97 yards, including a 60-yard punt return to set up a field goal. He had over 200 all-purpose yards, a record for a rookie wide receiver. During a ''Monday Night Football'' game against the Dallas Cowboys on September 15, Jackson celebrated prematurely before running into the end zone by flipping the football behind him at the one-yard line. This led to what would have otherwise been his first NFL touchdown to be challenged and overturned, with Brian Westbrook running in for a touchdown from the one-yard line on the next play. Jackson finished the game with 110 yards on six receptions, becoming only the second receiver in NFL history to have over 100 yards receiving in each of his first two games since the Eagles' Don Looney in 1940.

On September 28, Jackson recorded his first offensive touchdown against the Chicago Bears. During this game, he also fumbled a punt return that set up the Bears' go ahead score. The following week against the Washington Redskins on October 5, Jackson returned his first punt return for a touchdown with a 68-yard return. Jackson scored his first rushing touchdown on November 9 on a direct snap in the wildcat formation with a nine-yard run against the New York Giants. A rematch against the Giants on December 7 which resulted in a 20-14 upset of the defending Super Bowl champions marked the first time in the season that Jackson did not have a reception. The following week, Jackson rebounded, recording 77 yards on five catches in a 30–10 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Jackson's final touchdown of the season came in the NFC Championship game on January 18, 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals, when he managed to haul in a 62-yard touchdown. Jackson narrowly finished second to Curtis in postseason receiving yards with 207 to Curtis' 211.

Jackson finished a successful rookie season equaling and surpassing the feats of two other Eagles rookies, Keith Jackson and Don Looney. His 912 receiving yards set a new Eagles rookie record and surpassed the previous mark of 869 set by Keith Jackson in 1988. He was the first rookie to lead the team in receptions, another feat accomplished by Keith Jackson. DeSean Jackson also set the team record for receptions with 62.

2009 season

In week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, Jackson had his second punt return for an 85-yard touchdown, the second longest in Eagles history. The following week Kevin Kolb threw his first career touchdown pass to Jackson against the New Orleans Saints for 71 yards. Jackson had 149 receiving yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27 which included a 64-yard touchdown reception. Against the Oakland Raiders on October 17 he caught six receptions for 94 yards, including a 51-yard diving fingertips catch, in a 13–9 loss.

Jackson caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb that gave McNabb his 200th career touchdown and 30,000th career passing yards on October 26 against the Washington Redskins on ''Monday Night Football''. He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 67-yard reverse. Jackson injured his right foot during the game and had an x-ray during halftime, but returned to play during the third quarter. He was later named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

In a week 11 matchup on ''Sunday Night Football'' against the Chicago Bears, Jackson caught eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles won a close game, 24-20. On November 29 against the Redskins, Jackson had to leave the game after sustaining a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit by linebacker London Fletcher. Jackson recorded two receptions, including a 35-yard touchdown. Jackson missed the next game due to his concussion, but returned on December 13 against the New York Giants. Jackson had a career day, as he caught six passes for 178 yards including a 60-yard touchdown pass from McNabb and a 72 yard punt return for a touchdown (combined for 261 all purpose yards). The game would also put him at eight touchdowns of over 50 yards in a single season, tying an NFL record shared only by Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch and Devin Hester. For his performance against the Giants, Jackson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

The following week against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 140 receiving yards, including a 19-yard touchdown reception as the Eagles clinched a playoff berth. On December 27, he had four catches for 33 yards and a two-yard touchdown, his shortest touchdown of the season, in a win against the Denver Broncos.

Jackson was nearly shut down by the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season finale, with only two passes for 36 yards in a 24–0 rout of the Eagles. In a rematch the following week on January 3, 2010 against the Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Game, he was held by Dallas to three catches for 14 yards, including a six-yard touchdown pass in the 34–14 loss.

Jackson ended the season as the Eagles' leading receiver with 1,167 yards. He was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a starting wide receiver and a kick returner, the first time in Pro Bowl history that a player was selected at two different positions. At the Pro Bowl, Jackson caught six passes for a team-high 101 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from McNabb. He was selected to the ''Sporting News''' All-Pro team as a punt returner for the 2009 season, averaging 15.2 yards per punt return in 2009 as the league leader.

2010 season

After skipping voluntary camp in the spring, Jackson reported to training camp earlier than most veterans. However he was not speaking to the media and was said to be frustrated about how the Eagles are unwilling to negotiate a contract extension with him. Jackson was carted off the field after he suffered a back injury during the second full team workout of training camp on July 31, but the injury was not serious.

In a 35–32 victory over the Detroit Lions, Jackson had 135 receiving yards and a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass. The following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson caught a 61-yard touchdown and finished the game with five receptions for 153 yards. On October 3 and 10 however, Jackson only caught five passes for 43 total yards. He scored a pair of touchdowns on October 17 against the Atlanta Falcons, one on a 31-yard run and the second on a 34-yard reception from Kevin Kolb. During the game he sustained a severe concussion after a collision with Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson, with both players assisted from the field. Jackson returned to play on November 7 against the Indianapolis Colts.

On November 15, after a altercation with Laron Laundry, Jackson caught a then career best 88-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick on the first play from scrimmage while Laundry was covering him in 59-28 a Monday Night Football victory against the Washington Redskins. He surpassed this on December 12 when he had a 91-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and also finished the game with a personal best 210 receiving yards. Jackson again ended the regular season as the team's leading receiver with 1,056 yards.

The Miracle at the New Meadowlands

On December 19, Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a win against the New York Giants in the final 14 seconds of the game. The Eagles had trailed 31-10 with under 8 minutes to play but had come back with three unanswered touchdowns. With 14 seconds left, the game was tied at 31-31 and Jackson received the punt. He fumbled at first, but then picked it up and ran 65 yards for the score, running across the goal line when he reached it in order to wind out the time. This punt return is the first and only game-winning punt return on the final play from scrimmage in the history of the NFL.

2011 season

On July 28, 2011 Jackson failed to report to Eagles' training camp at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as required in his contract. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, offered no immediate explanation for his absence. Jackson faced fines of $30,000-a-day until he reported to camp. His deadline to report was August 9 or he would have lost a year of service time toward free agency. Jackson's holdout ended on August 8 when he reported to training camp.

Personal

Jackson is the son of Bill and Gayle Jackson and his oldest brother Byron is a former San Jose State wide receiver who spent two seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. DeSean intended to pursue a degree in social welfare at Cal. His father was hospitalized with pancreatic cancer during the Eagles run in the 2009 playoffs, and died on May 14, 2009. Jackson currently resides in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Jackson was featured on the cover of the PlayStation 2 version of ''NCAA Football 09''. Jackson took part and won a competition of ''Hole in the Wall'' in April 2011.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio

California Golden Bears bio

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:African American players of American football Category:American football return specialists Category:American football wide receivers Category:California Golden Bears football players Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players Category:People from Long Beach, California Category:Philadelphia Eagles players Category:Players of American football from California Category:U.S. Army All-American football players

da:DeSean Jackson de:DeSean Jackson fr:DeSean Jackson ja:デショーン・ジャクソン pt:DeSean Jackson tl:DeSean Jackson

Currentteam	Baltimore Ravens
Currentnumber	20
Currentpositionplain	Free Safety
Birth date	September 11, 1978
Birth place	St. Rose, Louisiana
Heightft	5
Heightin	11
Weight	200
Debutyear	2002
Debutteam	Baltimore Ravens
Highlights	7× Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 7× All-Pro selection (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2004) AFC Defensive Player of the Year (2004) 2× NFL Alumni Defensive Back of the Year (2004, 2008) Led the NFL in interceptions in 2004, 2008 and 2010 Led the NFL in interception yards in 2004 and 2010 NFL's longest interception return (108 yards) Sporting News' Team of the Decade (2000s) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team National Football League records
College	University of Miami
Draftyear	2002
Draftround	1
Draftpick	24
Pastteams	Baltimore Ravens (–present)
Status	Active
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Tackles
Statvalue1	495
Statlabel2	Sacks
Statvalue2	5.0
Statlabel3	INTs
Statvalue3	54
Nfl	REE192451 }}

Edward Earl Reed Jr. (born September 11, 1978) is an American football free safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens 24th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami.

In his career, Reed has been selected to seven Pro Bowls, was the 2004 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and has the NFL record for the two longest interception returns (106 yards in 2004 and 107 yards in 2008 ). He is considered one of the most dominant safeties currently playing in the NFL and is often referred to as a "ball hawk." Since entering the league, Reed has been known to study film to memorize opposing teams' tendencies and his habit of baiting quarterbacks into throwing interceptions has also earned him recognition throughout the league.

High school career

Reed attended the Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana. He was an All-State selection at defensive back and as a kick returner and also ''New Orleans Times-Picayune'' District Most Valuable Defensive Player.

He totaled 83 tackles, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles and 12 passes deflected his senior year while also seeing action at running back and quarterback. He also returned three punts for touchdowns. Reed also lettered in basketball, baseball, and track & field. He was an All-District pitcher in baseball, and state champion in javelin throw.

College career

Reed attended the University of Miami where he was a standout defensive player. Reed played for the University of Miami team that won the 2001 National Championship.

At the University of Miami, Reed was a three-time consensus All-American selection in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he led the nation with 9 interceptions for 209 yards (a school record) and 3 touchdowns. Reed helped seal a memorable win over Boston College in 2001 when he grabbed the ball out of teammate Matt Walters' hands, who had just intercepted it, and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Reed earned the league's Co-Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2001 and was named National Defensive Player of the Year by ''Football News''. He was one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award and was one of 12 semifinalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Reed set several records during his time at Miami. He holds the record for career interceptions with 21, career interception return yards with 389 and interceptions returned for touchdowns with 5. He also blocked four punts during his four year career. In addition, Reed was a member of the track and field team during his years at Miami and was a Big East Champion in the javelin.

He graduated in 2001 with a degree in liberal arts.

Reed and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne were roommates throughout college at the University of Miami.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

After college, Reed was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (24th overall pick) of the 2002 NFL Draft.

In his rookie season, Reed started in all 16 games and finished the campaign with 85 tackles and five interceptions. The following year he finished the season with 71 tackles and seven interceptions and was voted to his first Pro Bowl.

In 2004, Reed was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. In addition to his record return, in 2004 Reed set an NFL mark for most interception return yardage in a season, accumulating 358 return yards on 9 interceptions; Reed held this record until 2009, when it was exceeded by Darren Sharper. Also in 2004, Reed became the only player in Pro Bowl history to block a punt and return it for a touchdown. In 2005, Reed only played in ten games due to an ankle injury and finished the campaign with 37 tackles and one interception. In 2006, Reed recorded 60 tackles and five interceptions and was voted to his third Pro Bowl. In 2007, he made 39 tackles and seven interceptions. In the 2007 Pro Bowl he recorded two interceptions, tying the Pro Bowl record.

Reed has continued his strong special teams play so far during his NFL career with 4 blocked punts, returning 3 for touchdowns, which tied an NFL record. He is also the first person in NFL history to return an interception, punt, blocked punt, and fumble for a touchdown.

Reed currently holds the Ravens franchise record for career interceptions with 54. He also holds the franchise record for interception-return yards in a single game with 150. During a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 23, 2008, Reed returned an interception for what was originally reported as an 108 yard touchdown return (later officially adjusted to 107 yards by the Elias Sports Bureau). This set an NFL record, breaking his own record of 106 yards. The ball he intercepted and the jersey he wore during the play are now in the Hall of Fame. In the Ravens' 2009 AFC wild card game against the Miami Dolphins, Reed intercepted Chad Pennington twice, returning one for a touchdown. To date, he has 7 interceptions in 9 career post-season games.

In 2010 Reed led the NFL in interceptions with 8, despite only playing in 10 games due to hip surgery.

Reed was the only player unanimously voted onto the AP 2008 NFL All-Pro team. In 2009, Reed was selected to the Sporting News's Team of the Decade (2000's).

Reed has scored a total of 13 touchdowns in his career—3 blocked punts, 1 punt return, 2 fumble returns and 7 interception returns.

Since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, only Ronnie Lott and Paul Krause have more games with at least two interceptions than Reed.

References

External links

Ed Reed NFL statistics at Databasefootball.com

Ed Reed profile at NNDB

Ravens Player Bio

Ed Reed halftime locker room speech at University of Miami

Category:People from St. Charles Parish, Louisiana Category:All-American college football players Category:American football safeties Category:Miami Hurricanes football players Category:Baltimore Ravens players Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Players of American football from Louisiana

da:Ed Reed de:Edward Reed (Footballspieler) fr:Ed Reed ja:エド・リード pt:Ed Reed simple:Ed Reed