 Akers in August 2009 |
|
| No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles | |
| Placekicker | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: December 9, 1974 | |
| Place of birth: Lexington, Kentucky | |
| Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | Weight: 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Louisville | |
| Undrafted in 1998 | |
| Debuted in 1998 for the Washington Redskins | |
| Career history | |
As player:
|
|
| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NFL statistics as of 2008 | |
| Field Goals Made | 230 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 284 |
| Field Goals % | 81.0 |
| Long Field Goal | 57 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
David Roy Akers (pronounced /ˈeɪkərz/) (born December 9, 1974 in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American football placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. He played college football at Louisville.
Akers has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins and Berlin Thunder.
Contents |
Early years
Akers attended Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky.
College career
Akers moved on to attend college at the University of Louisville, during his four-year career, Akers kicked a school-record 36 field goals (with a long of 51 yards against Texas A&M University), and ranks second in Louisville's all-time scoring list, with 219 points.
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers
Between 1997 and 1998, as an undrafted free agent, Akers spent time trying to make the team with the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
Washington Redskins
Akers was signed by the Washington Redskins in 1998 and played in one game for them, making two extra points but missing two field goal attempts of 50+ yards each. He was waived during the 1999 season.
Philadelphia Eagles
After Washington cut Akers, the Philadelphia Eagles claimed him off waivers and allocated him to NFL Europe. A solid season with the Berlin Thunder helped him earn the kicking job for the Eagles in 2000.
Akers proved to be one of the biggest special teams surprises in all of the NFL that season. He made 29 out of 33 field goals (an 87.9% success rate), and had a team-record 121 points. Akers longest kick was from the 40 yard line, so it was a 50 yard field goal with the 10-yard endzone. Akers also gained a reputation as a clutch kicker, which helped earn him NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2000. He made the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2001 as he went 26 for 31, making a team-record 17 consecutive field goals during the season.
Akers' best statistical season was 2002 when he connected on 30 of 34 field goals (88.2%), scored a team-record 133 points, and made another Pro Bowl. He got fewer chances in 2003, but still made 24 of 29 field goals. The highlight of his season was when he made the second longest field goal in Eagles' history on September 14, 2003, a 57-yarder against the New England Patriots at the new Lincoln Financial Field (the only longer field goal in Eagles' history was Tony Franklin's 59-yard field goal in 1979.) In 2004, Akers continued his consistent kicking with an 84.4% field goal percentage.
Injuries finally got to Akers in 2005 when he tore the hamstring in his non-kicking leg during the opening kickoff against the Oakland Raiders on September 25, 2005. Akers left the game, but returned in the second half with a heavily-taped leg to make two extra points and then kick the game-winning 28-yard field goal before collapsing in pain as his teammates mobbed him. He missed the next four games and finished the season a somewhat disappointing 16 for 22, but still made his third Pro Bowl.
In 2006, Akers was injury-free, but making 18 of 23 attempts (78.3%), his second worst season statistically.
On December 16, 2007, in a 10-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Akers beat the Philadelphia Eagles franchise record for most points and on Thanksgiving in 2008, Akers passed 1,000 career points during a 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
On December 7, 2008, Akers kicked a 51-yard field goal at Giants Stadium, his longest of the 2008 season. In the same game he had two field goals blocked, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
At the end of the 2008 regular season, Akers again set the team single-season scoring record with an NFC best 144 points but failed to make his fourth Pro Bowl. He connected on 33 of 40 field goals (82.5 pct) which was his best percentage since 2004.
On January 11, 2009, Akers kicked three field goals in three attempts during a divisional playoff win over the New York Giants. The second of these was his 17th consecutive field goal without a miss during the postseason, breaking an NFL record held by one-time Eagle Gary Anderson. As of the end of that contest, Akers holds an NFL record 18 consecutive postseason field goal conversions, and ranks third all time in total postseason field goal conversions with twenty-eight.[1] This streak continued into the next week's game against the Arizona Cardinals where Akers hit a nineteenth consecutive postseason field goal. However, he missed his next attempt as well as an extra point later in the game.
Personal
Akers and his wife, Erika, reside in Medford, New Jersey, an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, with their son Luke and daughter Halley.
In 2001, the Akers family formed the David Akers Kicks for Kids Foundation, which has established programs with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to benefit sick children and their families.[2]
In 2008, home fitness company Beachbody announced they would pay 1 million dollars to Akers favorite charity if he broke the 63-yard field goal record in the next season after graduating the P90X interval training program.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=17224
- ^ John Guinn. "David Akers Kicks for Kids". Davidakerskicksforkids.org. http://www.davidakerskicksforkids.org/. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
- ^ Congdon, Jon (7 November 2008). "KICKING FOR A CAUSE: Beachbody Pledges $1 million if Akers Breaks NFL Longest Field...". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS125884+07-Nov-2008+PRN20081107. Retrieved 10 August, 2009.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Akers |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Norm Johnson |
Philadelphia Eagles Starting Kickers 1999- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
