June 4, 2016

Highlighted Year: Matt Stover, 2000

Placekicker, Baltimore Ravens


Age: 32
11th season in pro football, 10th active & with Browns/Ravens
College: Louisiana Tech
Height: 5’11” Weight: 178

Prelude:
Stover was successful on 64 of 88 field goal attempts in college, his longest coming from 57 yards, and he also punted during his senior year with a 34.1-yard average. He was chosen by the New York Giants in the 12th round of the 1990 NFL draft but, following a good preseason, spent the ’90 regular season on injured reserve due to a quadriceps pull. Stover joined the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and was steady in his first active pro season, hitting on 16 of 22 field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder that was the longest in the AFC that year, and 33 of 34 PATs. He also adapted well to the field conditions and winds at Municipal Stadium. It proved to be the first of five seasons with the Browns, who became the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, and Stover continued on with the renewed franchise. Along the way he made good on 26 of 28 field goal tries in 1994 for a NFL-leading 92.9 percentage, earning second-team All-AFC honors from UPI. Through 1999 he had scored 884 points on 202 field goals and 278 extra points.

2000 Season Summary
Appeared in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Kicking
Field goals – 35 [1]
Most field goals, game – 5 at Jacksonville 10/8
Field goal attempts – 39 [1]
Most field goal attempts, game – 5 at Cleveland 10/1, at Jacksonville 10/8
Field goal percentage – 89.7 [6]
PATs – 30 [17, tied with John Hall]
PAT attempts – 30 [17, tied with John Hall]
Longest field goal – 51 yards at Washington 10/15, vs. Pittsburgh 10/29

Scoring
Field Goals – 35
PATs – 30
Points – 135 [2, 1st in AFC]

Postseason: 4 G
Field goals – 6
Most field goals, game – 3 at Oakland, AFC Championship
Field goal attempts – 8
Most field goal attempts, game – 4 at Oakland, AFC Championship
PATs – 11
Most PATs, game – 4 vs. NY Giants, Super Bowl
PAT attempts – 11
Longest field goal – 47 yards vs. NY Giants, Super Bowl

Awards & Honors:
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st team All-AFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl

Ravens went 12-4 to finish second in the AFC Central and qualify for a Wild Card playoff slot. Won Wild Card playoff over Denver Broncos (21-3), AFC Divisional playoff over Tennessee Titans (24-10), AFC Championship over Oakland Raiders (16-3), and Super Bowl over New York Giants (34-7).   

Aftermath:
Stover, who was successful on 30 of 35 field goal attempts in 2001, continued on for another eight seasons with the Ravens through 2008. He departed as the franchise leader in field goals (354) and scoring (1464 points). Stover was signed by the Indianapolis Colts during the 2009 season due to an injury to PK Adam Vinatieri and, in ten games, was successful on 9 of 11 field goal attempts and all 33 PATs and finished up his 19-season career with a Super Bowl appearance. Overall, Stover kicked 471 field goals out of 563 attempts (83.7 %), which ranked fourth in NFL history at the time, and 591 extra points, with just three misses, for a total of 2004 points, also the fourth highest league total up to that point. He added another 25 field goals, out of 31 tries, and 31 PATs in 16 playoff games. Stover received first-team All-NFL recognition once and was chosen to one Pro Bowl.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970