Age: 37 (Dec.
20)
15th
season in pro football, 4th with Raiders
College: Delaware
Height: 6’3” Weight: 210
Prelude:
It was a long
road to stardom for Gannon. Quarterback in a wing-T offense in college, Gannon
was taken in the 4th round of the 1987 NFL draft by the New England Patriots,
who wanted to convert him into a running back. Unwilling to make the change, he
was traded to Minnesota and sat on the bench for three years, throwing a total
of 21 passes. Finally getting an opportunity to start in 1990, Gannon had
limited success and was allowed to depart as a free agent following the ’92
season. He was a backup with the Redskins in 1993, missed all of ’94 due to a
rotator cuff injury, and moved on to Kansas City, where he was a backup for
four years and saw his most significant action in his last year with the club
in 1998. Signed as a free agent by Oakland in ’99, Gannon finally blossomed as
he ran Head Coach Jon Gruden’s version of the West Coast offense, passing for
3840 yards and 24 TDs and gaining selection to the Pro Bowl. He had an even
better year in 2000, gaining consensus first-team All-NFL as well as Pro Bowl
recognition and winning the Bert Bell Award as NFL Player of the Year. Gannon
had a third straight Pro Bowl season in 2001, throwing for 3828 yards and 27
TDs against just 9 interceptions, and thus leading the NFL with a 1.6 INT
percentage.
2002 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 618 [1]
Most
attempts, game – 64 at Pittsburgh 9/15
Completions –
418 [1]
Most
completions, game – 43 at Pittsburgh 9/15
Yards – 4689 [1]
Most yards,
game – 403 at Pittsburgh 9/15
Completion
percentage – 67.6 [2]
Yards per
attempt – 7.6 [3]
TD passes – 26 [5, tied with Trent Green]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 vs. Tennessee 9/29
Interceptions
– 10
Most
interceptions, game – 2 at Pittsburgh 9/15, at St. Louis 10/13
Passer rating
– 97.3 [2]
400-yard
passing games – 1
300-yard
passing games – 10
200-yard
passing games – 14
Rushing
Attempts – 50
Most
attempts, game - 11 (for 29 yds.) at Buffalo 10/6
Yards – 156
Most yards,
game – 29 yards (on 11 carries) at Buffalo 10/6
Yards per
attempt – 3.1
TDs – 3
Scoring
TDs – 3
Points - 18
Postseason: 3
G
Pass attempts
– 115
Most
attempts, game - 44 vs. Tampa Bay, Super Bowl
Pass
completions – 73
Most
completions, game - 29 vs. Tennessee, AFC Championship
Passing
yardage – 841
Most yards,
game - 286 vs. Tennessee, AFC Championship
TD passes – 7
Most TD
passes, game - 3 vs. Tennessee, AFC Championship
Interceptions
– 6
Most
interceptions, game - 5 vs. Tampa Bay, Super Bowl
Rushing
attempts – 13
Most rushing
attempts, game - 8 vs. Tennessee, AFC Championship
Rushing yards
– 41
Most rushing
yards, game - 41 vs. Tennessee, AFC Championship
Average gain
rushing – 3.2
Rushing TDs –
1
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP,
PFWA, NEA, Bert Bell Award, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-AFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Raiders went 11-5
to finish first in the AFC West and gain the top playoff seed in the conference
while leading the NFL in total offense (6237 yards) and passing offense (4475
yards). Won AFC Divisional playoff over New York Jets (30-10) and AFC
Championship over Tennessee Titans (41-24). Lost Super Bowl to Tampa Bay
Buccaneers (48-21).
Aftermath:
Injuries
curtailed Gannon’s 2003 season and he appeared in a total of just 10 games in
’03 and ’04, after which he retired. A fiery leader and precision passer, he
ended up throwing for 28,743 yards and 180 TDs with 104 interceptions, and
ranked in the Top 20 all-time at the end of his career with a passer rating of
84.7.
[Updated 8/4/13]
[Updated 8/4/13]
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).
