Age: 27 (Dec. 9)
4th season in
pro football, 3rd with Eagles
College: Louisville
Height: 5’10” Weight: 200
Prelude:
Akers signed
with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 1997 but was cut in
the preseason. He also failed in a preseason trial with Atlanta in ’98, but was
added to Washington’s practice squad and activated for one game in which he
kicked his first two NFL extra points but missed both of his field goal
attempts and was released. Signed by the Eagles after the season, Akers played
for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in the Spring of 1999 and for Philadelphia
in the Fall, used for kickoffs and long-distance field goals while Norm Johnson
handled the regular placekicking duties. He connected on three of six field
goal tries, with a long of 53 yards at Miami. Akers took over as full-time
placekicker in 2000 and was successful on 29 of 33 field goal attempts and set
a team record with 121 points.
2001 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
26 [8, tied with Paul Edinger & Brett Conway]
Most field
goals, game – 5 at Dallas 11/18
Field goal
attempts – 31 [10, tied with four others]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 5 at Dallas 11/18
Field goal
percentage – 83.9 [6, tied with Paul Edinger]
PATs – 37 [8]
PAT attempts
– 38 [8]
Longest field
goal – 50 yards vs. St. Louis 9/9, at Washington 12/16
Scoring
Field Goals –
26
PATs – 37
Points – 115
[6, tied with Jay Feely & Matt Stover]
Postseason: 3
G
Field goals –
6
Most field
goals, game – 4 at Chicago, NFC Divisional playoff
Field goal
attempts – 6
Most field
goal attempts, game – 4 at Chicago, NFC Divisional playoff
PATs – 10
Most PATs,
game – 4 vs. Tampa Bay, NFC Wild Card playoff
PAT attempts
– 10
Longest field
goal – 46 yards at Chicago, NFC Divisional playoff; at St. Louis, NFC
Championship
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Eagles went 11-5
to finish first in NFC East. Won NFC Wild Card playoff over Tampa Bay
Buccaneers (31-9) and NFC Divisional playoff over Chicago Bears (33-19). Lost
NFC Championship to St. Louis Rams (29-24).
Aftermath:
Akers
remained with the Eagles for another nine years. During that stretch, he led
the NFC in scoring four times and the entire NFL once, topped the NFC in field
goals twice, and was named to the Pro Bowl five times. With a strong left leg,
he was known for his long kickoffs as well as field goal kicking. He missed
four games with a severe hamstring injury in 2005 and his field goal accuracy
dipped under 80 percent for the first of three straight years. However, Akers
bounced back to kick a club-record 33 field goals in 2008 and was named to the
Pro Bowl in each of his last two years in Philadelphia. By the end of the 2010
season, his last with the Eagles, he owned most of the major franchise career
placekicking records, including field goals (294) and scoring (1323 points). He
signed with the 49ers in 2011 and set NFL records with 44 field goals in 52
attempts and a total of 166 points, the most in league history with no
touchdowns included. However, Akers connected on only 69 percent of his field
goal attempts in 2012, although one of them tied the then-league record of 63
yards. Released by the 49ers, he last kicked for Detroit in 2013. Overall,
Akers was successful on 386 field goals in 477 attempts (80.9 %) and added 563
extra points for a total of 1721 points. In the postseason, he added another 39
field goals in 47 tries (83 %) and twice appeared in the Super Bowl.
--
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
