Highlighted Year: Rob Bironas, 2007

Placekicker, Tennessee Titans

Age:  29

6^th season in pro football, 3^rd in NFL & with Titans

College: Georgia Southern

Height: 6’0”   Weight: 205

Prelude:

Bironas originally attended Auburn University and was successful on 12 of 16 field goal attempts in 1998. He transferred to Georgia Southern for his final year of eligibility and went to training camp with the Green Bay Packers in 2002, Tampa Bay Buccaneers in ’03, and Pittsburgh Steelers in ’04, but failed to make it to the regular season in each instance. Bironas was with the Charleston Swamp Foxes, a minor league arena team, in 2003 and in the Arena Football League with the Carolina Cobras in ’04, where he was successful on 18 of 40 field goal attempts, and New York Dragons in 2005, connecting on 7 of 16 field goal tries. Bironas finally caught on in the NFL with the Titans in 2005 and, in his first two years with the club, made good on 45 of 57 field goal attempts, including a 60-yard game-winner against the Colts in 2006, one of several clutch kicks.

2007 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Kicking

Field goals – 35 [1]

Most field goals, game – 8 at Houston 10/21

Field goal attempts – 39 [1, tied with Mason Crosby]

Most field goal attempts, game – 8 at Houston 10/21

Field goal percentage – 89.7 [4]

PATs – 28

PAT attempts – 28

Longest field goal – 56 yards at Denver 11/19

Scoring

Field Goals – 35

PATs – 28

Points – 133 [4]

Postseason: 1 G (AFC Wild Card playoff at San Diego)

Field goals – 2

Field goal attempts – 3

PATs – 0

PAT attempts – 0

Longest field goal – 44 yards

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: AP, Sporting News

Pro Bowl

Titans went 10-6 to finish third in the AFC South. Lost AFC Wild Card playoff to San Diego Chargers (17-6).

Aftermath:

Bironas spent another six seasons with the Titans. He remained consistent and his leg strength continued to make him accurate from long range and accounted for many touchbacks on kickoffs. His post-2007 high for field goals was 29, which he reached in both 2008 and 2011, and his best field goal percentage was 92.3 in 2010, when he was 24-of-26. The Titans chose to release him following the 2013 season and he tragically died in a car crash in September 2014. Over the course of nine NFL seasons, all with Tennessee, Bironas kicked 239 field goals in 279 attempts (85.7 %) and was successful on 315 of 317 tries for extra points, never missing one after his first year, for a total of 1032 points. His eight-field goal performance against the Texans in 2007 remains the league record.

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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