Age: 24 (Dec.
21)
2nd
season in pro football & with Buccaneers
College: Purdue
Height: 6’1” Weight: 244
Prelude:
Alstott
rushed for a school-record 3635 yards at Purdue, with a season high of 1436 in
1995, and also scored 42 touchdowns (39 rushing, three receiving). He was
chosen by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft and rushed
for 377 yards on 96 carries as a rookie while catching 65 passes for 557 more yards.
He split time with RB Errict Rhett, but had a new backfield mate in ’97 in
rookie RB Warrick Dunn, creating a highly effective tandem.
1997 Season Summary
Appeared and
in 15 of 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 176
Most
attempts, game – 18 (for 95 yds.) vs. Miami 9/21
Yards – 665
Most yards,
game – 95 yards (on 18 carries) vs. Miami 9/21
Average gain
– 3.8
TDs – 7 [13,
tied with eight others]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 23
Most
receptions, game – 4 (for 20 yds.) vs. Miami 9/21, (for 34 yds.) at Green Bay
10/5
Yards – 178
Most yards,
game – 50 (on 3 catches) vs. San Francisco 8/31
Average gain
– 7.7
TDs – 3
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 1
Yards – 0
TDs – 0
Scoring
TDs – 10 [12,
tied with Jamal Anderson, Corey Dillon & Raymont Harris]
Points – 60
Postseason: 2 G
Rushing
attempts – 18
Most rushing
attempts, game – 11 vs. Detroit, NFC Wild Card playoff
Rushing yards
– 89
Most rushing
yards, game – 68 vs. Detroit, NFC Wild Card playoff
Average gain
rushing – 4.9
Rushing TDs –
2
Pass
receptions – 1
Pass
receiving yards – 12
Average yards
per reception – 12.0
Pass
Receiving TDs – 0
Awards &
Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP
Pro Bowl
Buccaneers
went 10-6 to finish second in the NFC Central and qualify for the postseason as
a Wild Card. Won NFC Wild Card playoff over Detroit Lions (20-10). Lost NFC
Divisional playoff to Green Bay Packers (21-7).
Aftermath:
Alstott
followed up with consensus first-team All-NFL selections in 1998 and ’99,
rushing for a career-high 949 yards in the latter year. While not a
particularly good blocker, he provided a power-running alternative to Dunn and
was named to six straight Pro Bowls. His running style led to injuries that
lowered his production from 2000 on, although he remained effective between the
tackles and a good receiver out of the backfield. A neck injury limited Alstott
to five games in 2003 and, in his last four years, he didn’t carry the ball
more than 67 times or gain more than 230 yards, although he was still useful in
spots. Overall, in an 11-year career that was spent entirely with the Bucs,
Alstott ran for 5088 yards on 1359 carries (3.7 avg.) and caught 305 passes for
2284 more yards (7.5 avg.), scoring a franchise-record total of 71 touchdowns.
He gained another 341 rushing yards, with seven TDs, and 161 pass receiving
yards on 21 catches in the postseason. Alstott received first-team All-NFL
honors three times in addition to the six Pro Bowl selections.
--
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
