Age: 28 (Nov. 5)
4th
season in pro football, 2nd with Colts
College: Oklahoma
State
Height: 6’1” Weight: 227
Prelude:
Blanchard
scored 312 points in college, where he handled both placekicking and punting,
and set a NCAA season record with 67 consecutive extra points in 1988.
Undrafted in 1991, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys but was cut prior to the
season. Blanchard spent the spring of ’92 with the Sacramento Surge of the
WLAF, connecting on 5 of 8 field goal attempts and all 17 of his PATs, and then
caught on with New Orleans in the NFL, when he was on the practice squad for
two games and activated for one due to concerns over an injury to star PK
Morten Andersen, but the Saints waived him and he was picked up by the New York
Jets. In two years with the Jets, he kicked 33 field goals out of 48 attempts
(68.8 %) and made good on all 48 of his tries for extra points. However, the
arrival of veteran Nick Lowery led to his being let go by the Jets in 1994 and,
while he signed with Minnesota, was waived by the Vikings during the preseason.
Blanchard joined the Colts six games into the 1995 season, replacing Mike
Cofer, and made 19 of 24 field goal attempts plus 25 PATs, and displayed
improved leg strength.
1996 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
36 [2, 1st in AFC]
Most field
goals, game – 4 at Dallas 9/15, vs. San Diego 11/3, vs. NY Jets 11/17
Field goal
attempts – 40 [2]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 4 on five occasions
Field goal
percentage – 90.0 [1]
PATs – 27
PAT attempts
– 27
Longest field
goal – 52 yards at Dallas 9/15
Scoring
Field Goals –
36
PATs – 27
Points – 135
[2, 1st in AFC]
Postseason: 1
G (AFC Wild Card playoff at Pittsburgh)
Field goals –
0
Field goal
attempts – 0
PATs – 2
PAT attempts
– 2
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Colts went 9-7
to finish third in the AFC East but qualified for a Wild Card spot in the
postseason. Lost Wild Card playoff to Pittsburgh Steelers (42-14).
Aftermath:
Blanchard
spent one more season with the Colts in 1997, but faltered as he connected on
32 of a league-high 41 field goal attempts that included some critical misses.
He lost out to Mike Vanderjagt in the ’98 preseason and saw action that year
with Washington, moving on to stints with the Giants and Cardinals before his
career ended in 2000. Overall, Blanchard was successful on 165 of 214 field
goal attempts (77.1 %) and added 188 extra points with just two misses to score
a total of 683 points. His best seasons were with the Colts, where he was
87-of-105 on field goals (82.9 %) and made all 73 of his PATs.
--
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
