Age: 32
11th
season in pro football, 10th active & with Browns/Ravens
College: Louisiana
Tech
Height: 5’11” Weight: 178
Prelude:
Stover was
successful on 64 of 88 field goal attempts in college, his longest coming from
57 yards, and he also punted during his senior year with a 34.1-yard average.
He was chosen by the New York Giants in the 12th round of the 1990
NFL draft but, following a good preseason, spent the ’90 regular season on
injured reserve due to a quadriceps pull. Stover joined the Cleveland Browns in
1991 and was steady in his first active pro season, hitting on 16 of 22 field
goal attempts, including a 55-yarder that was the longest in the AFC that year,
and 33 of 34 PATs. He also adapted well to the field conditions and winds at
Municipal Stadium. It proved to be the first of five seasons with the Browns,
who became the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, and Stover continued on with the renewed
franchise. Along the way he made good on 26 of 28 field goal tries in 1994 for
a NFL-leading 92.9 percentage, earning second-team All-AFC honors from UPI. Through
1999 he had scored 884 points on 202 field goals and 278 extra points.
2000 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
35 [1]
Most field
goals, game – 5 at Jacksonville 10/8
Field goal
attempts – 39 [1]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 5 at Cleveland 10/1, at Jacksonville 10/8
Field goal
percentage – 89.7 [6]
PATs – 30 [17,
tied with John Hall]
PAT attempts
– 30 [17, tied with John Hall]
Longest field
goal – 51 yards at Washington 10/15, vs. Pittsburgh 10/29
Scoring
Field Goals –
35
PATs – 30
Points – 135
[2, 1st in AFC]
Postseason: 4
G
Field goals –
6
Most field
goals, game – 3 at Oakland, AFC Championship
Field goal
attempts – 8
Most field
goal attempts, game – 4 at Oakland, AFC Championship
PATs – 11
Most PATs,
game – 4 vs. NY Giants, Super Bowl
PAT attempts
– 11
Longest field
goal – 47 yards vs. NY Giants, Super Bowl
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-AFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Ravens went 12-4
to finish second in the AFC Central and qualify for a Wild Card playoff slot.
Won Wild Card playoff over Denver Broncos (21-3), AFC Divisional playoff over
Tennessee Titans (24-10), AFC Championship over Oakland Raiders (16-3), and
Super Bowl over New York Giants (34-7).
Aftermath:
Stover, who
was successful on 30 of 35 field goal attempts in 2001, continued on for another
eight seasons with the Ravens through 2008. He departed as the franchise leader
in field goals (354) and scoring (1464 points). Stover was signed by the
Indianapolis Colts during the 2009 season due to an injury to PK Adam Vinatieri
and, in ten games, was successful on 9 of 11 field goal attempts and all 33
PATs and finished up his 19-season career with a Super Bowl appearance.
Overall, Stover kicked 471 field goals out of 563 attempts (83.7 %), which
ranked fourth in NFL history at the time, and 591 extra points, with just three
misses, for a total of 2004 points, also the fourth highest league total up to
that point. He added another 25 field goals, out of 31 tries, and 31 PATs in 16
playoff games. Stover received first-team All-NFL recognition once and was
chosen to one Pro 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
