Age: 30 (Dec.
30)
8th
season in pro football, 4th with Giants
College: Penn
State
Height: 6’5” Weight: 245
Prelude:
Collins won
the Maxwell Trophy and finished fourth in Heisman voting as a college senior in
1994 when he threw for 2679 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging 10.1 yards
per attempt. He was chosen by the expansion Carolina Panthers in the first
round of the ’95 NFL draft (fifth overall) and moved into the starting lineup
during his rookie season, and while the statistics were mediocre, the overall
result was promising. Collins followed up with a big year in 1996 in which he
passed for 2454 yards and 14 TDs and was named to the Pro Bowl while the team reached
the postseason and advanced to the NFC title game. However, both Collins and
the club came down to earth in a 1997 season in which the quarterback led the
NFL by giving up 21 interceptions. His leadership came into question and when
he asked Head Coach Dom Capers to be benched during the ’98 season, he was
released. Collins finished out the year with the New Orleans Saints with
unimpressive results. Signed by the Giants as a backup in 1999, and having
dealt with off-field issues, he took over the starting job during the second
half of the season and performed well enough to hold the job through all of
2000. Collins passed for 3610 yards and 22 touchdowns and the Giants reached
the Super Bowl, although he gave up four interceptions in a thrashing at the
hands of the Ravens. The club had a lesser year in 2001 and while Collins threw
for 3764 yards and 19 TDs, he fumbled a league-record 23 times and tossed 16
interceptions. Big, durable, and with a strong arm, he also lacked mobility and
was prone to turnovers and inconsistency.
2002 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 545
[7]
Most
attempts, game – 46 vs. Washington 11/17
Completions –
335 [6]
Most
completions, game – 28 vs. San Francisco 9/5
Yards – 4073
[4, 1st in NFC]
Most yards,
game – 366 at Indianapolis 12/22
Completion
percentage – 61.5 [18]
Yards per
attempt – 7.5 [5]
TD passes – 19
[13]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 at Indianapolis 12/22
Interceptions
– 14 [15, tied with Rodney Peete & Tom Brady]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 vs. San Francisco 9/5
Passer rating
– 85.4 [15]
300-yard
passing games – 4
200-yard
passing games – 14
Rushing
Attempts – 44
Most
attempts, game – 7 (for 3 yds.) at St. Louis 9/15
Yards – -3
Most yards,
game – 11 yards (on 2 carries) vs. Jacksonville 11/3
Average gain
– -0.1
TDs – 0
Postseason: 1
G (NFC Wild Card playoff at San Francisco)
Pass attempts
– 43
Pass
completions – 29
Passing
yardage – 342
TD passes – 4
Interceptions
– 1
Giants went 10-6
to finish second in the NFC East and qualified for the postseason as a Wild
Card. Lost NFC Wild Card playoff to San Francisco 49ers (39-38).
Aftermath:
Collins
suffered through a losing season in 2003, tossing more interceptions (16) than
TDs (13), and departed to the Oakland Raiders as a free agent. In two years
with the Raiders, he passed for over 3000 yards and 20 touchdowns in each but
led the NFL with 20 interceptions in 2004 and the team went a combined 7-21 in
his starts. He became a quality backup and sometime starter for Tennessee over
the next five years, playing well enough in 2008 to earn a spot in the Pro Bowl.
Collins finished his long career with the Colts in 2011. Overall, he passed for
40,922 yards and 208 TDs, with 196 interceptions. His most productive years
were with the Giants, where he completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 16,875
yards and 81 TDs with 70 interceptions, achieving career highs with his 61.5
completion percentage, 7.5 yards per attempt, and 4073 passing yards in ’02 and
22 TD passes in 2000. Collins was selected to two Pro Bowls.
--
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
