David Roy Akers born December 9, 1974) is a former American footballer. He played college football in Louisville, and was signed by Atlanta Falcons as a free agent that was not repealed in 1997.
Akers also plays for the Carolina Panthers, the Washington Redskins, the Berlin Thunder, the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Detroit Lions. He was selected for Pro Bowl six times in his career and at one point tied for the longest goal field in NFL history when he kicked a 63-yard field goal with the San Francisco 49ers. His retirement on October 23, 2017 made him the last Eagle of the Super Bowl XXXIX team to retire from the NFL.
Video David Akers
Initial years
Akers attended Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky.
Maps David Akers
College career
Akers attended college at the University of Louisville and played for the Louisville Cardinals football team. During his four years at college, Akers kicked 36 school field goals (51 yards long against Texas A & M University), and ranks second in Louisville's all-time valuation list, with 219 points.
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers
Between 1997 and 1998, as an independent freelance agent, Akers spent time trying to create teams with the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers.
Washington Redskins
Akers was signed by the Washington Redskins in 1998 and played in one game for them, making two extra points but losing two goals each field 48 yards. He was released by the Redskins during the 1999 season.
Philadelphia Eagles
After Washington cut Akers, the Philadelphia Eagles claimed he was free from negligence and allocated it to the European NFL. The solid season with the Berlin Thunder helped him get a kick job for the Eagles in 2000. Akers proved to be one of the biggest special team surprises in the NFL that season. He made 29 of 33 field goals (87.9% success rate), and had a team record of 121 points. Akers won the NFC Special Team Player award in November 2000. He made Pro Bowl for the first time in 2001 when he played 26-for-31, making team records seventeen times in a row throughout the season.
Akers' best statistical season was 2002 when he connected on 30 of 34 field goals (88.2%), scored a team record of 133 points, and made other Pro Bowls. He got fewer chances in 2003, but still made 24 of 29 field goals. He made his third longest field goal in Eagles history on 14 September 2003, 57-yarder against the New England Patriots at the new Lincoln Financial Field. (The only longer field goal in Eagles history was Jake Elliott's field goal in the 61st minute in 2017 and Tony Franklin's 59-yard field goal in 1979.) In 2004, Akers continued his consistent kick with field percentages 84.4%, and he made his third Pro Bowl.
Injured up to Akers in 2005 when he tore a hamstring in his leg which did not kick during the opening kickoff against Oakland Raiders on 25 September 2005. Akers left the game but returned in the second half with his feet very geared to make two additional points and then kick the goal a 28-yard field that won the game before falling ill when his teammates caught him. He missed the next four games and finished the season 16 to 22.
In 2006, Akers was injury-free, but only 18 out of 23 experiments (78.3%), his second season was statistically worst.
On December 16, 2007, in a 10-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Akers set a Philadelphia Eagles franchise record for most points and on Thanksgiving in 2008, Akers passed through 1,000 career points during a 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
On December 7, 2008, Akers kicked a 51-yard field pitch at Giants Stadium, the longest of the season. In the same game he has two blocked field targets, one of which is returned for touchdown. At the end of the regular 2008 season, Akers regained the team's single-season record with the best 144 points-NFC. He is connected to 33 of 40 field targets (82.5 percent), his best percentage since 2004.
On January 11, 2009, Akers kicked three field goals in three attempts during the division playoff win over the New York Giants. The second of these set the NFL record for consecutive field goals without miss during the postseason, previously held by a one-time Eagle Gary Anderson. Akers eventually ran into a record 19 goal postseason field conversions; it snaps next week against the Arizona Cardinals. Akers has a total of thirty-five goal field conversions during his career.
Akers was selected for the 2010 Pro Bowl, the fourth. He also named the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s. After the 2010 season, he was selected for his fifth career, Pro Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers
Akers was signed by the San Francisco 49ers to $ 9 million, a three-year contract on July 29, 2011. He kicked 59 minutes of fieldwork before halftime in a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on 12 August 2011. On 18 September 2011, he kicked a 55- the goal page against the Dallas Cowboys, set a record for the longest field field made at Candlestick Park.
Akers broke the 49ers 'record for most points scored in the season in a 20-3 win over Pittsburgh Steelers in Monday Night Football match on December 19, 2011. The previous record was held by 49ers' wide receiver Hall of Fame, Jerry Rice. In the same game against the Seahawks, Akers broke all-time records for field goals in a single season, surpassing Neil Rackers '40 in 2005.
On January 1, 2012, Akers broke the NFL record for most points by a kicker in a season against Rams St. Louis; he finished with 166 points. In this game, he also extended his NFL record for most field targets made in one season, ending in 44, and throwing for a goal on a false field goal. Akers made his sixth Six Bowl at the end of the season.
On September 9, 2012, Akers tied the NFL record for the longest field goal by kicking a 63-yard field goal from the crossbar against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The record was originally set by Tom Dempsey and shared with Jason Elam and Sebastian Janikowski until Broncos Matt Prater's kicker broke the record with a 64-yard field goal on December 8, 2013.
The long field goals by Elam, Janikowski, and Prater are all made in Denver, where the ball has the ability to travel a little farther in thinner air. Elam kicked his 63-yard field at Mile High Stadium, while 63-yard by Janikowski and 64-yarder by Prater were at the Sports Authority Field on Mile High. In the track and field, the IAAF shows each note set 1,000 meters (about 3,937 feet) or more above sea level as a record of assisted heights, and Dempsey (Tulane Stadium) and Akers (Lambeau Field) records set below the 1,000m threshold.
The 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season, marking the second appearance of Akers in the game. In the game, Akers went 3 to 3 in the field goal, but San Francisco lost to Baltimore Ravens with a score of 34-31.
On March 6, 2013, Akers was released after two seasons with 49ers.
Detroit Lions
On April 6, 2013, Akers signed a contract with the Detroit Lions, three days after retiring 21-season Lions kicker Jason Hanson.
NFL Note
- Points in a decade (2000-2009): 1.169
- Points in Pro Bowl History: 57
- Most points in a season, without touchdown (2011): 166
- Most games have 4 field goals in one season (2011): 6
- Most games are 10 points in a season (2011): 10 - tied to the other four
- Purpose Field in NFL Season: 44
- Field Goal is attempted in NFL Season: 52
- Longest Field Field in Pro Bowl History: 53 meters, 2005 (Eagle).
NFL statistics
Personal life
Akers and his wife, Erika, live in Franklin, Tennessee, with their sons, Luke and Sawyer and his daughter, Halley. He has maintained a summer residence in Ocean City, New Jersey. Akers is a Christian.
In 2001, the Akers family formed the David Akers Kicks for Kids Foundation, which has created a program with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to benefit the sick children and their families. He has also trained the martial arts of jiu-jitsu and Shaolin Kempo.
On April 27, 2018, Akers was selected to announce a draft pick during the NFL Draft 2018, which took place at AT & amp; T Stadium. Akers made a dramatic speech, reminiscent of what Drew Pearson had done the previous year in Philadelphia. Akers announced Dallas Goedert as the 49th overall pick.
References
External links
- Statistics in Pro-Football-References
- Kicking a Video by David Akers
- San Francisco 49ers bio
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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