Tedy Bruschi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Tedy Bruschi (right) at the White House. |
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| New England Patriots — No. 54 | |
| Linebacker | |
| Date of birth: June 9, 1973 | |
| Place of birth: San Francisco, California | |
| Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | Weight: 247 lb (112 kg) |
| Professional debut | |
|---|---|
| 1996 for the New England Patriots | |
| Career history | |
| College: Arizona | |
| NFL Draft: 1996 / Round: 3 / Pick: 86 | |
Teams:
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| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2008 NFL season) |
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| Tackles | 1,110 |
| Sacks | 30.5 |
| INTs | 12 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Tedy Lacap Bruschi (pronounced /BREW-ski/)[needs IPA] (born June 9, 1973 in San Francisco, California) is an American football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona.
A 13-year veteran of the NFL, Bruschi has played his entire career with the Patriots and has won three Super Bowl rings; he has played on five of the six Patriots teams to reach the Super Bowl.
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[edit] Early years
Bruschi attended Roseville High School in Roseville, California, where he lettered in football, wrestling, and track & field. In football, he was twice named an All-Conference selection, an All-Metro selection, and an All-Northern California honoree.
[edit] College career
Bruschi played college football at the University of Arizona as a defensive end, where he tied the NCAA Division I-A sack record with 52 quarterback sacks. A two-time consensus All-American in 1994 and 1995 and winner of the 1995 Morris Trophy as the PAC-10's best Defensive Lineman. Bruschi compiled 185 total tackles (137 solos), with 74 tackles for losses, 52 quarterback sacks and forced six fumbles and recovered five others.
In 1995 he was a consensus All-American and All-Pac-10 selection his senior year, he totaled 56 tackles (44 solos), including 14.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for losses. In 1994 he was a conensus All-American and was one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award nd again was First-team All-Pac 10. He totaled 39 tackles, including 10 sacks for 65 yards and 15 tackles for losses. In 1993 he was voted Second-Team All-America honors after setting a school record with 19 sacks as a sophomore and he also was First-team All-Pac-10 honors and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. His 27.5 tackles for losses and 19 sacks in 1993 were each career highs. In 1992 he played strongside outside linebacker prior to his transition to the defensive line in 1993 and started just one of 12 games and still managed to post 4.5 sacks for the season. In 1991 he missed the first three games of the season due to a pinched nerve in his neck. He returned and started two games as a true freshman, but suffered a broken left thumb and was redshirted.
He was a member of the debate team, and the aptly named "Desert Swarm" defense with their hard-nosed tactics coached by Defensive Line Coach Rich Ellerson and Defensive Coordinator Larry MacDuff prior to MacDuff's departure to be the special teams coach for the NFL's New York Giants.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 1996-1998
The Patriots selected Bruschi in the third round (86th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft, and moved him to linebacker.
In 1996 he played in every game as a rookie, a pass rush specialist and playing on many special teams units and finished the season with 11 tackles, including four sacks. He ranked third on the team with 17 special teams tackles. Bruschi recorded two sacks in Super Bowl XXXI vs. Green Bay, just one shy of the Super Bowl record (Reggie White, 3.0) In 1997 he saw action in every game for the second consecutive season and posted 30 defensive tackles, including four sacks, and added 13 special teams stops. His four sacks and 13 special teams tackles each ranked third on the team and he also forced two fumbles, and recovered one. In 1998 Bruschi played in every game for the third consecutive year and started the last eight games of the season, including the Patriots wild-card playoff game in Jacksonville (January 3, 1999). He finished fourth on the team with a career-high 81 tackles, including a pair of sacks. He had opened the season in his now familiar role as a pass rush specialist.
[edit] 1999-2001
In 1999 he started 14 games at outside linebacker and recorded a career-high 138 total tackles, including two sacks. Bruschi finished second on the team in tackles, despite missing two games due to a right knee sprain. He made his first career interception, one of six passes defensed on the year. 2000 saw Bruschi start all 16 games at weakside linebacker and finished with 105 tackles (68 solos). It was his second consecutive season with over 100 tackles. In 2001 he started nine of 15 regular season games at linebacker and finished third on the team with 73 tackles (54 solos). He was credited with two sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered one and registered a career-high two interceptions.
[edit] 2002-2004
In 2002 Bruschi was voted a defensive captain for the 2002 season by his teammates. He ranked seventh on the team with 65 tackles (45 solos) despite missing five games due to injury He returned two interceptions for touchdowns (at Oakland, November 17, and at Detroit, November 28), the seventh time a Patriot interceptor has reached the end zone twice in a single season and the first time a linebacker has accomplished the feat. In 2003 he started all 16 games at inside linebacker as one of four defensive players to start all 16 games and he was voted a defensive captain for the 2003 season by his teammates. He ranked second on the team with 137 tackles (87 solo) and finishjed third on the team with 16 pass defenses. He was Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Weeks Two and Week 14. In 2004 In the 2004 regular season, Bruschi finished second on the team with 128 tackles (84 solo) and tied for second on the team with three interceptions. His solid play continued in the playoffs, where he finished second on the squad with 23 tackles (18 solo) and added a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Bruschi was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2004. (Weeks 4 and 17) and in the Divisional Playoffs, when he forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles as the Patriots defense held the highly-regarded Colts offense to just three points.
[edit] 2005 illness
On February 16, 2005, just days after playing in the 2005 Pro Bowl, Bruschi was taken to a hospital with symptoms including temporary numbness, blurred vision, and headaches; Bruschi was diagnosed with a mild stroke. He suffered from a patent foramen ovale, a congenital heart defect that leaves a small hole in the wall separating the left and right atria of the heart. Bruschi suffered from partial paralysis and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. After several months of rehabilitation working with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Bruschi announced he would sit out the 2005 NFL season.[1]
On October 16, 2005, the Patriots announced that Bruschi had been medically cleared to resume playing football; he rejoined the team on the practice field three days later. The Patriots officially activated him on October 29, and he played the following night against the Buffalo Bills; ESPN's broadcast of the game had several features and interviews on Bruschi's return. Following the game, Bruschi was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Bruschi played most of the remaining games that season, except for the final regular season game against Miami and the first playoff game against Jacksonville. Bruschi was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.
Activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list on October, 29, 2005. Bruschi Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his 10-tackle performance against Buffalo (October 30, 2005) He started nine of the Patriots last 10 games at inside linebacker.
[edit] 2006-2008
In 2006 Bruschi was voted a defensive captain by his teammates and started the final 14 games at linebacker after missing the first game of the season. He finished first on the team with 124 tackles. In the 2006 playoffs, Bruschi led the Patriots with 24 tackles (16 solo), marking the highest playoff tackle total of his career. He also led the team with 23 tackles (15 solo) in the 2007 playoffs. In 2007 he played in and started all 16 regular-season games in 2007 for the fourth time in his career and was voted a defensive captain for the 2007. He tied a single-game career high with a two-sack performance against the Cleveland Browns on October 7, 2007, and ran his career total to 30.5 sacks, becoming the 13th player in Patriots' history to reach that milestone. Also he led the team in tackles (99) and solo tackles (69) in 2007. In 2008 he played in 13 games and started 12 and was named a defensive captain by his teammates for the seventh season.
[edit] Touchdowns
Bruschi is the only player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns and his career total of four picks returned for scores ranks second in Patriots history. He is tied for fourth in NFL history among linebackers, and Bruschi is the only Patriots linebacker to return multiple interceptions for scores in a single season (2002 and 2003). Additionally, since 2002, Bruschi's nose for the ball has created seven defensive touchdowns. He scored four of those touchdowns on interception returns (two in both 2002 and 2003), forced two fumbles that were picked up and returned for scores (October 3, and November 28, 2004), and tipped a pass that was grabbed by James Sanders and returned for a touchdown (December 11, 2005). This is in addition to his first career touchdown at Baltimore (October 6, 1996) when Bruschi picked up a blocked punt by Larry Whigham and returned it four yards for a touchdown, making 8 total touchdowns Bruschi was a major part of.
[edit] Personal
Bruschi is of Filipino and Italian descent. An accomplished saxophonist, Bruschi has played with the Boston Pops.[2] Bruschi resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts with his wife, Heidi, and their three sons, Tedy Jr. ("TJ"), Rex, and Dante.
In 2007 Bruschi wrote Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL, a book about his experience with his stroke and his recovery. In his memoir, Bruschi speaks with candor about how his family confronted the reality of his life-threatening affliction, of his initial plans to retire from the NFL, and of the moment he told his wife he was ready to return to football, earning him a share of the Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Patriots recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award. His book was published by John Wiley & Sons in August 2007.
Bruschi is a spokesman for the American Heart Association and founded Tedy's Team, a foundation to raise funds for stroke research, inspired by Bruschi's own experience.[3]
In 2007 Bruschi was named to NFL.com's All-Interview Team for accesability to the media. In 2006 he won both the Senator Paul E. Tsongas Award for Exemplary Public Service and was an Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame Inductee. In 2005 he was the Associated Press NFL Co-Comeback Player of the Year and was voted the Ed Block Courage Award, the Maxwell Football Club's Spirit Award and the AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 8) and NFL.com's All-Interview Team as well as USA Today's All-Joe Team. In 2004 he made the AFC Pro Bowl and Second-Team Associated Press All-Pro and thrice won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week: (Week 4)(Week 17) and (Divisional Playoffs), He also was on NFL.com's All-Interview Team.
In 2003 Bruschi was Captain of Phil Simms' All-Iron Team, made Howie Long's Toughman team, SI.com's All-Pro Team, USA Today's All-Joe Team and twice was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 2) and Week 14) In 2000 he was voted the Ed Block Courage Award and the Patriot 12th Man Award
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Bruschi to sit out 2005 Patriots.com. Accessed 25 June 2007.
- ^ Pats' Bruschi leaves hospital The Providence Journal. Accessed 24 July 2007.
- ^ "Tedy Bruschi Speaker Bio". Keppler Speakers. http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1-3QYQJ. Retrieved on 2008.
| Preceded by Drew Brees |
NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award 2005 (Co-Award Winner Steve Smith) |
Succeeded by Chad Pennington |
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