Shayne Graham
 Shayne Graham during the 2006 season. | |||||||||||
| Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||||
| College: | Virginia Tech | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2001 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Franchise Tag | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Bengals franchise records
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009 | |||||||||||
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Michael Shayne Graham (born December 9, 1977 in Template:City-state) nicknamed The Franchise[1] is an American football placekicker in the National Football League. Graham is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and proceeded to play for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003 to 2009. He was released after the 2009 season. Graham played college football at Virginia Tech.
Graham has also played for the Carolina Panthers.
Career
Graham attended Pulaski County High School (graduated in 1996) and was an avid soccer player as a kid.
He played college football at Virginia Tech and signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2000, but was waived before the start of the regular season.
He spent the second half of the 2001 season with the Buffalo Bills, replacing erratic rookie Jake Arians after Arians had missed an extra point. The Bills released Graham at the end of the season, and Graham signed with the Carolina Panthers for the 2002 season, and in 2003, began his current stint with the Bengals. Ever since joining the Bengals, Graham has had an extremely successful career. In his first year with Cincinnati in 2003, Graham set a franchise record by making 88% (22 of 25) of his field goals. In the following season, Graham narrowly missed equalling his previous mark, finishing the year 27 of 31 (87.1%). In 2005, Graham made 28 of 32 field goals (87.5%), scored a franchise record 131 points, was selected to be the kicker for the AFC Pro Bowl squad, and helped the Bengals record their first winning season since 1990. Graham was the first kicker in franchise history ever to be selected to play in a pro bowl.
In 2007, Graham missed his first field goal attempt of the season (a 53-yard attempt). But after that, he set set a Bengals record by kicking 21 consecutive field goals without a miss over the season's first 10 games. This included a game against the Baltimore Ravens where he set a franchise record by kicking 7 field goals (the second highest total in NFL history). His streak came to an end when he unexpectedly missed a 26-yard attempt in game 11. By the end of the season, Graham set new franchise records for field goals in a season (31) and field goal percentage (91.2)
On January 9, 2010, Graham missed two field goals during the Bengals' 24-14 wild card playoff loss to the New York Jets, including a 28-yard attempt that would have cut the score to 24-17 late in the fourth quarter.
Personal
Graham is known for his ability to eat massive quantities of food and is currently considered to be the undisputed eating champion of the Cincinnati Bengals. [2]
Charity Work
Graham has joined two other Bengals kickers (Doug Pelfrey and Jim Breech) as Executive Board Members of Kicks For Kids. Kicks For Kids is a children's charity that was founded by former kicker Doug Pelfrey in 1995 and strives to provide opportunities to children at risk in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana.
Graham has also worked to gain sponsorship for a program that donated $200 for each of his field goals in 2004 to Cincinnati's FreeStore/FoodBank, and he extended that program to also cover field goals made by the Cincinnati Marshals indoor team. He built a partnership with the Westin Cincinnati to give deserving children a chance to eat with him at the hotel's gourmet restaurant. He donated proceeds from a local kicking clinic to the YMCA. He also has worked with the Cincinnati Veterans Administration Hospital, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the IHOP Read Across America.
References
- ^ The Jim Rome Show - February 18, 2010
- ^ http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2008/11/27/ddn112708spbenside.html
External links
Template:CurrentNFLKickers Template:2006 Pro Bowl AFC starters