Neil O'Donnell

Neil O'Donnell
Position (s): Quarterback	Jersey numbers: 12, 14
born July 3, 1966 in Morristown, New Jersey
Career information
Active : 1990 - 2003
NFL Draft : 1990 / Round: 3 / Pick: 70
College : University of Maryland, College Park
Teams
Pittsburgh Steelers (1990-1995) New York Jets (1996, 1997) Cincinnati Bengals (1998) Tennessee Titans (1999-2003)
Career statistics
TD - INT	120-68
Space gain	21,690 yards
QB rating	81.8
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl election ( 1992 )

Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (* 3. July 1966 in Morristown , New Jersey ) is a former American American football player at the position of quarterback . He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers , the New York Jets , the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL).

college

O'Donnell played from 1987 to 1989 at the University of Maryland in College Park for the Maryland Terrapins . It is still in the college's record books today . In his career 387 of his 558 passes could be caught, he achieved a space gain of 4989 yards with his passes .

Profile career

O'Donnell was drawn in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round in 70th place. However, his coach initially gave O'Donnell no opportunity to prove himself. It wasn't until 1991 that O'Donnell got next to Bubby Brister time, but the Steelers did not move into the play-offs . 1992 Bill Cowher was hired as the new coach, he built on O'Donnell as starting quarterback and reached the play-offs with him, supported by running back Barry Foster , who was able to run a space gain of 1690 yards that year. However, one failed early on because of the Buffalo Bills . In the next few years the play-offs were reached again and again thanks to O'Donnell's achievements. The great success did not materialize until 1995. In 1995 the Steelers were able to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game with 20:16 and move into Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys . The success of the Steelers was not only due to their outstanding defense with star players Greg Lloyd and Carnell Lake, but also to the excellent collaboration between O'Donnell and his wide receiver Yancey Thigpen , who he was able to stage over and over again and gained space this regular season of 1307 yards.

In the Super Bowl , the cowboys under coach Barry Switzer with their stars Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were superior, especially since O'Donnell, who was otherwise known for his reliability, had a pitch-black day and threw three interceptions . The game was lost with 27:17. Larry Brown , who intercepted two passes from O'Donnell, was voted Super Bowl MVP .

As a free agent , O'Donnell joined the New York Jets in 1996 , although he had a very good year in 1997, he did not make it into the play-offs with the Jets. Even with the Cincinnati Bengals , for whom he played in 1998, he was able to convince with his personal statistics. His quarterback rating was a good 90.2 points, but the Bengals lost 13 of their 16 games this year. 1999 D'Donnell moved as a substitute for Steve McNair to the Tennessee Titans and moved with this team in the Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams . The game was lost with 23:16. O'Donnell proved in the regular season that he is a full replacement for McNair, and again convinced with a rating of 87.6 points. After another four years as a substitute quarterback with the Titans, O'Donnell ended his career in 2003. An offer from the Steelers in 2004 to fill in for their injured quarterback Tommy Maddox , he declined.

Honors

O'Donnell played in a Pro Bowl , the season-end game of the best players of the season. He won the Quarterback Challenge in 1996 .

After the career

O'Donnell works for a company that makes Astro Turf as a regional representative for Tennessee .

Web links

• Neil O'Donnell's statistics
• Neil O'Donnell at Super Bowl XXXIV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manufacturing company for Astro Turf ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.