Tag: Kerry Collins

Ex-Giant Kerry Collins named OC/QB coach at Summit High School in Tennessee

Former New York Giants QB Kerry Collins has been named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Summit High School in Tennessee.

Former New York Giants quarterback Kerry Collins has been named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Summit High School in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Collins, 51, who last played in the NFL in 2011 for the Indianapolis Colts, played 17 seasons as an NFL quarterback and was named to two Pro Bowls.

The former Penn State standout was the fifth overall selection by the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL draft and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, Giants, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans before ending his career in Indianapolis.

Collins played five of those seasons with Big Blue (1999-2003), leading the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance after the 2000 season under head coach Jim Fassel.

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Former Penn State QB Kerry Collins to serve as honorary captain at Peach Bowl

The Peach Bowl announced who will serve as honorary captains for Penn State and Ole Miss.

One of the greatest players ever to wear a Penn State uniform, and arguably the best quarterback in school history, will join the team this week in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. [autotag]Kerry Collins[/autotag] has been announced as one of the honorary captains by the Peach Bowl for this Saturday’s matchup between Penn State and Ole Miss.

The Peach Bowl released a statement confirming Collins as an honor captain for Penn State on Tuesday. Ole Miss will have former Ole Miss wide receiver Donte Moncrief as an honor captain as well.

A win by Penn State in the Peach Bowl would make Penn State the first school in college football history to record a victory in each of the New Years Six bowl games. Collins led Penn State to its first Rose Bowl victory in school history in the 1995 Rose Bowl to complete an undefeated 1994 season.

Collins is a former Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award winner and was a consensus First Team All-American during the 1994 season. He was also named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and the winner of the Big Ten Silver Football Award as the top player in the conference. Collins still holds a handful of school records for best completion percentage and passing efficiency in a single season. Collins broke a number of other passing records that have since been eclipsed in recent seasons.

Collins ended his college football career with 5,304 passing yards and 39 touchdowns. He was the fifth overall pick of the 1995 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers in their first season as an expansion franchise. Collins went on to have a pair of Pro Bowl seasons and helped lead the New York Giants to an appearance in the Super Bowl in 2000. Collins was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Penn State and Ole Miss have never played before in football. Kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 30 is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPN. Penn State remains a favorite in the game.

 

Ex-Giants QB Kerry Collins wishes he had a second Super Bowl chance

Retired New York Giants QB Kerry Collins laments not getting a second shot at the Super Bowl after falling short in 2000.

Former 17-year NFL veteran quarterback Kerry Collins isn’t heard from much these days, so when he gives an interview, it’s always worth a listen.

Collins, now 50, spoke to NFL analyst and podcast host Ross Tucker this week on a myriad of subjects. Collins was the fifth overall selection in the 1995 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.

Collin had some immediate success, leading the expansion Panthers all the way to the NFC Championship Game in his second season. He hit the skids shortly after, succumbing to alcohol issues and was subsequently released by Carolina.

After a short stint with the New Orleans Saints, Collins was signed by New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, who saw the rifle-armed former Penn State star as a possible solution to Big Blue’s quarterback woes after wallowing with names such as Dave Brown, Danny Kanell and Kent Graham.

By Year 2, the Collins reclamation project was rolling along. He led the Giants to a 12-4 record and a 41-0 whitewashing of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants lost the Super Bowl miserably to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-7 that season.

Collins would lead the Giants back to the playoffs in 2002 but after then the team saw his limitations and released him before the 2004 season, replacing him with Kurt Warner and Eli Manning. Collins went on to play eight more seasons in the NFL for Oakland, Tennessee, and Indianapolis.

Collins told Tucker that he wished he had another crack at the Super Bowl after performing so poorly against Baltimore. It never came.

“Was I an elite quarterback? No,” said Collins. “But I was a lot closer to the top than I was to the bottom.”

That is true. As a thrower of the football, there was no throw Collins couldn’t make. As a signal caller and field general, however, he was lacking at times.

His best statistical years came with the Giants, most notably 2000 and 2002 and as of 2018, still held or shared seven New York Giants franchise records.

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Was Kyle Brady a bigger NFL draft bust than Ki-Jana Carter?

Was Kyle Brady a bigger NFL draft bust than Ki-Jana Carter? USA TODAY Sports ranks them.

For years it seems the NFL draft world recognized the drafting of Penn State running back [autotag]Ki-Jana Carter[/autotag] by the Cincinnati Bengals with the first overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft as one of the biggest draft busts in draft history. And, with the benefit of hindsight, the selection by the Bengals may have been ill-advised for the franchise at the time, but labeling Carter a bust always felt weird. But what if another Penn State player taken in the top 10 of that same draft was an even bigger bust?

USA TODAY Sports ranked the top 50 NFL draft busts of the last 50 years. And, not surprisingly, Carter does find himself ranked among the top 50 biggest busts of the past 50 years. This particular ranking listed the Bengals’ draft pick of Carter at no. 44 on its list and noted the selection of Carter may be unfair due to Carter’s early injury before things ever really got started for him in the league.

Here is what USA TODAY Sports said about Carter and the Bengals;

In fairness, he ripped up his knee in his first preseason game and was never the same. Of note, it could have been much worse for Cincinnati. Expansion Carolina only charged the Bengals the fifth and 36th overall picks to move up for Carter, sweetheart terms by today’s standards. Yet it worked out OK for the Panthers, who took QB Kerry Collins.

Yes, the Panthers traded down and took Penn State quarterback [autotag]Kerry Collins[/autotag] with their first NFL draft pick in franchise history. Collins wasn’t a bust, but another of Collins’ and Carter’s teammates selected in that same draft in the top 10 was ranked as a bigger bust than Carter. That would be tight end [autotag]Kyle Brady[/autotag], who was selected with the ninth overall pick by a franchise synonymous with bad draft picks, the New York Jets.

The Jets drafting Brady with the ninth overall pick in 1995 was ranked no. 29 on USA TODAY Sports’ ranking of the top 50 NFL draft busts. Brady had a solid career in the NFL, but the biggest strike against Brady was who the Jets could have had instead. From USA TODAY Sports;

New York could have had Warren Sapp. Or Ty Law. Or Derrick Brooks. But in typical J-E-T-S fashion, they screwed it up royally. (And the availability of Law and Brooks didn’t deter the Jets from taking DE Hugh Douglas 16th overall, either.)

In fairness, the Jets weren’t the only team that whiffed on Warren Sapp. The Philadelphia Eagles did the same thing by drafting Mike Mamula, a move that also appears on this same list. Ironically, the Eagles eventually ended up with Hugh Douglas, who became a fixture on a team that went on a ride to its best stretch of success in the Andy Reid era.

Was Brady a bigger bust than Carter? Admittedly, this is not a comparison I ever gave much thought to until now. It still feels rough to call Carter a draft bust because of the injury in his first preseason, and labeling Brady a bust following a 13-year season also feels a bit off.

Of course, no ranking fo the top 50 NFL draft busts of the past 50 years is complete without mentioning the teams that didn’t draft a hall of fame quarterback in the famous 1983 NFL draft. Unfortunately for the Kansas City Chiefs, that included national championship quarterback at Penn State [autotag]Todd Blackledge[/autotag]. Drafting Blackledge when Dan Marino was on the board is certainly a mistake that cost the Chiefs. The Chiefs drafting Blackledge was packaged with the New England Patriots drafting Tony Eason out of Illinois and Ken O’Brien of UC Davis being drafted by the  — you guessed it — the Jets.

Blackledge stands out above the other two though because he was the second quarterback drafted (John Elway was taken no. 1 overall by the Baltimore Colts). Blackledge went before Jimy Kelly and Marino, two hall of fame quarterbacks. And at least O’Brien made the Pro Bowl during his career.

Which for these three was the biggest NFL draft bust out of Penn State? Honestly, the more you look at it, the more likely the answer could be Blackledge, who spent nine years in the NFL primarily as a backup.

Check out the full ranking of the top 50 NFL draft busts of the past 50 years from USA TODAY Sports.

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Penn State’s all-time first-round NFL draft picks

Every Penn State football player ever drafted in the first round of the NFL draft in school history.

In the history of the NFL draft, only a handful of schools have had more players drafted by NFL franchises than Penn State. The Nittany Lions have sent over 360 players through the NFL draft over the years, and that number continues to climb every year. And when it comes to first-round picks, Penn State has had a solid number of those as well, including some top draft picks.

Lenny Moore, arguably the best player in Penn State football history, is appropriately the first player in program history to be selected by an NFL franchise in the NFL draft. Since then, Penn State players have been selected in the first round numerous times through the decades with players like Shane Conlan, Blair Thomas, Ki-Jana Carter, LaVar Arrington, Saquon Barkley, and Micah Parsons.

Here is a look at every first-round NFL draft pick in Penn State history, starting with the first.

Gregg Rosenthal ranks Eli Manning 32nd among 66 all-time Super Bowl QBs

Gregg Rosenthal ranks all Super Bowl QBs and has Eli Manning as the New York Giants’ best, placing him at just No. 32 overall.

There have been 56 Super Bowl games and 66 ‘rankable’ quarterbacks. The New York Giants have been in five Super Bowls and threw out four different quarterbacks in those games.

With the standard being anywhere from No.1 (Tom Brady) to No. 66 (Rex Grossman), where do the Giants’ quarterbacks rank?

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has gone through the effort to rank them all. Keep in mind, performance in the Super Bowl is just a part of the scoring system.

Eli Manning, who went 2-0 in Super Bowls and won the MVP award twice, was the highest-ranked Giant at No. 32.

Eli’s durability and longevity boost him in a career that ended at .500 (117-117), with only two to three seasons in which he arguably could’ve been considered a top-10 quarterback.

Phil Simms, who had the most efficient Super Bowl performance of all time in 1987 against Denver, came in at No. 37.

Kerry Collins, who was godawful in his one start for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV, ranked No. 43 overall.

Jeff Hostetler ranked No. 50. His gutty performance in Super Bowl XXV led the Giants to an improbable win over the Buffalo Bills.

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Sean Clifford praised by Jeff Fisher after NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

What Jeff Fisher thought of Sean Clifford after the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

Penn State quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] has wrapped up his college career and is now beginning his battle into the NFL, which may take a more unique approach than some may realize. Part of that comes in the form of battling through practices at the all-star game known as NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Coaches and scouts spoke to NFL Network’s Bridgen Condon and had praise for the former Penn State signal caller calling him one of many “intriguing prospects” at the game and he became more of a talking point for his coach.

Clifford was coached by former NFL coach Jeff Fisher, who spoke to NFL Network and shared his thoughts on Clifford.

“There’s a great deal of talent there…when you talk about a starting quarterback at Penn State University, you talk about their experience and just to watch him here handle himself for the first couple of days of practice,” Fisher said to NFL Network.

While people may be dismissive of Jeff Fisher due to his failings as an NFL coach, he has been able to identify quarterback talent. He coached Steve McNair, Jared Goff, Case Keenum, and former Nittany Lion [autotag]Kerry Collins[/autotag]. For the example of Collins, he was an NFL starter for awhile but then became a career backup, which may be a career that Clifford sees for himself in the NFL.

He can add depth to a quarterback room and bring professionalism to the job that so many clamor for.

“Clifford’s played a lot of ball. You can tell that Clifford is probably the most operationally sound,” one scout told NFL Network. “He’s the most polished. He knows what he’s doing.”

We will see how his draft process plays out with the scouting combine right around the corner.

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Throwback Thursday: Giants win shootout with Colts in 2002

On the backs of Kerry Collins and Amani Toomer, the New York Giants out-gunned Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in 2002.

The New York Giants and the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise haven’t played very often in their histories, but when they do, it’s usually an occasion.

In 2002, the Giants headed into their Week 16 game against the 9-6 Colts at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis with an 8-6 record and needed to keep rolling in order to qualify for the playoffs.

The game pitted the Giants against a powerful Colts offense that sported such notables as quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Edgerrin James and wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

Big Blue would counter with their own stars: QB Kerry Collins, RB Tiki Barber, tight end Jeremy Shockey and WR Amani Toomer.

The game was the shootout most expected, but not until after the Giants jumped out to a 30-6 lead in the third quarter. The Giants rode a blocked punt and an interception to a quick 10-0 lead and an 82-yard flea flicker to Toomer extended the lead to 17-3.

The closest the Colts would get was 37-27 with 4:44 left on a Manning-to-Wayne 40-yard strike. The Giants would answer with a 27-yard Collins-to-Toomer hookup to close things out, 44-27.

Collins would top Manning in yardage through the air, 366-365, on 23-of-29 passing with four touchdowns to Manning’s three.

The Giants held James to just 13 yards rushing, while Barber ran for 60 and had two scores. Shockey caught seven passes for 116 yards, but it was Toomer who stole the show, grabbing 10 of 12 targets for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

Toomer’s 204 yards receiving was the third-highest ever by a Giant in a single game at the time. Del Shofner had 269 yards against Washington in 1962 and Gene Roberts had 212 in a 1949 game against Green Bay.

The mark has since been tied by Plaxico Burress (204 in 2005 against the Rams) and eclipsed by Odell Beckham Jr. (222 vs. Baltimore in 2016).

The victory moved the Giants to 9-6 on the season. They needed just a win over the Philadelphia Eagles the next week to clinch a playoff spot, which they picked up.

“It’s going to come down to the final straws, and we don’t need to get sweaty palms,” Giants head coach Jim Fassel said. “We need to just get ready to go out and play another football game.”

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Penn State photo archive: 1995 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

Check out these photos from Penn State’s trip to the 1995 Rose Bowl.

When Penn State joined the Big Ten in football in 1993, it did not take too long before the Nittany Lions won a conference championship and made a trip to the Rose Bowl. The 1994 season saw Penn State go undefeated in the regular season with spotlight wins on the road at Michigan, a blowout of Ohio State, and a memorable come-from-behind victory on the road at Illinois. With a clean 11-0 record, Penn State hoped to make a final statement for national championship consideration from the polls as Nebraska was also running through its schedule without a loss that same season. And before the BCS came into existence, Penn State being contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champion meant there would be no true national championship game.

So a trip to the Rose Bowl to face a surprising Pac-10 champion in the Oregon Ducks would have to do. Penn State’s high-powered offense wasted no time having an impact against the Ducks as Ki-Jana Carter raced 83-yards up the middle for a touchdown on the first offensive play from scrimmage for the Nittany Lions, and the game was hardly in much doubt from there. Despite a plucky effort from Oregon and quarterback Danny O’Neil’s Rose Bowl record 456 yards (this record held until 2022 when Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud passed for 573 passing yards… against Utah), Penn State pulled away in the second half for a 38-20 victory after only leading 14-7 at halftime.

Penn State celebrated its first, and to this date only, Rose Bowl victory and the accomplishment of completing a 12-0 season. Although Nebraska is formally recognized as the national champions for the 1994 season, there was no better way to end the year for Penn State than in the Grandaddy of them all.

Here is a look back at some of the best photos from the 1995 Rose Bowl to close out the 1994 season.

Flashback Friday: Giants lose to expansion Texans in 2002

In Week 12 of the 2002 season, the New York Giants lost to the expansion Houston Texans, who only picked up four wins on the year.

The New York Giants will face the Texans this week for just the sixth time since Houston entered the NFL as an expansion team in 2002.

The Giants have won the last four meetings after losing the first one in Week 12 of the 2002 season. The host Giants, under head coach Jim Fassel, entered the game with a 6-4 record, while Dom Capers’ squad was 2-8.

The Giants outgained Houston 369-212 and held quarterback David Carr — the top pick in that year’s NFL draft — to 103 yards passing, sacking him five times.

But they still managed to lose the game, 16-14. They finished 10-6 and qualified for the NFC Playoffs, but this loss was a head-scratcher.

From the AP:

The Texans used a trick play, a big punt return and two field goals by Kris Brown — the last one a 50-yarder with 6:57 to play — to defeat the Giants 16-14 Sunday.

“This one is going to sting,” Giants quarterback Kerry Collins said. “We did not play well enough to win, but we are just going to have to come back and get a win next week.”

Let us not forget the bad snap on a punt that went for a safety — the eventual difference in the game. It was one of the many inexplicably listless and sloppy performances the Giants logged during Fassel’s tenure.

“All week long, all I talked about was being ready,” Fassel said. “I know we made mistakes. They were trying to play hard and were playing hard, but we just made mistakes too many times. … We made enough mistakes to cost us the game: a field goal missed that should have been made, a ball over the punter’s head to give them two other points. I’m not happy about that at all.”

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