Class of 2012 Semifinalistss - Career Capsules

Steve Atwater
Safety
(Arkansas)
1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets (11 playing seasons)
Drafted: 1st round (20th player overall) of 1989 draft by Denver Broncos.
Seasons: 11
Games: 167
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 8
Career Stats: 24 interceptions for 408 yards and 1 TD
Notable: Atwater's selection to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1990-96 is tied for the franchise record with Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.

Jerome Bettis
Running Back
(Notre Dame)
1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams; 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
Drafted: 1st round (10th overall) of 1993 NFL Draft by Los Angeles Rams
Seasons: 13
Games: 192
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 6
Career Stats: 3,479 carries for 13,662 yards, 91 touchdowns; 200 receptions for 1,449 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Notable: At the time of his retirement Bettis ranked 5th in rushing yards.

Tim Brown
Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
(Notre Dame)
1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Drafted: 1st round (6th overall) of 1988 NFL Draft by Los Angeles Raiders
Seasons: 17
Games: 255
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 9
Career Stats: 1,094 receptions for 14,934 yards and 100 touchdowns.
Notable: Brown had 80 or more receptions in nine seasons over a 10-year span. He also was lethal return man, his 19,682 all-purpose yards still ranks fifth all-time.

Cris Carter
Wide Receiver
(Ohio State)
1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles; 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings; 2002 Miami Dolphins
Drafted: 4th round of 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft by Philadelphia Eagles
Seasons: 16
Games: 234
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 8
Career Stats: 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards and 130 TDs
Notable: Retired as the NFL’s second all-time leading receiver. Three times Carter led the NFL in touchdown catches.

Don Coryell
Head Coach
(Washington)
1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals; 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
Seasons: 14
Coach of the Year Awards: 1
Division Titles: 5
Career Record: 114 wins, 89 losses, 1 tie including playoffs
Notable: Under Coryell’s direction, the Chargers led the NFL in passing seven out of eight seasons.

Roger Craig
Running Back
(Nebraska)
1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers; 1991 Los Angeles Raiders; 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings
Drafted: 2nd round (49th overall) of 1983 NFL Draft by San Francisco 49ers
Seasons: 11
Games: 165
All-Pro: 1
Pro Bowls: 4
Career Stats: 1,991 carries for 8,189 yards, 56 touchdowns; 566 receptions for 4,911 yards, 17 touchdowns.
Notable: At the time of his retirement, Craig ranked in the Top 20 career leaders in both receptions and rushing yards.

Terrell Davis
Running Back
(Long Beach State; Georgia)
1995-2001 Denver Broncos
Drafted: 6th round (196th overall) of 1995 NFL Draft by Denver Broncos
Seasons: 7
Games: 78
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 3
Career Stats: 1,655 carries for 7,607 yards, 60 touchdowns
Notable: Significantly increased yardage total each season until he suffered knee injury. In 1998, he became the fourth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.


Dermontti Dawson
Center
(Kentucky)
1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers
Drafted: 2nd round (44th overall) of 1988 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh Steelers
Seasons: 13
Games: 184
All-Pro: 6
Pro Bowls: 7
Career Stats: Started 144 career games.
Notable: Preeminent center of his era, Dawson was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s. He started a string of 171 consecutive games played before injury in 12th season interrupted the streak.

Edward Debartolo, Jr.
Owner
(Notre Dame)
1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers
Seasons: 23
Division Titles: 13
Conference Titles: 5
Super Bowl Titles: 5
Notable: DeBartolo transformed the 49ers into one of the most dominant dynasties in NFL history.

Chris Doleman
Defensive End/Linebacker
(Pittsburgh)
1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers
Drafted: 1st round (4th overall) of 1985 NFL Draft by Minnesota Vikings
Seasons: 15
Games: 232
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 8
Career Stats: Amassed 151 quarterback sacks. Also had one fumble recovery for TD; two safeties; and 8 interceptions for 121 yards, 2 TDs.
Notable: Had eight seasons with double-digit sack totals included a career-high 21 during the 1989 season.

Kevin Greene
Linebacker/Defensive End
(Auburn)
1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
Drafted: 5th round (113th overall) of 1985 NFL Draft by Los Angeles Rams
Seasons: 15
Games: 228
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 5
Career Stats: Amassed 160 sacks. Also had 5 interceptions for 53 yards, 1 TD; 3 Safeties, and 2 fumble recoveries for touchdowns.
Notable: Greene twice led the NFL in sacks, the first time in 1994 with the Steelers and again two years later in Carolina. He had 10 or more sacks in a season 10 times during his career.

Charles Haley
Defensive End/Linebacker
(James Madison)
1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
Drafted: 4th round (96th overall) of 1986 NFL Draft by San Francisco 49ers
Seasons: 12
Games: 169
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 5
Career Stats: Recorded 100.5 sacks. Had one safety and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Notable: Haley holds the NFL record for most Super Bowl victories by a player. He won three with the Cowboys (XXVII, XVIII, XXX) and two with San Francisco (XXIII, XXIV).

Cortez Kennedy
Defensive Tackle
(Northwest Mississippi Comm. College; Miami - FL)
1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks
Drafted: 1st round (3rd overall) of 1990 NFL Draft by Seattle Seahawks.
Seasons: 11
Games: 167
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 8
Career Stats: 58.0 sacks; three interceptions for 26 yards and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Notable: Kennedy was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. That year he had 14.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, 92 tackles, a fumble recovery and two batted down passes.

Curtis Martin
Running Back
(Pittsburgh)
1995-97 New England Patriots; 1998-2005 New York Jets
Drafted: 3rd round (74th overall) of 1995 NFL Draft by New England Patriots
Seasons: 11
Games: 168
All-Pro: 2
Pro Bowls: 5
Career Stats: 3,518 carries for 14,101 yards, 90 touchdowns; 484 receptions for 3,329 yards, 10 touchdowns.
Notable: Martin started his career with a record-tying 10 consecutive 1,000-yards rushing seasons.

Clay Matthews
Linebacker
(Southern California)
1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons
Drafted: 1st round (12th player overall) of 1978 draft by Cleveland Browns.
Seasons: 19
Games: 278
All-Pro: 1
Pro Bowls: 4
Career Stats: 16 interceptions for 206 yards and 1 TD, 69.5 sacks and one fumble recovery for a TD.
Notable: In 1991 Matthews became only the third player in Cleveland Browns history to play in 200 or more games. His finals sum with the Browns (232) is still the franchise record.
 

Karl Mecklenburg
Linebacker
(Augustana (SD); Minnesota)
1983-1994 Denver Broncos
Drafted: 12th round (310th player overall) of 1983 draft by Denver Broncos.
Seasons: 12
Games: 180
All-Pro: 4
Pro Bowls: 6
Career Stats: 79.0 sacks, five interceptions for 128 yards, one safety and two fumble recoveries for a TD.
Notable: Mecklenburg is the only player in Denver Broncos history to record four sacks in a game twice.

Bill Parcells
Head Coach
(Colgate, Wichita State)
1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys
Seasons: 20
Division Titles: 5
Conference Titles: 3
Super Bowl Titles: 2
Notable: Parcells is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year recipient (1986, 1994)

Andre Reed
Wide Receiver
(Kutztown)
1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
Drafted: 4th round (86th overall) in 1985 NFL Draft by Buffalo Bills
Seasons: 16
Games: 234
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 7
Career Stats: 951 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns.
Notable: Reed had 50 or more receptions in 13 seasons, which rank him third all-time. Also, at the time of his retirement his 951 career receptions ranked third all-time.

Willie Roaf
Tackle
(Louisiana Tech)
1993-2001 New Orleans Saints; 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs
Drafted: 1st round (8th overall) of 1993 NFL Draft by New Orleans Saints
Seasons: 13
Games: 189
All-Pro: 7
Pro Bowls: 11
Notable: Roaf was selected for the NFL's All-Decade Team in the 1990s.

Donnie Shell
Safety
(South Carolina State)
1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers
Drafted: Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974
Seasons: 14
Games: 201
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 5
Career Stats: 51 interceptions for 490 yards and two TDs and two fumble recoveries for a TD.
Notable: Donnie Shell is a member of the NFL’s Silver Anniversary Super Bowl teams that was selected in 1990.

Will Shields
GUARD
(Nebraska)
1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
Drafted: 3rd round (74th player overall) of 1993 draft by Kansas City Chiefs.
Seasons: 14
Games: 224
All-Pro: 3
Pro Bowls: 12
Notable: Shields was selected for the NFL's All-Decade Team in the 2000s.

Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner 1989-2006
(Georgetown, New York University)
Notable: In 17 years as commissioner of the NFL Tagliabue grew the league from 28 to 32 teams and supported the construction of 20 new stadiums. He also created a league-wide internet network and the NFL Network.

Steve Tasker
Special Teams/Wide Receiver
(Dodge City CC (KS), Northwestern)
1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills
Drafted: 9th round (226th overall) of 1985 draft by Houston Oilers.
Seasons: 13
Games: 169
All-Pro: 5
Pro Bowls: 7
Career Stats: 51 receptions for 779 yard and nine TDs, 44 kickoff returns for 910 yards and a 20.7 average, 32 punt returns for 335 yards and 10.5 average
Notable: Tasker is the only special teams player to be selected as the Pro Bowl’s MVP when he did so in the 1993 game.

Aeneas Williams
Cornerback/Safety
(Southern University)
1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams
Drafted: 3rd round (59th overall) of 1991 NFL Draft by Phoenix Cardinals
Seasons: 14
Games: 211
All-Pro: 4
Pro Bowls: 8
Career Stats: 55 interceptions for 807 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Notable: At the time of his retirement, Williams ranked tied with Hall of Famer Ken Houston for second on the NFL’s all-time list of interception returns for touchdowns with nine.

Ron Wolf
Contributor
(Oklahoma)
1963-1974, 1978-1990 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1975-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990 New York Jets, 1991-2001 Green Bay Packers
Division Titles: 12
Conference Titles: 3* (* 1981 AFC regular season champions - strike year format)
AFL Titles: 1
Super Bowl Titles: 3
Notable: Wolf was honored as the NFL’s Executive of the Year in 1991.

George Young
Contributor
(Bucknell University, Johns Hopkins, Loyola)
1968-1974 Baltimore Colts; 1975-1978 Miami Dolphins; 1979-1997 New York Giants; 1998-2001 National Football League
Division Titles:  6
Conference Titles: 4
Super Bowl Titles: 3
Notable: Young was honored as the NFL’s Executive of the Year five times (1984, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1997).