Tag Archives: gameday 1992

NFL

Pritchard, Mike

stpics91 pritchardscosup91 pritchard
Cards: Score Supplemental 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Star Pics 1991, GameDay 1992.
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:  3/10    Received: 6/16    (98 days)

When Mike Pritchard hit the field for the Colorado Buffalos he was a virtuouso on offense, displaying excellent athetic prowess playing runningback, wingback, tailback, and wide receiver on offense.  He’d also handle some kick return duties as well along the way. He’d finish his career for the Buffs, with 47 receptions for 1241 yards, and 10 touchdowns, along with 30 kick returns for 693 yards. Despite playing only one full season at wide receiver, Pritchard finished 3rd in school history in career receptions and 2nd in touchdowns. An All-Big 8 1st team selection and team MVP in 1990, Mike had 28 catches for 733 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also stood in for Eric Bieniemy one game and surprised the Volunteers rushing for 217 yards.

gday92 pritchardMike’s versatility and speed were attractive to NFL personnel. Jerry Glanville‘s Run ‘N Gun offense took him in the 1st round of the NFL draft with the 13th pick in 1991. Mike had 624 yards and 2 TDs in 50 receptions in a respectable rookie campaign.  He’d then have 2 70+ catch seasons back to back in 1992 (77, career high) and 1993 (74).

Expected to make a big free agent splash, Pritchard joined the Broncos in 1994, but injuries limited him to just 3 games. He’d return in 1995, starting 13 games and posting 33 receptions for 441 yards and 2 TDs, ending his tour with Denver.

aprks91 pritchardMike joined the Seattle Seahawks in 1996 reviving his career. Pritchard’s 1997 campaign resulted in 843 yards and 2 TDs- his best since 1992. In 1998, Mike went deep again for 742 yards on 58 receptions. After the 1999 season, he’d retire just eking a bit over 5,000 career receiving yards.

As of 2014, Pritchard lives in Nevada. He does play by play for ESPN and does color commentating for Nevada-Las Vegas Football games.

G/Gs 127/94    Rec 422     Yds  5187     Avg  12.3     Td  26    Lg 61

 

 

 

NFL

Brown, Derek

aprks92 debrowncla92 debrown B

Cards: Classic 1992, Classic 1992 Blister Pack, Action Packed Rookies 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:  11/10   Received: 11/17  (7 days)

Derek Brown (at least through 2014) has been a very generous signer TTM. A first round pick of the New York Giants in 1992 and a member of the Notre Dame National Championship Team in 1988, Brown was an accomplished blocker with good career receiving statistics. His best year came in 1991 when he caught 22 receptions for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Golden Domers. Over his time for the Fighting Irish, Brown compiled 62 receptions for 899 yards and 8 touchdowns in 34 games.

cla92 debrownThe Giants were transitioning from the Bill Parcells era into the Ray Hadley ‘zone’. Hadley – the offensive mastermind behind the Giants Super Bowl XXV season, opted to make an upgrade at tight end. With Mark Bavaro walking after the 1991 season, the Giants were eager to upgrade at one of their most valued positions. Brown seemed like the perfect replacement for Bavaro and a no brainer at pick #17. The problem was the team was also going through a transition at quarterback as well. Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler battled it out at quarterback, with the ‘heir to the franchise’ Dave Brown even taking snaps. Unable to unseat Howard Cross at the position, Brown was relegated to 7 starts, as a second tight end and extra blocker in 1992, and none in 1993 or 1994.

gday92 debrownIn 1995 the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers joined the NFL as expansion franchises. Derek was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 47th pick. It made sense for Derek to go to the Jaguars as they were coached by Bill Parcells disciple Tom Coughlin. A near fatal hit in a preseason game sent Derek to the hospital for 10 days causing him to miss the entire season. He returned in 1996, recording a career high 17 receptions for 141 yards as the Jaguars made the AFC Championship Game. Derek returned in 1997 to the Jaguars, recording his first and only career TD reception in a game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Derek joined Oakland in 1998, starting 4 games and making 7 catches in his one season there. He’d then play for the Arizona Cardinals through the 2000 season before ending his career.  He currently lives in New York with his wife and children.

G/Gs 105/33   Rec 43   Yds 401   Avg 9.3    Td 1     Lg 27

 

 

CFL, NFL

Christie, Steve

pset90 christieCards: Score Supplemental 1990, ProSet 1990, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 4/1    Received: 4/17   (16 days)

Steve Christie left William & Mary as the school’s All-Time leading scorer in 1989 with 279 points. He was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990. The Bucs had a solid kicking game with Donald Igwebuike, but Christie beat him head to head in camp and won the job outright. Through Week 7 of the 1990 season Christie was the leading scorer in the NFL with 57 points and hit all of his XP, and was 14 of 16 of field goals.  By the end of the season Steve was named All-Rookie by the UPI, as he finished second in the NFC with a .852 field goal percentage.  After another solid season in 1991 with the Bucs, Christie was left unprotected by the team, controversially after he made promises not to leave the team.

The Buffalo Bills had finally decided that it was time for longtime kicker Scott Norwood to go. They offered Steve twice the salary he was making in Tampa to come to Buffalo.  Christie didn’t look back. scosup90 christieHe’d later cite that the ‘lack of winning tradition’ in Tampa as factoring into making his decision easier, because, “You get quite depressed only winning 3 games a season.”
Christie distinguished himself with the Bills almost immediately. and played with the franchise through the 2000 season, erasing many of the previous kicking marks held by Norwood. Steve set the franchise records that he set were the longest field goal (59 yards), the longest field goal in playoff history (54 yards), and the most career field goals in the playoffs (9). Steve is the franchise’s All-time leading scorer with 1,011 points, and set a franchise record with 14o points in a single season (1998).

In 2001, Steve signed with the San Diego Chargers after a somewhat contentious divorce from the Bills. A preseason injury forced the Bills to offer Christie an injury settlement- an offer that he rejected. So the team with no real choice at that point placed him on injured reserve, and then finally granted his unconditional release a few weeks later. He played with the Chargers through the 2003 season. From there he spent some time with thegday92 christie Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants in 2004.

Christie then entered a period of semi-retirement. He briefly played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2007 as a favor to general manager Mike Clemons- a teammate from William & Mary. Afterwards he signed a one day contract with the Buffalo Bills to officially retire as a member of the franchise in 2008.  He’s done some football commentary since then and has worked in the CFL as a player agent. As of 2014, Steve’s 1,476 points ranks 16th in NFL history and his 336 field goals rank 13th.

In this day and age, kickers have become more interchangable between franchises, but the best clutch kickers such as Christie, Stenerud, Anderson, and Andersen, have just become more and more rare, especially when they were able to pull of long stints with one team.

G  229           XPA 473         XPM 468         PCT  98.9
FGA 431         FGM 336         PCT  78.0          PTS 1476