Alex James Brown (born June 4, 1979) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was a two-time consensus All-American. Thereafter, Brown played professionally for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints of the NFL.
 Alex Brown during his tenure with the Bears. | |||||||||||
| No. 96 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | June 4, 1979 Jasper, Florida | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| College: | Florida | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2002 / round: 4 / pick: 104 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2010 | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Early years
Brown was born in Jasper, Florida in 1979.[1] He attended Hamilton County High School in Jasper,[2] and played high school football for the Hamilton County Trojans.[3] As the Trojans' senior quarterback in 1996, Brown threw for 863 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 767 yards and eighteen touchdowns; as a starting linebacker, he also compiled 117 total tackles (with seven tackles for loss), five blocked passes, four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two blocked field goals.[3] He was honored as a Florida Class 3A all-state selection and a National Recruiting Adviser and SuperPrep high school All-American.[3] Brown was also a standout basketball player and track and field athlete, and was the state champion discus thrower in 1996.[3]
College career
Brown received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1998 to 2001.[4] The Gators coaching staff decided to red-shirt him as a true freshman in 1997.[3] He saw action at outside linebacker in 1998, recording ten tackles with two sacks and three tackles for a loss as the backup to All-American starter Jevon Kearse.[3]
As a sophomore starter in 1999, Brown recorded fifty-six tackles with 7.5 sacks and twelve tackles for a loss.[3] Arguably, he played his best college game on September 18, 1999, when he sacked quarterback Tee Martin five times in the Gators' 23–21 upset of the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.[3] He was honored as first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation and Football News, and was one of the twelve semi-finalists for the Lombardi Award.[4]
During the Gators' 2000 SEC championship season, Brown was a team captain and started every game at right defensive end, recording fifty tackles with 10.5 sacks, fourteen tackles for a loss and four blocked passes, while forcing a fumble and blocking three kicks.[3][4] Brown was a first-team All-SEC selection, a second-team All-American, and was once again one of the twelve semi-finalists for the Lombardi Award.[4]
As a senior in 2001, Brown recorded forty-five tackles and a career-best thirteen sacks.[3] He was a first-team All-SEC selection and a consensus All-American, being named first-team by virtually all selectors.[4][5] He was also the 2001 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, one of the four finalists for the Lombardi Award, and one of five finalists of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.[4]
During his four-year college career, Brown totaled 161 tackles with forty-seven tackles for a loss (sixth-best career total in Gators history), and set the Gators' current career record of thirty-three quarterback sacks.[4] He will be inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in Spring 2012.[6]
Professional career
Pre-draft
| Pre-draft measureables | |||||||||
| 40 yd | BP | ||||||||
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| 4.65s* | X lb | ||||||||
(* represents NFL Combine)
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected Brown in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and he played for the Bears from 2002 to 2009. He became a starter in his rookie season, starting nine of the last ten games at right defensive end and logging 2.5 sacks. He also totaled 49 tackles (32 solos) and 3 passes broken up while contributing on special teams coverage. In 2003, his first season as a full-time starter, he led the Bears with 5.5 sacks with a career-high 79 tackles, 61 solos, and 6 tackles for losses while forcing 2 fumbles and recovering one fumble. Started at RDE for all 16 games, leading Chicago with 6 sacks and 73 tackles while pacing the unit with 11 tackles for a loss and 4 passes broken up . In a week nine contest, on November 7, 2004, versus the New York Giants, Brown recorded a career-high 4 sacks to go along with eight tackles, including six solos stops. He also forced a fumble and batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. For his efforts Brown was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Week by Pro Football Weekly.
In 2005 Brown was a First-alternate for the Pro Bowl after recording 75 tackles (nine for a loss) and 6 sacks, eight broken up passes and three forced fumbles. He was selected for Sports Illustrated All-Pro Team. He was named NFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week at Tampa Bay the week of November 27, 2005. In 2006 he was Selected as a Second-alternate for the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high 7 sacks and 2 interceptions while making 71 tackles (three for losses), three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes broken up PBU while starting all 16 games at RDE.
In 2007 Brown tied for the team lead with 5 PBUs, tied for second with 5 TFLs and 2 fumble recoveries and tied for third with 2 forced fumbles, after playing in all 16 games (two starts) for the fifth straight year, extending his consecutive games played streak to a team-high 95 contests He ranked second on the defensive line with 58 tackles and added 5 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles and 1 blocked kick.
So far in his NFL career, Brown has played 96 games and has 31.5 career sacks. He has also picked off five passes (two in 2006) and deflected 33 passes, an unusually high number for a defensive end. On December 22, 2008 Brown also deflected a kick by Mason Crosby to set up the game-winning field goal for the Chicago Bears in a win 20-17 over the Green Bay Packers.
In the 2nd game of the season when the Bears upset the defending Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14, Alex Brown recorded 2 sacks on Ben Roethlisberger. However, Brown was later carted off the field with 4 minutes left in the game with a sprained ankle.
The Bears released Brown on April 1, 2010, after failing to trade him to another team.[7]
New Orleans Saints
On April 7, 2010, the New Orleans Saints signed Brown to a two-year contract.[8] He was released on August 30, 2011, after one season with the Saints.
Brown, along with former teammate Desmond Clark currently host the Dez Clark & Alex Brown Show.[9][10]
See also
References
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Alex Brown. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
- ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Alex Brown. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j GatorZone.com, Football History, 2001 Roster, Alex Brown. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 94, 97, 98, 102, 125, 153–154, 179 (2011). Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ^ 2010 Division I Football Records Book, Award Winners and All-Americans, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2010). Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ "Florida Announces 2012 UF Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees," GatorZone.com (September 7, 2011). Retrieved September 24, 2011.
- ^ Larry Mayer, "Bears release veteran defensive end Alex Brown," Chicago Bears (April 1, 2010). Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ Nakia Hogan, "Free agent defensive end Alex Brown signs with the New Orleans Saints," The Times-Picayune (April 7, 2010). Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ http://www.dezclarkshow.com/
- ^ http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120117/submitted/120119875/
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.