Freddie Mitchell

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For the fictional character, see Freddie Mitchell (EastEnders).
Freddie Mitchell
Date of birth November 28, 1978 (age 28)
Place of birth Flag of United States Lakeland, Florida
Position(s) Wide Receiver
College UCLA
NFL Draft 2001 / Round 1/ Pick 25
Statistics
Team(s)
2001–2004 Philadelphia Eagles

Freddie Lee Mitchell (born November 28, 1978 in Lakeland, Florida) is a former American football wide receiver who most recently played for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a 1st round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of UCLA.

Contents

[edit] High school career

[edit] College career

Mitchell was a political science major at UCLA. In addition to playing football for the Bruins, he also played baseball where he was teammates with future Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. He introduced him to his future wife, Jennifer Cooper[1].

Mitchell, even then, was eager for attention. He played dumb in a Jay Leno man on the street interview about U.S. Presidents. Mitchell knew that if purpousefully got the answers wrong, he'd be more likely to be shown on The Tonight Show so he, a political science and history student, pretended to think Benjamin Franklin was the first President when asked to name him[2][3].

[edit] Pro football career

Freddie Mitchell came to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001 as a first round pick. Difficulty in learning the complex Philadelphia playbook limited him in the first season. The Eagles hoped Mitchell would breakout in 2002 but, instead, he only caught twelve passes for 105 yards over the whole season. It was after this dismal performance, despite having the benefit of Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb passing to him, that the utterings of "bust" first began to be heard. In spite of his failures, Mitchell remained as bombastic as ever.

In the 2003 season, he did show some signs of promise. He did have a knack for gaining first downs (23 of his 35 receptions went for first downs) and caught his second and third career touchdowns. Perhaps Freddie's biggest on-field contribution came on January 11, 2004, in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Green Bay Packers, where he caught a 28-yard pass on a 4th and 26 play late in the game, in which the Eagles eventually won in overtime.

With the Eagles' acquisition of wide receiver Terrell Owens, Mitchell's production dipped slightly in 2004 (though he still had 18 first downs in 22 catches) and he did not make his frustration over seeing the ball less a secret to anybody. That season, he did catch a 60-yard pass from McNabb on a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys on November 15, 2004. The play is famous due to McNabb holding onto the ball for a timed 14.1 seconds.

[edit] Super Bowl controversy

The Eagles finished 13-3 and earned a trip to Super Bowl XXXIX. In the week prior to the game, Mitchell was on a short ESPN interview segment conducted by Dan Patrick, where eventually Dan asked him to name each member of the New England Patriots secondary. Freddie said he didn't know them by name, only by number, and proceeded to intentionally get each of their numbers wrong. He finished by saying he knows that #37 is Rodney Harrison and that he's "got something for him."[citation needed] This immediately got reporters rushing to a locker room where different Patriots were interviewed about Mitchell's comments. Harrison shot back at Mitchell with several derogatory insults, including that he "really talks big for a first round bust".[citation needed] Plenty of others on the Patriots appeared to take exception to the comments as well - even normally tight-lipped coach Bill Belichick later called Mitchell "terrible". Many look back on Mitchell's comments with amusement, noting that Harrison, the player he called out, caught more passes from McNabb in the Super Bowl than he did. (Mitchell had 1 catch for 11 yards, Harrison had 2 interceptions).

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, Eagles head coach Andy Reid made sure Freddie would not get any opportunities to speak at the podium as to avoid further controversy. However, after the Super Bowl, he continued to sound off in interviews where he criticized McNabb, Owens, and the New England Patriots as well as their head coach, Bill Belichick, saying that the way they reacted reminded him of "little girls". He said that the Eagles would beat them 8 out of 10 times, that Owens took away from his opportunities that season, and even referred to McNabb as a SOB who didn't have enough faith in him to throw him the ball. Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady took shots at him on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno days following the Super Bowl. All of Mitchell's controversial comments before and after the Super Bowl made him increasingly un-popular around the NFL. This and his poor statistics ultimately lead to the Eagles and head coach Andy Reid releasing him before the start of training camp, a decision that analysts had claimed was inevitable anyway.

[edit] Football career after Philadelphia

After being released from the Eagles on May 5, 2005, Mitchell then signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, who subsequently released him September 3, 2005[citation needed]. On August 6, 2006 Mitchell worked out for the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas did not make a contract offer[citation needed]. Mitchell tried out for the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, October 11, 2006[citation needed]. Most recently, Mitchell worked out for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL on February 11, 2007[4].


According to sports blog Deadspin on November 27, 2006, Mitchell recently served as a substitute teacher at Mishawaka High School in Mishawaka, Indiana[5].

[edit] Mitchell and the media

In an effort to apparently garner media attention, Mitchell tried to bestow upon himself several nicknames. These include, The People's Champ (of which he had a belt, similar to the World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE's championship belts, made), The Sultan of Slot, First Down Freddie, Fourth Down Freddie, Hollywood, 4th and 26 Freddie, and FredEx (claiming he "always delivers", a nickname shared with Freddy Sanchez). The latter is often re-printed in the media as FredEx with the emboldening to indicate his status as a bust.

He has also appeared at a press conference wearing oven mitts to protect his hands. At the press conference he said "I'd like to thank God for giving me these hands."

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16583997.htm
  2. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5301-1474033,00.html
  3. ^ http://billikenbluff.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_archive.html
  4. ^ http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=82a9a9d4-7f09-40ad-a406-b02a0d7affec&k=53846
  5. ^ http://www.deadspin.com/sports/nfl/in-case-you-were-wondering-what-freddie-mitchell-has-been-up-to-lately-217314.php
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