Dré Bly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Dré Bly with the Denver Broncos in 2007. |
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| Denver Broncos — No. 32 | |
| Cornerback | |
| Date of birth: May 22, 1977 | |
| Place of birth: Chesapeake, Virginia | |
| Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | Weight: 188 lb (85 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 1999 for the St. Louis Rams | |
| Career history | |
| College: North Carolina | |
| NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season) |
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| Tackles | 350 |
| Sacks | 4.0 |
| INTs | 38 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Donald André Bly (born May 22, 1977 in Chesapeake, Virginia), better known as Dré Bly, is an American football player. He is a cornerback in the National Football League for the Denver Broncos.
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[edit] High school and college
Bly graduated from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake. In high school, he was an all-state football player as well as a decorated baseball player. He has cited Deion Sanders as one of his childhood idols.
In his freshman season at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Bly received all-American honors. He is only one of five players in NCAA history to achieve this honor (Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Bjorn Merten, and Marshall Faulk being the others) [1]. Bly was the only football player in UNC and ACC history to receive consensus 1st team All-America honors three times in his college career. In his sophomore year, he was one of three finalists for the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Year Award.
[edit] NFL career
[edit] 1999 NFL Draft
The St. Louis Rams selected Bly in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft, as the 41st overall pick.
Bly, at 186 pounds, ran a 4.51 second 40-yard dash, 4.09 second 20-yard shuttle, 7.10 3-cone drill, and had a vertical jump of 34 1/2 inches at the 1999 NFL Combine[1]
[edit] St. Louis Rams
Bly started his career in St. Louis playing there for 4 years. While with the Rams, Bly won a Super Bowl for Super Bowl XXXIV, and appeared two years later, when the Rams lost to the New England Patriots.
[edit] Detroit Lions
In 2003, Bly left the St. Louis Rams and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions. He made the Pro Bowl in two of his seasons with the team.
On November 29, 2005, the day after Lions head coach Steve Mariucci was fired, Bly told the NFL Network that if their back-up quarterback, Jeff Garcia, had been healthy the entire season, the Lions would be in a better situation, and Mariucci would still be coaching the team. He has since apologized, albeit not to Joey Harrington, the Lions starting quarterback that season.
[edit] Denver Broncos
On March 1, 2007, Bly was traded by the Detroit Lions to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell, offensive tackle George Foster, and a 5th round draft pick. On March 28, 2007, the Denver Broncos and Bly agreed to a 5-year, $33 million contract. The contract includes $18 million in bonus money and $16 million guaranteed. [2]
Bly finished the 2007 season as the Broncos leader in interceptions with five.
The Broncos restructured Bly's contract on February 18, 2008 to free up salary cap space and keep Bly on the team. [3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- databaseFootball.com professional statistics
- The Official Dré Bly Website The Official Dré Bly Website
- CNNSI.com Draft Video
