Warren Sapp
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| Warren Sapp | |
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| Position(s): Defensive Tackle |
Jersey #(s): 99 |
| Born: December 19, 1972 Orlando, Florida |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1995–2007 | |
| NFL Draft: 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12 | |
| College: Miami (Fla.) | |
| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| Tackles | 569 |
| Sacks | 96.5 |
| Interceptions | 4 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972 in Orlando, Florida) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami.
Sapp, who also played for the Oakland Raiders, earned seven trips to the Pro Bowl in his career. His 96.5 career sacks are the second-highest career total sacks for a defensive tackle, behind Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks great John Randle, and the 28th highest overall for a defensive lineman. [1]
During Sapp's career, he has been the source of some controversy because of his hard-hitting style of play and his occasional verbal outbursts, both on the field and off. Some of these resulted in NFL fines, and he was once ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike conduct.
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[edit] Early years
Sapp was raised in Plymouth, Florida, a small, rural community on the Lake County/Orange County, Florida line. During the late 1980s, he earned widespread recognition as an outstanding football player at Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida as a linebacker, tight end and punter.[2] While playing football for Apopka High School, Sapp delivered a hit on a player from Dr. Phillips High school named Johnny Damon, who now plays baseball for the New York Yankees. This was the first concussion Johnny Damon ever received. In 2007 he was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Florida.
[edit] College career
Many top national colleges sought him out as a football player; Sapp chose to play for the University of Miami. Converted to defensive lineman while there, Sapp would win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player), the Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player), and the Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker) all in 1994. He was also named to many All-American teams.
[edit] Awards and honors
- Second-team All-American (1993)
- 2x First-team All-Big East (1993-1994)
- Consensus First-team All-American (1994)
- Lombardi Award (1994)
- Outland Trophy finalist (1994)
- Big East Defensive Player of the Year (1994)
- Defensive Player of the Year by Football Writers Association,
[edit] NFL career
[edit] Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After playing college football at the University of Miami, where he was a defensive standout, Sapp was drafted into the NFL by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 draft (12th pick overall). Sapp ran the fastest defensive end forty time, recording a 4.69 time. Upon joining Tampa Bay, Sapp was almost immediately given the starting job at the position of right defensive tackle and finished his rookie season with 27 tackles and one interception. Sapp continued to be a prolific, intimidating tackler for the Buccaneers, tallying 51 tackles and nine sacks in 1996 and 58 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 1997. In 1997, Sapp was named to his first Pro Bowl. It was the first of seven straight selections. Sapp was named 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the year.
[edit] 2003 Super Bowl
In 2002, Sapp helped lead a resurgent Tampa Bay team to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders. Sapp had five tackles and two sacks during the 2002-2003 postseason.
[edit] Oakland Raiders
In 2004, it was reported that Sapp was interested in accepting a contract offer from the Cincinnati Bengals for four years worth US $16 million. However, on March 20, he announced that he had agreed to terms on a seven-year, $36.6 million contract with the Raiders. Sapp started all 16 games in his first season with the Raiders, splitting time at defensive end as well as defensive tackle. Sapp recorded 42 tackles (33 solo), 2.5 sacks (Sapp's lowest career sack total) and recovered two fumbles. 2005 started out as a great year for Sapp, as he was moved back to his familiar DT position. He started the first ten games of the season recording 29 tackles (25 of them solo), and finished second on the team to Derrick Burgess with five sacks. Sapp was sidelined for the last six games of '05 with a shoulder injury
Sapp returned to his All-Pro form in 2006, as he was nominated to his 8th Pro Bowl. Sapp and the Raider defense were one of very few bright spots for the 2006 Raiders. Sapp had 10 sacks to go along with 32 tackles and one forced fumble. Before the 2007 season, he lost 49 pounds. He finished the 2007 season with 51 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.
[edit] Retirement
On January 3, 2008, Sapp told Raiders managing general partner Al Davis in a phone conversation that he would retire. The next day, January 4, 2008, Sapp confirmed it on his website (www.qbkilla.com) in just two words: "I'M DONE!"[3] The retirement became official on March 4, 2008.[4]
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Mike Sherman confrontation
[edit] The skipping incidents
During pre-game warm-ups of a December 23, 2002 Monday Night Football game at Raymond James Stadium, Sapp skipped through the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers running back Jerome Bettis shoved Sapp, and this was followed by a heated argument between the two teams. Sapp was not fined for the incident, but it added to his controversial image. Sapp felt that he was made an example by the NFL by being fined for that first skipping incident. "That's all this is about," said Sapp. "In my nine years in this league, no one's been fined for verbally abusing officials. It's unprecedented."[5] The Buccaneers had been earlier ridiculed by Steelers' Lee Flowers as being "paper champions." Notwithstanding, Sapp and the Buccaneers went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII five weeks later.
In 2003, during an October 6 Monday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sapp was scolded for skipping through and disrupting the Colts players, who were spread out on the field, stretching during pre-game warmups. There was much anticipation and national interest going into the game, which was the return of former head coach Tony Dungy to Tampa. The Colts wound up erasing a 21-point deficit in the final four minutes, and defeated the Buccaneers 38-35 in overtime, initiating a frustrating downslide for the defending champions.
A week later, on October 12, 2003, prior to the game against the Washington Redskins, Sapp was running onto the field when he bumped into an NFL referee. The incident drew a fine of $50,000. Sapp's response to the fine : "It's a slave system. Make no mistake about it. Slave master say you can't do it, don't do it. They'll make an example out of you."[6]
[edit] Ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct
On December 23, 2007, Sapp was involved in an altercation with NFL referees near the end of the second quarter of the Raiders' game at Jacksonville [7].
The incident began when linesman Jerry Bergman mistakenly assumed that the Raiders wished to decline a Jacksonville 10-yard penalty. Sapp, the defensive captain, began speaking with referee Jerome Boger, indicating that the Raiders instead wished to accept the penalty. The conversation became heated, with Sapp gesturing and swearing. This resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct call by Boger against Sapp. Sapp and his defensive teammates continued interacting with the officials after the penalty was called, resulting in a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sapp and an another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against teammate Derrick Burgess. Finally, the coaches and officiating staff entered the field and began physically separating and removing the arguing players. Boger claimed that during this time Sapp "bumped" him; Sapp denies making physical contact. Regardless, at this point Boger levied a third unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sapp and ejected him from the game. Sapp did not play in the second half and was eventually fined $75,000 by the NFL; Burgess received a $25,000 fine[8].
[edit] Personal
- Sapp's agent was fellow University of Miami alumnus Drew Rosenhaus, widely considered one of the most aggressive agents currently representing NFL players.
- Sapp's first TV appearance as a Raider was on The Simpsons post-Super Bowl XXXIX episode.
- Sapp was a college football teammate of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at the University of Miami
- Sapp claimed to be the victim of frequent attempted poisonings when eating in restaurants[9].
[edit] References
- ^ Yahoo.com Sapp tells Raiders he's retiring, ending stellar 13-year career
- ^ nflplayers.com. Warren Sapp #99. Retrieved on May 1, 2007.
- ^ http://www.qbkilla.com
- ^ ESPN - Sapp files paperwork, officially puts end to 13-year career - NFL
- ^ espn.go.com. NFL Threatens to Suspend Sapp. Retrieved on May 1, 2007.
- ^ usatoday.com. Sapp's Act Ceases to Be Amusing. Retrieved on May 1, 2007.
- ^ Sapp still gesturing, yelling, says he didn't touch official
- ^ SFGate: Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Fine day: Sapp fined 75k, Burgess dinged for 25k
- ^ ESPN.com "Sapp insists food was tampered with on road trips"
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Reggie White |
NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1999 |
Succeeded by Ray Lewis |
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