Ken O'Brien
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ken O'Brien | |
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| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 7, 15 |
| Born: November 27, 1960 Rockville Centre, New York |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1984–1993 | |
| NFL Draft: 1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24 | |
| College: California-Davis, Sacramento State |
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| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 128-98 |
| Yards | 25,094 |
| QB Rating | 80.4 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Kenneth John O'Brien (born November 27, 1960 in Rockville Centre, New York) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. He was one of the six quarterbacks in the famed Quarterback class of 1983 and in 1997 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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[edit] High school and college career
He played for Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California.
O'Brien started his collegiate football career in 1978 at Sacramento State as a reserve.
He played at the University of California, Davis under coach Jim Sochor. In his senior year, 1982, he was a Division II All-American. He led UCD to a 10-0 regular season mark and to the Division II championship game. He was ranked #2 in total offense and #3 in passing efficiency in Division II. He also won the Babe Slater Award for being the best offensive player in the Conference.
He was selected as All-Far Western Conference QB three times and was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
[edit] Professional career
O'Brien played quarterback for over a decade in the National Football League. Taken in the 1983 NFL Draft with the 24th pick of the first round by the New York Jets out of UC Davis, three picks before Dan Marino. O'Brien amassed over 25,000 yards in his 11 year career. In 1985, he led the NFL in passer rating. He retired after spending the 1993 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
O'Brien went to the Pro Bowl two times, in 1985 and 1991. He led the NFL in Yards per pass in 1985.
In week 3 of the 1986 season, he threw for 462 yards and 4 touchdowns, all to Wesley Walker, in a legendary 51-45 overtime win against the Miami Dolphins, quarterbacked by Dan Marino. Marino threw for 465 yards and 6 touchdowns. The combined 927 passing yards is an NFL record for opposing quarterbacks, and the 884 combined passing yards by the two teams(subtracting 43 yards on 5 sacks) is an NFL record. In overtime, O'Brien hit Walker with a 43-yard TD pass for the win. In fact, the Jets and Dolphins had more than a few high-scoring shootouts in the mid-to-late 80's with O'Brien and Marino leading the way.
[edit] Coaching career
After retiring, O'Brien had a stint as an assistant coach for the University of Southern California, where he coached Heisman Trophy winner and current Cincinnati Bengal Carson Palmer.
[edit] Honors
- He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
[edit] O'Brien in popular culture
O'Brien made a guest appearance on the television show Home Improvement in the episode "The Eve Of Construction", as part of Tim Taylor's "all-star" team of home builders, building for charity. As the episode aired March 9, 1994 it was just after O'Brien had played his final game. He stated that he played for 'whoever will take me', although Tim cites him as playing for the Eagles.
[edit] References
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