Rich Gannon

Richard Joseph Gannon (born December 20, 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former American football quarterback, who achieved most of his success with the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League.

Biography

He played for the University of Delaware and was selected in the 4th round (98th overall) of the 1987 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, who immediately traded him to the Minnesota Vikings. After two years of playing sparingly, Gannon became the Vikings starting quarterback in 1990, displacing incumbent Wade Wilson.

Related Topics:
University of Delaware - 1987 - NFL Draft - New England Patriots - Minnesota Vikings - 1990 - Wade Wilson

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In 1993 he was traded to the abysmal Washington Redskins. In 1995 he was dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs. For two years he served as a backup to Steve Bono. In 1997 a quarterback controversy was created when the Gannon-led Chiefs excelled in the absence of the injured Elvis Grbac. In the playoffs, coach Marty Schottenheimer elected to play Grbac instead of Gannon. The Chiefs lost 14-10, though Grbac didn't play badly. The two ended up splitting snaps in 1998, after Grbac was injured in Week 1.

Related Topics:
1993 - Washington Redskins - 1995 - Kansas City Chiefs - Steve Bono - 1997 - Elvis Grbac - Marty Schottenheimer - 1998

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In February 1999 he was signed as a free agent by the Raiders. He excelled in Jon Gruden's "dink and dunk" offense and was voted to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a Raider, the first of four straight selections. In 2000 and 2001, he won the Pro Bowl MVP award. Gannon won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award after a record-setting 2002 season, which helped the Raiders advance to Super Bowl XXXVII. He led the league in attempts with 618, and completions, with a record 418.

Related Topics:
1999 - Jon Gruden - Pro Bowl - 2000 - 2001 - Pro Bowl MVP - NFL Most Valuable Player Award - 2002 - XXXVII

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In the Super Bowl, Gannon threw a Super Bowl record 5 interceptions in a 48-21 rout by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs' stellar defense was aided by the fact that their new head coach was Jon Gruden. Sideline footage shows Bucs like John Lynch amazed by how much they knew about the Oakland offense.

Related Topics:
Super Bowl - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - John Lynch

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Rich's 2003 season was ended by a shoulder injury in Week 7, after a 2-5 start. A serious, neck injury in 2004 effectively ended his career. Gannon was hurt when he scrambled, and slid into a helmet-to-helmet collision with Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks in Week 3.

Related Topics:
2003 season - Neck - 2004 - Linebacker - Derrick Brooks

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In August 2005, Gannon officially retired from football and joined CBS Sports as an NFL analyst http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/nfl/08/06/bc.fbn.raiders.gannonre.ap/index.html.

Related Topics:
2005 - CBS Sports

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