1. Demond "Bob" Sanders was born on February 24,1981 and is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League for eight seasons.
28 Facts About Bob Sanders
1. 2.
Bob Sanders played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft.
3.
Bob Sanders was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and played for the San Diego Chargers in his final season in 2011.
4.
Bob Sanders spent the majority of his career battling injuries, having played more than six games in a single season only twice, in 2005 and 2007.
5.
Bob Sanders attended Central Tech High School as a freshman before transferring to Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania and was a student and a letterman in football as a running back and as a safety.
6.
Bob Sanders had seven sacks in the high school state championship game.
7.
Bob Sanders was offered an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Iowa, and play for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team based on a recommendation to head coach Kirk Ferentz from Joe Moore.
8.
Bob Sanders played as a freshman and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.
9.
At Iowa, Bob Sanders improved his 40-yard run time from 4.6 to 4.3 seconds and his vertical jump from 30 to 44 inches.
10.
Bob Sanders managed 9 tackles and a fumble recovery against the Kansas City Chiefs for week 8.
11.
Bob Sanders played only four games in the 2006 regular season due to a knee injury he suffered early.
12.
Bob Sanders was dubbed "the Eraser", due to his reckless and punishing hits on opposing players which prevented many of the big plays that the opposing teams might have otherwise made happen.
13.
Bob Sanders went on to help the Colts on the road to their victory in Super Bowl XLI.
14.
Bob Sanders made a pivotal play in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots.
15.
Bob Sanders ended the year with 96 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and six pass deflections.
16.
Bob Sanders was noted by coach Tony Dungy as a prototypical safety for his Tampa 2 defense and became known for his coming down into the box on run support as a big factor in the Colts' run defense.
17.
On December 28,2007, Bob Sanders was signed to a five-year, $37.5 million contract with $20 million guaranteed.
18.
On January 7,2008, Bob Sanders was named AP Defensive Player of the Year for the 2007 NFL season, the first Colt to earn the award and only the fourth safety in NFL history to win it.
19.
Bob Sanders earned 31 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL.
20.
Bob Sanders received much of the credit for the turnaround in Indy's soft defense, which saw its yards per carry average cut from 5.3 in 2006 to 3.8 in 2007.
21.
Bob Sanders was expected to start the 2008 training camp on the PUP list, but general manager Bill Polian had stated that Bob Sanders would come back in the middle of training camp.
22.
Bob Sanders made his return from the injury list, along with teammate Joseph Addai, for the week 9 matchup against the Patriots.
23.
Bob Sanders again missed time for the season, sitting out of the week 11 game versus the Houston Texans, due to a knee injury apparently sustained the previous week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
24.
In 2009, Bob Sanders started two games before being placed on injured reserve on November 6 with an arm injury.
25.
Bob Sanders recorded six tackles and one interception in his two games.
26.
In 2010, Bob Sanders exited the first game of the season with an injury.
27.
On February 18,2011, Bob Sanders was released from the Colts after only playing nine total games in the previous three seasons.
28.
Bob Sanders signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Chargers for the 2011 season.