Bennie Blades

Horatio Benedict "Bennie" Blades Sr. (born September 3, 1966) is a former American football cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami.

Bennie Blades
Bennie Blades honored GridIron Greats Hall of Fame Sept. 2015
No. 36
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1966-09-03) September 3, 1966
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Sunrise (FL) Piper
College:Miami (FL)
NFL Draft:1988 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:136
Games started:134
Tackles:772
Interceptions:14
Fumbles recovered:11
Player stats at PFR

College career

Blades played a big part in the University of Miami's winning the 1987 NCAA National Championship. He also won the Jim Thorpe Award in that year and, in 2006, was named to the College Football Hall of Fame for his play at the University of Miami. He shares the University of Miami single season interception record with fellow Miami Hurricane Sean Taylor.

During his play at Miami he and the defensive secondary were nicknamed "Bennie and the Jets," (in reference of the Elton John song of the same name) for their speed, power, ability & stand-out defensive play. He is also remembered for taunting and intimidating opposing players.

Blades was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN.

Professional career

Following his graduation from the University of Miami, Blades entered the 1988 NFL Draft and spent ten seasons in the NFL. He played for the Detroit Lions from 1988–1996 and the 1997 season with the Seattle Seahawks, teaming up with his older brother, wide receiver Brian Blades, who also played collegiate football at the University of Miami.

During his time with the Lions, Blades was considered one of the most physical defensive backs in the NFL, even playing as a linebacker in certain passing situations toward the end of his career. Blades is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive backs in Lions' history.

The Lions selected Blades with the third overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft, and he went on to earn NFL All-Rookie honors for the 1988 season. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1991 - in addition to receiving First-Team All-NFL and First-team All-NFC honors. He was the Lions’ Defensive MVP in 1992 and led the team with 78 tackles in 1996,[1] which was one of two 100-tackle seasons he had in Detroit.

An underrated professional player, Blades was a key component to the Lions’ defense that helped the team claim two NFC Central titles, and a berth in the 1991 NFC Championship game. He was a defensive captain for five years in Detroit and his 815 career tackles place him second on the Lions’ all-time list.

Interception Stats Defense Stats
YearTeamGamesINTsYardsTDFFFRYardsTDSacksTacklesSafety
1988Detroit Lions152120342201.01020
1989Detroit Lions1600021000.01000
1990Detroit Lions12225011001.0830
1991Detroit Lions161140232100.0930
1992Detroit Lions16356010000.0950
1993Detroit Lions400000000.0230
1994Detroit Lions1610002001.0710
1995Detroit Lions1610000001.0691
1996Detroit Lions152112100000.0780
1997Seattle Seahawks10211000001.0580
Totals1361423019114305.07721

Personal life

Blades' has a blended family of 8 children: (3) boys Horatio (H.B.), Jaylen and Tylan; (5) girls Elice, Ashley, Amber, Bianca and Alyssa.

Each being a vital part of his life and success. Horatio (H.B.) also played in the NFL for 5 seasons.

He has been supported by his wife, Linda Blades throughout his post NFL career.

Blades was honored September 25, 2015 at a GridIron Greats inductee.[2]

References
  1. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1996.htm#all_defense
  2. http://gridirongreats.org/halloffame/docs/GG_Detroit_090815.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.