Bob Brudzinski
| No. 59 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | January 1, 1955 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Fremont, Ohio | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Fremont (OH) Ross | ||||||||
| College: | Ohio State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1977 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sacks: | 14.5 |
|---|---|
| Interceptions: | 9 |
| Touchdowns: | 1 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Robert Louis Brudzinski (born January 1, 1955) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Brudzinski was a four-time letter winner and a three-year starter at defensive end for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection and as a senior, in 1976 he was a consensus All-America choice. In his 43 games for Ohio State he totaled 214 tackles and in 1976 he intercepted four passes, a high number for a defensive end. In 2000 Brudzinski was voted to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team.
The Los Angeles Rams drafted Brudzinski with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft. The Rams planned moving him to outside linebacker, to match his 4.7 speed and good strength. He started as a rookie because starting middle linebacker Jack Reynolds held out for the first one-third of the season. While starting left linebacker Jim Youngblood moved to the middle to fill in for Reynolds, Brudzinski started at left linebacker. He ended up starting seven games and recording 37 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and one sack. He was voted All-Rookie by UPI and PFWA and FD for his efforts in 1977. In 1978 he became the starter at right outside linebacker in week 10 when Isiah Robertson walked out of camp purported with complaints about his salary. The Rams defense was ranked #1 in the NFL at the time and in the two-and-a-half months with Brudzinski starting they never fell from the top status. He ended the year with 43 tackles, intercepted a pass that went for a touchdown and two quarterback sacks.
In 1979 Brudzinski had his best year to date. Making all 16 starts as the RLB and being named 2nd-team All-pro by the Gannett Wire Service. "Bru" as his teammates called him, amassed 127 tackles, with 7 of those for a loss, plus 5 sacks, he intercepted a pass, forced a fumble, recovered one and broke up 14 passes, either at the line of scrimmage or in coverage. The Rams went though the NFC playoffs beating the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Bucs before losing Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
...
Wikipedia