Pat Swilling
| No. 56 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 25, 1964 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | |||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1986 / Round: 3 / Pick: 60 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Tackles: | 490 |
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| Sacks: | 107.5 |
| Interceptions: | 6 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Patrick Travis Swilling (born October 25, 1964) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, and the Oakland Raiders. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances in his NFL career and was the Associated Press (AP) NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1991. He served from 2001 to 2004 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Swilling played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Swilling set the NCAA record for sacks in a game, with seven against North Carolina State and the Georgia Tech mark for sacks in a season (15). Voted first-team All-America in 1985, Swilling left Georgia Tech as the all-time sack leader and now ranks 5th.
The New Orleans Saints fielded fierce defenses in 1991 and 1992, led by one of the best linebacker units in the history of the league. In 1991, Swilling had 17 sacks and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In 1992, linebackers Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson, Sam Mills, and Swilling, also known as the Dome Patrol, all played in the Pro Bowl, and the Saints led the league in quarterback sacks. Despite its tenacious defense, the team lost in the first round each time it made the playoffs.
Swilling was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1993 for draft picks. In order to sign Swilling, Detroit had to "unretire" the legendary Joe Schmidt’s number 56. In his first year with Detroit he made it to his fifth and final Pro Bowl. The Detroit Lions qualified for the playoffs in both of Swillings' seasons with the team, being eliminated each time, in the first round, by the Green Bay Packers. Swilling finished his career with 107.5 sacks.
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