Phil Dawson

Infobox NFLactive


|caption=
currentteam=Cleveland Browns
currentnumber=4
currentposition=Placekicker
birthdate=birth date and age|1975|1|23
birthplace=West Palm Beach, Florida
heightft=5
heightin=11
weight=205
debutyear=1999
debutteam=Cleveland Browns
highlights=
* 2nd team All-Pro selection (2007)
college=Texas
undraftedyear=1998
pastteams=
* Cleveland Browns (1999-Present)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Field Goals Made
statvalue1=182
statlabel2=Field Goals Attempted
statvalue2=220
statlabel3=Field Goals %
statvalue3=82.7
nfl=DAW705989

Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975 in West Palm Beach, Florida) is an American football placekicker for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League.

High School Years

Dawson attended Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, as a senior, he was a starter at both, kicker and offensive tackles, and was named as an All-American and the Southwest Region Offensive Player of the Year by SuperPrep. Phil Dawson graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 1993.

College career

Dawson attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a four-year letterman in football. After redshirting his freshman year, he scored 80 points his first year of playing. He also tied a school record with 54 consecutive extra points. The following season he made honorary All-America honors while leading the Longhorns in scoring. He made first-team All-America his junior and senior years, while simultaneously making All-Big 12. He was a B.A. in political science. Dawson is famous for his 1995 game-winning field goal against University of Virginia; booting a 51-yarder against a 30-MPH wind to give Texas a dramatic 17-16 victory as time expired.

Pro career

Dawson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders, who then waived him. He was picked up by the New England Patriots and assigned to the practice squad, but never appeared in a game for them. The Browns signed him as a free agent in March 1999, and he has remained with the team ever since (and is the only player left from the 1999 squad). Dawson holds the team record for most consecutive field goals made (27), and has the most field goals in a game(6). Dawson is currently the 2nd most accurate kicker in the NFL behind Adam Vinatieri.

Dawson scored the first points in the history of the new Cleveland Browns. On October 10, 1999, he scored the only touchdown of his career on a fake field goal against the Bengals in a 18-17 loss.

Unusual Field Goal

On November 18, 2007, Dawson attempted a 51-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the game against the Baltimore Ravens. The kick carried through the air, and bounced off the left upright, back onto the rear curved post, which bounced the football back out over the crossbar and into the end zone. Under NFL rules, the play was not reviewable. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3120230 ESPN - Replay on all field goals probably a long shot - NFL ] ] Officials discussed the play amongst themselves for several minutes, and decided that, according to the rules, the kick was considered good, as announced by referee Pete Morelli. However, as the play is not technically reviewable, referee Pete Morelli announced that the play was reversed "after discussion," as opposed to "after further review," as is usually stated. At this point the Ravens, already celebrating in the locker room, were called back out onto the field to proceed to an overtime period. The Browns went on to win the game, 33-30 in overtime, as Dawson came through again with a more visible 33-yard field goal.

Later in the season on December 16, Dawson kicked another field goal that hit the same support bar. This field goal helped the Browns achieve an 8-0 win over the Buffalo Bills in blizzard conditions. Hitting this same structure twice in the same season has led some members of the Cleveland press to begin referring to the support bar as "The Dawson Bar." [http://halftimeadjustments.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/the-dawson-bar/]

Prior to the 2008 season, the rule was changed to allow field goal and extra point attempts that hit the uprights or crossbar to be reviewed. This new rule is dubbed the "Phil Dawson Rule." [cite news | url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80789b13 | title=Proposal to reseed playoff teams withdrawn by owners | date=2008-04-02 | accessdate=2008-04-02]

References

External links

* [http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/player.php?id=26 Browns Player Bio]