Stoney Case

Infobox NFLretired


|caption=
width=
position=Quarterback
number=10, 15
birthdate=birth date and age|1972|7|7
Odessa, Texas
deathdate=
debutyear=1995
finalyear=2000
draftyear=1995
draftround=3
draftpick=80
college=New Mexico
teams=
* Arizona Cardinals (1995-1998)
* Baltimore Ravens (1999)
* Detroit Lions (2000)
* Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) (2004-2005)
* San Jose SaberCats (AFL) (2006)
* Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) (2007)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=4-15
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=1,826
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=53.3
nfl=CAS138429

Stoney Jarrod Case (born July 7, 1972 in Odessa, Texas) is a quarterback in the Arena Football League, and a former National Football League quarterback with four teams.

High school and college

Case played high school football for the Odessa Permian Panthers, quarterbacking the team to an undefeated, 16-0 season and the Texas 5A football title in 1989, one year after the events chronicled in the book and movie "Friday Night Lights". The Panthers were voted ESPN's National Champion team as a result. During his Permian career, Case also lettered in baseball as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher. His brother Stormy Case also played quarterback for the Panthers and went on to play for Texas A&M.

Recruited to play college football for the University of New Mexico, Case was a four-year starter for the Lobos and remains the only player in NCAA Division I-A history to post 8,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards. In the course of his college career he threw or ran for 98 touchdowns, ranking third in NCAA Division I-A history to Ty Detmer & Colt Brennan’s 121 touchdowns.

Professional career

NFL

Case was drafted into the NFL as a third round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft and played quarterback for Arizona Cardinals from 1995 to 1998, though he spent part of that time with the Barcelona Dragons in the NFL Europe. He was signed as a free agent by both the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens in 1999, and went to the Detroit Lions as an unrestricted free agent in 2000.

Case saw only limited action during his NFL career. He played in two games during his rookie season, but saw no action in either 1996 or 1998. He played twice in 1997 as a replacement for injured starter Kent Graham. He played in 10 games for the Baltimore Ravens in 1999, starting four contests and winning two of them. He also played in five other games later in the season, receiving playing time as a back-up quarterback. In all, Case played in a total of 24 career NFL games over six years, 12 as a starter, where he threw for 1,826 yards and 4 TDs while rushing for 270 yards and 5 scores.

As an NFL player, Case was attacked by some fans for his uncertainty and lack of a penetrating long ball. His most dismal career performance came in October 1999 when he appeared for the Ravens against the Kansas City Chiefs, completing only 15 of 37 passes for 103 yards. "The Chiefs", noted the "Baltimore City Paper", "by comparison, ran back his intercepted passes for 108 yards. Repeat: 103 yards forward, 108 yards backward. Add in those two touchdowns off interceptions and Case did almost precisely as much for Kansas City as did the Chiefs' own quarterback, Elvis Grbac (112 yards, two TD passes)."

2000 saw Case sign with the Detroit Lions as the primary backup to quarterback Charlie Batch. Appearing in 5 games, Case passed for 503 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions. His best game came on November 30th in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. Even though the Lions lost 24-17, Case filled in for an injured Batch and put up 230 yards on 23-33 passing with a touchdown and an interception.

Case was notorious in Detroit for perhaps indirectly causing a chain reaction of events that led to the Matt Millen era as Detroit's general manager. During the last game of the season against the Chicago Bears, Case again was filling in for an injured Charlie Batch. With Detroit losing 13-10 at the start of the 4th quarter, Case scampered 13 yards for a touchdown and the Lions went up 17-13. However, Case then threw an interception that was returned 61 yards for a touchdown by R.W. McQuarters, and the Bears went up 20-17, before a Jason Hanson field goal tied the game at 20-20. With possession of the ball and moving into field goal range late in the game, Case fumbled the ball which was subsequently recovered by R.W. McQuarters. The Bears drove the ball down to the Detroit 37 yard line to set up rookie kicker Paul Edinger for a 54 yard field goal, giving the Bears the win. The Lions suffered the loss and their season was over with a 9-7 record. The Detroit media and fans roundly placed blame on Case, whether it was just or not. Had the Lions won the game, the team would have earned a playoff berth for the second season in a row. As a result, owner William Clay Ford immediately reshuffled the front office, resulting in the hiring of general manager and president Matt Millen, the firing of head coach Gary Moeller, and the departure of Herman Moore, Jeff Hartings, and Case.

Arena League

After major shoulder surgery at the end of his contract with Detroit and seemingly out of the NFL, Case subsequently moved to the Arena Football League. In 2004, he was signed by Tampa Bay Storm, playing in just three games in 2005 and completing 4 of 7 passes for 35 yards and 2 TDs.

In 2006, Case was the backup to Mark Grieb with the San Jose SaberCats in the AFL American Conference, Western Division. On October 31, he returned to Tampa Bay as a free agent. Four games into the 2007 season, Case took over as the Storm's starting quarterback. However, that was short-lived when he dislocated his shoulder against the Orlando Predators and had season ending surgery.

External links

* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/CaseSt00.htm Stoney Case statistics pro-football-reference.com]
* [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/players.nsf/ID/07610058 Stoney Case at JT-SW.com]
* [http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?cont_id=39259 Detroit Lions Site: Bears Stun Lions]
* [http://www.tampabaystorm.com/storm/prdetail.cfm?pressreleaseID=1541&category=8 Tampa Bay Storm Sign Free Agents FB/LB Leroy Thompson, WR PJ Winston AND QB Stoney Case]
* [http://www.tampabaystorm.com/storm/prdetail.cfm?pressreleaseID=1721&category=8 Storm Name Stoney Case Starting QB]