Dré Bly

Dré Bly

Dré Bly with the Denver Broncos in 2007.
No. --     Free Agent
Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: May 22, 1977 (1977-05-22) (age 34)
Place of birth: Chesapeake, Virginia
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Weight: 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College: North Carolina
NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41
Debuted in 1999 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
St. Louis Rams (1999–2002) Detroit Lions (2003–2006) Denver Broncos (2007–2008) San Francisco 49ers (2009) Detroit Lions (2010)* *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XXXIV) 2× Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004) 1× All-Pro selection (2003) 2003 Galloping Gobbler Award St. Louis Rams 10th Anniversary Team
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
Tackles	419
Sacks	5.0
INTs	43
Stats at NFL.com

Donald André "Dré" Bly (born May 22, 1977 in Chesapeake, Virginia) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina.

A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Bly earned a Super Bowl ring with the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. He has also played for the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers.

Early years

Bly graduated from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake. In high school, he was an all-state football player as well as a decorated baseball player.

College career

In his redshirt freshman season at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Bly led the nation with 11 interceptions. He received all-American honors, and is only one of five players in NCAA history to achieve this honor as a freshman (Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Bjorn Merten, and Marshall Faulk being the others).^[1] Bly was the only football player in UNC and ACC history to receive consensus 1st team All-America honors three times in his college career. In his sophomore year, he was one of three finalists for the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Year Award. Bly held the ACC record for career interceptions (20), until he was surpassed by Alphonso Smith of Wake Forest (21).^[2][3]

Professional career

Bly, at 186 pounds, ran a 4.51 second 40-yard dash, 4.09 second 20-yard shuttle, 7.10 3-cone drill, and had a vertical jump of 34½ inches at the 1999 NFL Combine^[4]

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5 ft 9⅞ in	186 lb	4.51 s	1.58 s	2.63 s	4.09 s	7.10 s	35½ in	9 ft 8 in	x rep	x
All values from NFL Combine[5]

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams selected Bly in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. Bly started his career in St. Louis, playing there for four years. While with the Rams, Bly received a Super Bowl ring for Super Bowl XXXIV, and appeared two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Rams lost to the New England Patriots.

First Stint with Detroit Lions

In 2003, Bly left the St. Louis Rams and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions. He made the Pro Bowl in two of his seasons with the team.

On November 29, 2005, the day after Lions head coach Steve Mariucci was fired, Bly told the NFL Network that if their back-up quarterback, Jeff Garcia, had been healthy the entire season, the Lions would be in a better situation, and Mariucci would still be coaching the team. He has since apologized, albeit not to Joey Harrington, the Lions starting quarterback that season.

Denver Broncos

On March 1, 2007, Bly was traded by the Detroit Lions to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell, offensive tackle George Foster, and a 5th round draft pick. On March 28, 2007, the Denver Broncos and Bly agreed to a 5-year, $33 million contract. The contract includes $18 million in bonus money and $16 million guaranteed.^[6]

Bly finished the 2007 season as the Broncos leader in interceptions with five.

The Broncos restructured Bly's contract on February 18, 2008 to free up salary cap space and keep Bly on the team. As of December 1, 2008, Dre Bly had a total of 98 Tackles and 7 Interceptions with the Broncos.^[7]

The Broncos released Bly on February 17, 2009.^[8]

San Francisco 49ers

On May 21, 2009, Bly signed a one-year, $845,000 contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

Second Stint with Detroit Lions

On July 2, 2010, Bly re-signed with the Detroit Lions. Bly was released on Sept. 4, 2010.

Personal life

Bly and his wife Kristyn, have four sons: Trey, Jordan, Aaron and Emmanuel and a daughter, Peyton^[9] Bly also has an older sister Donna Bly, who is a high school teacher.

References

1. ^ http://www.detroitlions.com/bio.cfm?bio_id=11&season=7
2. ^ http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072302aab.html
3. ^ http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112908aaa.html
4. ^ *Dre' Bly, CB, North Carolina - 1999 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange
5. ^ NFL Draftscout.com
6. ^ ESPN - Broncos sign Bly to five-year, $33M contract - NFL
7. ^ Elam remains unsigned priority - The Denver Post
8. ^ Broncos release Bly after two seasons. Retrieved on 2009-02-17.
9. ^ .Denver Broncos Bio

External links

• Official Website
• Denver Broncos bio
• Detroit Lions bio

Persondata
Name	Bly, Dre
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 22, 1977
Place of birth	Chesapeake, Virginia
Date of death
Place of death