Steve Atwater - #27 - S - Arkansas - Profile

MEDIA GUIDE BIO

PRO: Signed with the Jets as free agent on March 3,

1998 after being released by Denver on Feb. 17...spent the

past 10 seasons with the Broncos and established himself

as one of the hardest hitting and top safeties in the league...

an 8-time Pro Bowl selection (1990-96, '98) who's played

and started in 155 games, with 1,301 total tackles (818

solo), 89 PD, 12 FF, 9 FR, 5 sacks for a loss of-39 yards

and 24 INT, 8th in DEN history for 388 return yards... has

tallied an impressive 45 turnovers in his 10-year

career ...played and started in 14 postseason contests, tied

for 8th place in franchise history and recorded 73 stops

(50 solo), 8 PD, 1 FF, 1 INT and 1 sack ...his string of 7

straight Pro Bowl appearances from 1990-96 is a DEN

record ...originally drafted in the 1st round, 20th overall by

the Broncos in 1989 ...1998: selected this season to his 8th

Pro Bowl and 3rd as starter - started all 16 games at free

safety and ranked 4th on the team with 85 tackles (55 solo),

to go along with 1 INT and 7 PD... posted his season-high

of 9 tackles, 5 solo in game 15 at MIA... his INT also came in the latter contest

in the 3rd quarter off Dan Marino...his teammates elected him as the Broncos'

defensive captain for 1998 and as the winner of the club's 1998 Ed Block

Courage Award .. started all 3 playoff games at free safety and ranked 2nd on

the team with 16 tackles (10 solo), to go along with 3 PD and 1 FF... his 14

career postseason starts rank 2nd in franchise history, and he is tied for 3rd

in games played with 14....in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game vs. MIA he posted

4 tackles (3 solo} with 1 PD... contributed 5 tackles (3 solo) in the AFC

Championship Game vs. the Jets to go along with 1 PD and 1 FF. ...Atwater

halted the Jets' last rally when he knocked the ball loose from Alex Van Dyke

early in the 4th quarter, leading to a recovery by Bill Romanowski. ..was

Denver's 2nd-leading tackler in Super Bowl XXXIII vs. Atlanta with 7 tackles

(4 solo) and 1 PD...1997: was selected by his teammates as defensive captain

for the 1st time in his career ...started and played in 15 games at FS and

was tied for 4th on the team with 83 tackles( 61 solo}, 1 sack, 2 INT, 8 PD and

2 FR...had 8 tackles (6 solo) and made a crucial stop on Kimble Anders late in

the 3rd to keep KC out of the end zone in game 1 ...made 1 solo tackle with 2

PD, but suffered a partially dislocated right shoulder in the 2nd half in game 3

vs. St. Louis ...was IA in game 4 vs. CIN...ending a string of 36 consecutive

games played dating back to Dec. 1994 ...returned to action in game 5 at

ATL...was all over the field making 10 stops in game 11 at KC...had his 1st sack

of the season as well as 4 tackles, in game 12 vs. OAK...snared his 1st INT of

the season and returned it 22 yards for his 1st career TD...missed several

plays in the 1st half due to a hyperextended right elbow, but did return to finish

out the action in game 13 at SD...tallied his 2nd INT of the season in game

16 vs. SD...capped off his stellar season and postseason with a monster game

finishing with 6 solo tackles, 2 PD, and 1 sack which caused a fumble in SB

XXXII vs. GB...the sack and FR set up a 51-yard Jason Elam FG which upped

DEN's lead to 17-7 in the 2nd quarter ...finished the postseason with 15 tackles

(10 solo), 1 sack 1 FF 5 PD... started all 4 games...1996: played and started

all 16 games and set a franchise-record with his 7th consecutive Pro Bowl

appearance ...was also rewarded with 2nd-team Associated Press all-Pro, 1st

team UPI all-AFC and 2nd team Pro Football Weekly all-AFC honors ...was 3r

on the team with 116 tackles, (89 solo), 3 INT,9 PD and 1 FR...also had 2 tackles

on special teams...had a big day with 7 tackles, (6 solo) along with 2 PD in

game 3 vs. TB...registered 9 stops including numerous hard hits in game 4 at

KC...had an active day with 12 stops and 1 FR In game 10 vs. CHI...this capped

a tear for Atwater where he posted at least 6 tackles a game over an 8-week

stretch ...posted 5 tackles, 1 PD and his 1st INT of the season in game 11 at

NE...had a game and season-high 15 tackles (13 solo) in game vs MIN...tallied

his 2nd INT of the season in game 14 at GB...posted his 3 INT of the

season in game 15 vs. OAK...had 6 solo tackles in the AFC Divisional Playoff

game vs. JAX...had offseason surgery on his left shoulder and knee on Jan. 15,

1997 ...1995: played and started all 16 games and led the team with 148 tackles

(107 solo), 3 INT and 3 FF...posted the most tackles since the 1995 season

and his INT were the most since the 1991 campalgn ...earned his 6

straight Pro Bowl appearance and earned 2nd team all-Pro from recognition

from College and Pro Football Newsweek/y ...was voted by his teammates as

the Broncos defensive MVP...started the season with a bang posting a team high

9 tackles and a big 3rd quarter, 4th down stop at the DEN 1st and 1 from the 2 yard line

to keep BUF out of the end zone in game 1.... was extremely active with 13

tackles, 7 solo, 1 INT and 1 PD in game 2 at DAL...recorded a team leading

12 tackles 8 solo but could not finish the contest due to a hyperextended elbow in game 5 at SEA...led the team with 11 tackles and had his 1 FF of

the year in game 6 at NE...had 6 tackles, 1 INT and 1 PD in game 7 vs.

OAK...tailied 10 tackles, and 1 FF,despite missing the end of the 1st half and

beginning of the 2nd after going to the locker room f?r an examin~tion on his

right shoulder in game 8 vs. KC...had another team-high 14 stops In game ~O

at PHI...posted his 3rd INT of the season in game 14 vs. SEA....1994: desplte

a disappointing year for the play of the secondary, Atwater continued to shine

...played and started in 14 games at the FS or SS position finishing the year

with 125 tackles, 72 solo, 2 FR, 1 FF and 8 PD earning him his 5th straight Pro

Bowl appearance ...recorded at least 10 tackles or more 6 times during the

season ... started the 1st 2 games game 1 vs. SD and game 2 at NYJ at

FS...posted his best numbers of the season 14 tackles, 11 solo in game 3 vs.

LAR...in his best performance of the season notched his lone INT of the season

and had 1 FR and return for 17 yards setting up DEN's only TD in a 16-9

win in game 5 at SEA...1993: became the 1st player in franchise history to earn

4 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances ...earned all-AFC UPI and Football News

honors ...played and started in all 16 games leading the team with 1.41tack.les

(80 solo) 1 sack, 2 INT, 2 FF...his best game of the season was In a losing

effort where he posted 14 tackles (9 solo) in game 12 at SD...it was 1 of 6

games in which he tallied 10 or more stops ...1992: earned his 3rd consecutive

Pro Bowl appearance, was named all-NFL by (AP, NEA, PFW/PWFA, TSN),

all-AFC by Football News ...led the secondary and was 2nd on the team in

tackles with 151 (73 solo) 2 INT, 1 sack, 12 PD, 2 FR and 2 FF...played and

stared in 15 contests ...sat out the season opener with a sprained ankle in

game 1 vs. LAR made up for it with a monster game posting 17 tackles in

game 2 vs. SD it was the 1st of 9 games in which he recorded 10 or more

tackles ...had a stellar game with 1 FR and 1 INT in game 14 at BUF...1991:

earned his 2nd straight Pro Bowl appearance as he tallied a team leading and

career-high 5 INT and finished 2nd on DEN's AFC leading defense with 150

tackles ...was named all-NFL (AP, Pro Football Weekly, College and Pro

Football Newsweekly 2nd team) and all-AFC (Football News and Pro Football

Weekly) ...finished the season with 150 tackles, 83 solo, 11 PD, 1 sack, 1 FF

and 1 FR ...played and started in all 16 games ...had 10 tackles, 1 INT and 1 FR

and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in

game 3 vs. SEA ...9 times he posted at least 10 or more tackles ...had 14 stops

in game 15 vs. PHX ...had 1 INT in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game vs.

HOU ...totaled 17 tackles, 3 PD and 1 INT throughout the playoffs ...1990: made

his 1st appearance in the Pro Bowl after a tremendous 1990 campaign finishing

2nd on the defense in tackles with 173, a team-high 112 solo, 2 INT, 4 PD,

2 FF, 1 sack and 10 special teams tackles despite missing 1 game due to a

foot injury ...played and started in 15 games ...earned all-NFL (College and Pro

Football Newsweekly 2nd team, NEA 2nd team) and all-AFC (UPI, Football

News) ...was voted by his teammates as DEN's most valuable defensive player

...posted 5 of DEN's top-10 single game tackle totals and had 12 or more

tackles in 9 games ...had a career high 18 stops in game 6 vs. PIT...cemented

his reputation as a heavy hitter with a collision with KC's Christian Okoye on

Monday Night Football in game 2 vs, KC ...a rib strain held him out of game 3

vs. SEA. ..1989: named NFL all-Rookie (Pro Football Weekly, College and Pro

Football Newsweekly) for his stellar debut...made an immediate contribution

taking the place of former defensive captain Mike Harden at FS and combining

with SS Dennis Smith to form one of the NFL's most Jhysical safety

tandems ...played and started all 16 games where he was 2n on the squad

with 129 tackles, 3 INT, 10 PD, and 1 FR ...had 2 INT in game 3 vs. LAR ...had

6 games with 10 or more tackles including 12 in game 5 vs. SD.

COLLEGE: Was a 3-time all-Southwest Conference selection and a 2-time

all-America at the University of Arkansas ...he became the Razorbacks' all-time

INT leader with 14 over his 4 years ...went to school as a wishbone OB, but

moved to the secondary as a redshirt freshman ...finished his college career

with a Senior Bowl appearance in which he had 2 INT.

PERSONAL: Wife, Letha, and 3 sons, Stephen Jr., DiAndre and Paris ...a

Chicago, IL native ...he was all-conference and league MVP as a wishbone OB

at Lutheran HS in St. Louis, MO ...he was named the school's top scholar athlete

earned 3 letters in football, 4 in basketball and 1 in baseball and

track garnering all-league, all-district, all-America honors ...he was selected to

be McDonald's All American but had to miss the event due to Chicken Pox ...enjoys playing pool, fishing, basketball and bowling ...has been involved

with the Colorado Coalition for the homeless and plays in charity golf tournaments

across the country during the offseason.