Mitch Berger

Mitch Berger

Mitch Berger at a game in Denver in November, 2009.
No. --     Free Agent
Punter, Holder
Personal information
Date of birth: June 24, 1972 (1972-06-24) (age 39)
Place of birth: Kamloops, British Columbia
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College: Colorado
NFL Draft: 1994 / Round: 6 / Pick: 193
Debuted in 1994 for the Philadelphia Eagles
Career history
Philadelphia Eagles (1994) Cincinnati Bengals (1994)* Chicago Bears (1995)* Indianapolis Colts (1995)* Green Bay Packers (1995)* Chicago Bears (1995) Minnesota Vikings (1996–2000) St. Louis Rams (2001) New Orleans Saints (2002–2006) Arizona Cardinals (2007) Pittsburgh Steelers (2008) Denver Broncos (2009) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Unrestricted Free Agent
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (1993) 2× Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2004) 2× All-Pro selection (1999, 2004) Super Bowl Champion (XLIII)
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Punts	847
Punt Yards	36,363
Punting Yard Average	42.9
Stats at NFL.com

Mitchell Shannon Berger (born June 24, 1972) is a former Canadian professional American football punter who is currently a Free Agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado.

Berger has also been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Berger has not been playing football since 2009.

Early years

Berger attended North Delta Secondary School in Delta, British Columbia and was a letterman in football and basketball. In football, as a senior, he won All-Provincial honors as both, a kicker and as a punter, and was also the team's starting quarterback. In basketball, he won All-Provincial Honors. Mitch Berger graduated from North Delta Secondary School in 1990.

College career

Berger attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas and won honorable mention All-American honors as a sophomore. He finished his college career by transferring to Colorado.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Berger was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft.

Minnesota Vikings

Perhaps Berger's best seasons came as a member of the Minnesota Vikings in the late 1990s. He was most noted for his booming kickoffs, which often sailed into the end zone for touchbacks; afterwards, he would take a bite of his Snickers bar that he kept in his spare shoe on the sideline.^[1]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Berger was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers after an injury to punter Daniel Sepulveda to compete with signing Paul Ernster. Berger won the job as Paul Ernster was released on August 30 during final cuts.^[2] After experiencing hamstring problems, Berger was released by the Steelers on November 5 and the team re-signed Ernster.^[3] Following three poor performances by Ernster, Berger was re-signed by the Steelers on November 24. Berger has developed into a great tackling punter, as he had 5 tackles in the 2008 season. He has two key touchdown saving tackles.

Berger won his first Super Bowl with the Steelers at Super Bowl XLIII, he had three punts for a 46.3 of average and one inside the 20 yard-line at the game.

Denver Broncos

Berger signed with the Denver Broncos on October 26, 2009, after they waived Brett Kern. He was released after the 2009 season.

Personal life

Berger owns a set of nightclubs and restaurants in his hometown of Vancouver, most notably Players Chophouse in the Downtown area and Whistler, British Columbia.^[4] (The latter has closed down)

References

1. ^ New Punter Has Hold On Job
2. ^ Brown, Scott (2008-08-10). "Steelers' Hampton practicing". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_582136.html. Retrieved 2008-08-11. 
3. ^ http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/news.aspx?id=4189288
4. ^ NFL Journeyman Berger Eyes Super Bowl, Winter Olympics Yahoo Sports, January 29, 2009

External links

• Arizona Cardinals bio
• Pittsburgh Steelers bio

Persondata
Name	Berger, Mitch
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 24, 1972
Place of birth	Kamloops, British Columbia
Date of death
Place of death