detroit lions vs. st. louis rams the season begins consistency up front ...

tony sCheffLer
Tight End
Western Michigan 7th Year
Ht: 6-5 Wt: 255
Born: 2/15/83 Chelsea, Mich.
Draft: ‘06, R2 (61)-Den Acquired: ‘10, T-Den
Complete biographical information available on Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com.
MANE FACTS
¾ Has a website: Tonyscheffler88.com.
¾ Growing up in Chelsea, Michigan, scheffler was a <strong>lions</strong> fan all the way
through his college career and up until he was drafted by Denver. He
was able to go to a lot of the games and even participated in the punt,
pass and kick contest at the silverdome.
¾ scheffler is a big fan of reality TV shows, in particular Jersey Shore,
and often gets sucked into watching shows like The Hills and the Real
Housewives with his wife.
¾ Goes through the same routine prior to every game using the same
athletic tape and stretches. scheffler also listens to country music to
mellow out and goes through his iPhone to look at pictures of his daughters,
which helps him appreciate what got him to where he is today.
¾ Was a huge sports card collector growing up and just recently got back
into the hobby, including having a large collection of sports memorabilia.
¾ sometime in the near future scheffler would like to open up a gym in
the area as part of his plan to give back to the kids and the community.
¾ scheffler is hoping for a long and successful career in Detroit and looks
forward to being imbedded in the area, passing along to kids what he’s
learned over the years.
TRANSACTIONS
¾ signed three-year contract extension (through 2013) with <strong>lions</strong>
october 16, 2010.
¾ acquired via trade by the Detroit <strong>lions</strong> from the Denver Broncos
apr. 19, 2010.
¾ selected by in Denver the second round (61st overall) of 2006 Nfl Draft.
PRO
Tight end Tony scheffler was acquired by Detroit from Denver in a three-team
trade in april 2010 after having spent the previous four years of his career
with the Broncos. finished 2009 season tied for fourth on the club with 31
receptions while ranking third on the team with 416 receiving yards through
15 games played with nine starts.
¾ Versatile tight end who can play on the line, in the slot and out wide
in the <strong>lions</strong> offense.
¾ led all Nfl tight ends and set a Denver single-season record for tight
ends with a 16.1 yards per reception average in 2008 that helped him
register a career-high 645 receiving yards (40 receptions), which ranked
eighth in the league at his position.
¾ Placed second on the Broncos in receptions (49) and receiving yards
(549) in 2007, ranking 10th and 11th, respectively, in the league among
his position group in those categories.
¾ set a Broncos record for touchdown receptions (four) by a rookie tight
end in 2006 and recorded 18 catches for 286 yards (15.9 avg.) during
his first professional season.
¾ owns eight receptions of at least 30 yards for his career, including a
personal-best 72-yard grab that he made on Monday Night football
at oakland (9/8/08).
2011: one of the team’s two starting tight ends. registered 26 receptions
for 347 yards and 6 touchdowns on the year.
¾ scheffler’s 6 touchdown receptions are tied for the fourth-highest
single-season tally by a tight end in team history and the most since
Te David sloan had 7 touchdowns in 2001.
¾ His 6 touchdown catches in 2011 combined with Te Brandon Pettigrew’s
5 touchdown receptions, the duo are the second pair of <strong>lions</strong> tight ends
in team history to each register 5 touchdown catches each in a season.
in 1976, Hall of fame Te Charlie sanders and Te David Hill each recorded
5 touchdown receptions that season.
¾ Caught a 36-yard touchdown reception to move the <strong>lions</strong> lead to
14-3 in the second quarter <strong>vs</strong>. Kansas City (9/18). also recovered a
fumble on second-and-5 at the Kansas City 49-yard line that led to
the <strong>lions</strong>’ first score.
¾ scheffler’s 36-yard score marks his second touchdown reception of the
season and the longest since joining the <strong>lions</strong> in 2010. The <strong>lions</strong> offense
generated 48 points in the victory over the Chiefs, the most points
scored by the <strong>lions</strong> since they garnered 55 points in a Thanksgiving
Day 55-20 win over Chicago (11/27/97). That game was also the last
time the team scored 6 offensive touchdowns (rushing and receiving) in
a single game. The last time the <strong>lions</strong> scored 6 offensive touchdowns
in a game of which at least 4 were via the pass was a 48-17 win over
Chicago (10/19/81).
¾ Had 3 receptions for 38 yards and 1 touchdown at Denver (10/30), his
former team. He caught a juggling 28-yard gain in the second quarter
to set the <strong>lions</strong> up on the Denver 2-yard line. Three plays later, stafford
found scheffler wide open on a play action pass from 1 yard out for the
touchdown to give the <strong>lions</strong> a 17-3 lead.
PLayer ProfiLes
Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
Media.Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
¾ Caught a touchdown in his third-straight game. QB Matthew stafford
found scheffler down the middle of the field from 17 yards out in the
third quarter <strong>vs</strong>. Carolina (11/20). it is the first time in his career he has
caught a touchdown in three consecutive games and the first <strong>lions</strong> tight
end to accomplish the feat since David Hill in 1981.
¾ Caught season-long 36-yard reception at New orleans (12/4).
¾ finished regular season at Green Bay (1/1) with 4 catches for 65 yards
and 1 TD. it was his sixth of the season.
COLLEGE
Played 35 career games with 21 starts at Western Michigan, totaling 117
receptions for 1,345 yards (11.5 avg.) with 13 touchdowns. finished career
ranked second among tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards
in school history.
¾ Two-time first-team all-MaC choice as a starter at tight end during
his final two seasons after beginning his career as a wide receiver.
¾ Placed fourth in voting for the John Mackey award (nation’s best tight
end) as a senior, posting a career-high 57 receptions for 670 yards (11.8
avg.) with nine touchdowns.
PERSONAL
attended Chelsea High school in Chelsea, Michigan, where he played wide
receiver. Named a Detroit News Dream Team selection at Chelsea, setting
a school single-season record for receiving yards (1,340) in 2000.
¾ 67 catches with 16 TDs as senior, helping school post an 11-1 record.
¾ excelled away from football, starting on the school’s basketball team
and earning all-state honors as a first baseman on the baseball squad.
¾ lettered three times (2003-05) on Western Michigan’s baseball team,
posting a .293 career batting average with 7 Hrs and 41 rBi in 79 games.
¾ Cousin of former Purdue University basketball player steve scheffler,
who played seven seasons (1991-97) in the NBa and spent time on the
Denver Nuggets in 1992.
¾ Born on february 15, 1982, in Morenci, Michigan.
SCHEFFLER’S SINGLE-GAME BESTS
receptions: ....................................................................................................7(four times) last at Min 9/26/10
receiving yards: .................................................................................................................... 101 at sD 10/19/09
longest reception:.................................................................................................................... 72 at oak 9/8/08
receiving Touchdowns:.......................................................................................2 (twice) last <strong>vs</strong>. sD 9/14/08
rushing attempts: .............................................................................................1 (twice) last at Car 12/14/08
rushing yards: .......................................................................................................................... 3 <strong>vs</strong>. ind 10/29/06
SCHEFFLER’S CAREER STATISTICS
RECEIVING RUSHING
Year Tm G S Rec Yds Avg Lg TD Att Yds Avg Lg TD
2006 Den 13 5 18 286 15.9 29 4 1 3 3.0 3 0
2007 Den 16 7 49 549 11.2 41 5 0 0 0.0 0 0
2008 Den 13 6 40 645 16.1 72 3 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0
2009 Den 15 9 31 416 13.4 52 2 0 0 0.0 0 0
2010 Det 15 4 45 378 8.4 25 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
2011 Det 15 5 27 347 12.9 36t 6 0 0 0.0 - 0
Totals 87 36 210 2621 12.5 36t 21 2 2 1.0 3 0
POSTSEASON RECEIVING RUSHING
Year Tm G S Rec Yds Avg Lg TD Att Yds Avg Lg TD
2011 Det 1 1 1 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 - 0
Totals 1 1 1 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 - 0
2011 (Det) RECEIVING RUSHING
Date Opp G S Rec Yds Avg Lg TD Att Yds Avg Lg TD
9/11 at TB 1 1 1 11 11.0 11t 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
9/18 KC 1 0 1 36 36.0 36t 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
9/25 at Min 1 0 1 4 4.0 4 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
10/2 at Dal 1 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
10/9 CHi 1 0 1 12 12.0 12 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
10/16 sf 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
10/23 aTl 1 1 2 15 7.5 9 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
10/30 at Den 1 1 3 38 12.7 28 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
11/13 at Chi 1 0 3 37 12.3 17 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
11/20 Car 1 0 2 24 12.0 17 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
11/24 GB 1 0 2 13 6.5 8 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
12/4 at No 1 0 2 41 20.5 36 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
12/11 MiN 1 0 0 0 0.0 - 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
12/18 at oak 1 0 1 4 4.0 4 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
12/24 sD 1 0 3 47 15.7 26 0 0 0 0.0 - 0
1/1 at GB 1 1 4 65 16.3 26 1 0 0 0.0 - 0
Totals 15 5 27 347 12.9 36t 6 0 0 0.0 - 0
KR: 1-0 at NyG (10/17)
Postseason RECEIVING RUSHING
Date Opp G S Rec Yds Avg Lg TD Att Yds Avg Lg TD
1/7 at No 1 1 1 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 - 0
Totals 1 1 1 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 - 0