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

niCk fairLey
Defensive Tackle
Auburn 2nd Year
Ht: 6-5 Wt: 298
Born: 1/23/88 Mobile, Ala.
Draft: ‘11, R1 (13)-Det
Complete biographical information available on Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com.
MANE FACTS
¾ Twitter: @Nick_fairley251.
¾ favorite player growing up was reggie White.
¾ favorite television show is Law and Order.
¾ favorite movie is Remember the Titans.
¾ Went on a mission trip to the Dominican republic in January 2010.
TRANSACTIONS
¾ Drafted by the Detroit <strong>lions</strong> in the first round (13th overall) of the
2011 Nfl Draft.
PRO
Physical, aggressive defensive tackle who contributes to the <strong>lions</strong> stellar
defensive line rotation. selected in the first round (13th overall) in the 2011
Nfl Draft after a successful two-year career at auburn.
2011: Despite battling a foot injury throughout the year, played in 10 games
and registered 15 tackles (9 solo) and 1 sack.
¾ suffered a foot injury during training camp that required surgery.
¾ inactive for the team’s first three games at Tampa Bay (9/11), <strong>vs</strong>. Kansas
City (9/18), at Minnesota (9/25) and at Dallas (10/2).
¾ Made his Nfl debut against Chicago (10/10) and helped the defense
limit the Bears to 3 second half points as the <strong>lions</strong> claimed a 24-13 win.
¾ recorded his first career tackle <strong>vs</strong>. atlanta (10/23). stop came against
QB Matt ryan on second-and-11 at the Detroit 47-yard line as he tripped
him up on a 2-yard gain. on the following play, De Cliff avril sacked
ryan for a loss of 9 yards forcing the falcons to punt.
¾ inactive at Denver (10/30) with a foot injury.
¾ recorded a then career-high 3 tackles <strong>vs</strong>. former college teammate
Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers (11/20).
¾ on the final play of the first quarter at New orleans (12/4), fairley
recorded his first career sack dropping the saints for a 1-yard loss on
2nd-and-3 at the saints 10-yard line.
¾ inactive <strong>vs</strong>. Minnesota (12/11) with a foot injury.
¾ finished the season with career-high 4 tackles at Green Bay (1/1). Had
two tackles in <strong>lions</strong> playoff game at New orleans (1/7/12).
COLLEGE
started 16 of 27 games during his two-year career at auburn, recording 88
tackles (50 solo), 13.0 sacks for minus 89 yards, 27.5 stops for losses totaling
126 yards and 32 tackles-for-loss, posting 28 quarterback pressures.
fairley also forced two fumbles and recovered three others, intercepted
one pass and added a blocked kick.
¾ in 2010, fairley set a school record with 11.5 sacks. recipient of rotary
lombardi Trophy, awarded annually to the nation’s top collegiate lineman,
and named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the BCs Championship
game after registering 5 solo tackles and 1.0 sack (7 yds), three
stops for losses of 14 yards and a forced fumble against the Ducks.
¾ Helped lead Tigers’ defense to be the NCaa’s ninth-ranked rushing
defense in 2010, allowing just 109.07 yards per game.
¾ Part of a defense that held oregon, who averaged 49.33 points per
game, to just 19 points in the BCs Championship game.
¾ Played and started in all 14 games in 2010, finishing with 60 tackles (36
solo), 11.5 sacks for minus 74 yards, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception
and 21 quarterback pressures. earned consensus all-american firstteam
selection (aP, Walter Camp and fWaa) and all-seC first-team
choice. finalist for the Chuck Bednarik award (Top Defender) and
honored as the seC’s Defensive Player of the year.
¾ led seC and placed 12th nationally with 0.82 sacks per game. also
posted 24 stops for losses of 106 yards, as he led the conference and
ranked third in the NCaa with 1.71 tackles-for-loss per game.
¾ led unit that was top in the seC and ranked ninth in the nation, allowing
109.07 yards per game on the ground.
¾ Played in all 13 games in 2009 with just two starts and finished 13th
on the team with 28 tackles (14 solo), including 1.5 sacks for minus 15
yards and 3.5 stops for losses totaling 20 yards. recovered a fumble
and blocked a kick.
¾ Began collegiate career at Copiah-lincoln Community College (2007-08)
in Wesson, Mississippi.
¾ in 2008, earned an all-region Xii selection after collecting 63 tackles
with 7.0 sacks and nine stops for loss in seven games.
PERSONAL
attended lillie B. Williamson High school (Mobile, al) playing football for
head coach Bobby Parrish. Was a 5a all-state selection by the asWa and
finalist for the 5a lineman of the year award.
¾ Graded out a 97-percent on the offensive line and added 5 receptions
for 150 yards as a tight end in 2007.
¾ Posted more than 90 tackles on defense while his <strong>lions</strong> squad reg-
PLayer ProfiLes
Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
Media.Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
istered a 6-5 record.
¾ Participated in the alabama-Mississippi all-star Classic as a senior and
the aHsaa North/south all-star game as a junior.
¾ Given a three-star rating by rivals.com, who listed him as the 28th-best
offensive guard prospect in the nation and the 15th-best recruit from
the state of alabama.
¾ rated the 32nd-best offensive tackle recruit according to esPN.com.
¾ offered scholarships from alabama, Kansas state, louisville, southern
Mississippi and West Virginia before committing to auburn.
¾ son of Paula and Herbert rogers.
¾ one of nine siblings, born on Jan. 23, 1988 in Mobile, alabama
FAIRLEY’S SINGLE-GAME BESTS
Tackles: .......................................................................................................................................... 4 <strong>vs</strong>. GB 1/1/12
sacks: .............................................................................................................................................1 at No 12/4/11
FAIRLEY’S CAREER STATISTICS
POSTSEASON
Year Tm G S TT ST AT Sk SkY Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
2011 Det 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011 (Det)
Date Opp G S TT ST AT Sk SkY Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
9/11 at TB 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
9/18 KC 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
9/25 at Min 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
10/2 at Dal 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
10/9 CHi 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/16 sf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/23 aTl 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/30 at Den 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
11/13 at Chi 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11/20 Car 1 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11/24 GB 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12/4 at No 1 0 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12/11 MiN 0 0 iNaCTiVe/iNJUreD
12/18 at oak 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12/24 sD 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1/1 at GB 1 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 10 0 15 9 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Postseason
Date Opp G S TT ST AT Sk SkY Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
1/7 at No 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0