Sean Farrell (American football)

Last updated

Sean Farrell
No. 62, 63
Position: Guard
Personal information
Born: (1960-05-25) May 25, 1960 (age 64)
Southampton, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school: Westhampton Beach (Westhampton Beach, New York)
College: Penn State
NFL draft: 1982  / Round: 1 / Pick: 17
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games Played:123
Games Started:106
Fumble recoveries:4
Player stats at PFR

Sean Ward Farrell (born May 25, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Farrell attended Westhampton Beach High School in Westhampton Beach, New York, where he was a football and track star. [1] He then played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning All-American honors in 1980 and 1981. [2]

Farrell was the first-round draft pick of Tampa Bay in the 1982 NFL draft; Buccaneers management had actually intended to select defensive end Booker Reese, and Farrell's name was turned in due to a communication error in the draft room. The team then traded the next year's first round pick in order to get Reese as well. Ironically, Farrell played at a high level for the Buccaneers, while Reese ultimately came to be considered one of the most disappointing draft picks in team history. [3] [4]

Tampa Bay's team performance declined during Farrell's years with the team. After his first contract expired in 1985, he signed a one-year contract for the 1986 season based on the team's assurances that things would improve, but the team had another bad year and Farrell made news by publicly telling a group of Bucs fans, "I know what I want this Christmas . . . I want to get the hell out of Tampa Bay." [5]

New England acquired him in return for three draft picks, and he was the Patriots' starting guard for three seasons before shoulder surgery kept him on the injured reserve list for most of the 1990 season. Near the end of that season, the Patriots tried to reactivate him without using a protective designation for him; under the rules then applicable, this had the effect of putting him on waivers, and he was claimed by the Denver Broncos. [6] He finished that year and played another in Denver, then one more for Seattle before concluding his NFL career.

After football, Farrell became a financial advisor with several investment companies including Merrill Lynch, and he is the chairperson of the Gay Culverhouse Player Outreach Program to assist former NFL players facing disability issues after their careers. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

Booker Reese is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL) from 1982 to 1985. Although not picked until the second round in the 1982 NFL draft, Reese is considered to be the biggest draft bust in Buccaneers history due to the unusual circumstances in which he was ultimately chosen.

This article details the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football franchise.

The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers played their home games at Tampa Stadium and their inaugural head coach was John McKay. The Buccaneers gained infamy as the first team to play an entire 14-game season without winning or tying a single game. It remains one of only four winless seasons since the merger. The Buccaneers did not score until their third game and did not score a touchdown until their fourth. They lost by more than a touchdown eleven times. Colorful, maverick former USC coach McKay, whose wisecracking remarks occasionally agitated fans and the league, led the team. The only bright spot was future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Lee Roy Selmon, who made his rookie debut in an injury-plagued season.

The 1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League the 7th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the 7th under head coach John McKay. The Bucs were regarded for the first time as a regular playoff contender. They were considered by some to be the best Buccaneer team yet, despite a mediocre offensive line and the lack of a feature running back. The team played only two games before the players' union called a labor strike, which resulted in a nine-game season. The season began with a three-game losing streak, as the Buccaneers outplayed their opponent statistically in each game, but showed a tendency for mental errors at crucial moments. The first game in which they were outgained by their opponent was their first win, a franchise-first victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. The team made a playoff run against a difficult schedule, facing only two opponents with losing records. Their schedule included all four eventual Conference Championship participants. They overcame double-digit deficits to win on last-minute field goals in their final two games, and had to survive opponents' last-minute rallies in all five of their victories. In the strike-season playoff format in which the top eight conference teams made the playoffs, the Buccaneers' seventh-place finish gave them a first-round matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Despite a poor performance by the offense, the Buccaneers carried a 17–16 lead into the fourth quarter, before the Cowboys rallied for a 30–17 victory following a controversial penalty call. This was the last playoff appearance of the John McKay era, and was followed by fourteen consecutive losing seasons.

The 1983 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 8th season in the National Football League the 8th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the 8th under head coach John McKay. They failed to improve on their 5–4 record from 1982 and finished with an equal league-worst 2–14 record as personnel changes and a rash of injuries and missed out the playoffs for the first time since 1980.

The 1984 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League the 9th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the 9th and final season under head coach John McKay. They improved on their 2–14 season and finished 6-10, but missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

The 1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's ninth season in the National Football League, the ninth playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the first season under head coach Leeman Bennett. The team failed to improve on a 6–10 season, once again finishing at 2–14, the same as in 1983.

The 1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and their second under head coach Leeman Bennett. The team matched their 2–14 season from 1985, for one of the worst seasons in franchise history, and according to statistics site Football Outsiders, the sixth-worst team in the NFL since 1950. There is some sentiment that the 1986 team was even worse than the winless team of 1976, and the 473 points conceded was not beaten by any NFL team until the 2001 Indianapolis Colts gave up 486. The Buccaneers selected Bo Jackson with the top pick in the draft, but were unable to convince him to join the team. Three weeks after the draft, Jackson signed a three-year baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals. Despite holding four of the first forty selections in the draft, and the presence of a great influx of fresh talent from defunct USFL teams, the Buccaneers were unable to find any impact players in either the draft or free agency. They entered the season with a roster nearly identical to the previous season's 2–14 team.

The 1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, the 12th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium, and the first under head coach Ray Perkins. It was a year of great change for the Buccaneers. Perkins had only needed three seasons (1979–1981) to build the New York Giants into a playoff team, and it was hoped that he would be able to repeat the feat with the Buccaneers. They improved over their 2–14 record from 1986 and finished 4–11.

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References

  1. "Wall of Fame" Archived January 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine , Westhampton Beach School District (accessed December 18, 2012.
  2. Sean Farrell bio Archived March 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine at Penn State Nittany Lions football official website (accessed December 18, 2012).
  3. Gary Shelton, "Opportunity Lost: Ex-Buc Booker Reese had everything going for him until drub abuse led to a prison cell." St. Petersburg Times , July 27, 2003.
  4. Pat Yasinskas, "Draft room tale: Bucs' big bungle", ESPN.com, April 21, 2010.
  5. Jerry Greene, "Farrell's Revelation: I Want Out Of Tampa Bay", Orlando Sentinel , December 3, 1986.
  6. "Patriots Lose Farrell to Broncos: Denver Claim of Veteran Foils New England Waiver Gamble", The Boston Globe , December 1, 1990. via HighBeam Research.
  7. Alan Schwarz, "Before Dementia Assistance, Help With N.F.L. Application", The New York Times , January 21, 2010.
  8. About Us, Gay Culverhouse Player Outreach Program (accessed December 18, 2012).