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Public opinion
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Public opinion consists of the desires, wants, and thinking of the majority of the people; it is the collective opinion of the people of a society or state on an issue or problem. The English term public opinion dates back to the 17th-century work by John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which contains an early consideration of the importance of public opinion in the ordering of politics. The term was derived from the French word l'opinion, which was first used in 1588 by Michel de Montaigne.[1]
This concept came about through the process of urbanization and other political and social forces. For the first time, it became important what people thought, as forms of political contention changed.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Coffee-houses
1.2 Gentleman clubs
2 Concepts
3 Formation
3.1 Mass media effects
4 Role of influentials
5 Relationship with public policy
6 See also
7 Notes
8 Bibliography
9 External links
History[edit]
The emergence of public opinion as a significant force in the political realm can be dated to the late 17th century. However, opinion had been regarded as having singular importance since far earlier. Medieval fama publica or vox et fama communis had great legal and social importance from the 12th and 13th centuries onward.[2] Later, William Shakespeare called public opinion the 'mistress of success' and Blaise Pascal thought it was 'the queen of the world.' John Locke in his treatise An Essay Concerning Human Understanding considered that man was subject to three laws: the divine law, the civil law, and most importantly in Locke's judgement, the law of opinion or reputation. He regarded the latter as of the highest importance because dislike and ill-opinion force people to conform in their behaviour to social norms, however he didn't consider public opinion as a suitable influence for governments.
William Temple in his essay of 1672, On the Original and Nature of Government gave an early formulation of the importance of public opinion. He observed that "...when vast numbers of men submit their lives and fortunes absolutely to the will of one, it...must be force of custom, or opinion...which subjects power to authority."
Temple disagreed with the prevalent opinion that the basis of government lay in a social contract and thought that government was merely allowed to exist due to the favour of public opinion.[3]
The prerequisites for the emergence of a public sphere were increasing levels of literacy which was spurred on by the Reformation, which encouraged individuals to read the Bible in the vernacular, and the rapidly expanding printing presses. During the 18th century religious literature was replaced with secular literature, novels and pamphlets. In parallel to this was the growth in reading societies and clubs. At the turn of the century the first circulating library opened in London and the public library became widespread and available to the public.
Coffee-houses[edit]
Coffeehouse in London, 17th century
An institution of central importance in the development of public opinion, was the coffee-house, which became widespread throughout Europe in the mid-17th century. Although Charles II later tried to suppress the London coffeehouses as "places where the disaffected met, and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers", the public flocked to them. For several decades following the Restoration, the Wits gathered round John Dryden at Will's Coffee House, in Russell Street, Covent Garden.[4] The coffee houses were great social levellers, open to all men and indifferent to social status, and as a result associated with equality and republicanism.
More generally, coffee houses became meeting places where business could be carried on, news exchanged and The London Gazette (government announcements) read. Lloyd's of London had its origins in a coffeehouse run by Edward Lloyd, where underwriters of ship insurance met to do business. By 1739, there were 551 coffeehouses in London; each attracted a particular clientele divided by occupation or attitude, such as Tories and Whigs, wits and stockjobbers, merchants and lawyers, booksellers and authors, men of fashion or the "cits" of the old city center. Joseph Addison wanted to have it said of him that he had "brought philosophy out of closets and libraries to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea tables and in coffee houses." According to one French visitor, Antoine François Prévost, coffeehouses, "where you have the right to read all the papers for and against the government," were the "seats of English liberty."[5]
Gentleman clubs[edit]
A Club of Gentlemen by Joseph Highmore c. 1730.
Gentlemen's clubs proliferated in the 18th century, especially in the West End of London. Clubs took over the role occupied by coffee houses in 18th century London to some degree, and reached the height of their influence in the late 19th century - some notable names were White's, Brooks's, Arthur's, and Boodle's which still exist today.
These social changes, in which a closed and largely illiterate public became an open and politicized one, was to become of tremendous political importance in the 19th century as the mass media was circulated ever more widely and literacy was steadily improved. Governments increasingly recognized the importance of managing and directing public opinion. This trend is exemplified in the career of George Canning who restyled his political career from its aristocratic origins to one of popular consent when he contested and won the parliamentary seat in Liverpool; a city with a growing and affluent middle class, which he attributed to the growing influence of "public opinion."[6]
Jeremy Bentham was an impassioned advocate of the importance of public opinion in the shaping of constitutional governance. He thought it important that all government acts and decisions should be subject to the inspection of public opinion, because "to the pernicious exercise of the power of government it is the only check."[7] He opined that public opinion had the power to ensure that rulers would rule for the greatest happiness of the greater number. He brought in Utilitarian philosophy in order to define theories of public opinion.
Concepts[edit]
The German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies, by using the conceptional tools of his theory of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, argued (1922, "Kritik der öffentlichen Meinung"), that 'public opinion' has the equivalent social function in societies (Gesellschaften) which religion has in communities (Gemeinschaften).[8]
German social theorist Jürgen Habermas contributed the idea of "Public sphere" to the discussion of public opinion. The Public Sphere, or bourgeois public, is according to Habermas, where "something approaching public opinion can be formed" (2004, p. 351). Habermas claimed that the Public Sphere featured universal access, rational debate, and disregard for rank. However, he believes that these three features for how public opinion are best formed are no longer in place in western liberal democratic countries. Public opinion, in western democracy, is highly susceptible to elite manipulation.
The American sociologist Herbert Blumer has proposed an altogether different conception of the "public." According to Blumer, public opinion is discussed as a form of collective behavior (another specialized term) which is made up of those who are discussing a given public issue at any one time. Given this definition, there are many publics; each of them comes into being when an issue arises and ceases to exist when the issue is resolved. Blumer claims that people participate in public in different capacities and to different degrees. So, public opinion polling cannot measure the public. An educated individual's participation is more important than that of a drunk. The "mass," in which people independently make decisions about, for example, which brand of toothpaste to buy, is a form of collective behavior different from the public.
Public opinion plays an important role in the political sphere. Cutting across all aspects of relationship between government and public opinion are studies of voting behavior. These have registered the distribution of opinions on a wide variety of issues, have explored the impact of special interest groups on election outcomes and have contributed to our knowledge about the effects of government propaganda and policy.
Contemporary, quantitative approaches to the study of public opinion may be divided into 4 categories:
quantitative measurement of opinion distributions;
investigation of the internal relationships among the individual opinions that make up public opinion on an issue;
description or analysis of the public role of public opinion;
study both of the communication media that disseminate the ideas on which opinions are based and of the uses that propagandists and other manipulators make of these media.
The rapid spread of public opinion measurement around the world is reflection of the number of uses to which it can be put. Public opinion can be accurately obtained through survey sampling. Both private firms and governments use surveys to inform public policies and public relations.
Formation[edit]
Numerous theories and substantial evidence exists to explain the formation and dynamics of individuals' opinions. Much of this research draws on psychological research on attitudes. In communications studies and political science, mass media are often seen as influential forces on public opinion. Additionally, political socialization and behavioral genetics sometimes explain public opinion.
Mass media effects[edit]
The formation of public opinion starts with agenda setting by major media outlets throughout the world. This agenda setting dictates what is newsworthy and how and when it will be reported. The media agenda is set by a variety of different environmental and newswork factors that determines which stories will be newsworthy.
Another key component in the formation of public opinion is framing. Framing is when a story or piece of news is portrayed in a particular way and is meant to sway the consumers attitude one way or the other. Most political issues are heavily framed in order to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate. For example, if Candidate X once voted on a bill that raised income taxes on the middle class, a framing headline would read "Candidate X Doesn't Care About the Middle Class". This puts Candidate X in a negative frame to the news reader.
Social desirability is another key component to the formation of public opinion. Social desirability is the idea that people in general will form their opinions based on what they believe is the prevalent opinion of the social group they identify with. Based on media agenda setting and media framing, most often a particular opinion gets repeated throughout various news mediums and social networking sites, until it creates a false vision where the perceived truth can actually be very far away from the actual truth.
Public opinion can be influenced by public relations and the political media. Additionally, mass media utilizes a wide variety of advertising techniques to get their message out and change the minds of people. Since the 1950s, television has been the main medium for molding public opinion.[9]
Role of influentials[edit]
There have been a variety of academic studies investigating whether or not public opinion is influenced by "influentials," or persons that have a significant effect on influencing opinion of the general public regarding any relevant issues. Many early studies[10][11] have modeled the transfer of information from mass media sources to the general public as a "two-step" process. In this process, information from mass media and other far-reaching sources of information influences influentials, and influentials then influence the general public as opposed to the mass media directly influencing the public.
While the "two-step" process regarding public opinion influence has motivated further research on the role of influential persons, a more recent study by Watts and Dodds (2007)[12] suggests that while influentials play some role in influencing public opinion, "non-influential" persons that make up the general public are also just as likely (if not more likely) to influence opinion provided that the general public is composed of persons that are easily influenced. This is referred to in their work as the "Influential Hypothesis." The authors discuss such results by using a model to quantify the number of people influenced by both the general public and influentials. The model can be easily customized to represent a variety of ways that influencers interact with each other as well as the general public. In their study, such a model diverges from the prior paradigm of the "two-step" process. The Watts and Dodds model introduces a model of influence emphasizing lateral channels of influence between the influencers and general public categories. This thus leads to a more complex flow of influence amongst the three parties involved in influencing public opinion (i.e., media, influencers and general public).
See also: Two-step flow of communication
Relationship with public policy[edit]
The most pervasive issue dividing theories of the opinion-policy relation bears a striking resemblance to the problem of monism-pluralism in the history of philosophy. The controversy deals with the question of whether the structure of socio-political action should be viewed as a more or less centralized process of acts and decisions by a class of key leaders, representing integrated hierarchies of influence in society or whether it is more accurately envisaged as several sets of relatively autonomous opinion and influence groups, interacting with representative decision makers in an official structure of differentiated governmental authority. The former assumption interprets individual, group and official action as part of a single system and reduces politics and governmental policies to a derivative of three basic analytical terms: society, culture and personality.
Despite philosophical arguments regarding public opinion, social scientists (those in sociology, political science, economics and social psychology) present compelling theories to describe how public opinion shapes public policy and find myriad effects of opinion on policy using various empirical research methods. Moreover, researchers find that causal relationships likely run in both directions from opinion to policy and from policy to opinion. On the one hand, public opinion signals public preferences and potential voting behaviors to policymakers.[13][14] This impact should be greater under more stable democratic institutions.[15] It should be greatest in the realm of social policy because the public are highly motivated by potential goods and services they get from the state. On the other hand, social policy impacts public opinion. The goods and services the public gets via social policy builds normative expectations that shape public opinion.[16][17] Plus, social policy constitutes the largest share of state spending budgets, making it an active and contentious political area.[18] Together these theories suggest that causal effects are part of a feedback loop between opinion and policy.[19][20][21] Using increasingly sophisticated methods, scholars are beginning to grasp and identify the feedback of opinion and policy and use this phenomenon to explain the path dependency of institutions.[22][23][24]
See also[edit]
Court of public opinion
Opinion polls
Public sphere
Political socialization
Public figure
Truth
Organizations
American Association for Public Opinion Research
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research
World Association for Public Opinion Research
Gabriel Tarde
Ferdinand Tönnies
Walter Lippmann
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Wolfgang Donsbach, The International Encyclopedia of Communication. Wiley-Blackwell, 2008
Jump up ^ See (in French) Julien Théry, "Fama : l'opinion publique comme preuve judiciaire. Aperçu sur la révolution médiévale de l'inquisitoire (XIIe-XIVe s.)", in B. Lemesle (ed.), La preuve en justice de l'Antiquité à nos jours, Rennes, PUR, 2003, p. 119-147, available online, and Daniel Smail, Thelma Fernster (ed), Fama. The Politicas of Talk and Reputation, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2003.
Jump up ^ Speier, Hans (1950). "Historical Development of Public Opinion". American Journal of Sociology. University of Chicago Press. 55 (4): 376–88. doi:10.1086/220561. ISSN 1537-5390. JSTOR 2772299 – via JSTOR. (Registration required (help)).
Jump up ^ An historical and chronological deduction of the origin of commerce, from the earliest accounts. : Containing an history of the great commercial interests of the British Empire. To which is prefixed an introduction, exhibiting a view of the ancient and modern state of Europe ; of the importance of our colonies ; and of the commerce, shipping, manufactures, fisheries, &c., of Great-Britain and Ireland ; and their influence on the landed interest. With an appendix, containing the modern politico-commercial geography of the several countries of Europe. Author: Adam Anderson; William Combe; John Walter; Logographic Press.
Jump up ^ Prévost, Abbé (1930) Adventures of a man of quality (translation of Séjour en Angleterre, v. 5 of Mémoires et avantures d'un homme de qualité qui s'est retiré du monde) G. Routledge & Sons, London, OCLC 396693
Jump up ^ Stephen M. Lee, "George Canning and Liberal Toryism, 1801-1827" Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2008
Jump up ^ "public opinion".
Jump up ^ Rolf Fechner/Lars Clausen/Arno Bammé (eds.): Öffentliche Meinung zwischen neuer Religion und neuer Wissenschaft. Ferdinand Tönnies' „Kritik der öffentlichen Meinung" in der internationalen Diskussion, in: Tönnies im Gespräch, tom. 3, Munich/Vienna: Profil 2005, ISBN 3-89019-590-3.
Jump up ^ Diggs-Brown, Barbara (2011) Strategic Public Relations: Audience Focused Practice p.48
Jump up ^ Elihu Katz and Paul Felix Lazarsfeld (1955). Personal Influence: the Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications. ISBN 1-4128-0507-4.
Jump up ^ Lazarsfeld et al., 1968
Jump up ^ Watts, D.J. and P.S. Dodds (2007). "Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation" (PDF). Journal of Consumer Research. 34 (4): 441–458. doi:10.1086/518527.
Jump up ^ Pierson, Paul (2002). "Coping with Permanent Austerity: Welfare State Restructuring in Affluent Democracies". Revue Française de Sociologie. 43 (2): 369–406. doi:10.2307/3322510.
Jump up ^ Soroka, Stuart; Wlezien, Christopher (2010). Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jump up ^ Papadakis, Elim (1992). "Public Opinion, Public Policy and the Welfare State". Political Studies. 40 (1): 21–37. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1992.tb01758.x.
Jump up ^ Mau, Steffen (2004). "Welfare Regimes and the Norms of Social Exchange". Current Sociology. 52 (1): 53–74. doi:10.1177/0011392104039314.
Jump up ^ van Oorschot, Wim (2007). "Culture and Social Policy: A Developing Field of Study". International Journal of Social Welfare. 16 (2): 129–139. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2397.2006.00451.x.
Jump up ^ "Social Expenditures Database". OECD.
Jump up ^ Campbell, Andrea Louise (2012). "Policy Makes Mass Politics". Annual Review of Political Science. 15 (1): 333–351. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-012610-135202.
Jump up ^ Wlezien, Christopher; Soroka, Stuart (2007). "Relationships between Public Opinion and Policy". Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior: 799–817.
Jump up ^ Shapiro, Robert (2011). "Public Opinion and American Democracy". Public Opinion Quarterly. 75 (5): 982–1017. doi:10.1093/poq/nfr053.
Jump up ^ Breznau, Nate (14 July 2016). "Positive Returns and Equilibrium: Simultaneous Feedback Between Public Opinion and Social Policy". Policy Studies Journal. doi:10.1111/psj.12171.
Jump up ^ Wlezien, Christopher (1995). "The Public as Thermostat: Dynamics of Preferences for Spending". American Journal of Political Science. 39 (4): 981–1000. doi:10.2307/2111666.
Jump up ^ Pierson, Paul (2000). "Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics". The American Political Science Review. 94 (2): 251–267. doi:10.2307/2586011.
Bibliography[edit]
Edward L. Bernays, Crystallizing Public Opinion, 1923
Daniel L. Smail, Thelma Fernster, Fama. The Politics of Talk and Reputation, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2003.
Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, 1989 (Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit, Neuwied 1962)
Jacob Shamir/Michal Shamir, The Anatomy of Public Opinion, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.
Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion, 1922.
Norman John Powell, Anatomy of Public Opinion, New York, Prentice-Hall, 1951.
(in French) Julien Théry, "Fama : l'opinion publique comme preuve. Aperçu sur la révolution médiévale de l'inquisitoire (XIIe-XIVe siècles)", in B. Lemesle (ed.), La preuve en justice de l'Antiquité à nos jours, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2003, pp. 119-147, online.
Ferdinand Tönnies, On Public Opinion, 1970 (Kritik der öffentlichen Meinung, 1922, critical edition by Alexander Deichsel, Rolf Fechner, and Rainer Waßner, Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter 2003)
Bianco, William T., and David T. Canon. "Public Opinion." In American Politics Today. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013.
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text:
David Akers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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David Akers
Akers with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009
No. 6, 2
Position:
Placekicker
Personal information
Born:
(1974-12-09) December 9, 1974 (age 43)
Lexington, Kentucky
Height:
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:
205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:
Lexington (KY) Tates Creek
College:
Louisville
Undrafted:
1997
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (1997)*
Carolina Panthers (1997)*
Washington Redskins (1998)
Berlin Thunder (1999)
Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2010)
San Francisco 49ers (2011–2012)
Detroit Lions (2013)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
6× Pro Bowl (2001, 2002, 2004, 2009–2011)
2× First-team All-Pro (2001, 2011)
4× Second-team All-Pro (2002, 2004, 2009, 2010)
PFW Golden Toe Award (2011)
Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
NFL season record for points scored by a kicker (166)
NFL season record for field goals (44)
Inducted into KY Pro Football HOF (2004)
Inducted into Philadelphia Eagles HOF (2017)
Career NFL statistics
Field goals:
386
Field goal attempts:
477
Field goal %:
80.9
Long field goal:
63
Points scored:
1,721
Passing:
2/2, 25 yards, 1 TD
Player stats at NFL.com
David Roy Akers (/ˈeɪkərz/; born December 9, 1974) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Louisville, and was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 1997.
Akers also played for the Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins, Berlin Thunder, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Detroit Lions. He was selected for the Pro Bowl six times in his career and was at one point tied for the longest field goal in NFL history when he kicked a 63-yard field goal with the San Francisco 49ers.
Contents
[hide]
1 Early years
2 College career
3 Professional career
3.1 Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers
3.2 Washington Redskins
3.3 Philadelphia Eagles
3.4 San Francisco 49ers
3.5 Detroit Lions
3.6 NFL records
3.7 NFL statistics
4 Personal life
5 References
6 External links
Early years[edit]
Akers attended Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky.[1]
College career[edit]
Akers attended college at the University of Louisville and played for the Louisville Cardinals football team. During his four-year college career, Akers kicked a school-record 36 field goals (with a long of 51 yards against Texas A&M University), and ranks second on Louisville's all-time scoring list, with 219 points.
Professional career[edit]
Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers[edit]
Between 1997 and 1998, as an undrafted free agent, Akers spent time trying to make the team with the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
Washington Redskins[edit]
Akers was signed by the Washington Redskins in 1998 and played in one game for them, making two extra points but missing two field goal attempts of 48+ yards each. He was waived by the Redskins during the 1999 season.
Philadelphia Eagles[edit]
After Washington cut Akers, the Philadelphia Eagles claimed him off waivers and allocated him to NFL Europe. A solid season with the Berlin Thunder helped him earn the kicking job for the Eagles in 2000. Akers proved to be one of the biggest special teams surprises in all of the NFL that season. He made 29 out of 33 field goals (an 87.9% success rate), and had a team-record 121 points. Akers earned the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month award in November 2000. He made the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2001 as he went 26-for-31, making a team-record seventeen consecutive field goals during the season.
Akers attempting a field goal in August 2009.
Akers' best statistical season was 2002 when he connected on 30 of 34 field goals (88.2%), scored a team-record 133 points, and made another Pro Bowl. He got fewer chances in 2003, but still made 24 of 29 field goals. He made the third-longest field goal in Eagles' history on September 14, 2003, a 57-yarder against the New England Patriots at the new Lincoln Financial Field (the only longer field goals in Eagles' history were Jake Elliott's 61-yard field goal in 2017 and Tony Franklin's 59-yard field goal in 1979.) In 2004, Akers continued his consistent kicking with an 84.4% field goal percentage, and he made his third Pro Bowl.
Injuries finally got to Akers in 2005 when he tore the hamstring in his non-kicking leg during the opening kickoff against the Oakland Raiders on September 25, 2005. Akers left the game, but returned in the second half with a heavily taped leg to make two extra points and then kick the game-winning 28-yard field goal before collapsing in pain as his teammates mobbed him. He missed the next four games and finished the season 16 for 22.
In 2006, Akers was injury-free, but made only 18 of 23 attempts (78.3%), his second worst season statistically.
On December 16, 2007, in a 10-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Akers set the Philadelphia Eagles franchise record for most points and on Thanksgiving in 2008, Akers passed 1,000 career points during a 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
On December 7, 2008, Akers kicked a 51-yard field goal at Giants Stadium, his longest of the season. In the same game he had two field goals blocked, one of which was returned for a touchdown. At the end of the 2008 regular season, Akers again set the team single-season scoring record with an NFC-best 144 points. He connected on 33 of 40 field goals (82.5 pct), his best percentage since 2004.
On January 11, 2009, Akers kicked three field goals in three attempts during a divisional playoff win over the New York Giants. The second of these set an NFL record for consecutive field goals without a miss during the postseason, previously held by one-time Eagle Gary Anderson. Akers eventually ran his streak to a record 19 consecutive postseason field goal conversions; it was snapped the very next week against the Arizona Cardinals. Akers currently has thirty-five total postseason field goal conversions.
Akers was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl, his fourth. He was also named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s.[2] After the 2010 season, he was selected to his fifth career Pro Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers[edit]
Akers was signed by the San Francisco 49ers to a $9 million, three-year contract on July 29, 2011. He kicked a 59-yard field goal just before halftime in a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on August 12, 2011. On September 18, 2011, he kicked a 55-yard field goal against the Dallas Cowboys, setting a record for the longest field goal made at Candlestick Park.
Akers broke the 49ers' record for most points scored in a season in a 20–3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Monday Night Football matchup on December 19, 2011.[3] The record was formerly held by the 49ers' Hall of Fame wide receiver, Jerry Rice. In that same game against the Seahawks, Akers broke the all-time record for field goals in a season, surpassing Neil Rackers' 40 in 2005.
On January 1, 2012, Akers broke the NFL record for most points by a kicker in a single season against the St. Louis Rams; he finished with 166 points. In this game, he also extended his NFL record for most field goals made in a single season, finishing with 44, and threw for a touchdown on a fake field goal. Akers made his sixth Pro Bowl at the end of the season.
On September 9, 2012, Akers tied the NFL record for the longest field goal by kicking a 63-yard field goal off the crossbar against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.[4] The record was originally set by Tom Dempsey and was shared with Jason Elam and Sebastian Janikowski until Broncos kicker Matt Prater broke the record with a 64-yard field goal on December 8, 2013.
The long field goals by Elam, Janikowski, and Prater were all made in Denver, where the ball has the ability to travel slightly farther in thinner air. Elam kicked his 63-yard field goal at Mile High Stadium, while the 63-yarder by Janikowski and the 64-yarder by Prater were at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It should be noted in track and field, the IAAF denotes any records set 1,000 metres (about 3,937 feet) or more above sea level as altitude-assisted records, and the Dempsey (Tulane Stadium) and Akers (Lambeau Field) records were set below the 1,000m threshold.[5][6]
The 49ers advanced to Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season, marking Akers' second appearance in the game. In the game, Akers went 3 for 3 in field goal attempts, but San Francisco narrowly lost to the Baltimore Ravens by a 34–31 score.[7]
On March 6, 2013, Akers was released after two seasons with the 49ers.[8]
Detroit Lions[edit]
On April 6, 2013, Akers signed with the Detroit Lions, three days after the retirement of 21-season Lions kicker Jason Hanson.[9]
NFL records[edit]
Points in a single decade (2000–2009): 1,169
Points in Pro Bowl History: 57
Most points in a season, no touchdowns (2011): 166
Most games 4+ field goals in a season (2011): 6
Most games 10+ points in a season (2011): 10 - tied with four others
Field Goals in an NFL Season: 44[10]
Field Goals attempted in an NFL Season: 52
Longest Field Goal in Pro Bowl History: 53 yards, 2005 (Eagles).
NFL statistics[edit]
Year
Team
Games
Field Goals Made
Field Goals Attempted
Field Goal Percentage
1-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50+
Longest Field Goal
Extra Points Made
Extra Point Attempts
Points
1998 WSH 1 0 2 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 2
1999 PHI 16 3 6 50.0 0 0 0 3 3 53 2 2 11
2000 PHI 16 29 33 87.9 1 6 15 10 1 51 34 36 121
2001 PHI 16 26 31 83.9 1 9 8 10 3 50 37 38 115
2002 PHI 16 30 34 88.2 0 9 16 7 2 51 43 43 133
2003 PHI 16 24 29 82.8 0 9 7 10 3 57 42 42 114
2004 PHI 16 27 32 84.4 0 4 7 18 3 51 41 42 122
2005 PHI 12 16 22 72.7 0 3 8 9 2 50 23 23 71
2006 PHI 16 18 23 78.3 0 10 5 8 0 47 48 48 102
2007 PHI 16 24 32 75.0 0 12 10 6 4 53 36 36 108
2008 PHI 16 33 40 82.5 2 11 12 10 5 51 45 45 144
2009 PHI 16 32 37 86.5 1 11 9 13 3 52 43 45 139
2010 PHI 16 32 38 84.2 0 12 12 11 3 50 47 47 143
2011 SF 16 44 52 84.6 2 16 14 11 9 55 34 34 166
2012 SF 16 29 42 69.0 1 9 13 13 6 63 44 44 131
2013 DET 16 19 24 79.2 1 5 8 7 3 53 42 43 99
Career 237 386 477 80.9 9 126 144 148 50 63 563 570 1,721
[11]
Personal life[edit]
Akers and his wife, Erika, reside in Franklin, Tennessee, with their sons Luke and Sawyer, and daughter Halley. He has maintained a summer residence in Ocean City, New Jersey.[12]
Akers is a Christian.[13]
In 2001, the Akers family formed the David Akers Kicks for Kids Foundation, which has established programs with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to benefit sick children and their families. He also regularly trains in martial arts such as jiu-jitsu and Shaolin Kempo.[14]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Tates Creek, UofL star Akers throws TD pass, kicks 2 field goals in 49ers' win". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
Jump up ^ Akers named to All-Decade team | Eagletarian | 01/27/2010
Jump up ^ Branch, Eric (December 20, 2011). "David Akers breaks Rice's 49ers scoring mark". The San Francisco Chronicle.
Jump up ^ "David Akers kicks 63-yard field goal". ESPN. September 9, 2012.
Jump up ^ David Akers's 63-yarder
Jump up ^ Allain, Rhett (December 20, 2011). "Are Field Goals Easier in Denver? - Wired Science". Wired.
Jump up ^ "Super Bowl XLVII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens - February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
Jump up ^ Gonzalez, Antonio (2013-03-06). "49ers release 6-time Pro Bowl kicker David Akers". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
Jump up ^ Copeland, Kareem (April 5, 2013). "Detroit Lions, David Akers reportedly agree to term". nfl.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
Jump up ^ Kevin Lynch (2011-12-24). "David Akers sets NFL record". blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
Jump up ^ "David Akers Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Strauss, Robert. "Big-name hunting season at the Shore; Celebrities roam even these simpler environs.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 15, 2009. Accessed September 13, 2015. "Eagles kicker David Akers has a house on the south end of the island and, at various times, former boxing champ Mike Tyson, Flyers captain and executive Bobby Clarke, and Eagles running back Brian Westbrook have been reported to own or rent in Ocean City."
Jump up ^ "NFL Kicker David Akers on Navigating Life's Kicks".
Jump up ^ John Guinn. "David Akers Kicks for Kids". Davidakerskicksforkids.org. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
External links[edit]
Stats at Pro-Football-Reference
Kicking Videos by David Akers
San Francisco 49ers bio
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Akers.
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National Football League | NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team
Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
LaDainian Tomlinson
Edgerrin James
Jamal Lewis
Shaun Alexander
Lorenzo Neal
Tony Richardson
Randy Moss
Marvin Harrison
Terrell Owens
Torry Holt
Tony Gonzalez
Antonio Gates
Walter Jones
Jonathan Ogden
Orlando Pace
Willie Roaf
Alan Faneca
Steve Hutchinson
Will Shields
Larry Allen
Kevin Mawae
Olin Kreutz
Dwight Freeney
Michael Strahan
Jason Taylor
Julius Peppers
Richard Seymour
Warren Sapp
Kevin Williams
La'Roi Glover
Ray Lewis
Derrick Brooks
Brian Urlacher
Joey Porter
Zach Thomas
DeMarcus Ware
Champ Bailey
Charles Woodson
Ty Law
Ronde Barber
Ed Reed
Brian Dawkins
Troy Polamalu
Darren Sharper
Adam Vinatieri
David Akers
Shane Lechler
Brian Moorman
Josh Cribbs
Dante Hall
Devin Hester
Bill Belichick
Tony Dungy
[show]
v
t
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Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team (2007)
Offense
McNabb (QB)
Van Buren (RB)
Byars (FB)
Carmichael (WR)
McDonald (WR)
Pihos (TE)
Thomas (LT)
Key (LG)
Bednarik (C)
Andrews (RG)
Runyan (RT)
Defense
Simmons (DE)
White (DE)
J. Brown (DT)
Johnson (DT)
Bednarik (MLB)
Joyner (OLB)
Wojciechowicz (OLB)
Allen (CB)
Vincent (CB)
Waters (SS)
Dawkins (FS)
Special teams
T. Brown (KR)
Westbrook (PR)
Akers (PK)
Landeta (P)
Papale (ST)
Coach
Andy Reid
[show]
v
t
e
2001 AP NFL All-Pro Team
Offense: QB Kurt Warner
RB Marshall Faulk
RB Priest Holmes
WR David Boston
WR Terrell Owens
TE Tony Gonzalez
OT Walter Jones
OT Orlando Pace
G Larry Allen
G Alan Faneca
C Kevin Mawae
Defense: DE John Abraham
DE Michael Strahan
DT Warren Sapp
DT Ted Washington
OLB Jason Gildon
OLB Jamir Miller
ILB Ray Lewis
ILB Brian Urlacher
CB Ronde Barber
CB Aeneas Williams
S Mike Brown
S Brian Dawkins
Special Teams P Todd Sauerbrun
PK David Akers
KR Steve Smith
[show]
v
t
e
2011 AP NFL All-Pro First Team
Offense: QB Aaron Rodgers
RB LeSean McCoy
RB Maurice Jones-Drew
FB Vonta Leach
WR Calvin Johnson
WR Wes Welker
TE Rob Gronkowski
OT Joe Thomas
OT Jason Peters
G Jahri Evans
G Carl Nicks
C Maurkice Pouncey
Defense: DE Jared Allen
DE Jason Pierre-Paul
DT Haloti Ngata
DT Justin Smith
OLB Terrell Suggs
OLB DeMarcus Ware
ILB Patrick Willis
ILB (tie) NaVorro Bowman
ILB (tie) Derrick Johnson
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Charles Woodson
FS Eric Weddle
SS Troy Polamalu
Special teams: P Andy Lee
PK David Akers
KR Patrick Peterson
ST Matthew Slater
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Akers&oldid=814275487"
Categories:
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