Georgia connections in Super Bowl XLVI
Giants linebacker Michael Boley celebrates his sack of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during the second half Sunday. / The Associated Press
When the New England Patriots face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, the state of Georgia will be well-represented.
Here are the players with Georgia connections:
NEW ENGLAND
–Deion Branch, WR, Albany: Legend has it that on the day of Super Bowl XXXIX, Branch called a dozen of his former football coaches to thank them for their support. After talking to his coaches, Branch tied the Super Bowl record with 11 receptions and was named MVP of the game. He played at Monroe High.
–Gary Guyton, MLB, Georgia Tech (Hinesville): He was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2008. Guyton was the lone undrafted rookie to make the Patriots’ opening day roster in 2008. He went on to play in 14 games with two starts, becoming the first undrafted rookie linebacker to start for the Patriots since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000. Guyton had the fastest time in the 40-yard dash by a linebacker at the 2008 NFL scouting combine.
–Jermaine Cunningham, DE, Stone Mountain (Florida): He was placed on injured reserve in December with a hamstring injury.
NEW YORK GIANTS
–Michael Boley, LB, Former Atlanta Falcon: Was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Falcons. He had a stellar career going, but fell out of favor with the new regime and was allowed to leave in free agency. The Giants snapped him up with a five-year $25 million contract.
–Deon Grant, S, Augusta (Tennessee): Has played with Carolina, Jacksonville, Seattle and with the Giants for the last two seasons. He was on Carolina’s team that reached Super Bowl XXXVIII against the New England Patriots. Here’s a story on Grant that appeared in The August Chronicle.
–D.J. Ware, RB, Rockmart (Georgia): He’s in his fifth season with the Giants. He’s played in all games this season and made one start. He backs up Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
Get instant updates on Twitter at AJCFalcons and you can join the Facebook Fan page at AJC Falcons.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
29 comments Add your comment
HA!
January 31st, 2012
10:07 am
The Falcons should have kept Michael Boley.. It’s nice to see him doing well, I bet he doesn’t miss it here!
E-Roll
January 31st, 2012
10:31 am
Actually the Falcons should not have kept Boley for the 5 year, $25,000,000 contract that he signed. Our linebackers are just as good and in the case of Spoon and 5-0 better than Boley and at less money but I am glad that he has reached the Super Bowl.
Dawgdad (the Original)
January 31st, 2012
10:34 am
Too bad Ware never got much of a shot at UGA. He obviously was not one of Richt’s favorites.
Just Asking
January 31st, 2012
10:34 am
So who do we root for. Both teams have three players with Georgia connections. Well, it looks like the Patriots have the tie breaker. All three seem to be actually FROM Georgia.
Sid
January 31st, 2012
12:08 pm
Who do we root for………..?? I’m just pulling for a better game than the lousy Pro Bowl. Why take up perfectly good tv time?
I think the stinkin’ (because they beat us) Giants take this one.
Georgia connections in Super Bowl XLVI | football-feed.com
January 31st, 2012
12:18 pm
[...] to Original Content From Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog): read more Related Articles Share About Author [...]
J.J.M.
January 31st, 2012
12:26 pm
lol@this article….anything to make it feel like this city is in the superbowl
extremus
January 31st, 2012
3:35 pm
Let us not forget the Falcons’ connections to 3 of the past 4 Superbowls: they were beaten (and in some cases trampled) by the NFC representative en route. Hopefully this trend will end soon and it will be the Birds enjoying the limelight, but it will very likely take more than some coaching changes for it to happen, unfortunately.
Markmjtx
January 31st, 2012
3:45 pm
Good info DOL. Deon Grant got hurt in training camp in his rookie year. There were some questions on him coming back. He has been a good story on perseverance.
Pago Pago Trojan
January 31st, 2012
3:58 pm
Could be a good game, we’ll turn it on at 6:29.
georgia boi
January 31st, 2012
4:41 pm
Kyle love of new england also went to north.clayton high in college park
Georgia connections in Super Bowl XLVI | Atlanta Falcons « Feeds « Local News Feeds
January 31st, 2012
9:31 pm
[...] More from original source- Georgia connections in Super Bowl XLVI | Atlanta Falcons Sponsor- Bob Burg- The Art of Persuasion- from Destiny Image Books- How to master the art of [...]
Ueeediot
January 31st, 2012
10:24 pm
“promoting Glenn Thomas to quarterbacks coach.”
http://www.atlantafalcons.com/roster-coaches/glenn-thomas/
Who is Glenn Thomas and what are his references to make him the COACH to #2? Glenn is a wealth of knowledge and experience from, where?
Georgia connections in Super Bowl XLVI | NFL Online News
February 1st, 2012
12:50 am
[...] Atlanta Falcons This entry was posted in Atlanta Falcons and tagged Bowl, connections, Georgia, Super, XLVI. Bookmark the permalink. ← Deciphering the Super Bowl: XLVI is Greek to kids (The Canadian Press) [...]
Shug
February 1st, 2012
1:34 pm
Interesting info on Gary Guyton. How can a guy who’s good enough to play at a major university and has the fastest time at his position not be drafted? I’ll have to go look up his measurements.
FAN
February 1st, 2012
7:45 pm
Get ready for Bulldog, BAMA, Ga TECH or any teams Spring football. Spring Baseball for the Braves or any team too.
http://www.atlantahaulitallinc.com/Bird_Houses.php
DeepDiver
February 2nd, 2012
5:14 am
This is one useless blog post.
RESIGN OR RE-SIGN?
February 2nd, 2012
7:48 am
The NYG Defensive Co-Ordinator [Dunn or Nunn?] coached at GMC in Milledgeville for 4 years.
Noneya
February 2nd, 2012
10:59 am
Very happy for Deon Grant. I remember him as an great athlete at Josey High in Augusta. Hopefully he can win won this time.
Days In The Lives Of Falcons Fans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QKLJ4wY_yQ
Noneya
February 2nd, 2012
10:59 am
*one not won.
warfalcons
February 2nd, 2012
1:30 pm
How did you miss Kyle Love of College Park and North Clayton High School,he will be the second player in two years to come from North Clayton to on a team in the Super Bowl,last year it was Morgan Burnette.Come on DOL.
Woof, Woof !
February 2nd, 2012
2:23 pm
Still the most SB MVP’s of any school.
StingerSplash
February 2nd, 2012
6:09 pm
Hope Gary gets into the game. He’s been a healthy the scratch the last couple of games. He’s a great young man.
JAG
February 2nd, 2012
9:15 pm
Jermaine Cunningham of the NE Patriots played for Stephenson High School 01-05
Goldenrod
February 3rd, 2012
7:26 am
GT alumni Gary Guyton is better than any of UGAg’s supposed stars like Champ Bailey or Noshwon Moreno.
He deserves the Super Bowl ring. Nobody and I mean nobody has ever heard of DJ Ware.
THWG
Ronnie Dobb
February 3rd, 2012
1:50 pm
@Extremus
Taking that stat a bit further, the Falcons final loss in the past 4 seasons have come at the hands of the eventual NFC Champion. In 2009, our final loss was to the New Orleans Saints, which also eliminated us from playoff contention.
FL dawg
February 3rd, 2012
3:19 pm
What the Giants and Pats prove by being in the SB: THE QB IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER ON THE TEAM! Yeah there are rare exceptions, Tampa, and Tampa and oh yeah Tampa. The Falcons just aint going to the SB unless Ryan learns how to throw deep, or Atl has a magical draft of no name defensive stars, or Ryan learns how to throw deep. The question is, will Blank be satisfied just making the playoffs every 4 out of every 5 yrs? They say Elways’ worst nightmare is Tebow. I think Falcon fans worst nightmare is that Blank’s in love with Ryan. He’s probably one of the 15 worst QB’s in the league. I am a Falcon fan but starting to see the reality of this organization.
Revdawg
February 4th, 2012
2:27 pm
The last time I remembered his name was Danny not D.J.
Crap
February 6th, 2012
10:18 am
Mr. Journalism: Should be “Cronyism”.