Dominic Raiola life and biography

Dominic Raiola is an American football center with the Detroit Lions; his younger brother, Donovan Raiola, plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

* Re-signed by the Detroit Lions June 25, 2009 to a four-year contract extension (through 2013).
* Re-signed by the Detroit Lions March 13, 2005 to a five-year contract extension.
* Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round (50th overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft.

PRO:
Raiola is in his 10th season in the NFL, all with the Detroit Lions, and his ninth as the starting center. Utilizes tremendous quickness, tenacity and intelligence to anchor the team’s offensive front.
* Named team captain five-straight seasons (2006-10).
* Has played in 152 career games (136 starts).
* In 2008, a hand injury forced him to miss his first career game and start vs. Jacksonville (11/9/08), he had the second most consecutive starts (104) behind Denver C Casey Wiegman (120) and Atlanta C Todd McClure (120) since 2001.
* In 2006, Raiola emerged as one of the most effective all-around centers in the league with his ability to get outside and block on the perimeter and to get to the second level.
* Prior to 2005 season, he signed a five-year contract extension (March 13).
* In 2004, he centered an offensive line that developed into one of the top run-blocking lines in the NFL as the offensive line led the way for a rushing attack that ranked second in the NFL over the final seven games of the season.

MANE FACTS:
* Made a special visit to University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital to visit patients during the 2006 season.
* Donated home game tickets to the Children’s Center through CATS (Caring Athletes Ticket Service) for Kids program.
* Attended the 13th annual Detroit Lions Courage House Dinner to help benefit HAVEN, Oakland County’s premier center for the prevention and treatment of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.
* A big fan of Al Pacino, he owns most of the movies the actor is in including his favorite, Scarface, which he has watched repeatedly.

2010: Team captain for fifth consecutive season and starting center. Leader along offensive line unit that ranks fifth in NFL in Sacks per Pass Play (4.15 pct.), giving up just 21 sacks this year on 529 pass plays.

* Started in season opener at Chicago (9/12).
* Part of an offensive line against Philadelphia (9/19) that helped the team rush for 115 yards, including 78 and 2 touchdowns from rookie Jahvid Best.
* In the Lions 44-6 win vs. St. Louis (10/10), Raiola led an offensive line unit that allowed just 1 sack on 33 pass plays.
* Center of offensive line that allowed a single sack on 46 pass attempts against Washington (10/31).

2009: Named team captain for fourth-straight season.
* Started at center in season opener at New Orleans (9/13).
* Started at center vs. Arizona (12/20) and was part of an offensive line that gained 161 yards on the ground, including Maurice Morris’ 126 rushing yards.

2008: Named an offensive team captain for second consecutive year. Had his consecutive games played streak snapped at 104 games due to hand injury. Played in 12 games (12 starts).
* Started his 100th straight game vs. Chicago (10/5).
* Inactive vs. Jacksonville (11/9) due to a broken hand and snapped his 104-game starting streak.
* Inactive the past four games due to a hand injury.
* Re-entered starting lineup vs. Minnesota (12/7).
* Helped engineer an offensive line unit that was stout against the pass rush at Indianapolis (12/14) and did not allow a sack.

2007: NFC Pro Bowl alternate. Named a 2007 offensive team captain and started every single game.
* Started at center at Oakland (9/9), where he helped the offense roll up 392 total yards.
* Against Minnesota (9/16), Raiola started at center and contributed to an offensive output of 415 total yards.
* Starting center at Philadelphia (9/23), where the offense combined for 432 total yards.
* Played in his 100th game (84th start) at center vs. Chicago (9/30).
* Paved the way for a Lions rushing attack that averaged 6.1 yards per carry (147 total rushing yards) against Tampa Bay.
* Part of a Lions line that powered a balanced attack, blocking the way to 246 net yards passing and 119 yards rushing (365 total yards) at Chicago (10/28).
* Paved way for Lions’ ground game that piled up 130 yards on 29 carries (4.5 avg.) against Denver (11/4). Additionally, the line only allowed one sack on the day.
* Helped the Lions total 152 yards rushing, a season high, in addition to a season-high three rushing touchdowns while allowing only one sack against Dallas (12/9).
* Part of an offensive line that did not allow a sack against San Diego (12/16).
* Contributed key blocking from the center spot as the offense totaled 137 yards rushing against Kansas City (12/23) while only allowing two sacks. Among the 137 yards on the ground was a 102-yard performance by T.J. Duckett.

2006: Started his 80th consecutive game as a Lion since 2002 at Dallas (12/31) and has played in all 96 games since being drafted in 2001. He and RT Jeff Backus have started every game together since the beginning of the 2002 season. Raiola had his best season in the NFL and displayed his agility, athleticism, and demonstrated on several occasions his ability to block outside and downfield. By utilizing tremendous quickness, tenacity and intelligence in the team’s new offense, Raiola performed amongst the best centers in the league in 2006.
* Helped offense to 251 total yards on offense in the season opener against Seattle (9/10).
* Helped the offense accumulate 424 net yards, including 319 passing yards, against Green Bay (9/24).
* Commanded an offensive line that was critical in the Lions balanced attack in the team’s 20-17 win vs. Buffalo, helping RB Kevin Jones to his first 100-yard rushing game (127 yards) of the season.
* Assisted in limiting the New York Jets defense (10/22) to a season-low one sack while the offense produced 386 total net yards. The offensive line allowed just three negative plays (two rushes for -2 yards and one sack for eight yards) of the offense’s 59 total plays.
* Cleared the way for RB Kevin Jones’ second 100-yard rushing performance of the year (26 carries for 110 yards), while also helping the offense accumulate a season-best 435 net yards vs. Atlanta (11/5).
* Led the offensive line to allow the offense to post 327 total yard of offense vs. Chicago (12/24).
* Helped the offense attain 362 total yards and score a season-high 39 points at Dallas (12/31).

2005: Played and started in all 16 games for the fourth consecutive season.
* Helped the offensive line allow only 10 sacks the second half of the season, including one-or-less in seven of the last eight games, despite going back and forth between starting quarterbacks Joey Harrington (five starts) and Jeff Garcia (three starts).
* His blocking helped the Lions’ ground game rush for four touchdowns against Baltimore (10/9), which is the most rushing touchdowns the Ravens have allowed in a game in franchise history. They also helped spring Shawn Bryson’s career-long 77-yard touchdown run which was the longest run from scrimmage ever yielded by the Baltimore Ravens.

2004: Started all 16 games for the third-straight season.
* Key shield for Joey Harrington as he threw for a career-high 19 touchdowns.
* Centered an offensive line that developed into one of the top run-blocking lines in the NFL by the end of the season as the offensive line led the way for a rushing attack that ranked second in the NFL over the final seven games of the season.
* Took over long-snapping duties after Jody Littleton sustained a hamstring injury vs. Washington (11/17).

2003: Took over the long-snapping duties for much of the game against San Diego (12/7) after Bradford Banta left the game with a broken clavicle and recorded the first two special teams tackles of his career.
* For the second straight season the Lions’ offensive line led the league in sacks allowed with just 11, nine better than their previous franchise record of 20 set in 2002.
* Key protector of Joey Harrington as he led the league in sacks per pass play ratio among quarterbacks at 1.60 percent (nine sacks/588 attempts), the second straight year he has led in that category.
* The Lions allowed no sacks in seven games--vs. Arizona (9/7), at San Francisco (10/5), at Chicago (10/26), vs. Oakland (11/2), at Minnesota (11/23), vs. San Diego (12/7) and at Kansas City (12/14).

2002: Selected by his teammates as the recipient of the Chuck Hughes Most Improved Player Award.
* Had a strong outing in only his third NFL start against Green Bay (9/22) and made a key block on a screen pass, helping RB James Stewart score a 52-yard touchdown.
* Key contributor to the Lions’ offensive line which allowed only 20 quarterback sacks, the fewest in the NFL in 2002 and a then-franchise record, and helped RB James Stewart rush for over 1,000 yards for the second time in three seasons.
* Played a significant role in helping Joey Harrington finish the season with the league’s lowest sack-per-pass-play ratio among passers (eight sacks/429 attempts for 1.61 percent).
* Offensive line unit allowed no sacks in seven games: vs. New Orleans (9/29), at Buffalo (10/27), at Green Bay (11/10), vs. New York Jets (11/17), vs. New England (11/28), at Arizona (12/8) and vs. Minnesota (12/29); and only one sack in four other contests: vs. Green Bay (9/22), at Minnesota (10/13), vs. Dallas (11/3), vs. Tampa Bay (12/15).
* Helped pave way for James Stewart’s career-high 172-yard rushing effort in Lions’ 23-20 overtime win vs. Chicago (10/20).

2001: Spent majority of rookie season blocking on several special teams units, however was inserted at center at various times during six games near the latter half of the season.
* Selected to the Pro Football Weekly's All-Rookie squad.
* In goal-line situations vs. Cincinnati (10/28), checked into game as eligible receiver at tight end; also returned a kickoff 11 yards in that game along with usual duties on special teams units.
* Saw first action at center at San Francisco (11/4), snapping to rookie QB Mike McMahon in third series of each half.

COLLEGE:
Turned pro after playing three seasons at Nebraska, but was a four-year collegian (redshirted in 1997).
* Cornhuskers’ first freshman offensive lineman to start a game since Rob Zatechka in 1991.
* The two-time Nebraska Lifter of the Year finalist set a school record with 140 knockdown blocks (11.67 per game) as a sophomore in 1999, only to better that mark as a junior in 2000 with 145 (13.2 per game).
* Besides on-field accolades, he garnered Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors the last two years while making the conference’s honor roll three times.
* In 2000, he was an All-American first-team selection by the Football Writers Association, Walter Camp, Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association, rated the best center in the country by The Sports Xchange, a finalist for both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award, given to the nation’s top lineman and a consensus All-Big 12 first-team selection.
* Junior year was first full year as starter and was named a consensus All-Big 12 first-team selection, the first sophomore Nebraska offensive lineman to earn such honors since Dave Rimington in 1980 and was a member of Sports Illustrated’s All-Bowl Team.

PERSONAL: Three-year starter on the offensive line for St. Louis High School in Honolulu.
* Team went undefeated in each of his last three years and ranked 15th nationally in 1996, winning its 11th straight state championship.
* Earned first-team all-state honors as a junior in 1995 and as a senior in 1996.
* Also a National Honor Society member, a three-year scholar-athlete and ranked sixth in his class of 180.

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