Jeff Backus life and biography

FACTS:
* Backus is only the second player out of the University of Michigan to be taken in the first round by the Lions, and the first since Detroit selected Bob Westfall in 1942 with its first pick.
* Although he spent most of his childhood in suburban Atlanta, Backus was born in Midland, Mich.
* Spends much of his free time hunting.
* Photographed with his pets for the fourth- straight year in the 2007 Lions Pet Calendar which raises money for the Dearborn Animal Shelter.
* Donated Lions’ tickets for each home game to C.S. Mott’s Children’s Hospital through the Lions CATS (Caring Athletes Ticket Service) for Kids program.
* Took part in a special wall-raising ceremony to begin the building of the first Habitat for Humanity home sponsored by the Lions.
* Works with Mott Children’s Hospital on numerous fundraisers throughout the season.
* Visited the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in December to help serve lunch to those in need.

2010: The team’s starting left tackle. Anchors left side of Lions’ offensive line that ranks fourth in NFL in Sacks per Pass Play (3.97 pct.), giving up just 20 sacks this year on 504 pass plays.

* Part of an offensive line against Philadelphia (9/19) that helped team gain 115 yards rushing, including 78 and 2 touchdowns from rookie RB Jahvid Best.
* Started in his 148th consecutive game at Green Bay (10/3).
* Part of offensive line unit that allowed just 1 sack on 33 pass plays in the Lions 44-6 win vs. St. Louis.
* Started his 150th consecutive game at the New York Giants (10/17).
* In 37-25 victory over Washington (10/31), part of offensive line that allowed only 1 sack on 46 pass plays.

2009: Started all 16 games for the ninth consecutive season. Was named the named the Lions Ed Block Courage Award winner, which recognizes men of courage in the NFL. He has extended his streak of consecutive starts to 144 with his start vs. Chicago (1/3).

* Started at left tackle in in his 129th consecutive game in season opener at New Orleans (9/13).
* Started at left tackle vs. Minnesota (9/20) and helped allow RB Kevin Smith to produce 83 yards on 24 attempts.
* Started at left tackle 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: Team’s starting left tackle. He started all 16 games for the eighth-consecutive season.

* Started in his 113th consecutive career game in season opener at Atlanta (9/7), and he has moved his current start streak this season to 126 games.
* Offensive line unit helped garner season-high 130 yards rushing at Carolina 11/16, which included rookie RB Kevin Smith’s first career 100-yard effort (112 yards).
* Matched up well against Colts defense, primarily blocked DE Dwight Freeney in pass rush situations at Indianapolis (12/14) as the unit did not allow any sacks on the day.
* Started at left tackle vs. Arizona (12/20) and was part of an offensive line that gained 161 yards on the ground, including Maurice Morris’ 126 rushing yards.

2007: With starts in every game of the 2007 season, he has now started in 112 consecutive games.

* Backus started at left tackle at Oakland (9/9) and helped the offense record 392 total yards.
* Against Minnesota (9/16), Backus started at left tackle and contributed to an offensive output of 415 total yards.
* Started in his 99th consecutive game at Philadelphia (9/23), as part of an offensive effort of 432 total yards.
* Backus overcame a rib injury suffered at Philadelphia (9/23) to start the 100th consecutive game of his career against 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 (10/21).
* Part of a Lions line that powered a balanced offensive attack, blocking the way to 246 net yards passing and 119 yards rushing (365 total yards) at Chicago (10/28).
* Blocked for a 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 on the ground, a season high, in addition to 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 for an offensive line that helped pile up 137 yards on the ground while only allowing two sacks vs. Kansas City (12/23). Also helped T.J. Duckett accrue his second career 100-yard rushing game (102 yards).
* Started his 112th-straight career game at Green Bay (12/30).

2006: Concluded his sixth consecutive season starting all 16 games for the team at LT as he extended consecutive games played to 96 games at Dallas (12/31).

* One of two offensive linemen, along with C Dominic Raiola, to start every game this season. The pair of offensive linemen has started every game together since the beginning of the 2002 season (80 games).
* Helped the offense accumulate 400 net yards, including 340 passing yards, against Green Bay (9/24).
* Led offensive line, forging a balanced attack in the team’s 20-17 win vs. Buffalo (10/15), as the offense gained 262 yards in the air and 132 yards on the ground.
* Helped RB Kevin Jones gain 127 rushing yards, which was his first 100-yard game of the year, against the Bills (10/15).
* Helped the offense amass 386 total yards at the New York Jets (10/22), including a 5.7 yards per rush average (15 attempts for 86 yards by RB Kevin Jones). Unit also allowed just one sack in 37 pass plays.
* A part of an offensive line that allowed the offense to gain a season-high 435 yards vs. Atlanta (11/5), including a 110-yard outing by RB Kevin Jones.
* Assisted the offense in attaining 327 yards vs. Chicago (12/24), one of the NFL’s top defenses.
* Helped the offense score a season-high 39 points behind 362 yards of total offense at Dallas (12/31).

2005: Finished the season starting all 16 games, moving his career tally to 80 consecutive games. He has started every game since being drafted in 2001.

* Sustained a high-ankle sprain against Carolina (10/16) and continued to start the reminder of the season.

2004: Started his 50th consecutive game in the Lions’ home opener vs. Houston (9/19).

* Member of an offensive line that blocked for a rushing attack that forged the second-most yards on the ground in the NFL in the final seven games of the season.
* Helped clear the way for Kevin Jones to rush for 1,133 yards, who joins Barry Sanders and Billy Sims as the first Lions to rush for 1,000 yards in their rookie campaigns.
* Led the way for rookie running back Kevin Jones, who, vs. Arizona (12/5) and at Green Bay (12/12), became the first Lion in franchise history to record back-to-back 150-yard rushing games during his rookie season.
* On December 5, Backus and the offensive line paved the way for Kevin Jones’ 196-yard effort vs. Arizona. Jones followed Backus and the offensive line to the second-highest single-game rushing total ever by a Lions rookie.

2003: Started every game, and received of the Eric Andolsek Top Offensive Lineman Award.

* 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.
* Protected former Lions QB Joey Harrington as he led the NFL in sacks per pass play ratio among quarterbacks at 1.60% (nine sacks/563 pass plays), 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: Key contributor on an offensive line that set a franchise record (since 1963) with only 20 sacks allowed, which were also the fewest in the NFL.

* Played large part in former Lions QB Joey Harrington finishing the season with the league’s lowest sack per pass play ratio among passers (eight sacks/437 pass plays for 1.83%).
* 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 second 1,000-yard season in three years, including a career-high 172-yard rushing effort in Lions’ 23-20 overtime win vs. Chicago (10/20).
* Sustained a bone bruise to left knee early in training camp (7/30) which hindered his play during the early part of the season but still managed to start in all 16 games.

2001: Became the first Lions’ first-round selction to start in all 16 games since Luther Elliss in 1995 and first offensive first rounder to do since Lomas Brown in 1985.

* Solidified the left tackle position as a rookie, as he started in all 16 games.
* Selected to the Pro Football Weekly and Pro Football News All-Rookie teams.
* Helped hold up the Vikings’ defensive line for Lions’ 129-yard rushing and 345-yard passing outing at Minnesota (10/14).
* Protected the blindside of Charlie Batch, who posted 436 passing yards at Arizona (11/18).
* Suffered a lower leg laceration that sidelined him in the fourth quarter at Tampa Bay (12/9).
* Ranked as one of the 10-best rookies of the 2001 season by the Sporting News.

COLLEGE:
Starter for the Wolverines at left tackle from 1997-2000.
* Finished his career with 49 consecutive starts, one shy of the school record of 50 by current Washington Redskins’ starting right tackle, Jon Jansen (1995-98).
* Teamed with Seattle Seahawks 2001 first-round pick, guard Steve Hutchinson, to man the left side of Michigan’s offensive line in every campaign since their freshman year.
* Earned All-Big Ten honors in four straight years and was an All-American second-team selection by College Football News and ABC Sports, earning honorable mention from CNN/Sports Illustrated and consensus All-Big Ten first-team pick as a senior, as well as being a candidate for both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Awards.
* Co-recipient of the Hugh H. Rader Award for his junior and senior years, given to the team’s top offensive lineman.
* In 1999, he was an All-Big Ten first-team selection by the media, and earned University of Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement honors after starting every game at left tackle.
* Collected 67 key blocks as a junior for an offense that averaged 264.8 yards per game passing.
* Started at left tackle during Michigan’s march to the 1997 Rose Bowl and had a hand in Wolverines winning a piece of the National Championship (Associated Press).
* General studies major at Michigan and earned his degree in December 2000.

PERSONAL:
Born Jeffrey Carl Backus on September 21, 1977 in Midland, Mich.
* Selected to the first-team All-USA squad by USA Today at Norcross (Ga.) High.
* He was also picked to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 and the Super Seven of the Macon Touchdown Club and was chosen as the Gwinnett Touchdown Club Lineman of the Year.
* Selected to play in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game following his senior season.
* Named All-American by Scholastic Coach, Schutt Sports, Reebok, Prep Football Report, Super Prep and was a member of Blue Chip Illustrated’s Dream Team.
* Also started four years of high school baseball, playing first base and pitcher.
* His mother, uncle and grandfather all graduated from Michigan.

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