David Mark Archer (born February 15, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for six seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Iowa State Cyclones. Undrafted in the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

, he played in the NFL from 1984 to 1989 for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Early life

Born in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

, Archer attended Soda Springs High School in Soda Springs, Idaho.

College career

After high school, Archer played football at

Snow College Snow College is a Public college, public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees along with bachelor's degrees in music, software engineering, and nursing. Snow College is part of the Utah System of High ...

Ephraim, Utah Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,611 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is locat ...

. In 1981, in his second season with the Badgers, Archer received Juco All-American honors and was fourth in the country in passing. This caught the attention of Donnie Duncan and the Iowa State coaching staff. Archer began his Iowa State career with the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

season. He had some individual success with 1,465 yard of passing offense, but the team struggled to a 4-6-1 record. The following season under Jim Criner's downfield oriented offense, Archer flourished. He paired up with All-American receiver Tracy Henderson to form one of the most lethal QB-WR duos in ISU history. Archer set school marks in pass completions (234), attempts (403), yards (2,639), total offense (2,698), touchdowns (18) and lowest interception percentage (.029). He led the Big Eight and ranked eighth nationally in total offense while his favorite target Henderson caught a then-school record 1,051 yards, ranking third nationally. In one of Archer's best games, he threw for a then-school-record 346 yards against the No. 1-ranked

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

team, helping the Cyclones put up the most points (29) against the Cornhuskers in the regular season. His 2,639 passing yards and 2,698 yards of total offense his senior season are still the second-best single-season marks in Iowa State history.

Statistics

NFL career

Archer was drafted in the ninth round of the 1984 USFL Draft by the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was an American football franchise in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado; and were co-tenants in the spring with the Triple-A ...

, but was not called in the NFL draft. He opted to not sign with USFL and chose to sign a free-agent contract with the NFL's

. This decision ultimately paid off because in his second NFL season he was named the starting QB. He led Atlanta with 1,992 passing yards. The following season he kept the starting job, led the Falcons to a 5-1-1 record after seven games, was named NFC Player of the Month for September, and kept the Falcons rolling until an injury ended his season with five games remaining. He finished the year with 2,007 passing yards and 10 touchdown strikes in 11 games, throwing for a career-high 350 yards against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. The mobile Archer proved to be one of the better running QBs in the league, ranking at the top of the NFL in QB rushing yards in both

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

(347 yards) and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

(298). Archer played five more seasons in the NFL, finishing his final years with the

, and

Statistics

WLAF and CFL career

Archer played for the

Sacramento Surge The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Charles C. Hughes Stadium, Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the se ...

of the WLAF in 1992, throwing for 2,964 yards (

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded ...

single season record) and leading them to a

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

championship, where he was named game MVP. In 1993, the same ownership group who owned the Surge (who folded along with the rest of the WLAF's North American teams following the 1992 season) transferred Archer to their new

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) team, the Sacramento Gold Miners (part of the league's United States expansion). As a Gold Miner, in 1993, he threw for 6,023 yards, still the fifth most in any CFL season (

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football quarterback who played for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Footb ...

of the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

threw for even more yards that year.) He threw for 3,340 yards for Sacramento in 1994. He played with the

San Antonio Texans The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Mi ...

in 1995, and the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

in 1996. After the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

folded, he was drafted by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

in the dispersal draft. He decided to not play in Saskatchewan as the contract offer was too low and retired instead. He spent the 1997 season as a CFL television analyst and returned to the CFL with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

in 1998. His final game was the Western Final playoff game against the

with Jeff Garcia at quarterback. Calgary won and went on to win the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

. Archer retired after that game and is now the color analyst for the

alongside

Wes Durham Dallas Wesley "Wes" Durham (born January 25, 1966, in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American sportscaster. He is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ACC Network coverage of college football and basketball. Durham served as the radio play-b ...

and ACC college football. In his five seasons in the CFL, he completed 1,388 of 2,434 passes (57%) for 20,671 yards with 120 touchdown passes and 71 interceptions.

Broadcasting career

In 2004, Archer made the move from pre- and post-game show host to the booth as the main color commentator for the Falcons' games on their flagship station, 92.9 the Game FM. Additionally, he serves as a color analyst for ACC football games for the Raycom network as well.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, David 1962 births Living people American football quarterbacks Players of Canadian football from Idaho Atlanta Falcons announcers Atlanta Falcons players Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football quarterbacks College football announcers Edmonton Elks players Iowa State Cyclones football players NFL announcers Ottawa Rough Riders players Snow Badgers football players Philadelphia Eagles players Sacramento Gold Miners players Sacramento Surge players San Antonio Texans players San Diego Chargers players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from Fayetteville, North Carolina Players of American football from Idaho Players of Canadian football from North Carolina World Bowl MVPs