Nick Cameron (Napoleon's World)

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cameron (born April 2, 1976) is a former American football player who was the starting quarterback for the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers from when he was drafted by them with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft until he retired following the 2013 season. He spent four years as the starting quarterback at Washington State University, where he won the 1997 Bosch Trophy, the school's first and to date only. Having won two Super Bowls (XXXVI, XLI), two Super Bowl MVPs, five MVP awards (2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2011), three Offensive Player of the Year awards (2000, 2001, 2002) and setting the single-season passing touchdown record in 2001 and then breaking his own record in 2005 and 2008, as well as holding the total career passing touchdowns record, Cameron is regarding as one of the best players in the history of the sport. His #12 jersey was retired in San Francisco in 2014 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2018.

Early Life

Nicholas Edward Cameron was born in Bellingham, Washington, on April 2, 1976 to Ed (1946-) and Martha Cameron (1950-). Cameron was the eldest of four brothers. His father had played collegiate football at Western Washington University in Bellingham and as the assistant offensive coordinator for WWU, and later offensive coordinator and head coach, throughout his life. Ed Cameron retired from WWU in 2005 after having spent seventeen years as the Vikings' head coach.

Cameron started playing football in elementary school and attended Sehome Senior High School, where he was a three-year starter from the moment he started high school in 10th grade. The Mariners won Washington 3A state championships in 1992 and 1993, his junior and senior seasons, and Cameron was named the Sports Illustrated and Tacoma Tribune Player of the Year for Washington state both years, and was named as the Mr. Football for Washington and the WIAA Senior of the Year in any sport as a senior. He graduated from Sehome in June of 1994 as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in state history, owning several high school passing records.

College Career

Having played a prolific career in Washington, Cameron was advised by his father to stay in the Pacific Northwest to improve his local exposure. Due to the struggles of the University of Washington football program in the early 1990s, Cameron narrowed his choices down to Pacifica, Oregon or Washington State prior to his senior season. While Cameron was intrigued with the clearly improving Pacifica program, he eventually determined that playing in Sahalee would place him too close to his home and would prevent him from "leaving Bellingham properly." Despite a heavy push by Oregon, which at the time of his recruitment was coming off of a third consecutive PCC championship, Cameron opted to stay in-state at WSU and went to Coeur d'Alene for fall camp in the summer of 1994.

While head coach John Forrest had initially planned to redshirt Cameron, he promoted him to backup at the end of fall camp and then was forced to send him into action after the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Josh Eckhard in the middle of the 1994 season. Cameron wound up starting the final five games of the regular season, winning all but the Oregon game, and lost his start against the heavily favored No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Silver Bowl.

Cameron was the clear starter in 1995 and led the Cougars to a surprise second-place finish in the Northwest Division behind Pacifica. The 8-4 Cougars, however, did not qualify for the Elite Series, and instead played in the Emerald Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers. Cameron set a WSU bowl record with five passing touchdowns and no interceptions, and completed 18 straight passes to emerge as a potential Bosch candidate the next year.

In 1996, Cameron led the Cougars to their first-ever PCC championship and an 11-1 record, losing only to USC in the regular season but avenging their loss in the PCC championship game. On the season, he set Cougar regular season records with 3,123 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes. His TD-INT ratio of 25-5 is still the best in Cougar history. WSU dominated Iowa in their first-ever Rose Bowl appearance, winning 43-17 behind Cameron's four passing touchdowns, and the Cougars ended the season No. 3. Cameron placed third in Bosch voting behind clear winner Ricky Evans and runner-up Aarron Goodfellow.

Many suspected that Cameron would declare for the 1997 Draft after his dominant junior season

Professional Career: 1998-Present

2005: Second TD Record and Second Super Bowl

After three straight NFC Championship losses to the Storm and with considerable cap space, the 49ers retooled much of their defense prior to the 2005 regular season, bringing in new defensive coordinator Greg Angio along with free agent defenders such as linebacker James Brock (Dolphins, NFL), defensive end Henry Waits (Totems) and cornerback Oliver Jackson (Cowboys, AFL)

2006-2007

The Niners suffered from a hangover after their record-setting offensive year capped with their dominant Super Bowl win, along with the exodus of a number of talented players from their ranks, such as __ and __, as well as losing both their coordinators, with Gary Kubiak leaving to take over as head coach of the Houston Oilers and Greg Angio departing to coach the Detroit Lions. As a result, the 49ers were expected to take a step back as they retooled the team, but the decline was a surprise even to those expecting a setback. Cameron had his worst statistical year, throwing for only 2,817 yards, 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, a career high up to that point, and the 49ers struggled on defense throughout 2006, particularly in the fourth quarter. They started the year with a 1-6 record, the worst by a defending champion in NFL history, and Cameron was benched during a 41-10 loss on the road to the Chicago Bears after throwing three interceptions in the first half in their first game back from their bye.

After the humiliation, Cameron gave a feisty press conference after the game where he angrily declared, "It's not good enough, we know it's not good enough, and it won't happen again." The 49ers proceeded to go 7-2 down the stretch, beating eventual division champion and archrival Sahalee twice and closing out 2006 with a four-game win streak that included home routs of the Packers and Rattlers, a 24-14 road upset of the Storm in which Cameron ran the ball in late for a touchdown on a scramble to put the game away, and 26-23 overtime win at Mile High in Denver over the Broncos to close out with an 8-8 record and avoid what would have been his first losing season. However, the 49ers failed to advance to the playoffs for the first time in Cameron's career.

After the hot streak to end 2006, there was renewed optimism for the 49ers coming into 2007. They

2008: Fourth MVP and Third TD Record

Cameron had, statistically, his most impressive season with San Francisco in 2008, despite what many saw as a weaker roster depleted by injuries and free agency departures. The campaign opened with a 4-0 record in September, in which Cameron had 1,249 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions and a passer rating of 139.7, an unprecedented statistic which earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week three occasions and NFC Player of the Month. The highlight was a Week 3, 44-13 demolition of the NFL's best defense in the Chicago Bears, who were the eventual Super Bowl champions, with 3 touchdown passes and 304 passing yards on the game. The 49ers began to struggle as October arrived, however, with a 30-28 home loss to the Patriots despite Cameron passing for four touchdowns, and they won their next two games thanks only to a Herculean performance in each by Cameron. 6-1 going into their game against archrivals Sahalee, the 49ers were frustrated, with Cameron throwing two of his four interceptions so far that season in the game, which the 49ers would lose at home 34-20. The bye week offered little respite - a road match at the Firebirds resulted in a narrow 28-24 loss after Cameron threw a pick in the endzone with three seconds left.

The midseason struggle would culminate with a thrilling, one-point road loss to the Cowboys that saw Cameron regain his early season form passing for four touchdowns even though the 49ers lost 35-34. It would be the last regular season loss - now 7-4 and at risk of missing out on a first-round bye to either the Cowboys or conference-leading Panthers, the 49ers tore off a five game win streak to close out the year. Cameron passed for 1,199 yards, 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions, despite missing most of the gritty road win against the Argonauts after famously taking himself out of the game because he felt "he was only at 80% and my teammates deserve 100." Having tweaked his ankle against the Jets the weekend before (a four touchdown, 388 yard performance) and feeling mentally exhausted, Cameron elected after two drives that include two near-miss interceptions on consecutive passes to allow backup Shaun Dearing to step in and lead the team to a 16-7 win. Cameron received both praise and criticism for the move, with some admiring his putting the team first when he felt he could not position San Francisco for a win and others remarking that as the key franchise player he should have "toughed it out."

San Francisco's 5-game hot streak to end the season, reminiscent of their strong close to 2006, earned them the top seed in the NFC and home field advantage, and a well-deserved weeks rest. Cameron finished the season having thrown for 51 touchdowns, breaking his own record from 2005 and making him the first quarterback to ever pass for 50 or more touchdowns, and 5,027 yards, just seventeen short of the record set in 1984 by Dan Marino, and making him just the second quarterback in history to pass for 5,000 or more yards. He was the NFL MVP for a fourth time, but narrowly missed being awarded Offensive Player of the Year to Michael Vick, to some substantial controversy.

Despite the accolades, Cameron's 49ers had suffered key injuries down the stretch and faced Philadelphia, the sixth seed but arguably only team as hot as San Francisco down the stretch, in the divisional round. At home, Philly's defense stymied Cameron, picking him off twice and allowing him only one touchdown, as similarly hot-streaking second-year quarterback Brady Quinn threw for three touchdowns and 302 yards and no interceptions in a 34-13 rout. It was only the third one-and-done in the playoffs in Cameron's career, and the first since the Eagles defeated his 2nd-ranked 49ers in the 2001-02 playoffs. Thanks to a weaker roster, Cameron's recurring trouble with his ankles and mental exhaustion, and him having to effectively single-handedly will the 49ers to a top-seeded ranking, the 2008 season is regarded as one of the best, if not the most impressive, by a quarterback in the history of the sport.

2012 and 2013

After his MVP season, Nick Cameron restructured his contract to allow the 49ers to sign more weapons on offense and defense. Despite being preseason favorites to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2005, Cameron struggled with an ankle injury suffered during training camp and exacerbated in the opener against the Rattlers. He missed four games - the most in a single season in his career - and threw 20 interceptions, his most in one season.

Records and Achievements

Professional

• Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2011
• NFL Offensive Player of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2011
• Super Bowl Champion: XXXVI, XLI
• Super Bowl MVP: XXXVI, XLI
• NFC Champion: 2000, 2005
• NFC West Division Champion: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
• Playoff Appearances: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
• NFL Comeback Player of the Year: 2013
• NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: 1998
• Most regular season passing touchdowns all-time: 51 (2008)
• Most regular season passing yards all-time: 5,266 (2011)
• Most regular season completions: __
• Regular season completion percentage all-time: 63.4% (2nd)
• Most postseason passing touchdowns all time: 14 (2000)
• First overall draft pick: 1998