Michael Jason Gruttadauria (born December 6, 1972 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

) is a former center (American football)

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 who played eight seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 with the St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

 and the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

NFL center

Michael was an undrafted free agent to the Dallas Cowboys in 1995. He was able to land a practice squad spot, but was released with the entire practice squad when the Cowboys signed Deon Sanders. In 1996 Gruttadauria became the starting center of the St. Louis Rams. Though Gruttadauria entered each year with the Rams as the starter, injuries and knee surgeries limited his starts. He was injured himself through most of the 1998 season but returned strong in 1999, starting all 16 games for the Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

-winning team. He then signed a lucrative contract as a free agent for the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 2000, but, because of injuries, played only half the year in 2000 and 2002, his final year, though he played 15 games in 2001.

In the 1999-00 NFL playoffs, with Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner

Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner is a retired American football player. He played quarterback for three National Football League teams: the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994 after playing...

 at quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, St. Louis led the NFL with 526 points (32.9 points/game) and finished with a 13-3 won-lost mark, best in the NFC west division. In the divisional round, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

, amassing 374 net passing yards thanks to excellent pass protection, despite 2 sacks for 17 yards lost. Gruttadauria with guards Tom Nutten

Tom Nütten

Tom Nütten is a former American football guard who played eight seasons in the National Football League with the St. Louis Rams. He was raised in Oelde, Germany and played high school football in ]]Champlain CEGEP, Lennoxville, Quebec and at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec...

 and Adam Timmerman

Adam Timmerman

Adam Larry Timmerman is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He played for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams between 1995 and 2006...

 as well as tackles Orlando Pace

Orlando Pace

Orlando Lamar Pace is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State. Pace has started all 16 games eight times and blocked for three straight NFL MVPs...

 and Fred Miller

Fred Miller

-American football:*Fred Miller , American football tackle for the University of Notre Dame, heir to Miller Brewing Company...

 continued to protect Warner effectively in the NFC championship game, squeezing past the excellent defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 11-7. Though pitted against Warren Sapp

Warren Sapp

Warren Carlos Sapp is a retired American football player who played defensive tackle in the National Football League. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders during his 13 year professional career, and college football for the University of Miami Hurricanes. He was then...

 and Brad Culpepper

Brad Culpepper

John Broward "Brad" Culpepper is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League for nine seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s...

 at defensive tackle, Gruttadauria and the rest of the line did not allow a sack and gained 258 net passing yards. In Super Bowl XXXIV

Super Bowl XXXIV

Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...

, the Rams won another squeaker against the Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

 23-16, with 407 net passing yards (1 sack for 7 yards lost) and a mere 29 rushing yards. Some of the success of that team was due to the strategy of the center occasionally snapping the ball very quickly back to Warner, catching the opposing defensive line off-guard.

In 2001 Gruttadauria was awarded the ED BLOCK Award.

External links

• http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GrutMi20.htm