Professional Career
Despite being one of the top kickers available in the 2003 NFL Draft, Duval was not drafted into the National Football League, but did sign as an undrafted free agent with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. He was waived by Jacksonville on June 19, 2003 and later signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He was waived by Atlanta on August 29, 2004, and subsequently left the NFL to sign with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Duval made an immediate impact on the CFL, leading the league in scoring his rookie season (2005) with 191 points and proved to be very reliable kicking field goals. His 2005 CFL highlight came in the 93rd Grey Cup when he made a 27 yard field goal with no time left to force overtime. Continuing his 2005 success, Duval led the league in field goal percentage with 86.4% in 2006 which led to his making the 2006 All Star team. He also finished second in kicking points (201), punting average (45.4 yards) and kickoff average (61.1 yards). Duval's strong play helped Montreal reach the 94th Grey Cup by kicking a game sealing field goal in the Division finals. Unfortunately, his team fell short again despite Duval's 43 yard field goal in the second quarter. On November 7, 2009 he set the record for points in the CFL regular season with 242, again with the Montreal Alouettes.
In the 2009 Grey Cup Championship November 29, Duval's field goal from 33 yards out on the game's final play gave the Alouettes a 28-27 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, capping a remarkable Montreal comeback. Duval had actually missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on what should have been the last play of the game, but the Roughriders were penalized for having too many men on the field. Duval helped the Alouettes win back-to-back Grey Cups with the team's second straight win in 2010.
After the 2010 season, Duval became a free agent and he signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on June 6, 2011. After spending one season with the Eskimos, he was released on February 1, 2012.
Read more about this topic: Damon Duval
Famous quotes containing the words professional and/or career:
“I sometimes wonder whether, in the still, sleepless hours of the night, the consciences of ... professional gossips do not stalk them. I myself believe in a final reckoning, when we shall be held accountable for our misdeeds. Do they? If so, they have cause to worry over many scoops that brought them a day’s dubious laurels and perhaps destroyed someone’s peace forever.”
—Mary Pickford (1893–1979)
““Never hug and kiss your children! Mother love may make your children’s infancy unhappy and prevent them from pursuing a career or getting married!” That’s total hogwash, of course. But it shows on extreme example of what state-of-the-art “scientific” parenting was supposed to be in early twentieth-century America. After all, that was the heyday of efficiency experts, time-and-motion studies, and the like.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)