Blake makes me optimistic about this season

[Jetstream Green]

Jeff Blake for one reason or another has never been given the credit he has deserved. Why the Bengals ever got rid of him is beyond me. Why did the Ravens penny-pinch him when he ran their offense the way the Ravens run an offense, conservative and allow the defense to win. If the Ravens where not a high octane scoring machine, it was their offensive game plan and not Blake's fault. When with the Saints the offense was more aggressive and he was lighting people up, Blake gets hurt and enters Brooks and all of a sudden he becomes an after thought.

Jeff Blake is not a great QB but he is also not an everage QB. Jeff Blake is a good QB and teams like Dallas and Washington would only be so lucky if he was their signal caller this year. I like Blake and the Cardinal's chances because he is our QB.

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

Too many people make age such a large factor in the NFL. As soon as you hit those late-twenties- BAM- they're looking to replace you. The Raiders were smart and are milking everything they can out of older players, plus, Gannon never got any respect, but age helped him become a potential Hall of Famer. Blake did good in NO, but as soon as they thought Brooks was ready, Blake was gone. (Brooks by the way is still struggling). The same in Baltimore. Hopefully the Cardinals won't be stupid and try to force McNown in the starting position. Lets milk Blake for all he is worth, and he might be easily be worth something in his late thirties!

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by Oran
Too many people make age such a large factor in the NFL. As soon as you hit those late-twenties- BAM- they're looking to replace you. The Raiders were smart and are milking everything they can out of older players, plus, Gannon never got any respect, but age helped him become a potential Hall of Famer. Blake did good in NO, but as soon as they thought Brooks was ready, Blake was gone. (Brooks by the way is still struggling). The same in Baltimore. Hopefully the Cardinals won't be stupid and try to force McNown in the starting position. Lets milk Blake for all he is worth, and he might be easily be worth something in his late thirties!

Rodney Peete has managed to keep one step ahead of "the grim reaper" as well. Jeff Blake will be given every opportunity to transistion the team to the QB of the future (McCown or Parsons) on his terms. I think we would be wise to lean on his leadership and mentoring capabilities for the next two years at least.

 

[Pariah]

Originally posted by Oran
Gannon never got any respect, but age helped him become a potential Hall of Famer.

HAHAHA...no. Gannon is not HOF material.

 

[Russ Smith]

Originally posted by Oran
Too many people make age such a large factor in the NFL. As soon as you hit those late-twenties- BAM- they're looking to replace you. The Raiders were smart and are milking everything they can out of older players, plus, Gannon never got any respect, but age helped him become a potential Hall of Famer. Blake did good in NO, but as soon as they thought Brooks was ready, Blake was gone. (Brooks by the way is still struggling). The same in Baltimore. Hopefully the Cardinals won't be stupid and try to force McNown in the starting position. Lets milk Blake for all he is worth, and he might be easily be worth something in his late thirties!

In Blake's case it's usually been injury, or questions about his leadership that cost him jobs.

Back in 96 he had a great year, 24 TD's, and he was the man in Cincy. Next year they signed Boomer, his last season, as a backup and Blake had a terrible season. he was playing hurt, playing looking over his shoulder(although he said he wasn't) and he eventually got a concussion and missed games with dizzy spells. Boomer took over and played so well he stayed the starter(Blake started 11 games). Boomer retired but Cincy decided BLake wasn't a "leader" so they signed O'Donnell.

Next year the plan was to expose both O'Donnell and Blake to the franchise draft so they could get their contracts off the books and draft a QB. Both got hurt, couldn't be in the draft, so they eventually let Neil go, kept Jeff and drafted Akili Smith.

I was reading a lot of stuff by a Cincy Enquirer writer named Tim Sullivan written in 97(online) and it's amazing to see the shift on Blake. Everyone loved him, even Boomer said it was his job and AFTER retiring said Jeff should be the starter. Then all of a sudden Sullivan said you hear everyone saying he's not a leader, the NFL has figured him out, he accepted being benched too easily etc. Basically they lost faith in him watching Boomer play so well and they decided to go another way.

I think Jeff is a good NFL QB, not a great one, and a perfect fit for this team.

 

[jtav10]

i think jeff will have passed for nearly 30,000 yards before he is thru and i still beleive we are playoff contender because of his arm and competitive edge.

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

Gannon never got any respect, but age helped him become a potential Hall of Famer.

I said POTENTIAL Hall of Famer. If he wins a Super Bowl and has three more good years, who are you to say he won't make it?

 

[Tashunca]

Jeff Blake will most likely go to the HOF as a coach! Time is running out on him. His father was a coach. Blake's young son is throwing 40 yard strikes. And..it was Blake's suggestions to Jim Hazlit on how to use him (Blake) that caused the six consecutive game winning streak that propelled the Saints into the Playoffs! (2000). I see Blake becoming a quarterback coach and then an Offensive Coordinator after his playing days are over. But let us remember: The Chief of the Cincy Bengals NEVER WANTED HIM. When Blake was putting up those big numbers Mike Brown HATED IT! Blake was a "small" guy from a "small" school. And in "other ways" was not the kind of guy to swagger around about in the uppity circles of the special classes! etc. etc. etc. It got so bad that they couldn't pass each other in the hallways of the Cincy facility. When the city council passed the legislation that got the city to approve the funding of the new stadium many of the sports writers suggested that it be called "Jeff Blake Stadium" because it was Jeff that rescued football in Cincinnati. Earlier you will recall it was the writers (and the fans) that helped FORCE Mike Brown to give Blake a raise when Blake's agent and Brown were tussling over a new contract after Blake's unexpected performance. At the time Mike Brown said about his OWN QUARTERBACK "Jeff Blake is not one of the premium quarterbacks in the National Football League". Later Jeff Blake went on the the Pro-Bowl. Blake was later rescued from this swampit by Jim Hazlit. As has been said on some other occasions... "you can't make this stuff up"!