Jeff Blake

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeff Blake
Date of birth	December 4, 1970
Place of birth	Daytona Beach, Florida
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	East Carolina University
NFL Draft	1992 / Round 6
Pro Bowls	1
Statistics	NFL.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1992-1993 1994-1999 2000-2001 2002 2003 2004 2005	New York Jets Cincinnati Bengals New Orleans Saints Baltimore Ravens Arizona Cardinals Philadelphia Eagles Chicago Bears

Jeff Bertrand Coleman Blake (born December 4, 1970 in Daytona Beach, Florida) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the NFL. Although he finished his career with the Chicago Bears, he was formerly a quarterback for the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Jets out of East Carolina University. His only Pro Bowl appearance came with the Bengals, when he selected as the starting quarterback for the AFC team. In that contest, Blake threw a Pro Bowl record-long 92 yard touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen.

Blake's best seasons came with Cincinnati in the mid-to-late 1990's; he established great rapport with Bengal receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott, helping the former vie for the receiving title in 1995. Though Blake had his limitations as an NFL quarterback, he was widely regarded as the owner of the best deep ball in the league, a tightly spinning, soft, catchable pass.

Blake was signed by the Chicago Bears before the 2005 NFL season to replace back-up quarterback, Chad Hutchinson. Following an injury to the Bears' starting quarterback, Rex Grossman, coach Lovie Smith opted to select rookie Kyle Orton to fill the slot as opposed to Blake. During the last game of the regular NFL season, Blake was put in to replace Kyle Orton during the fourth quarter, completing eight of nine passes.

Blake's contract with the Bears expired before the start of the 2006 NFL Season. His position was filled by Kyle Orton, who was demoted after the Bears signed Brian Griese to serve as Grossman's back-up. At the conclusion of his thirteen year career, Blake amassed 21,711 passing yards, with 134 touchdown passes, and 99 interceptions. A mobile quarterback, Blake has ran for 2,027 career rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. His longevity has been legitimate, as shown by his 100 career starts.

[edit] Trivia

• Blake is the brother-in-law of former Dallas Cowboys' linebacker Robert Jones.

[edit] External links

• Blake's NFL Profile

Preceded by: David Klingler	Cincinnati Bengals Starting Quarterbacks 1994-1997	Succeeded by: Neil O'Donnell
Preceded by: Neil O'Donnell	Cincinnati Bengals Starting Quarterbacks 1999	Succeeded by: Akili Smith
Preceded by: Billy Joe Tolliver	New Orleans Saints Starting Quarterbacks 2000	Succeeded by: Aaron Brooks
Preceded by: Chris Redman	Baltimore Ravens Starting Quarterbacks 2002	Succeeded by: Kyle Boller
Preceded by: Jake Plummer	Arizona Cardinals Starting Quarterbacks 2003	Succeeded by: Josh McCown