NFL: Who's Laughing Now?

By Zack Cimini
Notjustgame.com

Every year there is a veteran that’s in the fading point of their career that is found buried on a Super Bowl roster. This year is no different and that player happens to be third string quarterback Jeff Blake. He could easily be a starting quarterback, but for some reason NFL teams don’t give him enough time to mature in an offense before pulling the string. At 35 years old opportunities to start again will be slim, but a Super Bowl win tomorrow will make it all worth it. There isn’t a quarterback in the NFL that has gone through more frustration due to front office’s egos and constraints.

Four seasons ago Blake was with the New Orleans Saints and enduring a phenomenal year. He had the team rolling and looked like the Saints would be a factor for years to come. Then Blake got hurt and just like a bad dream, the youngster shined in the spotlight in Aaron Brooks. Everyone was mum on the talk of Blake, and played him off like he was a nobody. Few people take into account that Aaron Brooks in all reality hasn’t led this team past .500 since starting, because the sole year the Saints went to the playoffs was largely due to Blake’s rocket launch start that year.

Blake was a man about the situation in New Orleans, and next headed to Baltimore, which seemed like a fitting spot. With no receivers to throw to he really struggled with the Ravens, and rather than wait to pane things out, the Ravens decided to put the ball in the hands of Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright. In this case it was the right decision, as Blake never looked comfortable.

Arizona was looking for a new quarterback with the departure of Jake Plummer, and decided to continue the veteran’s route. From the gate Blake showed strong signs by having a field day against the Detroit Lions with rookie receiver Anquan Boldin. The Cardinals though were always plagued by horrible miscues and mistakes and the full blame always went on the shoulders of Blake. Still, with Dennis Green coming in and bring in a new philosophy it looked like things would be up for Blake. Shockingly, Green never even approached Blake before cutting him, and handed the job to unproven quarterback Josh McCown.

Looking at the decision you can only shake your head, at the inadequate thinking on Green’s part. How in the world are you going to put your faith into Josh McCown without even acknowledging the presence of Blake? It would be understandable if he let Blake go after a horrible preseason or a rough start to the season, but from the gate is just stupefying. The whole year the Cardinals struggled at quarterback, and in all likelihood missed out on a division title because of that. If Blake would have been a Cardinal, there is no doubt he would have led that team to the playoffs.

Blake is a quarterback that has the journeyman label that you’d expect an NBA player to have. Yet there is a reason why he continues to stick around, and that’s because he possesses one of the best deep balls of any quarterbacks. Who can forget the missiles he used to throw to Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott?

Blake will finish his career with no notoriety, but what makes his career special is he never gave up. For all the Tim Couch’s and Cade McNown’s that give up, an athlete like Jeff Blake shows how having a true love of the game never wears off. If Donovan McNabb leads the Eagles to victory, you can bet Blake will be celebrating as if he was the starter. You get the feeling that Blake got tired of putting his faith in the hands of coaches that were guaranteeing him a starting job, and he decided to go to a team that had a chance at a title.

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