Will Flutie's jealousy strike again?

By Steve Goldstein Sports Central Columnist

Doug Flutie's history as an NFL quarterback has been rather checkered. His great college career didn't convince too many league scouts and coaches that he could succeed as a No. 1 signal-caller.

The only real problem they could cite, though, was a lack of height. They felt he wouldn't be able to see over his offensive line, making him easy prey for deflections and interceptions.

Flutie proved most of them wrong by excelling in the Canadian Football League, which earned him another shot at the NFL.

Buffalo seemed to be the perfect fit. Flutie was beloved in the Northeast, plus his competitive nature and elusiveness made almost every game exciting. And the Bills did win more often than not with Flutie at the controls. The Bills didn't win a Super Bowl with Flutie, but even Jim Kelly couldn't lead them to that. Rob Johnson wouldn't do that either, but he was taller than Flutie, and younger.

Flutie was understandably upset about losing the top job to the unproven Johnson, who'd been given millions of dollars to leave Jacksonville for Buffalo. Despite the lack of guaranteed contracts in the NFL, the Bills had invested a lot of money in Johnson. So, he needed to be the starter.

Flutie, unlike Drew Bledsoe last year in New England, didn't support his replacement. Instead, he tore the team apart, bad-mouthing Johnson. Flutie called him brittle and a weak leader. Flutie may have been right, but he shouldn't have tried to destroy the team. That wasn't the way to get his starting job back. Finally, the Bills couldn't take it any longer and dropped Flutie.

His former Buffalo General Manager, John Butler, swooped in and brought Flutie to San Diego. The Chargers were 5-2 after the 2001 season's first seven games. Then the interceptions started coming. Flutie was missing receivers and giving up big plays in the other direction.

Last season's offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, had worked with Troy Aikman and said that Flutie's rookie backup Drew Brees reminded him of Aikman. No one had ever said that about Flutie.

Turner departed for Miami after not getting the San Diego head job. That seemed to indicate that Brees wouldn't be starting for the Chargers this year. Then Schottenheimer surprised most observers by picking Brees over Flutie, at least for the first week of the season.

Flutie's saying all the right things about Brees. Flutie says he'll support Brees and answer any questions he may have. Doug Flutie is saying he wants the team to win, and he respects Drew Brees.

For the sake of San Diego Chargers fans who'd like the team to return to the playoffs after a seven-year drought, let's hope Flutie's telling the truth. And let's hope they keep any knives away from him. It'll lessen his temptation to stab Brees in the back.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.