1994 1995 Jeff Blake puts together a nice run of
Pro Bowl seasons. The Bengals go 7-9 8-8. But in 1996 for
Whatever reason the offense gets off to a slow start
And after 11 games he gets benched for Boomer.
I think they sign Neil O'Donnell to a huge contract in 97.
Does anyone recall why the organization gave up on Blake
So fast ? Seems to be Blake still was quite young and had
Alot left.
1997 till.Carson got drafted the front office was just burning
Through QBs.

The slow start in 1996 was partly on poor scheming and partly on Blake himself. I liked him a lot but there were holes in his game which centered around touch on his short passes and also the technical aspects of the QB position. Remember when we brought in Boomer those last five game he put on a clinic in QB excellence. But Mikey would not do the obvious thing and sign him for the next season.

Blake was a cool QB but he needed seasoning and a lot of work on his short passing game.

Didn't he have a coupla good seasons with the Saints after he left the Bengals?

(05-10-2020, 06:41 PM)Joelist Wrote: The slow start in 1996 was partly on poor scheming and partly on Blake himself. I liked him a lot but there were holes in his game which centered around touch on his short passes and also the technical aspects of the QB position. Remember when we brought in Boomer those last five game he put on a clinic in QB excellence. But Mikey would not do the obvious thing and sign him for the next season.

Blake was a cool QB but he needed seasoning and a lot of work on his short passing game.

Didn't Boomer get the MNF Gig and that's why he left the Bengals.
Anyways it was 97 that Boomer was signed and 98 that O'Donell was signed.

This is a good recent interview if anyone is interested.

https://youtu.be/agKrcY3KiLU

(05-10-2020, 06:41 PM)Joelist Wrote: The slow start in 1996 was partly on poor scheming and partly on Blake himself. I liked him a lot but there were holes in his game which centered around touch on his short passes and also the technical aspects of the QB position. Remember when we brought in Boomer those last five game he put on a clinic in QB excellence. But Mikey would not do the obvious thing and sign him for the next season.

Blake was a cool QB but he needed seasoning and a lot of work on his short passing game.

This is on point.  Blake was a lot of fun to watch, that deep ball was a Mike Tyson punch that could happen anytime.  Problem is when you take that away and make him a pocket passer, he not only had a low completion percentage but didn't hit guys in stride with the short game. 

https://youtu.be/nziErugRnqQ
If you look at his highlights, they're a lot of broken plays, quick reads for a moon ball to Darnay/Carl or hitting a short target for zero YAC.  If all goes right, you have a pro bowl but this was the great what if back then.  What if they had a field general like O'Donnell, Justin, Mitchell and later Kitna to just let guys make plays?  It also puts you (wrongly) in the mindset of what if we had a rocket arm that could develop into a qb.  That's how we ended up with Akili and not a Ricky Williams trade.  

Blake was always a fun but bridge qb.  If they would have fixed the pass rush, maybe Blake wins a playoff game with those teams but not a ring.  He was what he was, and they were not going to give him the 4 yr deal for starter money the Saints did.  They were always going to replace him, but he really made those bad teams fun.  

(05-10-2020, 06:41 PM)Joelist Wrote: The slow start in 1996 was partly on poor scheming and partly on Blake himself. I liked him a lot but there were holes in his game which centered around touch on his short passes and also the technical aspects of the QB position. Remember when we brought in Boomer those last five game he put on a clinic in QB excellence. But Mikey would not do the obvious thing and sign him for the next season.

Blake was a cool QB but he needed seasoning and a lot of work on his short passing game.

That's not what happened at all.

Mike wanted to sign him.  But Boomer was offered the MNF job and Mike told him go take that job with our blessings.

(05-10-2020, 06:41 PM)Joelist Wrote: Remember when we brought in Boomer those last five game he put on a clinic in QB excellence. But Mikey would not do the obvious thing and sign him for the next season.

I remember something entirely different. They wanted Boomer back the next year but he was offered a job on MNF and he took it since his career was winding down. 

MNF followed Mikey declining to bring him back.

Jeff Blake was a one trick pony with the deep ball. Now, he had an awesome deep ball, but not much else.

Who was the OC during Blake's years as a starter ?

Better deep ball...Blake or Palmer?

(05-10-2020, 08:21 PM)Joelist Wrote: MNF followed Mikey declining to bring him back.

Wrong.. 

(05-10-2020, 10:24 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Wrong.. 

Mike Brown basically told Boomer to take the MNF job. It came down to, hey we're not going to give you a big contract so you're better off taking the TV gig.

As for Blake, he created some excitement and made big plays, but the short and intermediate game was really lacking.

(05-10-2020, 09:55 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Better deep ball...Blake or Palmer?

Whoa... That's actually a a tough one. Probably a push on deep throws alone.

(05-10-2020, 09:55 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Better deep ball...Blake or Palmer?

Depends on what "deep" means.  Palmer could drop in missles through a window like the millitary to beat a cover 2 30-40 yards down the field.  He made all the throws accurately, deep included.  It just came down to a clean pocket (being a statue).

Blake had this unreal nack for winding up after stepping up and chucking it 60 yards into orbit where it dropped into a receiver's outstretched arms.  I mean quick reads as if he were just lobbing it to get rid of it and boom in stride.  It's a good question but in this one respect Blake wins what I'd consider a deep ball with those moon shots. 

I thought Palmer had better talent around him than Blake had
Heck Palmer had better coaches
Blake had to put up 24 a game just to keep it close

(05-11-2020, 12:05 AM)impactplaya Wrote: I thought Palmer had better talent around him than Blake had
Heck Palmer had better coaches
Blake had to put up 24 a game just to keep it close

Well yeah...I don’t think anyone would argue otherwise (other than Blake having a better RB in Dillon for a couple years) I simply asked who had the better deep ball.

(05-10-2020, 10:38 PM)Mobster Wrote: Mike Brown basically told Boomer to take the MNF job. It came down to, hey we're not going to give you a big contract so you're better off taking the TV gig.

As for Blake, he created some excitement and made big plays, but the short and intermediate game was really lacking.

Here is a article that puts this to rest.. Though he was 36 yrs old then (which was considered over the hill then), the Bengals offered him a contract but the $$ and chance to have maybe his only shot at MNF football was too much...

https://www.wcpo.com/sports/sports-from-the-vault/sports-vault-in-week-12-of-the-97-season-boomer-came-back-to-save-the-day

(05-10-2020, 09:43 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Who was the OC during Blake's years as a starter ?

Bruce Coslet and Ken Anderson