I liked Blake and his deep ball which was just missing with Klingler (of course the bad blocking leading to him getting pummeled did not help on that). But he did have serious issues attacking the middle of the field. As to Boomer I think the issue was he declined to match the MNF offer. Pity because those games he came in were like a textbook on how to play the QB position.

(05-11-2020, 10:45 AM)fredtoast Wrote: 1.  No other team made Boomer a better offer, so no way we can blame Brown for him not coming back.

2.  Those '95 to '97 teams also had some talented players on defense,  John Copeland and Dan Wilkerson were both very good D-linemen, CB Ashley Ambrose had 8 interceptions and was All Pro in '96. LB James Francis and Safety Darryl Williams both went to Pro Bowls after they left the Bengals

2.  Blake had a good RB every season.... '95 Harold Green (Pro Bowl '92), '96 (Garrison Hearst (Pro Bowl '98, '01), '97 Corey Dillon (4 time Pro Bowl)

**CORRECTION**

James Francis never made a Pro Bowl with another team.  I was thinking of LB/DE Alfred Williams, the Bengals first round pick from 1991 who was an ALL-Pro for the Broncos in '96.  He had 10 sacks for the Bengals in 1992, and 9.5 in '94, but he was gone by 1995.

James Francis was the same size as Williams and was also a Bengals first round pick, but it was in 1990.  He was a good player, but not as good as Williams.

(05-11-2020, 05:21 PM)fredtoast Wrote: **CORRECTION**

James Francis never made a Pro Bowl with another team.  I was thinking of LB/DE Alfred Williams, the Bengals first round pick from 1991 who was an ALL-Pro for the Broncos in '96.  He had 10 sacks for the Bengals in 1992, and 9.5 in '94, but he was gone by 1995.

James Francis was the same size as Williams and was also a Bengals first round pick, but it was in 1990.  He was a good player, but not as good as Williams.

I had a connection in New Jersey that got me authentic Bengals jerseys. He got me James Francis one after his rookie year. I actually still have it around. Francis had a very good rookie year. Lost out to Mark Carrier for DROY I believe. Was steady after that, but never took the leap to the next level of greatness. 

(05-11-2020, 10:54 AM)Dean_Gilberry95 Wrote: Dillon didn’t start until midway into his rookie season. By then Boomer was or has taken over at this point. 98 was O’Donnell. 99 Akili fiasco. Blake never really had a chance with Dillon.

Dillon came in 97 (and had 1129 yds & 10 TD his rookie season) Blake started 25 games for us between then and when he left after 99. Akili only started 4 games in 99.

(05-10-2020, 06:33 PM)impactplaya Wrote: 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 team was never really committed to Blake for whatever reason, then once Coslet was gone, that was his main supporter.

He wasn't flawless by any stretch, but he was definitely good enough to where we should've been focusing on the numerous holes on the team rather than spending money/picks on guys like O'Donnell and Akili. O'Donnell had one of the more efficient seasons ever by a Bengals QB, and we went 2-9 in his starts...because QB wasn't the problem in the first place.

Tbh, everyone (me included) wanted Boomer to come back after that 5 game stretch, but frankly that was probably a fluke. Or at the very least it wasn't sustainable over the long haul. That team had a lot of holes.

(05-11-2020, 07:26 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Dillon came in 97 (and had 1129 yds & 10 TD his rookie season) Blake started 25 games for us between then and when he left after 99. Akili only started 4 games in 99.

Corey was there in 1997, but Ki-Jana was the starter for the vast majority of Blake's 11 starts that year. People forget, but that 4-1 run at the end had as much (maybe more) to do with Dillon starting than Boomer. Dillon had 635 yards and 7 TD's in those 5 games. Only 494 yards and 3 TD's in Blake's 11 starts, again because he was sitting behind Ki-Jana.

The only other significant time Blake spent with Dillon was 1999, which was a cluster___ of a year. We drafted Akili, so Blake knew the end was near. Coslet was checked out, then quit after 4 games. Then they decided to start Akili for 4 weeks. Then went back to Blake again for the last 8 weeks.

In the 10 games Blake got to start and finish, and Dillon actually played (he missed game 16) the Bengals averaged a solid 22.8 ppg (which would've ranked 10th that year) and Blake's passer rating that year ranked 19th among qualifiers. Not great, but considering the situation (awkward coaching transition, bouncing QB's back and forth, league's worst defense, etc) it was a respectable performance.

To sum it up, Blake never really had a good shot with Dillon. At least not with any sort of stability whatsoever.

If you look at this overall stats.. Blake really had two productive years as a QB and that was about it.. I see him more as a "two hit" wonder of a QB.. good 2 years stats wise but after just recorded some songs with NO hits..

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BlakJe00.htm

My memory of the era is sketchy at best, but I do recall that about the only part of the game at the time I remember liking was the deep passes. If he wasn't heaving it way downfield to Pickens or Scott the game was essentially over and the Bengals getting beat badly. Sure they had Dillon for awhile, but even the great Cory Dillon wasn't going to score every time he touched the ball which is what would have had to happen to keep winning games regularly. Or at least that's how my old mind seems to remember it.   

Blake was a solid QB. He gave us a small window of hope during the dreaded '90s, but unfortunately that hope quickly burned out.

If I remember correctly didn't Jeff's first start come against the defending champs the cowboys during Dave Shula reign?? This was the game were Barry Switzer made a derogatory comment that the Cowboys would get a better game playing a college team. Needless to say we nearly beat them that day, and coach Shula whispering a few choice words into Switzers ear after the game. Coslett brought Jeff over from the jets, and one of a very few highlights in 90s, loved those Blake to Scott bombs.

I have several games on dvd when JB was our QB. During the JB years, I can remember the excitement of Kajana Carter, but that lasted one pre-season game. And I remember the uniforms made a change to having a leaping tiger on each sleeve. That was a cool looking uniform. Then the team had a special RB, Corey Dillion. That was exciting to see. Breaking Jim Brown's rookie rushing record in a game against the Oilers.

(05-13-2020, 10:52 AM)Qb7boomer Wrote: If I remember correctly didn't Jeff's first start come against the defending champs the cowboys during Dave Shula reign?? This was the game were Barry Switzer made a derogatory comment that the Cowboys would get a better game playing a college team. Needless to say we nearly beat them that day, and coach Shula whispering a few choice words into Switzers ear after the game. Coslett brought Jeff over from the jets, and one of a very few highlights in 90s, loved those Blake to Scott bombs.

Good memory.

6-1 Cowboys were 15 point favorites over the 0-7 Bengals.

First two score of the game: Blake to Scott for 67 yards and Blake to Scott for 55 yards.  Bengals up 14-0.  We still led 20-17 in the third quarter but Cowboys come back to win 23-20 on a FG with just 5 minutes left.

Next week Blake throws for 387 yards (at that time 9th best in team history) as Bengals come from behind in 4th quarter to upset the 7.5 point favorite Seahawks.  Blake hits Scott for 76 yards to set up the game winning FG in overtime. 

The week after that he throws for 354 yards and 4 TDs (only second game in team history with 4 tds and 350+ yards) as the Bengals come from behind to beat the Oilers in the fourth quarter.  Pickens has 11 catches for 188 yards including a 50 yard td in the first half and two more tds in the fourth quarter to win the game.


In just three amazing weeks Blake was a star.  Bengal fans had their jaws on the floor.  In those three games Scott and Pickens combined for 654 yards, 5 tds and 5 receptions of 40+ yards.

Here's a gem, I remember my uncle letting me watch this one on the big screen as a kid. This was Jeff's first win after almost knocking off the defending champs the week before.

Well crap forgot the link the first time https://youtu.be/KsUFyUiwIJE