Jeff Blake

Jeffrey Bertrand Blake (born December 4, 1970) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons.

Blake was born on December 4, 1970 in Daytona Beach, Florida to Peggy and Emory Blake.

His father was a slotback for the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts.

Tragedy struck on July 5, 1976 when his mother died when trying to rescue her younger sibling from drowning at Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Emory decided to cancel a tryout scheduled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and find a job to be with his only son.

He was soon hired as a physical education teacher and coach in the school system of Sanford, Florida.

Blake was near his father's side growing up, whether that involved singing in the choir at Progress Missionary Baptist Church to his pastor father or as a sideline helper at Seminole High School to his coach father.

Blake was a star quarterback at Seminole High School in Florida, with his father Emory as offensive coordinator.

When it came to recruiting, Florida, Miami, and Florida State tried to recruit him outside of the quarterback position, which he resisted.

Of the three to actually offer him a chance to play the QB position, Blake chose East Carolina University, who heavily recruited him and gave him confidence that he could play at the school because "They were used to having black quarterbacks there...so in their eyes I was simply a quarterback."

After playing sparingly in his first two years, he got more time to play as the starter in 1990.

They were 5-6 that year, but the 1991 was a shock all the way around, as they ultimately won eleven games (three of them versus ranked teams) while Blake finished sixth in the 1991 Heisman Trophy voting and the Pirates finished with a #9 ranking at the end of the season.

Prior to his five seasons in Cincinnati, he was selected in the sixth round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, who he was a member of for two seasons.

Blake was drafted in the sixth round by the New York Jets in 1992 but he played little before being cut in 1993.

He credited head coach Bruce Coslet in instilling the steps to have a lengthy career by having a focus on defense and trying to read defenses, which they did for the first four weeks Blake was with the Jets.

When Coslet was fired after the 1993 season, he soon was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals.

He encouraged the Bengals to pick up Blake, who was brought into a roster that had David Klinger as the starter and Donald Hollas as the presumed backup.

Blake was a member of seven teams during his career, playing his longest stint with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1994 to 1999.

The 1994 Bengals were 0-7 with David Klingler before Blake was thrust into the starting role due to injuries by Klingler and Hollas.

He threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his debut against the Dallas Cowboys in a narrow 23-20 loss.

Blake went 3-6 as a starter, throwing for 2,154 yards with 14 touchdowns to 9 interceptions.

During his Bengals tenure, Blake was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1995.

He holds the record for the longest Pro Bowl touchdown at 92 yards.

He was named the starter for the 1995 season.

That year saw local interest for his play, with a rap song even being composed called "Shake-N-Blake"; he established great rapport with Bengal receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott, helping the former vie for the receiving title in 1995.

They won only seven games, but Blake threw for 3,822 yards with 28 touchdowns to 17 interceptions as Blake made the Pro Bowl.

One writer later argued that his play helped influence Ohio voters in Hamilton County to approve a sales tax increase to help fund a new new stadium for the team, as the measure passed in March 1996 (the stadium opened in 2000).

He signed a five-year, $13.1 million contract not long before the Pro Bowl selection.

The 1996 season, where the Bengals went 8-8 with Blake as starter, was the only one between 1991-2002 that did not result in a losing season.

He threw for 3,624 yards with 24 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.

The 1997 season was less successful.

Amidst a year that saw him start just 11 games (with others filled by Boomer Esiason), Blake threw for 2,125 yards with 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

1998 saw Blake passed over for free agent Neil O'Donnell for all but two games.

He was given the bulk of the time in 1999 while they tried to nurture newly drafted Akili Smith, with Blake going 3-9 and throwing for 2,670 yards with 16 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

Frustrated by management, Blake left the Bengals after the 1999 season in free agency.

He signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent.

He spent the second half of his career playing for the New Orleans Saints from 2000 to 2001 and one season each with the Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears.

Blake started 11 games at quarterback before breaking his foot late in the 2000 season and being replaced by Aaron Brooks.

He was inducted into the East Carolina Hall of Fame in 2007.

Blake was not valued highly as a draft prospect due to his height, which was measured slightly under 6 feet.