Age: 25 (Dec.
4)
4th
season in pro football (3rd active), 2nd with Bengals
College: East
Carolina
Height: 6’0” Weight: 202
Prelude:
Blake passed
for 3073 yards and 28 touchdowns as a college senior in 1991 and led East
Carolina to an 11-1 record. He was chosen in the sixth round of the ’92 NFL
draft by the New York Jets and saw scant action in his first two seasons before
being waived and moving on to the Bengals in 1994. When ineffective starting QB
David Klingler suffered a knee sprain, Blake got his chance and was an
immediate sensation. Smart, mobile, and with a quick release, he teamed well
with wide receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott on his long, high passes. His
inexperience began to show as the season wore on, but he passed for 2154 yards
and 14 TDs, against 9 interceptions, while topping the NFL with a 13.8
yards-per-catch average.
1995 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 567
[5, tied with Jim Everett]
Most
attempts, game – 46 vs. Houston 9/24, at Cleveland 12/17
Completions –
326 [6]
Most
completions, game – 30 vs. Chicago 12/10
Yards – 3822 [8]
Most yards,
game – 356 vs. Houston 9/24
Completion
percentage – 57.5
Yards per
attempt – 6.7
TD passes – 28
[5, 1st in AFC]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 vs. Houston 9/24, vs. Miami 10/1, at Pittsburgh 10/19, vs.
Pittsburgh 11/19
Interceptions
– 17 [5]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 at Tampa Bay 10/8, at Jacksonville 11/26
Passer rating
– 82.1 [18]
300-yard
passing games – 1
200-yard
passing games – 15
Rushing
Attempts – 53
Most
attempts, game – 7 (for 49 yds.) at Houston 11/12, (for 15 yds.) vs. Pittsburgh
11/19, (for 46 yds.) at Jacksonville 11/26
Yards – 309
Most yards,
game – 56 yards (on 5 carries) at Seattle 9/17
Yards per
attempt – 5.8
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
2-pt conversions
– 1 [6, tied with many others]
Points – 14
Awards & Honors:
Pro Bowl
Bengals went 7-9
to finish second in the AFC Central while leading the conference in touchdown
passes (29).
Aftermath:
Blake had
another strong season in 1996, passing for 3624 yards and 24 touchdowns, but
was benched in favor of the returned veteran Boomer Esiason in ’97. Not a
favorite of Head Coach Bruce Coslet, he was nearly traded after Neil O’Donnell
won the starting job in the 1998 preseason and threw only 93 passes during the
season. Blake returned to throw for 2670 yards and 16 TDs in ’99 and signed
with New Orleans as a free agent in 2000. He got off to a good start with
his new team, passing for 2025 yards and 13 TDs in the first 11 games before
being sidelined with a broken foot. Aaron Brooks took over the starting job
with favorable results and Blake was relegated to the bench in 2001. He moved
on to the Ravens in ’02, where he started ten games, and Arizona in 2003 before
finishing his career as a backup for the Eagles in 2004 and Bears in ’05.
Overall, Blake threw for 21,711 yards and 134 touchdowns, with 15,134 of those
yards and 93 TDs coming with Cincinnati. He also rushed for 2027 yards, 1499
with the Bengals. His Pro Bowl selection in 1995 was the only one of his
career.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
