Tag Archives: baltimore ravens

NFL

Blake, Jeff “Shake-N-Blake”

flr95 blakeCards: Atomic 2001, Leaf Limited 2000, Fleer 1995, Skybox Premium 1997.
Acquired: IP 2/2/14, Yellow Rose Super Bowl Party

I debated heavily going to this event since it took place at the cabaret that basically ruined my bachelor party, but then I realized that I could turn the tables and take advantage of them. It was aggravating that nobody knew who Jeff Blake was, even though he was advertised for their event. All the women who worked there, even the ones on the phone, and that sat 5 feet from him met me with a curious, “Who?” Still I made my way up to the Yellow Rose, walked in like I owned the place, located Jeff, got his autograph on a few cards, and walked out like a boss -without dropping a dime.

Jeff Blake is definitely an unsung and underrated quarterback since being drafted by the New York Jets in 1992. A 4th round pick, Blake wasn’t really given a chance by the Jets after setting multiple passing records at ECU. Browning Nagle had been handed the keys to the Jets and with Ken O’Brien being forced out, Blake was sky96pr blakean afterthought. In 1993, the team again overlooked him, this time in favor of Boomer Esiason and Nagle. Jeff was cut during 1994, but snatched up by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jeff stepped in and replaced the immobile David Klingler at quarterback, winning all 3 of the Bengals’ games that year. He’d mature in 1995, starting all 16 games under center for the Bengals and earn his only Pro Bowl berth, after throwing 28 TD passes. Although his 1996 season was almost as impressive, with 24 TDs, Blake was left out of the Pro Bowl mix, due to his team’s slow start. The next two seasons were mired in what seemed to be deja vu for Blake, as he’d do battle again with Boomer Esiason, Neil O’Donnell and finally be forced to hand the keys over to Akili Smith. I can imagine how frustrating it was for Jeff, being supplanted at nearly every stop after being a starter for a season. I can also imagine how frustrated Bengals fans were after he gave them so much hope. The pressure probably was also immense, as the idea of a black quarterback was still a foreign one to many franchises. Blake
washed his hands of Cincinnati and signed with the New Orleans
Saints in 2000.

leaflim00 blakeRejuvenating his career, Blake started the first 11 games and went 7-4, and threw for 2,025 yards and 13 touchdowns, but after breaking his foot, Aaron Brooks beat him out for the job in 2001. Spending virtually all of 2001 on the bench, Jeff became free agent gun for hire in 2002. He’d play for the Ravens, Cardinals, Eagles, and Bears for a season each, retiring after 2006. The closest he came to the Super Bowl was 2004 as a backup for Donovan McNabb. To this day he still wears his NFC Championship ring he earned with the team. I asked what team Blake enjoyed playing for the most, – the Bengals or the Saints, and rather than answer, Blake only flashed the ring. He’s lived in Austin the last 12 years, and his son played at my High School, Austin High. When I told him I had been working out all week  to challenge him to a quarterback contest and rotated my arm, he laughed at me.

Overall these are some pretty decent cards that were released in a dead time in my transition as a fan from the Oilers to the Texans. I didn’t collect any cards, but the Fleer 95 and the
Atomic 2001 are two pretty nice issues. Everybody seems to like or at01 blakehate the Fleer 1995 issue and I seem to be in the minority on this one. I just really like the transition between image and type. There’s just a lot of energy and punch there. The Atomic 2001 is a very nice die cut, and although the blurb on the back is absolutely stupid, talking about Jeff’s ‘atomic arm’ and ‘quantum speed’, the front by far wins with its simplicity and excellent photo.

 

 

 

G/Gs 120/100   Att 3241   Comp 1827    Yds 21711   Pct 56.4    Td 134  Int 99 Rat 78.0
Rush 418   Yds  2027   Avg  4.8     Td  14   Lg 30

NFL, WLAF

Jackson, Hue

ultwlaf92 monarchs tpCard: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o the Cincinatti Bengals
Sent: 2/7     Received: 2/18   (11 days)

After a pretty decent stint at quarterback for Pacific during the mid 80s, Hue Jackson immediately stepped into the coaching ranks at his Alma Mater in 1987.  A short stint at Cal State Fullerton allowed Hue to make the jump to the professional coaching ranks in 1991 for the London Monarchs under head coach Larry Kennan. There he did triple duty as special teams, wide receiver, and runningbacks coach. The team was the most explosive offensive unit in the league with a number of offensive players being named to the All-World team that were under Jackson’s guidance. After the Monarchs won World Bowl I Kennan returned stateside to coach for the Colts, putting assistant Ray Willsey in charge. The 1992 season was not so fortuitous for the team, and London ended 1992 on a not so amazing 2-7-1 note. After the season, the WLAF reorganized- not to be seen again until 1995 as a completely European venture.

Returning to the US, Hue began to climb the coaching ranks with stops at Arizona State (1992-1995),  California (1996), and USC (1997-2000), before joining the NFL, with stops on the Redskins (2001-2003), Bengals (2004-2006), Falcons (2007), and Ravens (2008-2009). In 2010, Hue had an impressive run as offensive coordinator of the Raiders. Owner Al Davis took notice and promoted Jackson to head coach in 2011. In the midst of the season, Davis passed away, and the Raiders responded by defeating the Texans in Houston. It’d be the high point for the Raiders, as after a 7-4 start, they’d go 1-4 the rest of the way. Jackson got a raw deal, and after the single season as head coach, the Raiders terminated his contract, preferring a fresh start with new GM Reggie McKenzie. Afterwards Hue returned to the Bengals, where he has remained since, recently taking over in 2014 as offensive coordinator. I wrote the Bengals for his autograph for this set based on his WLAF pedigree. He is in the team picture somewhere- I’m guessing on the left side when he was the coordinator of many hats for the London Monarchs.

NFL   W 8    L  8     Pct .500

NFL

Williams, Ricky “Little Earl” (3)

adr11 rwilliamspoff01 rwilliamssco09 R williamsSP99 R Williams
Cards: Score 2009, Upper Deck 2006, SP 1999, Adrenalyn 2009, Playoff Contenders 2001, Power Deck 2006.
Acquired: 2/6/13, IP Legends Luncheon, 11/17/13 – GMC Texas Tour.
See Also: Ricky Williams, Ricky Williams (2)

Just when I thought I was going to write a post about how I’m running out of things to say about Ricky, he has a luncheon where he agrees to do an honest question and answer session with all the fans in the lunchroom audience. He discussed his foundation work (Ricky Williams Foundation), and a wide range of topics covering his life growing up as a latchkey kid. Ricky was very forthcoming about his travels, and that he had actually contemplated retirement as early as his second year in the NFL. Ultimately Williams made the decision in his last season in Baltimore to retire, after a brief conversation with Bill Parcells.

Ricky enjoyed playing the game because it was a game to him. It was fun. He talked about the growing problem of players confusing sportsmanship with competitiveness.  Williams also talked about how he was even keel when the team won or when the team lost. He really just didn’t let it get to him, and this made him sometimes
appear weird to his teammates.

UD09 R williamsWhen I got up to him he signed all three of my cards. At this point, he recognizes me when I come up, and I gave him his Starting Lineup figure as a humorous gift- which I think he got a kick out of. I asked him jokingly if he had ever used the deer antler spray, and he very candidly told me his answer… He clarified that the greater issue is that at some point we are talking about substances that people put in their body, much of it naturally that is already used or ingested in other cultures. He really didn’t tell me firmly if it worked, however Ricky pointed out the greatest problem that the NFL faces in drug testing is the use of HGH (Human Growth Hormone), and that the problem is rampant, since the league’s testing isn’t able to completely sniff it out.

ud98pd rwilliamsRicky lives in Austin and I pretty much stop whatever I am doing to go to his events. I heard about this event on 1300 The Zone (The Longhorn Station), about a week before and decided to take a crack at the event. I had previously met Ricky on two other occasions, and he had signed a total of 4 cards between the events for me. Still there seems to be a never ending supply of cards or items I’d love to get the former Heisman winner to sign for my collection including these gems. I very much enjoy his refreshing, incredibly intelligent, and unique view on the world and always look forward to the events he speaks at. If there was ever a player that I’d refer to as a shaman, I’d pretty much put Ricky in that category.

rickyagainIn November, Ricky once again appeared, this time at the GMC Texas Tour. I stocked up on autograph vouchers and then camped out in line. After asserting my spot as the first person in line over poachers who hovered near the gate or put their gear down and walked off, I waited patiently for Ricky to arrive. Williams had signed to work with Coach Larry Kennan at Incarnate Word out of San Antonio as a runningback coach, and he came in wearing their colors. As the only fan that recognized him, Ricky thought he was going to get away with his stunt, but I caught him when he walked by. When they finally opened up the queue for autographs we were limited to just one per person, so I walked up and got my autograph and just talked to Ricky about his experience at IW.  It was a rough start when I asked him to sign with the bronze colored marker, but because his face frowned, I immediately backpedaled and said that I’d be happy with whatever marker he’d like. His face lit up then when we talked about the WLAF and Kennan’s days with the Monarchs, but before you knew it, a handler came over and shooed me off. I then told Ricky I’d return and when I got to the front of the line, he’d know he had gone through the whole line at least once. I waited patiently and returned to the front. The pretty line keeper  (who comped me a Roy Williams autographed photo) helped me pass the time for a few minutes, and before I knew it, I was back at the table talking to Ricky. He enjoyed talking to me so much, he volunteered and literally grabbed my cards and signed all the extras I had with me before I left the table. He told me about Kennan’s coaching style and we joked about what the “Hook ‘Em” sign would be for Incarnate Word.

tnt13g rwilliamsAgain, like Priest Holmes, I created a custom card for Ricky based on the ‘Long Tom’ design of the GameDay cards more recently of the 90s. I was really happy with the results, but continue to struggle with the paper thickness as 20lb is not a universal weight. Still the ink absorbed well into the card and it does look legitimate enough that he did take pause to look impressively at it.

At the time of Ricky’s retirement he was the 26th member of the 10,000 yard club. While occasional rumblings talk about inducting him into the Pro Football HoF, his legacy will need to be redefined elsewhere, as old timers will look at Ricky’s rampant disregard of NFL policies as blemishes on his career. Also with guys like Ottis Anderson (slightly more yards and an MVP honor) still waiting in line, Williams getting in would be seen as a major coup. In the meantime Ricky is finding a new life in football coaching runningbacks for Incarnate Word and dabbling in recruiting.