Card: Fleer 2003 Platinum
Acquired: Albany Acquisition 2014
Kelly Holcomb was part of a wave of talent that honed their craft in the NFLE. He finished his final season at Middle Tennessee State 146/244 for 2,154 yards with 15 TD vs 9 INT in 1994.
Holcomb joined the Barcelona Dragons in 1996 as a developmental prospect of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He started all 10 games for the franchise as the Dragons finished the season deadlocked at 5-5. Kelly’s 2,382 yards ranked 3rd in club history. Cut by the Bucs in 1997, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts but got roughed up, throwing 1 TD to 8 picks. For the remainder of his time in Indianapolis he honed his game on the bench behind ironman Peyton Manning.
In 2001, Kelly joined the Cleveland Browns- a franchise only 3 years removed from being reborn. With starting quarterback Tim Couch epic struggles and fan frustration mounting, Holcomb began to eclipse Couch at quarterback. A post season game in which he led the Browns to a regulation record 429 yards passing, pretty much signaled the end of the Couch Era. In 2003, he started 10 games, throwing for 1,797 yards and 10 TDs. Still erratic play at the position led the Browns to sign Jeff Garcia- and in 2005, Kelly signed with the Buffalo Bills.
Kelly had perhaps his finest season under center with head coach Mike Mularkey in 2005, throwing for 1,509 yards and 10 TDs in roughly 10 contests. After the season though the Bills decided to go in a different direction and Mularkey was fired. Dick Jauron was named head coach and JP Losman was named starter at quarterback. Holcomb did not start another game in Buffalo, before being traded to the Eagles in 2007, who then in turn traded him to the Minnesota Vikings. He started 3 games that year and was cut after the season. Kelly retired in 2008, but had an impressive career run there with occasional flashes of brilliance.
G/Gs 37/24 Att 893 Comp 565 Yds 5916 Pct 63.3
Td 39 Int 38 Rat 79.2
Rush 43 Yds 30 Avg .7 Td 1 Lg 8
NFLE 10/10 Att 319 Comp 191 Yds 2382 Pct 59.9
Td 14 Int 16 Rat 76.8
Rush38 Yds111 Avg 2.9 Td 2 Lg N/a
We talked briefly about how teams were keying in and figuring out the Texans offense last season. Cory stopped for a second to try to phrase it as delicately as possible, then just told me that the offense was simple. You could tell when a certain set of personnel was coming into the game, and when receivers lined up just outside the slot, what the team was going to run. The Texans offense also had very simple set of routes for their receivers, so their defensive backs knew when to come up to the line of scrimmage and just sit on the routes, especially when 
Word was that the venerable Redding might retire after the 2014 season. Cory was brought in by coach Chuck Pagano from Baltimore in 2012 to be a mentor to the younger bucks on the Colts D and teach them the ins and outs of the system. His initial plan was to retire after year 10, but here he is now in 2015 still chugging along, signing as a Free Agent with the Arizona Cardinals. Cory finished his degree in education and was inducted into the UT’s Hall of Honor in November of 2014.
In 1990, Bob continued to battle Peete at quarterback for the starting job, frequently coming in as a change of pace. He’d start 9 games that season and throw for a career high 10 touchdowns. Gagliano was allowed to sign via free agency with the Chargers in 1991, starting game in 1992. For the next three seasons Bob served as an insurance policy for the Falcons (1993), 49ers (1994) and Packers (1995).