An Ode to Jeff Blake

Highlights of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake who threw perhaps the most accurate and aesthetically pleasing deep passes in NFL history. ESPN's Chris Berman regularly remarked that Blake threw the ball "out of the screen". His co-worker Tom Jackson would say, on Blake's bombs "you don't see the ball for a while".
His favorite targets were wide receivers Carl Pickens (#81) and Darnay Scott (#86). He was also a great scrambler and earned the nickname "Shake-n-Blake" as a result.
In 1995, Blake was selected to play in the Pro Bowl. In that game, he threw a record 92-yard touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen, proving he belonged among the NFL's elite.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• nfl
• highlights
• football
• cincinnati bengals
• jeff blake
• carl pickens
• darnay scott
• long bomb
• long ball
• deep pass
• going deep
• hail mary
• mozart
• no. 21
• concerto
• andante
• wolfgang
• piano
• orchestra
• sports

[SonsCompassMusic]

Thanks for posting this! Blake to Pickens and Scott was all we had during most of the 90's. Very underrated player in our teams history.

[dadiomcduck23]

@SonsCompassMusic You are very welcome. You are right, he was very underrated. He had two great seasons (one Pro Bowl) when he was 23 and 24, then, he starts the next year slowly and they yank him for Boomer, then Neil O'Donnell and finally Akii Smith (only to realize later that Blake was their best option, but at that point it was too late-- he had had enough).

[parvonzk]

Finally, a proper tribute to a great Bengal.

[dididream]

I love Blake dropping bombs! So fantastic...I do own a jeff blake jersey.

[Odawg96]

Oh, yeah! Blake has his detractors, but I STILL say that this is the man that threw the PRETTIEST deep ball I have ever seen...and I'm not saying that just because I'm an ECU alumnus, either. Hey, helped making the Bengals worth watching in the 90s!

[charismatic9904]

God Blake was so good with the bengals. I use to love him. Im not even a bengal fan lol. BUT Blake and pickens were fun to watch.

[3811iberis]

Jeff Blake had one of the prettiest deep balls in the game during his Bengals tenure, he brought excitement back to the Bengals after the departure of Boomer Esiason...

[ajbry]

Excellent work! My favorite player growing up -- and absolutely an overlooked quarterback in the modern era.

[SonsCompassMusic]

It's really hard to find old clips like these