I just think teams are too quick to focus on a flaw rather than whether a QB wins. Doug Flutie, the former Heisman Trophy winner and Boston College star, is a perfect example. They always told him he was too short, and he had to go to the CFL and win three championships and six MVP awards before he got another chance at the NFL with the Buffalo Bills in his late 30s. He proved he could be an effective quarterback but even then he got passed over for more traditional quarterbacks like Rob Johnson. Johnson was a bust. It was a terrible decision to start Johnson over Flutie in the Music City Miracle game in 1999 when the Tennessee Titans beat the Bills on a last second touchdown. Flutie had gotten the team there. It was a classic case of playing a prototype QB rather than someone who won despite how he did it. Flutie later started for the Chargers and retired as a backup for the New England Patriots at 43.
Tags: Boston College, Buffalo Bills, CFL, Doug Flutie, NFL, quarterback
Mike's Blog 
March 15, 2009 at 9:49 pm
[…] example of this – NFL people putting a higher priority on style than substance – was Doug Flutie, who if he were given a fair chance would have been a very good NFL starting quarterback for 15 […]