Expansion draft for Blake Thursday, November 19, 1998
With Jeff Blake's demotion to No. 3 quarterback, it's now time to officially put him at the head of the list of candidates for the unprotected expansion list from which the new Cleveland Browns will choose in February.
"At times like this," said Ralph Cindrich, Blake's agent. "I tell my clients to keep their head up, their mouth shut and we'll see what happens."
That is what Blake is doing. Asked if he would have been the starter had he completed a long pass last Sunday to Scott for a touchdown instead of for an interception, Blake said, "What if I completed the pass to (James) Hundon that he dropped? So who's to blame? . . . It's not one guy."
Blake said the news, "was a little shocking, but it's been that way around here for a year."
He has now completed the NFL's version of the food chain. He went from No. 3 quarterback to the 1995 Pro Bowl in 14 months, and is now back as a No. 3 four years and a month after his first NFL start.
"I've been here before," Blake said. "And I'll get out of (being No. 3) again."
Justin time for Bengals