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| No. 11, 1, 3 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1967-12-08)December 8, 1967 (age 57) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Warren Central (Indianapolis) | ||||||||
| College: | Illinois | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1990: 1st round,1st pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Jeffrey Scott George (born December 8, 1967) is an American former professionalfootball quarterback who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He playedcollege football for theIllinois Fighting Illini, where he won theSammy Baugh Trophy, and was selectedfirst overall by theIndianapolis Colts in the1990 NFL draft. A member of seven NFL teams during his career, George helped the 1995Atlanta Falcons and the 1999Minnesota Vikings reach the playoffs and led the league in passing yards in 1997 with theOakland Raiders. George's NFL tenure would also be marked by frequent conflicts with coaches and management, which resulted in his departure from most of his teams.
George was born inIndianapolis, Indiana to an Arab-American family.[1] He attendedWarren Central High School, where he received theDial Award for the national high school scholar-athlete of the year in 1985 and was the firstGatorade National Player of the Year. He attendedPurdue University and theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
George transferred after a year atPurdue when the coach who recruited him,Leon Burtnett, resigned. Burtnett's replacement wasFred Akers, who had been known for his teams that used a run-heavy option type offense that required a more mobile quarterback. George subsequently committed to theUniversity of Miami, but he backed out when coachJimmy Johnson would not guarantee him a starting job. George stayed at Illinois for two years, leaving with a year of eligibility remaining after being assured he would be drafted as one of the first five picks of the NFL draft (he was picked No. 1 overall).
George would finish his college career with 6,212 yards, to go with 35 touchdowns and 35 interceptions, and most notably, an MVP performance against the Virginia Cavaliers in the 1990 Florida Citrus Growers Association Florida Citrus Bowl. In 1989, his final year as a college player, he threw for 2,738 yards, with 22 TD vs 12 INT.[2]
The Colts traded up to draft George, making him the first pick in the1990 NFL draft,[3] and signed him to the richest rookie contract in NFL history at the time (worth a total of $15 million). George threw 46 interceptions to 41 touchdowns and lost 35 of his 49 career starts as a Colt; his only winning season with the Colts was1992, during which he played ten games and threw 15 interceptions to seven touchdowns. Before the 1993 season, he refused to report to training camp and only returned to the team whenJim Irsay made it clear that George would have to pay a huge penalty fee for breach of contract if he did not get back to work. The Colts traded George to theAtlanta Falcons after the 1993 season.
In1995, George led the Falcons to their first playoff appearance since1991. On September 22, 1996, in a game against thePhiladelphia Eagles, George got into a heated argument on the sidelines with Falcons coachJune Jones, all of which was caught on camera for a national television audience. Jones suspended George for the remainder of the1996 season. It was later confirmed that George blamed team management for his problems and felt Jones betrayed him by not standing up to this alleged mistreatment. Years after the incident, Jones became an advocate for George, stating that the TV argument was overblown and that George was a good quarterback, a team player and worthy of being on an NFL roster.
George's record with the Falcons was 16–19. He had the best completion percentage (60.5) of his career with 50 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.
George signed with theOakland Raiders for the1997 after leaving the Falcons. TheOilers, in their first home game since theircontroversial relocation fromHouston, ruined George's debut (he threw three touchdowns toTim Brown) by beating the Raiders, 24–21, on anAl Del Greco field goal in overtime. A notable moment for the Silver and Black came in Week 8; against the visitingBroncos, George delivered a workmanlike performance (9–12, 96 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT). Thanks in large part toNapoleon Kaufman's 227-yard performance on the ground, the host Raiders upset theeventual Super Bowl champions, 28–25. In his eighth year in the NFL, he had arguably his finest statistical year, throwing for 29 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions, for a 91.2passer rating. However, despite George's stellar statistics, the team struggled overall; their defense finished 28th in scoring. Oakland finished 4–12 inJoe Bugel's one and only season as the Raiders' head coach.
The following year, the offense changed to head coachJon Gruden'sWest Coast offense, a controlled-pass approach which did not suit George's strengths. George was inconsistent at the beginning of the year, and later struggled with a groin pull, telling a local radio audience that he was finished for the year. He also ignored the offensive coordinator's play calls during the 1998 season and ran his own plays through a wristband containing plays (in an interview, George toldJoe Theismann that he did what the coaches wanted on 1st and 2nd down, and simply threw it to Tim Brown on 3rd down). The Raiders essentially ended George's Oakland tenure when they signedfree-agent quarterbackRich Gannon.
After being cut by Oakland, George initially found himself without anywhere to play in 1999; an article at SI.com had several coaches (includingDick Vermeil,Mike Ditka, andMike Holmgren) go on record about how George wasn't a winner and would not be considered by them despite their own poor/uncertain QB issues. However, the article also said that theVikings had interest in George at a low salary to be the backup toRandall Cunningham, and George accepted that offer before training camp began. Cunningham struggled at the start of the1999 season and was benched, and George took over the starting role. In 10 games as a starter George went 8–2 with 23 touchdowns, 8.6 yards per attempt, and a 94.2 rating, in leading Minnesota to the playoffs. George then earned his first career playoff win, throwing three touchdown passes to lead the Vikings over the Dallas Cowboys, 27–10. The Vikings lost the next week to the eventualSuper Bowl championSt. Louis Rams, 49–37. Minnesota wanted George to return in 2000 but the combination of him delaying contract talks and the team's confidence thatDaunte Culpepper could take over at QB led the Vikings to cut ties with him. George ended up signing with theWashington Redskins.
George hoped to return to Minnesota as a starting quarterback but was told by head coachDennis Green to "shop around". After attempting to speak to other teams about securing a starting quarterback job, he was eventually offered a one-year, $400,000 contract by Minnesota, with incentives of up to $1.4 million. Rather than sign with the Vikings, George signed a four-year contract worth $14.8 million with theWashington Redskins asBrad Johnson's backup.[4] Johnson went down in week 9; George replaced him and went 1–2 in the next three games. Johnson returned but played poorly against the New York Giants. George replaced him and started two games, both losses, afterNorv Turner was fired in favor of interim coachTerry Robiskie. After the season, Johnson departed Washington forTampa Bay, leaving George as the Redskins' starter going into2001.
Before the 2001 season, Washington hired as head coachMarty Schottenheimer, who promised to install a West Coast scheme similar to that of Gruden in Oakland. George clashed with Schottenheimer over the offense, though the coach promised to work George through any problems he might have with the scheme. Washington released George after a 37–0Monday Night loss to theGreen Bay Packers, in which George had a 34.6 passer rating, the worst in the first two weeks of the 2001 season, as the team lost both games and were outscored by a combined total of 67–3.[5] George was given 24 hours to remove his personal items from the Redskins' facilities before they were discarded. He was replaced byTony Banks, who led the team to finish the season with an 8–8 record after they had begun with a record of 0–5.
George spent time on the roster of theSeattle Seahawks in late2002 as an emergency quarterback and theChicago Bears in the2004, but never took the field. George was not retained by the Bears for the2005 season, nor was he signed by any other team. TheDetroit Lions worked him out during theirbye week but did not offer him a contract.
On August 28, 2006, theOakland Raiders signed George. He was expected to compete for the third-string quarterback position. However, he was released during final cuts only five days later on September 2, 2006.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Fum | ||
| 1990 | IND | 13 | 12 | 5–7 | 181 | 334 | 54.2 | 2,152 | 6.4 | 75 | 16 | 13 | 73.8 | 0 |
| 1991 | IND | 16 | 16 | 1–15 | 292 | 485 | 60.2 | 2,910 | 6.0 | 49 | 10 | 12 | 73.8 | 8 |
| 1992 | IND | 10 | 10 | 6–4 | 167 | 306 | 54.6 | 1,963 | 6.4 | 57 | 7 | 15 | 61.5 | 3 |
| 1993 | IND | 13 | 11 | 2–9 | 234 | 407 | 57.5 | 2,526 | 6.2 | 72 | 8 | 6 | 76.3 | 3 |
| 1994 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 7–9 | 322 | 524 | 61.5 | 3,734 | 7.1 | 85 | 23 | 18 | 83.3 | 4 |
| 1995 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 9–7 | 336 | 557 | 60.3 | 4,143 | 7.4 | 62 | 24 | 11 | 89.5 | 3 |
| 1996 | ATL | 3 | 3 | 0–3 | 56 | 99 | 56.6 | 698 | 7.0 | 67 | 3 | 3 | 76.1 | 1 |
| 1997 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 4–12 | 290 | 521 | 55.7 | 3,917 | 7.5 | 76 | 29 | 9 | 91.2 | 5 |
| 1998 | OAK | 8 | 7 | 3–4 | 93 | 169 | 55.0 | 1,186 | 7.0 | 75 | 4 | 5 | 72.7 | 5 |
| 1999 | MIN | 12 | 10 | 8–2 | 191 | 329 | 58.1 | 2,816 | 8.6 | 80 | 23 | 12 | 94.2 | 7 |
| 2000 | WAS | 6 | 5 | 1–4 | 113 | 194 | 58.2 | 1,389 | 7.2 | 50 | 7 | 6 | 79.6 | 2 |
| 2001 | WAS | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | 23 | 42 | 54.8 | 168 | 4.0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 34.6 | 0 |
| Career[6] | 131 | 124 | 46–78 | 2,298 | 3,967 | 57.9 | 27,602 | 7.0 | 85 | 154 | 113 | 80.4 | 41 | |
While George spent time on active NFL rosters through 2006, he had not attempted a pass since the 2001 season with the Washington Redskins. It was speculated that he might have replaced third-string quarterbackMarques Tuiasosopo due to his friendship withRandy Moss. Moss has previously stated that George was his favorite of all the quarterbacks he's worked with. He has also commented in the past that he and George would take weekend fishing trips together when they both lived in Minnesota.
On October 30, 2007, duringMike and Mike in the Morning,Michael Kim in aSportsCenter update reported that George was interested in making another comeback, this time with the Minnesota Vikings, a team where he once had some success.
In November 2008, in an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio, George said, "I find it hard to believe there isn't a place in the game for me. My arm feels like I'm 25", he said. "I'm not asking to be a starter, I just want a spot on a team. I still hold out hope I can play in this league. I'm working out three or four days a week, staying ready. Some people might laugh about it. I've been hearing the excuse, 'You're too old,' but I look at guys now playing near 40, and if you can throw it like I can throw it ... Why wouldn't you take a look at me?"[7]
On August 4, 2010, George announced on KFAN Sports radio in Minnesota that he would have been willing to step in for veteran QBBrett Favre if Favre had decided to retire from theMinnesota Vikings.[8]
George has made occasional appearances onNFL Total Access withRich Eisen andTerrell Davis. Following George's final seasons in the NFL,Jason Whitlock wrote several columns expressing his belief that George could still play and was deserving of an NFL try-out.[9] George and Whitlock are longtime friends, having played high school football together.[9]