Doug Flutie : A Football Life

[PatsWickedPissah]

People I know who knew him well have him just over 5'9" same as me.
They tell me Welker is smaller than I am.

 

[resdubwhite]

Incredible TV. Thanks to OP for posting

 

[shmessy]

Pound for pound the Greatest Football Player ever.

Amazing story.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Rebooted my dislike for Ray Berry as Pats HC.

I now realize that I'd wrongly blamed HC Phillips for starting Rob "The Tackling Dummy" Johnson in that playoff loss. Wiki, "Then in 2000 Flutie was named the Bills' backup and only played late in games or when Johnson was injured, which was often. In fact, during the season, Flutie had a 4–1 record as a starter, in comparison to Johnson's 4–7. In a December 24, 2000 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Flutie achieved a perfect passer rating, completing 20 of 25 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. Following the 2000 season, Bills President Tom Donahoe and head coach Gregg Williams decided to keep Johnson as the starter and cut Flutie." WTF??? Back then I was on USENET in the Bills group and arguing with the meatheads in Buffalo who were enamored with Rob and their mantra, "He's tall and has a strong arm!" I used to argue to Bills fans that "Apparently wins mean nothing to you." Little did I know then that years later the Patriots would pull one over on them getting a pick for another Tall with Strong Arm QB that couldn't win big games.

I have a fond memory of Flutie on the Chargers coming to Gillette in 2001 (EDIT correction) and an epic battle with not yet accepted by all Pats fans Brady (remember 2002 season was a dud) that the Pats won.

 

[shmessy]

Rebooted my dislike for Ray Berry as Pats HC.

I now realize that I'd wrongly blamed HC Phillips for starting Rob "The Tackling Dummy" Johnson in that playoff loss. Wiki, "Then in 2000 Flutie was named the Bills' backup and only played late in games or when Johnson was injured, which was often. In fact, during the season, Flutie had a 4–1 record as a starter, in comparison to Johnson's 4–7. In a December 24, 2000 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Flutie achieved a perfect passer rating, completing 20 of 25 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. Following the 2000 season, Bills President Tom Donahoe and head coach Gregg Williams decided to keep Johnson as the starter and cut Flutie." WTF??? Back then I was on USENET in the Bills group and arguing with the meatheads in Buffalo who were enamored with Rob and their mantra, "He's tall and has a strong arm!" I used to argue to Bills fans that "Apparently wins mean nothing to you." Little did I know then that years later the Patriots would pull one over on them getting a pick for another Tall with Strong Arm QB that couldn't win big games.

I have a fond memory of Flutie on the Chargers coming to Gillette in 2003 and an epic battle with not yet accepted by all Pats fans Brady (remember 2002 season was a dud) that the Pats won.

Great post (and I share your sentiments).

Until the last part - - the Pats didn't play the Chargers in 2003. Brady DID have a great game and a TD to Terry Glenn (of all people) against San Diego at Foxboro Stadium in 2001, however. Flutie played too that day and was pretty damn good.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

There was a thread earlier this week about the Jets scout who suddenly, 14 years later, was clamoring for the Jets to draft Tom Brady. There was a question about what would have happened to Brady in that scenario -- not catching the breaks of competent coaching and an open minded team.

Doug Flutie lived through that and then some simply because of his height. Very unfortunate that he didn't really get the chance to shine in the US until San Diego at the end of his career.

BTW - Flutie's been living full time in Florida for the last year or two. His house in Natick has been on the market for a while now.

 

[RayClay]

People I know who knew him well have him just over 5'9" same as me.
They tell me Welker is smaller than I am.

Flutie's just under 5'10". About two inches under.

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

Flutie was done wrong by the Bills and whomever made the decision not to start him deserved the inevitable loss they got. Watching that documentary I will always remember at how pissed I was that the bandanna boy got the start.

Doug Flutie is a man of character, always has been. It was odd to see students wanting their pic taken with him by his statue outside BC and then just kinda laughed among themselves and walked away, like he was a side show or something....all while he was still there...

I was glad he was successful in Canada, however insignificant that seems to some people. The NFL didn't deserve him....

 

[SalemPats]

I still remember one of my favorite games as a kid was seeing us beat the Fish with in '88 with Flutie behind the helm. I was the kid wearing the Fryar jersey