Lawless
All About Brad!
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Registered: Jun 2003
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11.07.03 - It’s official, Doug Flutie will start at quarterback for the Chargers on Sunday.
As expected, Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer announced on Friday that Flutie will get the nod when the Chargers host the Vikings at Qualcomm Stadium. He’ll be supplanting Drew Brees, who has been the Bolts’ starting quarterback since the beginning of the 2002 season, a span of 24 games.
Starting is nothing new to Flutie. In 10 NFL seasons, he has started 60 of the 79 games in which he has appeared.
Starting for the Chargers is not new for Flutie either. In 2001, his first season in San Diego, Flutie started every game, finishing with a career-high 3,464 passing yards, the most by a Chargers quarterback since Dan Fouts passed for 3,638 in 1985, a span of 16 seasons.
Flutie’s career record as an NFL starter is 35-25 (.583), including an impressive mark of 21-7 (.750) in home games. It’s that kind of spark the Chargers will be looking for on Sunday against Minnesota.
“As I said at the outset, the decision would be based on one single factor, and that is what gives us the best opportunity to win a game Sunday,” said Schottenheimer. “That’s the sole and single criteria that was used.”
“This is the ultimate team game and it takes everyone on the field to do their job to get something done,” said Flutie. “Last week when I went in, for whatever reason it seemed like guys relaxed a little bit and started to play to their potential. If everyone can do that, we can get something accomplished.”
Schottenheimer elaborated on why Flutie gives the Chargers the best chance to win on Sunday, saying: “I think for a couple of reasons. Number one, Drew has been struggling with the accuracy part of it. As we know, there are a lot of issues that affect that. The bottom line is that the production hasn’t been there.
“Doug Flutie brings a different style of play, as was evident the other day against Chicago. It’s not unlike the problem we face with (Vikings quarterback Daunte) Culpepper, the ability to run around and make plays on your own and to improvise.”
It is unclear how long Flutie’s promotion will last. For now, Schottenheimer is focusing on Sunday’s game.
“We’re only dealing one week at a time here,” said Schottenheimer. “We’re in a one week business.”
Just because he’s changed starters, it doesn’t mean Schottenheimer is going to start switching quarterbacks on a regular basis.
“Doug Flutie is going to play the (entire) game, barring injury,” said Schottenheimer. “I don’t believe in musical quarterback chairs. I just don’t think it works.”
Regardless of how long he’ll be in the lineup, the 41-year-old signal caller plans on enjoying every chance he gets to play.
“I’m pretty excited about it. I’m looking forward to getting on the field and trying to stick the ball in the end zone and score some points,” said Flutie.
Clearly, Brees would rather be playing on Sunday, but the opportunity to step back and watch the game unfold from the sidelines might be beneficial for the third-year quarterback.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed with the fact that I’m not starting, probably even more disappointed in the fact that it even got to this point,” said Brees. “I just have to turn it into a positive. Hopefully I look back on this day and say it made me a better person and a better player.”
“(Drew) is a very, very self-confident young man,” said Schottenheimer. “I think right now he’ll have an opportunity to step back and look at it and see it from a different perspective. He was fine. He understood. He would like to be the starter, but he also recognizes that we made a decision to change. As I said before, the good thing about it is the two of them have an excellent personal as well as professional relationship.”
“We’ve talked throughout the week and Drew is very supportive,” said Flutie. “He’s taking a great attitude about it. I know it hurts, because I’ve been there. What I’ve said to him is sometimes when you step back from a picture and see it from a different point of view for a minute, everything comes back into focus. You can regroup and go forward.
“He has a long, long career ahead of him. It might be one quarter before he’s back on the field. It might be two games. It might be the rest of the season. Who knows what it will be. But plenty of opportunities will arise because he’s got a long and prosperous career coming up.”
“The decision has been made and I support Doug 100 percent,” said Brees. “I just want us to win.
“I supported him 100 percent when I was a rookie. He supported me 100 percent last year and has this year. Now, I’m turning around and doing the same thing again. That’s just the relationship we have. I know that Doug is winner. I know that he can help us win.”
In the mean time, Brees will do everything in his power to be ready for when his time comes to be the Chargers starting quarterback again.
“I have to keep getting better, and I still think there are ways that I can help this team get better,” said Brees. “You have to take this and turn it into a positive. How can I do that? Be ready to play if I’m called upon. I can almost serve as a coach out there by making sure guys know what they are doing and just helping guys get better and helping this team get better.”
Sunday’s game will be Flutie’s first start since Dec. 30, 2001 against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2001 season finale. Ironically, Flutie established three career highs in that game, including attempts (53), completions (34) and passing yards (377).
Brees replaced Flutie as the Chargers starter the following training camp and has held the position since. Now that he’s back as the starter, the irony isn’t lost on Flutie.
“I’ve said it before, the most popular guy on the team is the back-up quarterback,” said Flutie. “Because if you are losing, that’s the answer to everything. That’s the answer to all the ills. One guy. ‘Oh yeah, put the other guy in.’ Like I said, if we lose again, they’ll be calling for (practice squad quarterback) Cleo (Lemon).
“This is a team game. It takes everybody. There’s not always a quick fix, but hopefully a change at the quarterback position can maybe instill some confidence in the other guys and get them to play well.”
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:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<::: |
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11-07-2003 10:57 PM
