THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 24, 1994 TAG: 9412240435
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
Jeff Blake has made the most of his chance to move from third-string play-charter with the Cincinatti Bengals to starting quarterback.
With the first two quarterbacks injured, Blake stunned the world-champion Dallas Cowboys in October, throwing two touchdown passes for a 14-0 lead. The Cowboys came back to win by a field goal, but the former East Carolina star had made his point.
When Blake then beat Seattle at the Kingdome, he became an instant hero for the Queen City's beleaguered fans.
He followed that with a 34-31 conquest of the Oilers, throwing for 354 yards and four touchdowns.
After eight starts, Blake is the only quarterback in the AFC with twice as many touchdown passes (12) as interceptions (6), The Bengals lead the league with 11 passing plays of 50 yards or longer, and eight of them have been thrown by the 23-year-old Blake.
The Bengals have already made an effort to sign Blake for next season, at considerably more than his current NFL-minimum salary of $162,000.
``I think my stock has risen,'' Blake said. ``The more I play, the better I get.
His once-promising season sank into a five-game losing streak, but that has yet to hurt Blake's confidence.
``Oh, yeah, it's a fact we've hit a real lull,'' Blake said, ``but it's not that I can't play. It's a phase the whole team has gone through. I'm still averaging two touchdown passes a game, so I don't think it's me.''
CHATTING WITH . . . Jets cornerback James Hasty:
Q: You've just completed your seventh season as a Jet. They've been mostly frustrating, to the point you got into an altercation with one of your teammates during a recent game. Will there be an eighth?
HASTY: Who can deal with seven years of losing? I'm at a crossroads in my career. I've had a good season that's been overshadowed by what's happened on this club. I'm a free agent after this year, and what happens is in God's hands.
Q: This argument with Pat Terrell. What happened?
HASTY: I apologized to Pat for what occurred. I don't know what people assumed. Maybe I'm supposed to deal with seven years of losing and just be the greatest guy in the world. I'm not able to be that kind of person. You see a person that's very frustrated when the games are lost.
Because who honestly can deal with seven years of losing? I don't know anybody who can deal with that who considers himself a competitor, who considers himself a winner.
Q: Did you think the Jets would be winners this season?
HASTY: I thought we'd be there this year. I thought we had the nucleus of people. We took care of getting an offensive coordinator, a wideout and some more defensive linemen. I thought these would be taken care of. What player sits down and is pessimistic going into the season? I thought we had a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.
THE REAL NFL CAP: Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe was just trying to keep warm last weekend in Buffalo. So, he did what came naturally. He put on a knit cap.
At ``Lids,'' a sports hat shop in Salem, N.H., and other sporting-good stores in New England, life hasn't been the same since.
The store had a half-dozen caps like the one worn by the Patriots quarterback. Next day, customers had bought all of them by noon.
``I had them for two weeks before Bledsoe wore it, but as soon as he put it on, everyone wanted one,'' said store clerk Gary St. Hilaire.
Such is the case throughout New England, as the popularity of the Patriots in particular, and licensed professional merchandise in general, are merging into a holiday shopping frenzy.
Jerseys bearing Bledsoe's No. 11 are selling as fast as the numerals and name tag can be sewn on. The flashy, red-white-and-blue baseball caps that Bledsoe and his teammates wore during warmer weather, know as ``shark tooths,'' are sold out in most locations.
NFL Properties spokesman Brian McCarthy said sales of individual team items rise and fall with the popularity of the team and its players. The Patriots, 1-15 two years ago, have a shot at making the NFL playoffs.
Sales of their paraphernalia are in the middle third of all NFL teams and rising.
SAY WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND: Jets coach Pete Carroll was unusually candid when asked to evaluate the performance of backup quarterback Jack Trudeau. ``Jack hasn't come in, when he's had his chances, and lit it up. He hasn't been able to get in there and get the offense cranking. After what we had seen in the preseason, we had hoped we were going to see that when the time came. It's truly pinch hitting, but that's the role. When he was put in that situation, we weren't able to function.''
The Jets are thinking of starting rookie Glenn Foley today against the Oilers.
LONG'S SHOTS: Before the season started, Howie Long had the 49ers and Raiders meeting in Super Bowl XXIX. Great call in the NFC, at least for the moment. But in the other conference . . .
``The Raiders match up well with anybody, but they've got to answer some questions,'' Long said recently. ``They can accomplish a lot (today) against Kansas City.''
Long, who always got more from himself on the football field than anyone had a right to imagine, says he misses football - well, some aspects of it.
``I miss playoff time, being with Chester (McGlockton), watching film, and the locker room. I don't miss haggling over money, and losing was hard. I got tired of apologizing for us not doing well.''
HE SAID IT: Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman, on the difference between this year and last year: ``(Last year) was a great time to be an Oiler. We could go to a restaurant with a 20-minute wait and get seated immediately. If a policeman pulled us over to give us a (speeding) ticket, he would let us off with a warning.
``Now, if we go to a restaurant with a 20-minute wait, they don't seat us for two hours. If we get pulled over, not only does the cop write the ticket, but he checks for proof of insurance, asks to see the registration and checks the inspection sticker.'' by CNB