Doug Flutie

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{{NFL player

|Image=SI 1983 Doug Flutie.jpg
|ImageWidth=220
|DateOfBirth=October 23, 1962
|Birthplace=Manchester, Maryland
|DateOfDeath=
|Position=QB
|College=Boston College
|DraftedYear=1985
|DraftedRound=11/ Pick 285
|DatabaseFootball=FLUTIDOU01
|NFL=12375
|Awards=1998 NFL Comeback POY
1997 CFL's MOP
1996 CFL's MOP
1994 CFL's MOP
1993 CFL's MOP
1992 CFL's MOP
1991 CFL's MOP
1997 Grey Cup MVP
1996 Grey Cup MVP
1992 Grey Cup MVP
1984 Heisman Trophy
|Honors=
|Retired #s=
|Records=
|years=1984-1985
1986
1987-1989
1990-1991
1992-1995
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2004
2005
|teams=New Jersey Generals
Chicago Bears
New England Patriots
British Columbia Lions
Calgary Stampeders
Toronto Argonauts
Buffalo Bills
San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots
|ProBowls=1998
|HOF=}}

Image:SI 1984 Doug Flutie.jpg

Douglas Richard Flutie (born on October 23, 1962) is an American football player, a former Canadian football player, and currently a quarterback for the New England Patriots. He is best known outside of Canada for his career at Boston College, where his "Hail Mary" pass on November 23, 1984 is considered among the greatest moments in college football history, and sports history. He received the Heisman Trophy later that year. He is also well known for making a drop kick in 2006, the first since 1941. He is also noteworthy for his success despite an unusually small stature for an NFL quarterback (5'9" and 180 lb.).

He previously served as a backup quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and a starter for the Buffalo Bills. He was a superstar in the Canadian Football League, prior to which, he played for the Chicago Bears and the Patriots.

Biography

Early years

Doug Flutie was born in Manchester, Maryland to Lebanese-American parents. His family moved to Melbourne Beach, Florida when he was six years old, and again moved in 1976 to Natick, Massachusetts.

High School Years

Flutie graduated from Natick High School, where he played for the "Redmen". He was an All-League performer in football, basketball, and baseball.

College years

Flutie played football for Boston College, the only Division I-A school to recruit him, from 1981 to 1984, and won the Heisman Trophy in his senior year. He first gained national attention in 1984 when he quarterbacked the Eagles to victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game against the Miami Hurricanes (led by QB Bernie Kosar). The game was nationally televised on CBS the day after Thanksgiving, and thus had a huge audience. Miami staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45-41, in the closing minute of the game. Boston College then took possession at their own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only six seconds remained on the clock. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47-45 win. Although many people think that the play clinched the Heisman Trophy for Flutie, the voting was already complete before that game.[1]

Flutie would leave school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards, and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The Sporting News and the Maxwell Football Club. There was only one task Flutie seemed unable to overcome: in his four-year tenure at BC, he was never able to defeat West Virginia University.

In addition to his collegiate athletic achievement, Doug Flutie maintained a distinguished academic record at Boston College. His scholastic achievements earned him a nomination as a candidate for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, for which he was named a finalist in 1984. Upon graduating, Flutie won a National Football Foundation post-graduate scholarship.

Flutie's 1984 "Hail Mary" pass, and the subsequent rise in applications for admission to Boston College, gave rise to the admissions phenomenon known as the "Flutie Factor." This idea essentially states that a winning sports team can increase the recognition value of a university enough to make it a more elite school. [2]

Early professional career

Image:SI 1985 Doug Flutie.jpg Doug Flutie started his professional career in the United States Football League (USFL) with the New Jersey Generals. The USFL folded in 1986, and Flutie is the league's last active player.

Doug Flutie crossed strike lines in the 1987 NFL strike season and charges of being a scab have dogged him since. Flutie signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears. He later went to the New England Patriots.

Canadian Football League career

Although his Canadian football career lasted only eight years, Doug Flutie is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play Canadian football. In 1990 Flutie signed with the BC Lions for a two-year contract reportedly worth $350,000 a season. At the time he was the highest paid CFL player in the league. Flutie struggled in his first season. However, the following year, Flutie shone and was rewarded with a reported million dollar a year salary with the Calgary Stampeders.

Flutie won his first Grey Cup in 1992 with the Stampeders. During his last years in Calgary, Flutie's backup was Jeff Garcia, who would later go on to star for the well-known San Francisco 49ers. He would go on to win two more Grey Cups with the Toronto Argonauts, in 1996 and 1997, before signing with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 1998. Prior to his final two Grey Cup victories with the Argonauts, Doug Flutie was hampered by the opinion, supported by the media, that he was a quarterback who could not win in cold weather. After an early playoff loss where he refused to wear gloves in freezing temperatures, Doug Flutie in later years adapted to throwing with gloves in cold weather.

His career CFL statistics include 41,355 passing yards and 270 touchdowns. He holds the professional football record of 6,619 yards passing in a single season. He still holds 4 of the CFL's top 5 highest single-season completion marks, including a record 466 in 1991. His 48 touchdown passes in 1994 remains a CFL record. He earned three Grey Cup MVP awards, and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player a record six times (1991-1994, and 1996-1997).

Doug Flutie is a figure of national pride to Canadians and Canadian expatriates (this despite having been born and raised in the United States), and has been the subject of a song by Moxy Früvous.

Flutie's success in the National Football League coupled with the revoking of the "marquee player" exemption in the Canadian Football League's salary cap, which allowed one player to be exempt from counting against the CFL's salary cap on each team, resulted in a string of star quarterbacks leaving the CFL and going to the NFL, such as Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson.

Return to the NFL

Buffalo Bills

Image:SI1998 Doug Flutie.jpg Doug Flutie became the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback when the Bills started the 1998 season 1-3. In his first start as a Bill, he passed for 2 TDs and led a 4th quarter comeback against the Indianapolis Colts, on October 11, 1998. The following week, Flutie scored the winning touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars by rolling out on a naked bootleg to enter the endzone, just as time expired. The Bills' success continued with Flutie at the helm, as his record as a starter that season was 8-3. The Bills were eliminated in the first round by the Dolphins, as fumbles and poor officiating gave Flutie his first, and only, loss against both Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino. Flutie was selected to play in the 1998 Pro Bowl.

Flutie lead the Bills to a 10-5 record in 1999, but in a controversial decision, was replaced by Rob Johnson for the playoffs by coach Wade Phillips. The Bills lost 22-16 to the eventual AFC Champion Tennessee Titans in a game that has become known for the Music City Miracle. In 2000 Flutie was named the Bills backup and would only play late in games or when Johnson was injured.

San Diego Chargers

In 2001 Flutie signed with the San Diego Chargers, who went 1-15 in 2000. After opening 3-0, the Chargers slumped and were 4-2 going into Week 7, when Flutie's Chargers met Rob Johnson's Bills. Johnson took advantage of the weak Charger defense and passed for 310 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception, and ran for 67 yards and 1 TD. (The Chargers are the only team Johnson has passed for 300 yards against.) However, Doug prevailed as the new ex-Bill broke a sack attempt and ran 13 yards for the game-winning touchdown. San Diego would finish 5-11, while the Bills finished 3-13. Flutie was Drew Brees' backup in 2002.

In 2003, Flutie replaced a struggling Brees when the Chargers were 1-7. The 41 year-old became the oldest player to score two rushing touchdowns in a game, the first player over 40 to accomplish that feat. He also became the oldest AFC Offensive Player of the Week, winning the award for the fourth time. Flutie's record as starter that year was 2-3. As of 2004 Doug Flutie has passed for 58,150 yards in his 20 year professional football career. Flutie was released from the Chargers on March 13, 2005. On April 29, 2005,

New England Patriots

Image:Flutiedrop.JPG Flutie surprised many when he signed with the New England Patriots instead of the New York Giants. He has been the backup behind Tom Brady and come in several times at the end of games to take a few snaps. Flutie has a 37-28 record as an NFL starter, including an 22-9 record in home games.

Television football commentator John Madden once said, "Inch for inch, Flutie in his prime was the best QB of his generation."

In a December 26, 2005 game against the New York Jets, Flutie was sent in late in the game as quarterback. The Jets also sent in their back-up quarterback, Vinny Testaverde. This was the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks over the age of 40 competed (Testaverde was 42, Flutie was 43).

In the Patriots' regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins on January 1, 2006, Flutie successfully drop kicked the ball for an extra point, something that had not been done in a regular-season NFL game since 1941. The ball went straight through the uprights for the extra point. Patriots head coach and football historian Bill Belichick made comments that suggested that the play was a retirement present of sorts for his veteran quarterback, although Flutie has made no comment on whether or not 2005 will be his last season [3]. The Patriots would go on to lose the game against Miami 28-26 after failing to make a last minute 2-point conversion. It was his first kick attempt in his NFL career.

During the 2006 offseason, Flutie's agent, Kristen Kuliga, stated that he is interested in returning to the Patriots for the coming season. Although official negotiation between Flutie and the Patriots has yet to begin, he is widely expected to return, despite his age.

Personal life

Doug Flutie is the older brother of the CFL's all-time reception leader Darren Flutie. He is married to the former Laurie Fortier, his high school sweetheart. They have a daughter, Alexa, a son, Doug Jr. Their son has autism and the Fluties established The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. in honor of him. Doug also created a cereal, Flutie Flakes, with the benefits going towards his organization. In his free time, Doug Flutie often attends college basketball games at his alma mater Boston College. Mr. Flutie campaigned for Hillary Clinton in her 2000 United States Senate race, and is said to be a Democrat.

See also

• Flutie Flakes

External links

• Doug Flutie CFL Legends
• Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism

Doug Flutie Official Page

• [www.dougflutie7.com]

2004 preseason MMQ article from Sports Illustrated

• Doug Flutie page on Pro-Football-Reference.com
• ESPN.com Flutie signs with Pats
• SI: Top 10 Scrambling Quarterbacks of the Modern Era
• More Current Stats

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