Quarterback Option : After Years of Abuse, George, Miller Enjoy Their Changes in Scenery

Free at last, Atlanta quarterback Jeff George wants to forget everything about four disastrous seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

Here is his Colt career in a run-on sentence: George signs six-year deal that pays him $12 million, whines about the play of his offensive line, holds out of training camp last summer and listens to boos from bitter fans in his hometown of Indianapolis, some of whom heckled his 80-year-old grandmothers.

Free at last, Ram quarterback Chris Miller wants to forget part of his seven seasons in Atlanta, where he feuded with former Falcon coach Jerry Glanville and twice tore up his left knee on the Georgia Dome artificial turf.

George vs. Miller--opposing quarterbacks trying to distance themselves from their disappointing pasts Sunday when the Rams and Falcons meet in the Georgia Dome.

George makes his regular-season debut in Atlanta today after the Colts traded him in the off-season. Was it a new lease on life?

“I think so,” George said. “What happened in Indianapolis is in the past, and I’m glad it’s over. I’m happy now, and I was happy four years ago.

“I was fortunate when the trade was made. My teammates know what kind of a player and person I am. What happens outside of football is out of my hands. I can’t control what people say or write about me. As long as my teammates and peers have respect for me, that’s all I care about.”

Respect as a professional was hard to come by in Indianapolis, where George was a standout at Warren Central High.

After one season at Purdue and two at Illinois, George was the first overall selection by the Colts in the 1990 draft. Atlanta had traded the top pick to Indianapolis for wide receiver Andre Rison, guard Chris Hinton and a 1991 first-round draft pick, which the Falcons used to select Mike Pritchard.

George started 49 games in four seasons with the Colts and after getting sacked by the fans and his own inept offensive line, lashed out in the press. And many fans in Indiana viewed him as a quitter, never forgiving him for leaving Purdue.

The Rams’ Jessie Hester was George’s go-to receiver for four seasons in Indianapolis and remembers the quarterback’s problems well.

“Jeff wanted to win and he ticked a lot of people off the way he went about criticizing players,” Hester said. “Nobody there was perfect, but the fans and the media jumped all over him.

“That just ate him up, and he wanted out of there because of all the bad vibes.”

It all came to a boiling point last summer, when George held out for 36 days, costing him $144,000 in fines and the respect of the fans and some of his teammates. After all, the Colts weren’t paying him $2 million a year to sit and sulk, right?

“Here was a guy making all that money, and he didn’t want to stick around with the franchise,” Hester said. “That’s all you read about, all you heard about back there. And Jeff felt the pressure from that. His family did too.

“When he came in (from the holdout), he was telling me about all his problems with the press and his family. That was a whole different story from what I had read. That was something he had to go through for himself.”

Despite George’s attitude, Coach June Jones figured the quarterback was worth taking a risk on. George’s strong arm and quick release were perfect for the Falcons’ run-and-shoot offense. And Jones thought George would blend in well with players that included Rison, a fast-talker in tailback Erric Pegram and a quiet leader in offensive tackle Mike Kenn.

“We heard about those (negative) things when we made the trade for Jeff,” Jones said. “But we never came across anybody first-hand who said he was a problem.

“We talked to ex-players, ex-coaches and nobody had those things to say about him. I haven’t seen any of that here. He’s a keen guy, gets along with everybody and hangs out with his teammates.

“It was a situation where it was good for him to get out of Indianapolis, and it was good for us to get him.”

George has a new look. He has changed his jersey number from 11 to 1, cut his long, scraggly hair and shaved off his mustache and stubble on his chin.

“I feel like a rookie again,” George told Atlanta writers the day he signed. “The style of play here is right up my alley, and it’s something I haven’t been accustomed to the last four years. They’re putting the ball in my hands and letting me make plays.”

Hester thinks the change of scenery has done George some good.

“There’s no question about that,” he said. “He’s a totally different guy now. You can look at his face and tell he’s a happy person. Hopefully, he can make the best of this, because he’s in a great situation. You’ve seen the type of numbers Miller put up in that offense and he has the opportunity to do the same.”

The Rams signed Miller, a free agent, to a three-year, $9-million deal in early March, then traded Jim Everett, their starter for nearly eight seasons, to New Orleans. Miller’s knee passed a tough examination by doctors, and Ram coaches thought his knack for throwing the deep pass in Atlanta was the perfect complement to tailback Jerome Bettis.

“Chris and Steve Bartkowski were the only quarterbacks to get us in the playoffs,” said Jones, the offensive coordinator for Miller’s final three seasons with the Falcons.

“He had a sensational year in 1991, and had a phenomenal stretch late in the year. He was accurate and threw the deep pass to Michael Haynes and Andre Rison as well as I’ve ever seen it thrown.”

Sunday’s game is a homecoming of sorts for Miller, who doesn’t expect a warm welcome from Atlanta fans.

“I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of boos,” Miller said of returning to Atlanta. “We’ll test the dome roof. Believe me, I’ve heard them boo loud before, so I’m not too concerned about it. They might be a little more vocal toward me than a lot of other guys.

“I only played 12 of the last 32 games I was there. It was pretty tough for the fans, myself, my wife. It put a lot of pressure on us and stress on me.

“But that’s all behind us now. It’s time to move on.”

On the Mark

Atlanta quarterback Jeff George’s streak of 239 passes without an interception will be on the line Sunday against the Rams in the Georgia Dome. It is the best current streak among active players and third all-time:

Player Team Att. Year Bernie Kosar Cleveland 308 1990-91 Bart Starr Green Bay 294 1964-65 Jeff George Indy-Atlanta 239 1993-present Steve DeBerg Kansas City 233 1990 Milt Plum Cleveland 208 1959-60 Roman Gabriel Rams 206 1968-69

Source: Atlanta Falcons