It’s an Old Story, but Still a Good One

Where have we heard this one before?

Old USC quarterback, longtime journeyman, long presumed retired, refuses to hang them up, instead just hangs around and hangs in there until desperate NFL team breaks emergency glass, summons him back into action in his dotage and gets surprisingly successful results, to the amazement of all.

Old Rodney Peete, the new Carolina Panther savior, has been a nice story for a couple of weeks, but it’s certainly not a new one.

Original blueprint for this tale: Vince Evans.

A tale of the tattered tape:

AT USC

Evans: Three-year letterman, 1974-1976.

Peete: Four-year letterman, 1985-1988.

SENIOR SEASON

Evans: Captained Trojans along with Ricky Bell and Eric Williams to a 10-1 record and the Pacific 8 Conference championship.

Peete: Captained Trojans to a 10-1 record and the Pacific 10 championship.

TROJAN FINALE

Evans: Started at quarterback against Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Rushed for a touchdown. Won, 14-6.

Peete: Started at quarterback against Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Rushed for two touchdowns. Built a 14-3 lead. Lost, 22-14.

NFL DRAFT

Evans: Selected in the sixth round by longtime NFC Central also-ran Chicago.

Peete: Selected in the sixth round by longtime NFC Central also-ran Detroit.

ROOKIE SEASON

Evans: Spent all of it backing up Bob Avellini.

Peete: Spent half of it backing up Bob Gagliano.

FIRST SEASON AS PRIMARY STARTER

Evans: Appeared in 13 games for 1980 Bears. Completed 148 of 278 passes for 2,039 yards, 53%. Team finished 7-9.

Peete: Appeared in 11 games for 1990 Lions. Completed 142 of 271 passes for 1,974 yards, 52.4%. Team finished 6-10.

SCRAMBLING MAN

Evans: Did lots of running behind those shaky Bear offensive lines. Career rushing totals: 1,129 yards in 212 carries, 5.3 average, 14 touchdowns.

Peete: Did lots of running behind those shaky Lion offensive lines. Career rushing totals before 2002: 1,126 yards in 247 carries, 4.6 average, 16 touchdowns.

RAMBLING MAN

Evans: Played for four professional teams: Chicago Bears, Denver Gold (USFL), Chicago Blitz (USFL), Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.

Peete: Has played for six professional teams: Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers.

WILDERNESS YEARS

Evans: Out of the NFL from 1984-86, bouncing around the USFL.

Peete: Presumed out of the NFL from 1999-2001, making four appearances, throwing 17 passes.

NFL SEASONS SPENT WITHOUT THROWING A SINGLE PASS

Evans: Two. Chicago 1977, Los Angeles Raiders 1988.

Peete: Two. Oakland 2000, 2001.

VETERAN, GRIZZLED

Evans: In 1995, at 40, threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-17 Raider victory over Indianapolis.

Peete: In 2002, at 36, threw for 310 yards and a touchdown in a 31-7 Panther victory over Detroit.

RETIRED

Evans: Finally, after the 1995 season, at 40 years 6 months.

Peete: Not yet. As the league was shocked to discover two weeks ago.

Say It Ain’t So, Joey

It has been 30 years since Detroit put a quarterback in the Pro Bowl, going on 31. Two questions: How did that happen? And does Joey Harrington know what he’s getting into?

Greg Landry: Passed for 2,237 yards in his one Pro Bowl season, 1971. Never matched that figure again until after his 1979 trade to the Baltimore Colts.

Bill Munson: Made 10 appearances in ‘73, 11 in ’74. Did not pass for more than nine touchdowns in either season.

Joe Reed: Third-stringer forced into ’75 lineup when Landry and Munson were both injured in the same game.

Gary Danielson: Spent eight seasons (1976-84) in Detroit, much of it rehabbing injuries. Threw for 3,076 yards in ‘84; Lions went 4-11-1.

Jeff Komlo: Starter by default after Danielson blew out his knee in final ’79 exhibition. Threw 23 interceptions, Lions finished 2-14.

Eric Hipple: Quarterbacked ’83 Lions to division title and first-round playoff defeat. Injury wiped out ’87 season.

Joe Ferguson: One of three quarterbacks Lions used in 1986. Lions opened season 1-7, blaming the fans’ booing for their sluggish start.

Chuck Long: Heisman Trophy runner-up in ‘85, first-round pick in ‘86, was out of Detroit after ‘89, having thrown 19 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in parts of four seasons.

Rusty Hilger: Raider reject threw 306 passes for ’88 Lions (4-12).

Bob Gagliano: Detroit was third of four stops in seven-year NFL career. Passed for 16 touchdowns, 22 interceptions in 1989-90.

Rodney Peete: Spent five seasons (1989-93) in Detroit, never passed for 2,000 yards.

Andre Ware: ’89 Heisman winner did a quick run-and-shoot right out of Detroit, appearing in only 14 games in four NFL seasons.

Erik Kramer: Quarterbacked Lions to first, and only, playoff victory since Bobby Layne, in ’91. It was all downhill and off to Chicago in ’94 after that.

Scott Mitchell: Lions spent $11 million for this: four full seasons, one second-place finish, two third-place finishes, two first-round playoff defeats. The glory days.

Dave Krieg: Krieg was a 36-year-old safety valve for Mitchell by the time he arrived in Detroit.

Charlie Batch: Replaced Mitchell in ’98. Did OK handing the ball off until Barry Sanders retired.

Ty Detmer: Lions’ Heisman jinx continues. Threw seven interceptions against Cleveland in his first start in 2001. Amazingly, was permitted to make another.

Mike McMahon: Rutgers rookie briefly a hero in Detroit for beating Vikings in December 2001 and saving 0-12 Lions from a winless season. Then the 2002 season began.

Joey Harrington: Congratulations, rook. It’s all yours.