I’ll always remember the 2000 NFC Championship Game. I was sitting in the same row as Andy Rooney at the old Giants Stadium and the Giants scored twice before the Vikings even had the ball en route to a 41-0 victory. The game was a microcosm of Kerry Collins’s career. Although he shredded the Vikes for 381 yards and an NFL Playoff-record five touchdowns, he was overshadowed by the sheer magnitude of the blowout.
In Carolina and New Orleans, his accomplishments were tainted by charges of alcoholism and racism. When he resurrected his career with the Giants, he was under-appreciated despite giving the team a steady hand at the QB position that it had been missing for many years. He usually wasn’t the best player on field, but he always came to play. After a disappointing 4-12 season in 2003, he was discarded in preference of Eli Manning and went to Oakland where it looked like his time was over.
But you could never count Kerry Collins out. He resurfaced as Vince Young’s apprentice in Tennessee and took over for an injured Young in 2008. All he did was lead the Titans to a 13-3 record, the best in the NFL. Kerry Collins isn’t going into the Hall of Fame, but he threw for over 40,000 yards and that’s no small feat. It’s more than Steve Young has. I’ll remember Kerry for his quiet consistency and neverending resiliency. He was a damn good football player even if he never got his due and I’ll never forget the five touchdown passes he threw on that field of painted mud.
Rainman Suite 