 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2008) (Find sources: Billy Volek – news, books, scholar) |
 |
|
| No. 7 San Diego Chargers | |
| Quarterback | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: April 28, 1976 | |
| Place of birth: Hemet, California | |
| Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | Weight: 214 lb (97 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Fresno State | |
| Undrafted in 2000 | |
| Debuted in 2001 for the Tennessee Titans | |
| Career history | |
As player:
|
|
| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career NFL statistics as of 2007 | |
| TD-INT | 26-14 |
| Passing yards | 3,515 |
| QB Rating | 84.9 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
John William Volek (born April 28, 1976 in Hemet, California) is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He played college football at Fresno State.
Contents |
Early years
Volek attended Clovis West High School in Fresno, California, and was a letterman in football. In football, as a senior, he was named the Northwest Yosemite League Offensive Player of the Year. He then went to Fresno State where he led his team to a WAC title in 1999 and holds the NCAA Football record for ''Lowest Percentage of Passes Intercepted in Career".
Statistics
| Year | Comp | Att | Comp % | Passing | TD | INT | Carries | Rushing | TD |
| 1997 | 178 | 318 | 56.0 | 1853 | 17 | 6 | 71 | -67 | 2 |
| 1998 | 151 | 261 | 57.9 | 1973 | 10 | 3 | 62 | -18 | 4 |
| 1999 | 249 | 383 | 65.0 | 2706 | 30 | 3 | 42 | -61 | 3 |
Professional career
Volek was signed by the Tennessee Titans in 2000 from free agency, after not being selected by any team in the 2000 NFL Draft. He would see very little action during his rookie season, completing 0 of his 3 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions. After such a small amount of play time, he would not be seen on the field again until the 2003 season, where he would make a name for himself as one of the National Football League's more talented backup quarterbacks.
In 2004, he became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history—along with Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, and Phil Simms -- to pass for over 400 yards in two consecutive games,[1] a feat that was also accomplished in 2008 by New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel. It was announced on December 17, 2004 that he would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the 2004-2005 season for the Titans, replacing the injured Steve McNair. McNair's injuries healed in time for the next season, and Volek backed him up once again, starting only 1 game. McNair was later traded to the Baltimore Ravens during June 2006, allowing Volek the opportunity to truly earn the starting position.
In late August 2006, coach Jeff Fisher announced that the Titans intended to sign QB Kerry Collins to compete with Volek for the starting QB job. In turn, it has been reported that Volek took issue with this decision and immediately asked to be considered for a trade. On September 19, 2006, Volek was traded to the San Diego Chargers for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after the Titans played the Chargers in their Second game. Titans coach Jeff Fisher has since publicly stated that Volek was untruthful with him and that this may have led to his eventual trade. Fisher was quoted as saying "He was untruthful with me, untruthful with his head coach, about where he was and what he was doing. So we started off on the wrong page there, and that did not sit well with me."[2] The trade as a whole is considered to have been messy, and although he has criticized Volek for lying to him, Fisher has not revealed what the lie was, and instead also states that Volek never took advantage of his opportunities once told he was the starter. Many critics state that Volek took full advantage of his chances to become the starting quarterback, pointing towards the reasonably good preseason that the Titans had.
Since the trade to San Diego in 2006, Billy Volek has seen spot duty behind Philip Rivers. During the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on January 13, 2008, Volek replaced the injured Philip Rivers and led a fourth-quarter comeback over the defending champions. He completed 3 of his 4 passes, including a 15-yard pass on his second pass attempt. He also scored his first touchdown of the year on a one-yard quarterback sneak which allowed the Chargers to win the game 28-24, and go to the 2007 AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
On February 29, 2008, Volek signed a three-year contract with San Diego.[3]
References
- ^ Battista, Judy (November 24, 2008). "Patriots Show Dolphins How Well Adjusted Cassel Is". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/sports/football/24dolphins.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ "Fisher says Volek lied to him" - at CBS Sports. - Sep. 20, 2006
- ^ "Volek back with Chargers, inks 3-year deal" ([dead link] – Scholar search). Fox Sports. 2008-02-29. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7857976/Volek-back-with-Chargers,-inks-3-year-deal. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
External links
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
