R I P Greg Cook

Non-Beer Discussion by FRETWALKER

Starting quarterback for the all-time What If team... Passed away today from complications of pneumonia at the tender young age of 65. Drafted 5th overall by the AFL Bengals in 1969, he started from the get-go. Injured in the third game, initially misdiagnosed but turned out to be a torn rotator cuff, he missed three games and finished the season with the aid of cortisone shots. By the next season, the rotator cuff injury had deteriorated to the point that his career was effectively over. After several unsuccessful surgeries, he attempted a comeback in '73, appeared in one game and completed one pass in three attempts. Post-football, he seemed haunted by what could've been, and never really amounted to much. How good was Greg Cook? How about 9.41 yards per attempt, 17.5 yards per completion - rookie records that still stand, 42 years later. (for comparison, Peyton Manning's BEST year 9.2 yds/att, 13.6 yds/comp) UPI's 1969 Rookie of the year. Bill Walsh, who was his offensive coordinator in '69, and knew a thing or two about quarterbacks, later said that had it not been for that injury, Cook might very well have gone on to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. This from NFL Films: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d807434bc/Top-Ten-One-Shot-Wonders-Greg-Cook Rest in Peace, Greg. Hope the next life works out better for ya!