George finally gets call, albeit not from team he pursued

SEATTLE -- Give Jeff George this: He's persistent.

And he knows how to use speed dial.

The 38-year-old bazooka-armed quarterback has called Jim Zorn and Mike Holmgren so many times in his last couple of idled years, it's a wonder the Seattle quarterback coach and head coach didn't have their phone numbers changed.

Each time, the quasi-retired George -- who hasn't thrown a pass in an NFL game in nearly five years -- would say how ready he was to become the experienced, backup quarterback to Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck that Holmgren prefers.

And each time, Zorn and Holmgren politely would say: "No, thanks."

"(He was) saying he can still play and he's ready, 'Come on! Give me a chance,' " Holmgren recalled this week while preparing his defending NFC champions to play the Oakland Raiders in their preseason finale on Thursday night. "His mind is in the right place."

George's arm has finally found a place, too.

The Raiders answered one of George's calls. The team that George led through a 4-12 season in 1997 and half of an 8-8 season in '98 signed him this week as their fourth quarterback. George will be an emergency standby -- in case new Oakland starter Aaron Brooks fails or gets hurt, second-year backup Andrew Walter's sore shoulder remains so, and sixth-year backup Marques Tuiasosopo finally leaves.

"I knew from the get-go that I was going to get back in the league, there was only one team that I wanted to be a part of," George said on Tuesday, looking past his calls to Seattle.

"Well, bless his heart," Holmgren said of George, who he had with the Seahawks in 2002 as an unused, emergency passer.

"He was great when he was with us, didn't get to play, but he was great in the locker room and I enjoyed having him here. He always could throw the ball, and throw it very, very well. He's a little older now than he used to be. ... It will be interesting to see what happens."

Nothing will likely happen Thursday, though. George will still be picking mothballs off his arm. He has been running the scout team in his first three days back in Oakland.

Raiders coach Art Shell said Walter, who moved ahead of Tuiasosopo to second-string behind Brooks this offseason, will play after missing the previous exhibition. So will Tuiasosopo, a native of suburban Woodinville, Wash., who led the University of Washington to its last Rose Bowl win in 2001.