Falcons Eye New Home For George

Jeff George may have been the perfect run-and-shoot quarterback, but that was before he began running off at the mouth and shooting from his pouting lip.

This observation comes courtesy of Atlanta Falcons coach June Jones, who Wednesday mailed a verbal “See ya” to his erstwhile starting quarterback. In a conference call with 49ers beat writers, Jones acknowledged that George’s career with the Falcons is finished.

“I’d say that, yeah, it’s pretty much closed,” Jones said.

When last we saw George, he was arguing with Jones on the sideline after being yanked from Sunday night’s 33-18 loss to Philadelphia.

This was not a wise career move. George’s heated comments hit a nerve with Jones, who suspended his quarterback for this Sunday’s game in San Francisco and convinced Falcons management to begin shopping George to any team that wanted him.

At the moment, there seems to be some question as to whether any team does.

A source close to George, speaking on the condition he not be identified, said the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens have expressed interest.

“We’re right now trying to move him,” Jones said. “I just expressed (to George) that I think it’s best for the football team to move him.”

Bobby Hebert thus becomes Atlanta’s starter for Sunday and, presumably, beyond. Hebert wasn’t terribly thrilled when the Falcons bent over backward to sign George to a one-year, $3.64 million deal in the off-season. He tried to take a diplomatic stance Wednesday but didn’t altogether succeed.

“If you can’t get along with (Jones), then you can’t get along with anybody,” Hebert said. “He’s a great coach, and for June to do what he did … he definitely had a right to, because I heard it was pretty bad.”

Quarterback shuffle

Elvis Grbac will start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, in place of injured Steve Young, coach George Seifert said.

Young still is bothered by a groin injury, which was aggravated during last week’s 23-7 loss at Carolina. Young first strained his groin in a Sept. 8 game against St. Louis.

Steve Beuerlein, who shredded the NFL’s top-ranked defense in an emergency start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, will play in place of the injured Kerry Collins for the second consecutive week.

Quarterback Erik Kramer, who has missed only one play in the Chicago Bears’ last 20 games, was in the hospital with a herniated disk in his neck and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Dave Krieg, the 37-year-old insurance policy Wannstedt signed in the offseason, will start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

Krieg ranks eighth in NFL history with 35,668 yards, most accumulated in 12 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

Since 1993, the Dolphins have lost seven consecutive games when Dan Marino is unable to start because of injury. That’s bad news for Miami, because Marino is expected to miss four to six weeks - an estimate revised Wednesday by the team - after surgery to repair a slightly fractured right ankle.