Bledsoe "In Their Own Words" to air Tuesday

[JD10367]

Bledsoe bashing is crazy. While he was playing here, he was better than at least 70% of the other QB's in the league. Hell, today he is better than at least 20 other teams starting QB's.

So it turns out he wasn't as good as Brady....big deal. Noone is. He's still very good and capable of leading a team to the playoffs. Yea, there is a formula for beating him just like there is one for beating every other QB in the NFL. But if you give him the tools he needs he will win for you.

I agree and disagree.

Yes, Drew's still better, even at his age and shellshocked state, than a lot of other starting QBs. But IMO that says more about the sad state of NFL QBs than it does about Drew's greatness.

You say, "While he was playing here, he was better than at least 70% of the other QBs in the league." I'd push that number even higher, but I'd also stipulate that it was only in his first, say, six years. By the end of the 90's he'd already begun to show the effects of too many sacks and whacks.

It's not just that he "wasn't as good as Brady". Drew, on his own, with no comparisons, has problems. He tries too hard to force the ball into coverage and do too much by himself. He doesn't go through his progressions properly and find the open man, instead choosing a bad option (e.g. throwing out of bounds too early, holding on too late and getting sacked, throwing towards a guy who is better covered than other options). He's as slow as a wounded gazelle, and has no pocket presence (compared to a guy like Brady, who wouldn't win any track meets but has the ability to slide from pressure and get the job done).

I also used to use the line, "If you give Drew the proper tools he'll rip a defense apart". Unfortunately, at this stage, that means a beefy O-line, a solid running back, and good receivers... and under those stipulations, what half-decent NFL quarterback WOULDN'T rip a defense apart?

I stand by my analysis: Drew had great tools, and did some wonderful things, but never lived up to his potential, and it wasn't because he was surrounded by bad talent.

 

[JD10367]

Drew Bledsoe earned an eternal spot in all Pats fans hearts (or at least he should have earned a spot) by not making himself an issue when he came back healthy and Tom kept starting.

By not dividing the team, they kept their focus, he showed his true grit by doing whatever he could to make the guy playing win, and when given the chance, came back and tossed that TD in Pitt that just sucked the life out of the Steelers.

Class act, Drew Bledsoe. Too bad he ran into a string of bad luck with all those OC's and "new offenses" every year.

Again, not to :donkeys: but reports are that Bledsoe, after Belichick said he was sticking with Brady, actually went to Kraft and cried about it. That's not exactly what I call being a "class act" and not dividing the team.

Besides, I think you can only divide a team if half the players support one QB and half support the other... and I bet the number was probably more like 80% for Brady, 20% for Bledsoe, by the time Drew was ready to return. I'm just pulling this out of my butt, and maybe Danny can give us a little more info, but I highly doubt there was a big uproar from the locker room when Belichick said he was sticking with the young kid who'd been winning games...

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Ahhh cool.....A Bledsoe debate thread, we haven't had one of these in awhile.

For the record, I agree with Dchester on this topic.

 

[Darth Despot]

Bledsoe was good enough to get us to a Super Bowl (unlike Manning on the Colts), and maybe if Parcells hadn't had a hissy fit with Kraft and Grier, (and actually did a little coaching), maybe the Pats would have won that game against the Packers.

As an aside, I still don't understand why so many people have a problem with being able to appreciate both Bledsoe and Brady.

It's not really fair to Bledsoe, but for me the issue was mostly that I had my ass flamed about 100 times during the 01-02 offseason for suggesting that Bledsoe was anything less than a Hall of Famer in the prime of his career.

I'm kind of a small person when it comes to issues like this (at least on the internet) and I can't resist a little "I told you so" to some of the crew that went on about how trading Bledsoe was the equivalent of letting Babe Ruth get away.

 

[dchester]

Again, not to :donkeys: but reports are that Bledsoe, after Belichick said he was sticking with Brady, actually went to Kraft and cried about it. That's not exactly what I call being a "class act" and not dividing the team.

I make a big distinction between privately complaining about it, vs going public about it. He continued to help Brady, according to Brady himself, and did not cause any issue in the locker room.

I remember some interviews with a few of the players (I think Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy) after that first super bowl, and they commented on how Drew could have easily divided the team, but he never did (and they claimed that many of the players would have sided with Drew, if it had become an issue).
________
find headshop

 

[TrueBeliever]

Again, not to :donkeys: but reports are that Bledsoe, after Belichick said he was sticking with Brady, actually went to Kraft and cried about it. That's not exactly what I call being a "class act" and not dividing the team.

Yeah, but at least he didn't go to the media with it like T.O. or a hundred other guys in the league would have done. That would have been a serious distraction, almost as bad as the distraction Parcells caused in the weeks before SB 31.

And to respond to UT, I never intended for this to be a Bledsoe debate thread, though I had a feeling that's what it would become. I just wanted to let people know that this program would be on and would have a lot of clips of old Pats games. I love seeing Pats history whenever I can - I've tracked down copies of old Pats NFL Films videos on eBay, some with God-awful teams from the late 80s and early 90s. I even watch the video yearbooks of the Bills, Jets and Dolphins when they're on NFL Network just hoping to catch a clip of them playing the Pats.

So I guess if people don't think it's worth watching just because it's about Drew, fine, but I'd watch an In Their Own Words about Rod Rust if it meant I could see some Pats footage.

 

[JD10367]

I make a big distinction between privately complaining about it, vs going public about it.

What's the distinction? You don't think the players knew he went crying to Kraft? I doubt it was "private".

He continued to help Brady, according to Brady himself, and did not cause any issue in the locker room.

And I heard he pretty much sat in the QB meetings and did squat. And, BTW, Brady's got so much class that Drew could've come to the QB meetings with a "$^&@ BRADY" t-shirt on, and Tom probably still would've said Drew was helpful. I think Brady takes the high road.

I remember some interviews with a few of the players (I think Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy) . . .

You went far enough right there, LOL. I loved 'em both, but I wouldn't trust Ty and Lawyer if they said the sky was blue.

Funny story... Last training camp at Bryant, I took my wife. When the players came out, two guys sauntered over to the unoccupied small press tent next to us at the edge of the field and took a seat on folding chairs. My wife said, "Who the hell are those two guys, acting like kings?" It was Law and Milloy, of course, LOL.

 

[sonsofkraftybob]

Bledsoe sucked.

Couldn't run.

Couldn't shotgun.

Couldn't goalline sneak.

Had wayyyyy too many passes batted at the line of scrimmage.

Patted the ball before he threw.

About = number of TD's to INT's.

Locked into to one reciever.

Also, he almost gave away the game with the INT to Joey porter that would have been 6 the other way if Porter (I don't know how he didn't) held on.

Bledsoe and his stupid, arrogant, loser, father threatened Bellichick before the Superbowl that if he didn't start that he would....and I quote...."Blow the lid off this thing".

Luckily, Belichick has more spine in his pinky than Bledsoe had in his whole back.

BTW, if you couldn't guess, I hate Drew Bledsoe. I hated all the Bledsoe lovers in old Foxboro Stadium and wonder where they went in the new stadium??????????????????????

 

[Wandering Athol]

The one thing I distinctly remember thinking after Bledoe was traded to the Bills was that BB had to have been certain he was getting rid of the right guy if he was trading him within the division. That, and that BB already knew the gameplan on how to neutralize Bledsoe*.



*Bledsoe was 1-5 against the Pats with the Bills, with 5 TDs and 11 INTs (non-weighted QB rating average of 60). The average score of the games was 26-13 Pats (or 31-9 Pats discounting the Milloy game). I wonder if Peter King of SI, who IIRC picked the Cowboys over the Pats in SB XLI, has ever looked over these stats?

 

[mikiemo83]

if you couldn't guess, I hate Drew Bledsoe. I hated all the Bledsoe lovers in old Foxboro Stadium and wonder where they went in the new stadium??????????????????????

But I love Brian Piccolo

 

[sonsofkraftybob]

But I love Brian Piccolo

Only cuz he hung with Gayle Sears.

 

[JD10367]

So I guess if people don't think it's worth watching just because it's about Drew, fine, but I'd watch an In Their Own Words about Rod Rust if it meant I could see some Pats footage.

Hey, Rod Rust got a raw deal here, LOL. He wasn't that bad. He was just a better coordinator than head coach. Happens to a lot of guys, from "Pom-Pom" Pete Carroll to Mike "The Embodiment Of Arrogance" Martz.

 

[joephoto]

QB who did some great things early in his career, but then grew gun-shy and sloppy and never fulfilled his potential. He could've been one of the game's greats; instead he'll just go down as a pretty good QB. [/B]

Drew Bledsoe goes home to wherever (Idaho -?) after each season to continue "fathering".

Basicly, he doesn't stay around to work out.... He talks a good game but just never improved. How many coaches tried to get him to "improve his footwork"? All of them did.

 

[stainlee]

Drew Bledsoe goes home to wherever (Idaho -?) after each season to continue "fathering".

Basicly, he doesn't stay around to work out.... He talks a good game but just never improved. How many coaches tried to get him to "improve his footwork"? All of them did.

i agree. i came to the conclusion, during the horrid 5-11, 2000 season, when i was counting 5 and 6 seconds in the pocket, and drew still failed to make the play, that the pats would never win a super bowl with drew.

i remember reading that drew was the first one out of foxborough after the last game of that horrid 2000 season.

i remember reading that drew hated when parcells stood behind him in practice screaming "pass it, PASS IT, PASS IT!"

i also read on the Bill's message board, that when mike mularkey decided to make the Bill's offense more smashmouth and ball control, drew was quoted as saying "If all they want is for someone to hand off the ball and throw short passes, why am I here?" with an attitude like that, i find it hard to believe drew actually bought into mularkey's offense and it showed when drew tossed a 58.8 passer rating against the steelers 2nd and 3rd stringers, costing the Bills a playoff berth in 2004.

mularkey also put a "timer" on bledsoe during preseason of 2004.

it's just sad really, that a guy with his physical tools, and some of the greatest coaching the NFL can offer, can be so maddingly inconsistent.

i guess that's what happens when you're told your whole life that you're great without having actually consistently produced.

maybe that is why tom brady is so great. even when he was winning at michigan, he was constantly challenged and threatened with being replaced.

 

[Sir Otilc]

Drew would have been a Hall of Famer All Pro All World in the drop-back QB era, circa say the 1950's - 70's.

He's just not cut out for today's quicker offensive schemes.

Linemen need to block too damn long for him to be effective and they can't do that every single pass play.

 

[Spinal Tap]

Drew always seemed like he was just on the verge of greatness but could never quite get there. Maybe he shouldn't have left college early. Who knows?

Much as I used to worship him, I will say this - I seriously doubt the Pats would have gone all the way in '01 if Drew hadn't gotten injured. The Pats just became a different team when Tom took over at QB.

No shit. Now there is some analysis that deserves some archiving.