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jetstream1066

jetstream1066

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I'm just curious......let's say that many moons ago......when Bledsoe was ready to come back....that BB went beack to Bledsoe as his starter for the next season or so. What are the thoughts here as to where Brady would have ended up. Do you all think he would have remained a Pat or been let go ? Regardless of where he would have been, he would have been great.....Just curious
 
He would have likely remained a Patriot, I believe. He passed both Huard and Friesz on the depth chart in training camp, so he was the solid #2 at the time Bledsoe went down. Given his work ethic, he would have stayed there and probably would have even passed Bledsoe in the training camp of the following year anyway (if not earlier).
 
At some point, BB was dumping Bledsoe. Had it not been for that horrible injury, it probably just would have been later in the season or the following year. In that case, I think TB would have still been there and it still would have been he who took over. IF that didn't happen, I'm wondering if he might not have ended up in SD when Riley was there. Riley who was SD's HC from 99-01, coveted him as a HS prospect and lost him, and coveted him as HC of SD, and couldn't get them to let him draft TB.
 
jetstream1066 said:
I'm just curious......let's say that many moons ago......when Bledsoe was ready to come back....that BB went beack to Bledsoe as his starter for the next season or so. What are the thoughts here as to where Brady would have ended up. Do you all think he would have remained a Pat or been let go ? Regardless of where he would have been, he would have been great.....Just curious
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He would have been released and signed with the JEST the next day.




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Agree with the others...

The story at the time was that Brady had outperformed Bledsoe during camp and BB knew he would eventually have to make the switch. For some very big reasons (Bledsoe was just one year into a very large $100M extension), BB had to wait. The injury gave him the opening.

If Bledsoe went back as the starter, much would have depended on how the Pats finished the season. The Pats were still far from the playoffs at the time (I think they may have been 5-5 or 6-5). If they don't make the playoffs, then BB has a no-brainer opening. If they make the playoffs, it becomes a controversy. If they win the Super Bowl, I don't think the switch is made permanent.

But Brady stays on the team until future results are in, IMHO.
 
Well, it depends on if you think BB is a liar or not....I have read things from him that said, oh yes, Brady was getting ready to take over no doubt about it, or you can believe that Bledsoe went down, he had no idea what Brady was and Brady stole the starting job aka Wally Pipp. The one thing I always gave BB credit for was when the team started winning with Brady he left him in....the easy thing to do was put the 100 mil QB back in, but he went with what he saw. BB did not draft Bledsoe, he did draft Brady, sometimes that is a big deal. Bledsoe was not getting better, the team was not getting better, it was a slow decline from 1997 to 2000, something had to change. I am not sure when this would have happened or even if, but something had to turn it around...you have a 5-11 season and then start 0-2, I am sure BB was not happy. How it happened, maybe it was luck, or maybe BB makes the change at some point, not sure we will ever know.
 
Tommy felt mid-camp that year that he would be starting at some point in 2001 or at least opening day 2002. So, I'm going with nowhere.
 
I assume that the NE coaching staff would have noticed TB's talent and he would have remained. I was just curious
 
I know most of the fans at the time were thinking Bledsoe would have his job back. But then this scrawny Californian started winning games. Still, he was considered mostly a game manager, but gradually people started seeing his leadership. I think that quality alone was what kept Brady in the starting lineup that first year. He was just a natural leader out there. Fate was on our side that year. Bledsoe helped legitimize the franchize, but Brady put them over the top.

If BB had put Bledsoe back in, there would not have been much of an uproar at the t time because no one really knew what we had in Tommy, except maybe the coaching staff and of course MichiganDave. Bledsoe was the face of the franchise. I agree that by the next camp, BB would have probably elevated Tommy to starter. It all fell into place much more easily and wothout a ton of controversy because of how 2001 ended. Although there were still plenty of people upset to see Drew go.
 
grog said:
I know most of the fans at the time were thinking Bledsoe would have his job back. But then this scrawny Californian started winning games. Still, he was considered mostly a game manager, but gradually people started seeing his leadership. I think that quality alone was what kept Brady in the starting lineup that first year. He was just a natural leader out there. Fate was on our side that year. Bledsoe helped legitimize the franchize, but Brady put them over the top.

If BB had put Bledsoe back in, there would not have been much of an uproar at the t time because no one really knew what we had in Tommy, except maybe the coaching staff and of course MichiganDave. Bledsoe was the face of the franchise. I agree that by the next camp, BB would have probably elevated Tommy to starter. It all fell into place much more easily and wothout a ton of controversy because of how 2001 ended. Although there were still plenty of people upset to see Drew go.
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I disagree. I think the staff knew what they had-- maybe not the HOF type attributes, but that he was good enough to run the offense the way they wanted to run it and produce the results that they wanted. Tommy's strengths were being a smart QB, understanding the situation, and playing accordingly. Drew had better measurables, but would never have been able to do what the staff truly wanted out of the offense.

That's why I think it was an easy call that TB was going to take over sooner rather than later. Belichick just had to be smart about it to avoid Bernie Kosar II, and the injury allowed that to happen at a quicker pace.
 
grog said:
I know most of the fans at the time were thinking Bledsoe would have his job back. But then this scrawny Californian started winning games. Still, he was considered mostly a game manager, but gradually people started seeing his leadership. I think that quality alone was what kept Brady in the starting lineup that first year. He was just a natural leader out there. Fate was on our side that year. Bledsoe helped legitimize the franchize, but Brady put them over the top.

If BB had put Bledsoe back in, there would not have been much of an uproar at the t time because no one really knew what we had in Tommy, except maybe the coaching staff and of course MichiganDave. Bledsoe was the face of the franchise. I agree that by the next camp, BB would have probably elevated Tommy to starter. It all fell into place much more easily and wothout a ton of controversy because of how 2001 ended. Although there were still plenty of people upset to see Drew go.
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I was a bit tired of seeing....drop back....pat the ball....pat the ball....pat the ball *crunch* fumble....game lost....so I was ready for a change. Bledsoe had a steady decline after the 96 superbowl...it was time to go.
 
jetstream1066 said:
I'm just curious......let's say that many moons ago......when Bledsoe was ready to come back....that BB went beack to Bledsoe as his starter for the next season or so. What are the thoughts here as to where Brady would have ended up. Do you all think he would have remained a Pat or been let go ? Regardless of where he would have been, he would have been great.....Just curious
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He would have be long gone. Brady saved BB's ass & HC career.
 
BostonTim said:
ROFL I know. Middy wouldn't even have said a word.


Cheers, BostonTim
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I didn't...although I will say that when Brady went in and was winning, I did not want bledsoe back...I was pretty happy with the results and the youth of Brady.
 
I personally didn't like Bledsoe long before Brady joined the Patriots. Bledsoe was good enough to make the Patriots a contender, for which I'm supposed to be grateful. Still, he was bad enough to guarantee that there would be no four game winning streaks against teams good enough to make the playoffs. His head wasn't on straight. He couldn't avoid 4th quarter blunders.

Well before it was clear that Brady was Brady, I was all for giving Brady a chance to play.
 
jetstream1066 said:
I'm just curious......let's say that many moons ago......when Bledsoe was ready to come back....that BB went beack to Bledsoe as his starter for the next season or so. What are the thoughts here as to where Brady would have ended up. Do you all think he would have remained a Pat or been let go ? Regardless of where he would have been, he would have been great.....Just curious
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It is only fitting that a Jets Player is responsible for Brady coming in and taking the position from Drewpy. I mean they feared Bledslow so much the took him out. Heck even then they made the wrong choice at QB.
 
mikiemo83 said:
it is only fitting that a jets player is responsible for brady coming in and taking the position from drewpy. I mean they feared bledslow so much the took him out. heck even then they made the wrong choice at qb.
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roflroflrofl
 
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