Bledsoe first on the field... Allready leading!

[JackMagist]

Your welcome. It was a little tongue and cheek. When Henson was forced to pick a new number because Hutchinson has the number 7, he chose 11. Many people speculated that it was because Parcells two best QB's ever, Simms and Bledsoe, wore that number, and he wanted to make that impression. When Hutchinson was released, the number 7 became available, and it was offered to Henson (rumor has it, by Parcells through the equipment MGR). Conspiracy theorists can have field day with this one.

That’s cool...I always love a good conspiracy theory myself.

 

[Ken]

So was Vinny Nors. How'd that work out?

Not exactly the same thing Hos....

Vinny was signed to be a quality backup qb. They never intended for him to start the whole season. That would have been assinine to have that as their intention. Carter forced VT to start the whole year.

Parcells said he was going to be a relief pitcher last year. If Carter faltered in a game, we would have saw VT. From the way VT started the season and then petered out, that would have been a good strategy.

 

[Ken]

I like Drew Bledsoe and always have. He has always been a leader and just happened to find himself in a bad situation in NE with an injury and a young stud who has proven to be one of the best in the game behind him. I like that in that year that he lost his job to an injury that he came back and played well in the AFC championship game to get them to their first Superbowl of the Brady era. Had he not played well in that game the Pats would not be what they are today...Winners of 3 of the last 4 Superbowls.

As for his time in Buffalo I don't put much credence in what happened there. Bledsoe had a 4000 yard season his first year there but had no help from the rest of the team.

Then he had a sub par year the next year with a new HC and the worst coach in the NFL, Kevin Gilbride, for an OC. Of course Bledsoe's detractors will say it wasn't the OC's fault he wasn't out on the field playing the game he was only calling the plays and designing the game plans. I say a QB can only overcome so much.

Then he had a pretty good second half of the season after getting used to yet another new HC and new OC. He got them back to a respectable place by the years end. Again his detractors will say it wasn't him it was the running game and Drew did nothing. I say nothing but lead a winning team.

Ok so Bledsoe is maybe not Mister Personality with his cool and aloof manner. But he ahs been a winner or at least done his part to make his team a winner wherever he has been. He is a leader on the field and he has one of the very best arms in the game. Bledsoe now has weapons around him in Julius Jones, Jason Witten, Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn toping the list. If our OL gives this man some protection and with a running game to keep defenses off his receivers a little he will shred defenses.

Right, he had a 4,000 yard season when he had a good line and weapons.

If you look at what he had last year, he had a bad line and two good wrs. Moulds' #'s are barely better than Keyshawns. Actually, i think Key had a better year statistically. Evans was unbelievable. McGahee was consistant, but hardly dynamic.

Now, after that, the Bills had absolutely nothing. No threat over the middle of the field if it wasn't Moulds. Their third best option in the passing game didn't have more than 18 catches. Their TEs were horrible, their 3rd and 4th wrs were horrible.

You have to threaten the middle of the field to have a balanced offense. Buffalo didn't have that last year and they compounded the problem by having a horrible line. Bledsoe was sacked 7 times twice last year. That won't happen here.

I expect big things from Bledsoe this year because this is the best offense he's had since that 2002 Bills squad. He is also in the best shape I have seen him in.

 

[JackMagist]

I guess I'm in that 5% minoroty then. By the way, I disagree with that strongly. Besides, sounds like Henson struggled yesterday. Hopefully, he'll bounce back today. I remember, they tried to change Kosars delivery when he first came up. His accuracy took a nosedive, so they let him go back to the 3/4 arm delivery, and he went on to be on of the NFL's most accurate and successful QB's of his time. I hope they didn't screw up Henson.

At this point I'm not in that 95% group either. Bledsoe is clearly the man for the job at this juncture if we want to reestablish a winning tradition. When we first got Aikman in 1989 he came into a losing program and they nearly got him killed; probably shortened his career because of the hits he took as a rookie. I want Henson or Romo (I am NOT discounting Romo as a possibility for our future starter) to take over a winning program the way Morton, Staubach and White all did. Let them sit behind a good starter on a winning team for a couple of years then take over and continue the tradition.

 

[BlueWave]

Right, he had a 4,000 yard season when he had a good line and weapons.

If you look at what he had last year, he had a bad line and two good wrs. Moulds' #'s are barely better than Keyshawns. Actually, i think Key had a better year statistically. Evans was unbelievable. McGahee was consistant, but hardly dynamic.

Now, after that, the Bills had absolutely nothing. No threat over the middle of the field if it wasn't Moulds. Their third best option in the passing game didn't have more than 18 catches. Their TEs were horrible, their 3rd and 4th wrs were horrible.

You have to threaten the middle of the field to have a balanced offense. Buffalo didn't have that last year and they compounded the problem by having a horrible line. Bledsoe was sacked 7 times twice last year. That won't happen here.

I expect big things from Bledsoe this year because this is the best offense he's had since that 2002 Bills squad. He is also in the best shape I have seen him in.

Not jusst the sacks, but the way he was sacked. He often never had time to set his feet.

I don't think the Bills released Bledsoe because they blamed him for not making the playoffs. I think they relized that they were on a down turn and lucky to finish 8-8 last season. They realized that they were going to have to rebuild, at least offensively and they might as well start with the young guy and cut salary. While we, are on the upswing lacking a good QB.

 

[AsthmaField]

At this point I'm not in that 95% group either. Bledsoe is clearly the man for the job at this juncture if we want to reestablish a winning tradition. When we first got Aikman in 1989 he came into a losing program and they nearly got him killed; probably shortened his career because of the hits he took as a rookie. I want Henson or Romo (I am NOT discounting Romo as a possibility for our future starter) to take over a winning program the way Morton, Staubach and White all did. Let them sit behind a good starter on a winning team for a couple of years then take over and continue the tradition.

I think it's a good thing for Henson to sit behind a QB like Bledsoe and watch and learn. Not one bad thing can come from Henson watching and learning on the sideline before he has the opportunity to run the show himself.

Why wouldn't it be good to learn as much as possible before getting thrown into the fire?

Now would I like to see Henson just do so well in camp that he's head and shoulders above Bledsoe? Would I like to see him perform so wonderfully that Parcells feels the need to sit Bledsoe and play the young guy?

Of course I would, because that'd mean we have a true, young franchise QB who we only payed a 3rd round pick for. That would mean our future at the QB position is set for the next decade.

If Henson played well enough for Parcells to set Bledsoe, we just might have another Staubach on our hands... and that'd be a good thing.

Won't happen though.

 

[Cbz40]

I think it's a good thing for Henson to sit behind a QB like Bledsoe and watch and learn. Not one bad thing can come from Henson watching and learning on the sideline before he has the opportunity to run the show himself.

Why wouldn't it be good to learn as much as possible before getting thrown into the fire?

Now would I like to see Henson just do so well in camp that he's head and shoulders above Bledsoe? Would I like to see him perform so wonderfully that Parcells feels the need to sit Bledsoe and play the young guy?

Of course I would, because that'd mean we have a true, young franchise QB who we only payed a 3rd round pick for. That would mean our future at the QB position is set for the next decade.

If Henson played well enough for Parcells to set Bledsoe, we just might have another Staubach on our hands... and that'd be a good thing.

Won't happen though.

OK, I'll go along with that but if it "won't happen though" we better get off our rear ends and get a young QB in here and start grooming him.

 

[Hostile]

Not exactly the same thing Hos....

Vinny was signed to be a quality backup qb. They never intended for him to start the whole season. That would have been assinine to have that as their intention. Carter forced VT to start the whole year.

Parcells said he was going to be a relief pitcher last year. If Carter faltered in a game, we would have saw VT. From the way VT started the season and then petered out, that would have been a good strategy.

Sorry Ken, but it is exactly the same thing. On the market and swooped up by the Cowboys. It was a theme for both.

I know most believe Vinny was brought in to be the backup. I don't. I never have. I never will.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Not jusst the sacks, but the way he was sacked. He often never had time to set his feet.

I don't think the Bills released Bledsoe because they blamed him for not making the playoffs. I think they relized that they were on a down turn and lucky to finish 8-8 last season. They realized that they were going to have to rebuild, at least offensively and they might as well start with the young guy and cut salary. While we, are on the upswing lacking a good QB.

Sorry there BW but there were many in the organization that did blame Bledsoe for the loss.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Right, he had a 4,000 yard season when he had a good line and weapons.

If you look at what he had last year, he had a bad line and two good wrs. Moulds' #'s are barely better than Keyshawns. Actually, i think Key had a better year statistically. Evans was unbelievable. McGahee was consistant, but hardly dynamic.

Now, after that, the Bills had absolutely nothing. No threat over the middle of the field if it wasn't Moulds. Their third best option in the passing game didn't have more than 18 catches. Their TEs were horrible, their 3rd and 4th wrs were horrible.

You have to threaten the middle of the field to have a balanced offense. Buffalo didn't have that last year and they compounded the problem by having a horrible line. Bledsoe was sacked 7 times twice last year. That won't happen here.

I expect big things from Bledsoe this year because this is the best offense he's had since that 2002 Bills squad. He is also in the best shape I have seen him in.

I keep hearing this that the Bills o-line last year was a collection of turds... what proof of this do we have?

It sounds more like a handy excuse for rationalizing that Bledsoe was only .2 better than Vinny last year even though Bledsoe had the better running game, better receivers and a defense and special teams that not only kept giving superior field position but put a ton of points on the board to assist the offense.

 

[BlueWave]

Sorry there BW but there were many in the organization that did blame Bledsoe for the loss.

Well, I hope they have other career options. The switch from Bledsoe to Losman will take them from 8-8 to lucky to be 5-11. That's going to be one bad team this year.

 

[JackMagist]

I keep hearing this that the Bills o-line last year was a collection of turds... what proof of this do we have?

It sounds more like a handy excuse for rationalizing that Bledsoe was only .2 better than Vinny last year even though Bledsoe had the better running game, better receivers and a defense and special teams that not only kept giving superior field position but put a ton of points on the board to assist the offense.

At every juncture in the league when a QB suffers a great many sacks it is placed on the doorstep of the OL. In every case except for Bledsoe; there is just something wrong with that IMO. It is the OL's job to give the man time and if they don't he gets sacked a lot; it's always been that way and it always will...except in Bledsoe's case I guess.

Come on Mikey

 

[BlueWave]

I keep hearing this that the Bills o-line last year was a collection of turds... what proof of this do we have?

It sounds more like a handy excuse for rationalizing that Bledsoe was only .2 better than Vinny last year even though Bledsoe had the better running game, better receivers and a defense and special teams that not only kept giving superior field position but put a ton of points on the board to assist the offense.

Is this the same defense that let Leftwich drive the team down the field and score on the last play of the game. Guess that was Bledsoes fault. Would have made the playoffs with that win

 

[followthestar]

i also think that he will have a tremendous year, with witten reaping most of the benefits and becoming a star in his own right. there should be plenty of one-on-one matchups on CBs and i foresee more deep passes going for TDs than in recent memory. all of this aside, bledsoe's leadership will pay big dividends from a team standpoint. bledsoe has seen it all, will provide leadership in the huddle which has been our most glaring hole on offense since aikman left, and has the arm to keep us in tight games right up to the last play. i like drew. i think he'll be our starter again next year, if you want to know the awful truth...

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Well, I hope they have other career options. The switch from Bledsoe to Losman will take them from 8-8 to lucky to be 5-11. That's going to be one bad team this year.

I don't necessarily disagee.

You have no idea how crushed the front office, the coaches, his team-mates and the fans of the Bills were due to the loss to P-burg in the final game.

And many blamed and continue to blame Bledsoe.

They may have cut off their noses to spite their faces but they came to the realization that Bledsoe no longer had the upside to get them deep in the playoffs. Donahoe and Mularky keep their jobs if Losman goes 6-10 because he is a rookie BUT it's likely that Donahoe at least would have been fired IF they had kept Bledsoe and missed the playoffs again.

 

[AsthmaField]

OK, I'll go along with that but if it "won't happen though" we better get off our rear ends and get a young QB in here and start grooming him.

When I said "Won't happen though", I meant this camp... this year.

I do think Henson has a chance to become a franchise QB, I just don't think it'll happen in 2005.

My viewpoint will be different a year from now. I'll be expecting Henson to put forth a fight in training camp to win the starting job.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Is this the same defense that let Leftwich drive the team down the field and score on the last play of the game. Guess that was Bledsoes fault. Would have made the playoffs with that win

You make a valid point BW.

They also would have won that game if the offense had done a little more than what they actually did that day.

It's like this BW there were few defenses better (maybe 1 or 2) than the Bill's defense in '04.

 

[BlueWave]

No doubt, the Bills had a good defense, for the most part. They did give up the following:

31 at home against the Patriots
29 at New England
32 at Miami
29 at home against Pittsburgh

Three or which were losses. Good, but not real consistent considering the games were spread out throughout the season (Oct 3, Nov 14, Dec 5, Jan 2)


But to say they didn't have a bad offensive line is just plain incorrect.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

At every juncture in the league when a QB suffers a great many sacks it is placed on the doorstep of the OL. In every case except for Bledsoe; there is just something wrong with that IMO. It is the OL's job to give the man time and if they don't he gets sacked a lot; it's always been that way and it always will...except in Bledsoe's case I guess.

Come on Mikey

Come on Jack... check the stats for God sakes! Buffalo was 18th in sacks allowed last year. That isn't great but it's not the Buffalo swiss-cheese o-line bs that everyone spits out on this forum.

And how many of those sacks were do to DB standing back there patting the **** out off the ball waiting to try to complete the big throw like he always does instead of dumping it off? I'm betting quite a few.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

No doubt, the Bills had a good defense, for the most part. They did give up the following:

31 at home against the Patriots
29 at New England
32 at Miami
29 at home against Pittsburgh

Three or which were losses. Good, but not real consistent considering the games were spread out throughout the season (Oct 3, Nov 14, Dec 5, Jan 2)


But to say they didn't have a bad offensive line is just plain incorrect.

Prove they had a "bad" o-line?

Define for me what the hell "bad" is--OK?