Bledsoe Retired per PFT
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Hostile;1454200 said:
Oh he's been gone about a month or so. I think they just got sick of his shtick. Pretty much the same as over here.
joseephuss
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LowTech;1454229 said:
When did I imply that I didn't see a difference? I just said Bledsoe did not bring stability to the QB position. He was closer to Quincy than he was to Troy when it came to bringing stability to Dallas. Stability is having a quarterback there that you know you can count on every game and every year for several years. Drew did not bring that to Dallas.
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Bledsoe walks away and there's hardly a proper peep on the matter
I feel obligated in this post-schedule/Pacman maelstrom to throw a bone to a pretty darned good quarterback who is hanging it up.
Drew Bledsoe is the kind of guy who from now until the quarter mark of the century will be mentioned as one of the most overrated QBs of all time, and it's just too bad. People forget just how good he was. There's so much I could say about the enigmatic, yet intriguing Bledsoe, that it's hard to contain my thoughts to a few grafs.
I can remember vividly rooting for the Patriots (I grew up a fan) to pick Rick Mirer instead. Even then, Bledsoe was overrated -- too gawky, too mechanical. Mirer was the Golden Boy. He was Joe Montana's poor cousin, I thought. I even wanted the much-hyped Garrison Hearst over Bledsoe; it seemed that the Patriots and Seahawks were the only two teams that were not geeked about Hearst's pro potential.
But Bill Parcells went with the tall guy from Washington State who seemed to be the anti-Phil Simms, or everything you don't want in a Parcells-coached QB, and we shrugged. There was excitement, surely, because he automatically put a face on a shockingly faceless team. Name three Patriots from the '92 or '93 teams, dare ya -- and I will spot you a very underrated Bruce Armstrong and Andr Tippett, then in the twilight of his wonderful career.
Bledsoe came to town with his dad, Mac, and did OK in the early going, but he had a bad habit of pumping the ball and giving it a slap before he launched a deep throw. He eventually got his starting spot, beating out Scott Zolak and Scott Secules (there's a name from the past), and did a respectable job considering Michael Timpson and Vincent Brisby were his starting wideouts. Bledsoe, slowly but eventually, gave fans a reason to watch the Pats again. As unlikely a pair as he and Parcells made, they had enough of a Starsky-and-Hutch -- or perhaps Tango-and-Cash -- quality to make it work.
By 1996, Bledsoe was a star. He had revived the long-dormant passing game in New England and was an incredible point guard, routinely finding nine or 10 different receivers in a given game. He helped make TE Ben Coates a star and gamely led a clutch but under-talented Patriots team to within a quarter of winning a Super Bowl.
I cannot deny that Bledsoe hit a wall with the Pats. It happened after Pete Carroll's first season, which happened to be Bledsoe's best statistical year. He started tightening his grasp on a locker room that suddenly was left in the balance as the rah-rah good guy Carroll failed to take command following Parcells' exit. Bledsoe was stamped officially as the team's leader and public figure, and as the team declined slowly, then suddenly. It was a divided locker room and a divided fan base, many of whom thought the idea of giving a $103 million contract to a sometimes star was a poor move by Robert Kraft and Co.
The great irony of Bledsoe's career, of course, is his being replaced by Tom Brady. We all know about the Mo Lewis hit that effectively ended Bledsoe's career. You must point out that Bledsoe got his moment in the sun that season when he came in relief and helped ward off the more talented Steelers in the AFC title game, but lest we forget that Bledsoe was a few more plays and some really bad Kordell Stewart throws from blowing that game. Overall, Bledsoe just did enough to get by then, and soon later his career was over.
I was always glad that he revived his career in Buffalo and later Dallas, though he met similar fates in both cities, as many aging QBs do, being replaced by the Next Big Thing. Bledsoe always said he never wanted to be a backup, and for the most part, he wasn't. He spent that fateful '01 season, hurt most of the time, watching Brady and he spent half of '06 looking out from under a Cowboys visor and out from above some unneeded eye black to watch Tony Romo charm, then confound, Cowboys nation.
Drew is a smart guy (scored a 39 on the Wonderlic) who loves spending time on his ranch in Montana. He will have a very fruitful life after football with his family. We likely won't hear from him in some time, is my guess.
He has to be in the Hall of Fame consideration purely based on his numbers (seventh in history in yards, 13th in TDs, and fifth in completions with 3,839), but he won't get in. He's seen as too much of a pariah in places such as New England, Buffalo and Dallas, and that's just a shame. He had some great moments on the football field, and when his toughness was questioned, he showed just how gritty he was. I always liked that about him.
Enjoy your new life, Drew. You have earned a lot of respect around the NFL, even if you never properly get your due.
Posted by Eric Edholm on April 12, 2007 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
I feel obligated in this post-schedule/Pacman maelstrom to throw a bone to a pretty darned good quarterback who is hanging it up.
Drew Bledsoe is the kind of guy who from now until the quarter mark of the century will be mentioned as one of the most overrated QBs of all time, and it's just too bad. People forget just how good he was. There's so much I could say about the enigmatic, yet intriguing Bledsoe, that it's hard to contain my thoughts to a few grafs.
I can remember vividly rooting for the Patriots (I grew up a fan) to pick Rick Mirer instead. Even then, Bledsoe was overrated -- too gawky, too mechanical. Mirer was the Golden Boy. He was Joe Montana's poor cousin, I thought. I even wanted the much-hyped Garrison Hearst over Bledsoe; it seemed that the Patriots and Seahawks were the only two teams that were not geeked about Hearst's pro potential.
But Bill Parcells went with the tall guy from Washington State who seemed to be the anti-Phil Simms, or everything you don't want in a Parcells-coached QB, and we shrugged. There was excitement, surely, because he automatically put a face on a shockingly faceless team. Name three Patriots from the '92 or '93 teams, dare ya -- and I will spot you a very underrated Bruce Armstrong and Andr Tippett, then in the twilight of his wonderful career.
Bledsoe came to town with his dad, Mac, and did OK in the early going, but he had a bad habit of pumping the ball and giving it a slap before he launched a deep throw. He eventually got his starting spot, beating out Scott Zolak and Scott Secules (there's a name from the past), and did a respectable job considering Michael Timpson and Vincent Brisby were his starting wideouts. Bledsoe, slowly but eventually, gave fans a reason to watch the Pats again. As unlikely a pair as he and Parcells made, they had enough of a Starsky-and-Hutch -- or perhaps Tango-and-Cash -- quality to make it work.
By 1996, Bledsoe was a star. He had revived the long-dormant passing game in New England and was an incredible point guard, routinely finding nine or 10 different receivers in a given game. He helped make TE Ben Coates a star and gamely led a clutch but under-talented Patriots team to within a quarter of winning a Super Bowl.
I cannot deny that Bledsoe hit a wall with the Pats. It happened after Pete Carroll's first season, which happened to be Bledsoe's best statistical year. He started tightening his grasp on a locker room that suddenly was left in the balance as the rah-rah good guy Carroll failed to take command following Parcells' exit. Bledsoe was stamped officially as the team's leader and public figure, and as the team declined slowly, then suddenly. It was a divided locker room and a divided fan base, many of whom thought the idea of giving a $103 million contract to a sometimes star was a poor move by Robert Kraft and Co.
The great irony of Bledsoe's career, of course, is his being replaced by Tom Brady. We all know about the Mo Lewis hit that effectively ended Bledsoe's career. You must point out that Bledsoe got his moment in the sun that season when he came in relief and helped ward off the more talented Steelers in the AFC title game, but lest we forget that Bledsoe was a few more plays and some really bad Kordell Stewart throws from blowing that game. Overall, Bledsoe just did enough to get by then, and soon later his career was over.
I was always glad that he revived his career in Buffalo and later Dallas, though he met similar fates in both cities, as many aging QBs do, being replaced by the Next Big Thing. Bledsoe always said he never wanted to be a backup, and for the most part, he wasn't. He spent that fateful '01 season, hurt most of the time, watching Brady and he spent half of '06 looking out from under a Cowboys visor and out from above some unneeded eye black to watch Tony Romo charm, then confound, Cowboys nation.
Drew is a smart guy (scored a 39 on the Wonderlic) who loves spending time on his ranch in Montana. He will have a very fruitful life after football with his family. We likely won't hear from him in some time, is my guess.
He has to be in the Hall of Fame consideration purely based on his numbers (seventh in history in yards, 13th in TDs, and fifth in completions with 3,839), but he won't get in. He's seen as too much of a pariah in places such as New England, Buffalo and Dallas, and that's just a shame. He had some great moments on the football field, and when his toughness was questioned, he showed just how gritty he was. I always liked that about him.
Enjoy your new life, Drew. You have earned a lot of respect around the NFL, even if you never properly get your due.
Posted by Eric Edholm on April 12, 2007 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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Bledsoe vs. Mirer: A look back
Drew Bledsoe retired Wednesday, ending a 14-year NFL career, so this is as good a time as any to take a look back at the 1993 NFL Draft, when the Drew Bledsoe-Rick Mirer debate was one of the major storylines.
Bledsoe, a Washington State product, was your classic drop-back passing prospect: big, strong-armed. Mirer was the better athlete, but supporters like Bill Walsh couldn't wait to see what he could do when he exited Notre Dame's option scheme and entered a professional offense.
PFW draft expert Joel Buchsbaum preferred Bledsoe to Mirer. Bledsoe, wrote Buchsbaum in PFW's 1993 Draft Preview, "(t)hrows with more velocity backing away from center, flat-footed or off his back foot than most quarterbacks get stepping into their passes with perfect technique." However, Buchsbaum was less than thrilled with Bledsoe's mechanics. In summation, Buchsbaum wrote that Bledsoe is "(b)etter than Jeff George but not the sure thing Troy Aikman was. Probably will be the first player taken in the draft because he has all the physical tools and awesome upside potential, but he also has more downside potential (due to his technique, lack of experience and inconsistency) than you would like. Is an unorthodox thrower with a great arm and body, and he has a lot to learn."
Mirer, according to Buchsbaum, was a "top competitor" and "excellent athlete" who handled "the pressure of being Notre Dame's starting quarterback." But Buchsbaum believed him to be a project who needed time to develop. Mirer, according to PFW's legendary draft expert, was "as green as grass and must be developed into an NFL passer, with accuracy being the key. If he gets Bill Walsh-type coaching, he could be an outstanding Roger Staubach/Joe Montana type, but with a stronger arm than Montana."
Concluded Buchsbaum, "However, unless he gets to work with a really good QB coach, he could be a major disappointment."
The Patriots chose Bledsoe with the No. 1 overall pick. Seattle, also in need of a quarterback, took Mirer second overall.
Mirer was the '93 Rookie of the Year, but that's where his pro career peaked, and several stints as a backup, he was out of football by 2005.
Meanwhile, Bledsoe had New England in the postseason by his second season and in Super Bowl XXXI by the end of the '96 season. But by the time the Patriots got back to the Super Bowl after the 2001 season, Bledsoe was on the bench, and Tom Brady was New England's favorite son. Bledsoe moved onto Buffalo and Dallas, but when the Cowboys benched him in favor of Tony Romo last season, it seemed apparent that his days as an NFL starter were over.
Bledsoe is unlikely to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but he had a successful career nonethless, and the Patriots clearly made the right call on Draft Day. And you also have to tip your cap to the Seahawks as well: When it was clear Mirer wasn't a good fit, they dealt him to the Bears for a first-round pick in the '97 draft. Seattle dealt Chicago's pick (No. 11 overall) and second-, third- and fourth-round picks to Atlanta for the No. 3 overall pick and a third-round selection. The third overall selection was used to select Ohio State CB Shawn Springs, who had a fine career with the Seahawks.
Posted by Mike Wilkening on April 12, 2007 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Drew Bledsoe retired Wednesday, ending a 14-year NFL career, so this is as good a time as any to take a look back at the 1993 NFL Draft, when the Drew Bledsoe-Rick Mirer debate was one of the major storylines.
Bledsoe, a Washington State product, was your classic drop-back passing prospect: big, strong-armed. Mirer was the better athlete, but supporters like Bill Walsh couldn't wait to see what he could do when he exited Notre Dame's option scheme and entered a professional offense.
PFW draft expert Joel Buchsbaum preferred Bledsoe to Mirer. Bledsoe, wrote Buchsbaum in PFW's 1993 Draft Preview, "(t)hrows with more velocity backing away from center, flat-footed or off his back foot than most quarterbacks get stepping into their passes with perfect technique." However, Buchsbaum was less than thrilled with Bledsoe's mechanics. In summation, Buchsbaum wrote that Bledsoe is "(b)etter than Jeff George but not the sure thing Troy Aikman was. Probably will be the first player taken in the draft because he has all the physical tools and awesome upside potential, but he also has more downside potential (due to his technique, lack of experience and inconsistency) than you would like. Is an unorthodox thrower with a great arm and body, and he has a lot to learn."
Mirer, according to Buchsbaum, was a "top competitor" and "excellent athlete" who handled "the pressure of being Notre Dame's starting quarterback." But Buchsbaum believed him to be a project who needed time to develop. Mirer, according to PFW's legendary draft expert, was "as green as grass and must be developed into an NFL passer, with accuracy being the key. If he gets Bill Walsh-type coaching, he could be an outstanding Roger Staubach/Joe Montana type, but with a stronger arm than Montana."
Concluded Buchsbaum, "However, unless he gets to work with a really good QB coach, he could be a major disappointment."
The Patriots chose Bledsoe with the No. 1 overall pick. Seattle, also in need of a quarterback, took Mirer second overall.
Mirer was the '93 Rookie of the Year, but that's where his pro career peaked, and several stints as a backup, he was out of football by 2005.
Meanwhile, Bledsoe had New England in the postseason by his second season and in Super Bowl XXXI by the end of the '96 season. But by the time the Patriots got back to the Super Bowl after the 2001 season, Bledsoe was on the bench, and Tom Brady was New England's favorite son. Bledsoe moved onto Buffalo and Dallas, but when the Cowboys benched him in favor of Tony Romo last season, it seemed apparent that his days as an NFL starter were over.
Bledsoe is unlikely to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but he had a successful career nonethless, and the Patriots clearly made the right call on Draft Day. And you also have to tip your cap to the Seahawks as well: When it was clear Mirer wasn't a good fit, they dealt him to the Bears for a first-round pick in the '97 draft. Seattle dealt Chicago's pick (No. 11 overall) and second-, third- and fourth-round picks to Atlanta for the No. 3 overall pick and a third-round selection. The third overall selection was used to select Ohio State CB Shawn Springs, who had a fine career with the Seahawks.
Posted by Mike Wilkening on April 12, 2007 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Chocolate Lab
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He's on GAC right now and he still says he didn't agree with the decision to bench him and that it wasn't fair. He says he felt like Bill succumbed to "outside pressures", whatever that means. 
C'mon Drew. You had a great career, but you can't admit that the team was a hundred times better when you got replaced?
C'mon Drew. You had a great career, but you can't admit that the team was a hundred times better when you got replaced?
joseephuss
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Chocolate Lab;1454595 said:He's on GAC right now and he still says he didn't agree with the decision to bench him and that it wasn't fair. He says he felt like Bill succumbed to "outside pressures", whatever that means.
C'mon Drew. You had a great career, but you can't admit that the team was a hundred times better when you got replaced?
He is right. It was a bad decision because it should have come sooner in the season. Probably after the first Eagles game.
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joseephuss;1454605 said:
Exactly.
I still shake my head at all those folks last offseason that proclaimed Bledsoe to be a "Top-10" QB.
The bottom line is that "Top-10" QB's don't go from "starter" to "back-up" to "retired" in less than a year. Far too many people looked at Bledsoe through rose-colored glasses rather than stripping away the high-draft pick status and the puffed up passing numbers to see how average he had become over the last few years.
And finally this off season the entire NFL "spoke" silently but uniformly on the subject-- Drew Bledsoe could not be adequately protected if you had 5-pro bowlers in front of him, plus his decision making had slowed to a snail pace.
The result was predictable.
Crown Royal
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MichaelWinicki;1454700 said:
I never flipped my opinion of a player so fast as I did after the Jacksonvillegame.
I didn't think he was great - he showed some wartsin 2005. But I thought he could at least be adequate.
As soon as the clock struck 0 after Jacksonville, I had enough.
Bleu Star
Bye Felicia!
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I stand by my comments during game one of the regular season. Romo was HOT in the pre-season and should have started the season. bye bye seed shucker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1cg8gSIeY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1cg8gSIeY
Yeagermeister
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Taz;1456725 said:
We signed Brad Johnson to backup Romo.