Drew after 9 games: 2002 vs 2005

[big_neil]

As we head into week 10, here is how Drew compares to his infamous 2002 season:

---------------------------------------------------------
Drew in 2002 after:

8 games 203/318 2500y 16 TD 5 INT 98.2 7.7 YPA
9 games 231/363 2802y 17 TD 6 INT 95.1 7.7 YPA
10 games 255/399 3027y 18 TD 7 INT 94.9 7.6 YPA

---------------------------------------------------------
Drew in 2005 after:

8 games 156/244 2019y 13 TD 6 INT 97.4 8.3 YPA
9 games 173/268 2215y 14 TD 7 INT 96.8 8.3 YPA
10 games ?/? ? ? ? ? ? ?

----------------------------------------------------------

Note that Drew had 35% more attempts in 2002

 

[Hostile]

Not trying to pick a fight, but are you a Drew Bledsoe fan who has joined the Cowboys bandwagon because he's here, or a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan who is thrilled with him at QB?

I won't fault you for either answer, just curious because he seems to be your only topic of discussion most of the time.

 

[big_neil]

I'm from New England.

 

[Hostile]

I'm from New England.

I take it then that the former is the case.

 

[big_neil]

I was there when the Pats were 1-15. I saw Drew take them to the playoffs more times in his first 6 seasons than the Pats had been in the past 20 years. That after an 8 year drought. He didn't leave until the Pats were Super Bowl champs, and I'd argue he would have won vs. St. Louis too. The game was remarkably similar to the Pitt game. Just look at the scores of the game. Ty Law returned an INT for a TD both games.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

^^^

DREWPIE!! jk

 

[BigDFan5]

I'm from New England.

so your a drew fan not Cowboys fan correct?

 

[LaTunaNostra]

As we head into week 10, here is how Drew compares to his infamous 2002 season:

---------------------------------------------------------
Drew in 2002 after:

8 games 203/318 2500y 16 TD 5 INT 98.2 7.7 YPA
9 games 231/363 2802y 17 TD 6 INT 95.1 7.7 YPA
10 games 255/399 3027y 18 TD 7 INT 94.9 7.6 YPA

---------------------------------------------------------
Drew in 2005 after:

8 games 156/244 2019y 13 TD 6 INT 97.4 8.3 YPA
9 games 173/268 2215y 14 TD 7 INT 96.8 8.3 YPA
10 games ?/? ? ? ? ? ? ?

----------------------------------------------------------

Note that Drew had 35% more attempts in 2002

Nothing suprising there, as it's common knowledge the first half of 02, Gilbride had defenses reeling.

Neil, are you a Bills fan who championed Drew, or a Pats fan loyal to him, or simply a fan who has followed Drew's career from the start? How long have you been closely following his career...I have a pretty good sense of what went wrong the final half in 02, (which is NO danger of unfolding here) but I'd love to hear your take on it.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

PS Neil. I came to Dallas fandom via Bill. It can happen that you too will get addicted to the team as well as one personality.

I hope it does.

Your pleasure will increase a hundredfold once it becomes about the team more than the coach or player.

 

[big_neil]

All I provided was stats for all the people who want to say Drew tanks in the 2nd half.

I have been as big a fan of every team Drew played for as anyone, yet people try and say I'm some imposter who's not a "true" fan. I've rooted for the Cowboys in every game. This season, I'm a Cowboys fan. In Bills vs Pats games I admit I rooted for the Bills when Drew was their QB.

 

[big_neil]

It's refreshing to change teams. There is so much baggage, especially in cities where they never won a SB, like New England was until Feb 2002, and like Buffalo always will be.

 

[big_neil]

It's also cool to change Divisions and Conferences!

 

[Hostile]

I was there when the Pats were 1-15. I saw Drew take them to the playoffs more times in his first 6 seasons than the Pats had been in the past 20 years. That after an 8 year drought. He didn't leave until the Pats were Super Bowl champs, and I'd argue he would have won vs. St. Louis too. The game was remarkably similar to the Pitt game. Just look at the scores of the game. Ty Law returned an INT for a TD both games.

You can argue what ifs all day. It doesn't make them right. I really wouldn't be interested in that discussion as there is no way one side or the other can be right. Wasted time.

You're not the first fan of a player to make it here. We had a couple of guys from the Church of Vinny here last year. One was a real trip. We had a Kerry Collins fan here for awhile when he was certain Dallas would sign Kerry.

 

[big_neil]

I think in 2002 the Bills had a harder schedule. They were a remarkably .500 team - they were 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and finished 8-8. The only one they didn't have was 4-4. By swapping one game in a flip/flop season, you create the illusion of a winning streak (3 games) followed by a losing streak (3 games). But it was just a .500 team. Drew's numbers declined mainly because of cold weather. Rich Gannon was the only QB with more yards than Drew that year, and he played nearly every game in warm weather - his games were in Oakland, and his 2nd half road games featured @Miami, @SF, @Arizona, etc.

 

[big_neil]

(That is, the Bills had a harder schedule in the 2nd half)

 

[LaTunaNostra]

I think in 2002 the Bills had a harder schedule. They were a remarkably .500 team - they were 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and finished 8-8. The only one they didn't have was 4-4. By swapping one game in a flip/flop season, you create the illusion of a winning streak (3 games) followed by a losing streak (3 games). But it was just a .500 team. Drew's numbers declined mainly because of cold weather. Rich Gannon was the only QB with more yards than Drew that year, and he played nearly every game in warm weather - his games were in Oakland, and his 2nd half road games featured @Miami, @SF, @Arizona, etc.

Interesting. So the decline had nothing to do with defenses flooding Gilbride's zones? You're saying there was no decline..it was a .500 team all the way thru?

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Btw, the Bills lost 5 of their final 8 in 02. And the points scored in the last eight were 7-16-13-38-17-13-0-9, as opposed to the first eight's 31-45-23-33-31-31-23-24. The critical loss was the one in NE in early December when your coach Mumbles once again hit on a way to play Drew...only this time it wasn't blitzing up the middle so much as zone flooding. It was that four pick game that prolly ended Gilbride's stated plans to get back into head coaching again.


Not that that adds up to a hill of beans in Dallas in 05. Bill isn't running any offense that is going to put undue pressure on Drew.

 

[big_neil]

Interesting. So the decline had nothing to do with defenses flooding Gilbride's zones? You're saying there was no decline..it was a .500 team all the way thru?

Look at the record. Take any 2 game span at random and odds are, they were 1-1. They were close to being 9-7, but had a lot of games their defense just collapsed in. Their defense was the reason they kept losing. Drew had a classic game in the snow vs. Miami late in the season - 3 TD s in a span of minutes. One handed catch by Moulds. 73 yard TD by Price where he ran 50 of it. But yes, their whole offense just didn't perform that well - but in 2004, in the 2nd half, their offense was back to setting all sorts of records. Most points in 3,4,5,6, and 7 game spans. Drew leaves holding 10 franchise records from 2002 alone.

 

[big_neil]

Btw, the Bills lost 5 of their final 8 in 02.

Here was their record in 2002:

LWLWLWWWLLLWLWLW

If we flip games 7 and 10 we get:

LWLWLWLWLWLWLWLW

The perfect .500 team. Just rearrange 2 games. Had they played the Pats once in each half, they would have been perfectly .500.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Here was their record in 2002:

LWLWLWWWLLLWLWLW

If we flip games 7 and 10 we get:

LWLWLWLWLWLWLWLW

The perfect .500 team. Just rearrange 2 games. Had they played the Pats once in each half, they would have been perfectly .500.

Gotta love it!!!!!