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Bledsoe carries Bills with his arm
By CHARLES BRICKER, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Only 33 passes Sunday? Is that all Drew Bledsoe threw? On Monday morning his mighty right arm must have felt as if a shiatsu expert had been working it over for an hour.
Who's to say Bledsoe, 30, won't indeed be getting daily massage when the numbing cold hits Buffalo this winter and his number of attempts rolls on past 500, 600, maybe even 700, exceeding the NFL record of 691 he set in 1994? After six weeks, the man who has almost single-handedly carried the Buffalo Bills' offense has thrown 251 passes, and that average of 41.8 a game is enough to make your arm throb just thinking about it.
"We're very cognizant about the number of times Drew has thrown and is likely to throw this season," quarterback coach Steve Kragthorpe said Tuesday. "We monitor that all the time.
"He's still throwing 50 to 60 times in practice, but he had a very good offseason. His arm is very strong."
Nevertheless, Kragthorpe added, there will come a time when the Bills minimize Bledsoe's mid-week workload. They want that magical hand firing as hard in December as it is right now.
The Bills bring only a 3-3 record against the Dolphins on Sunday. Their defense is horrible and their kickoff coverage was gouged for 96- and 98-yard touchdown returns against the Jets.
Yet that only makes Bledsoe's performance this year more remarkable. He leads the NFL in passing yards (2,016), is second with 14 touchdowns, second in completion percentage (66.7), third in quarterback rating (101.3) and has two 400-yard games.
He isn't padding his dossier in a dink-and-dunk offense, either. Bledsoe is throwing downfield to the muscular Eric Moulds (45 catches) and the elusive Peerless Price (43), averaging 8.03 yards per attempt. For the statistically uninitiated, that's a very high number.
What has made the Bledsoe story more compelling is his rebirth after losing his job last season to young, sixth-round quarterback Tom Brady at New England and finding people questioning his future.
"I just can't wait to get back on the field," Bledsoe declared after the draft-day trade that cost the Bills a first-round pick in 2003. "That's the only way I've chosen to answer those questions."
At 6 feet 5 and 240 pounds, it always has been easy for him to play the general on the field, and he has never abdicated that stature, except when it was stripped from him.
Never was Bledsoe more prominent than in the 1996 season, when he took the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, where he lost 35-21 to Green Bay. He is, however, coming very close to that same commanding presence this year.
"I've done a lot of good things. I've done a lot of bad things. I've got experience both ways, and I can share that with guys," Bledsoe says. "The most important thing, especially with all the complicated defenses and schemes you face, is that you communicate on every play. Guys look to me for that, and I'm pretty honest. If I don't know the answer, I'll tell them I don't know."
He has had the right answers for almost every pass defense he has faced this year, though he seldom had the right answers for the Dolphins when he played for New England.
In his past six games against Miami, five of them losses, Bledsoe completed only 47.8 percent of his passes. He was sacked 12 times, threw six touchdown passes and was intercepted 12 times.
Of course, the Bills are a new team with better receivers. Still, there is something to be said about the feel the Dolphins' secondary has gotten for Bledsoe's tendencies over the years.
Buffalo offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has fashioned a multi-layered passing game for his new quarterback. While Moulds and Price are the primary targets, there is also second-round rookie Josh Reed from LSU, who has caught 19 passes and has two touchdowns. And tight end Jay Riemersma. And the ubiquitous fullback Larry Centers, who sometimes appears out of nowhere to catch passes.
After 10 seasons, Bledsoe remains the quintessential pocket quarterback who often gets into trouble when he is forced to roll out. Two weeks ago, his on-the-run pass in the fourth quarter went to rookie cornerback Phillip Buchanon, who ran back 81 yards for the touchdown that sealed a 49-31 Oakland win.
Yet even in the toughest moments this year, Bledsoe has appeared to be an indisputably happy man again. Last year was torture, from the moment Jets linebacker Mo Lewis crashed into him on the sideline, causing internal bleeding and costing him his starting job.
Bledsoe played the good soldier, never savaging the Patriots before or after the trade. There was no need for bitterness because he was treated like a hero when he arrived in Buffalo.
He has responded not only with great throwing but with undeniable leadership. Before the regular season began, he solidified his bond with the offense by initiating 7:30 a.m. meetings with his receivers and backs every Thursday and Friday to study film and check last-minute blocking assignments and pass patterns.
Buffalo general manager Tom Donahoe was persistent in making the trade for Bledsoe. But Phil Simms, the former New York Giants quarterback who now does television commentary, was just as high on the deal.
"It was one of minimal risk and huge upscale. Bledsoe has too much raw talent to be bypassed. I remember covering his first game for NBC and Bill Parcells, who was then the Patriots' coach, said Bledsoe could do stuff nobody else could," Simms said.
"I thought he was crazy. Had he never seen Bert Jones or Terry Bradshaw? But Bill was adamant, and that means something."
Sunday, for the first time in two seasons, the Dolphins will get a look at a quarterback they have sacked and picked clean over the years.
The last time Bledsoe played here, the Patriots were beaten 10-3.
No one in his right mind would predict the Dolphins will keep Bledsoe out of the end zone this time.
By CHARLES BRICKER, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Only 33 passes Sunday? Is that all Drew Bledsoe threw? On Monday morning his mighty right arm must have felt as if a shiatsu expert had been working it over for an hour.
Who's to say Bledsoe, 30, won't indeed be getting daily massage when the numbing cold hits Buffalo this winter and his number of attempts rolls on past 500, 600, maybe even 700, exceeding the NFL record of 691 he set in 1994? After six weeks, the man who has almost single-handedly carried the Buffalo Bills' offense has thrown 251 passes, and that average of 41.8 a game is enough to make your arm throb just thinking about it.
"We're very cognizant about the number of times Drew has thrown and is likely to throw this season," quarterback coach Steve Kragthorpe said Tuesday. "We monitor that all the time.
"He's still throwing 50 to 60 times in practice, but he had a very good offseason. His arm is very strong."
Nevertheless, Kragthorpe added, there will come a time when the Bills minimize Bledsoe's mid-week workload. They want that magical hand firing as hard in December as it is right now.
The Bills bring only a 3-3 record against the Dolphins on Sunday. Their defense is horrible and their kickoff coverage was gouged for 96- and 98-yard touchdown returns against the Jets.
Yet that only makes Bledsoe's performance this year more remarkable. He leads the NFL in passing yards (2,016), is second with 14 touchdowns, second in completion percentage (66.7), third in quarterback rating (101.3) and has two 400-yard games.
He isn't padding his dossier in a dink-and-dunk offense, either. Bledsoe is throwing downfield to the muscular Eric Moulds (45 catches) and the elusive Peerless Price (43), averaging 8.03 yards per attempt. For the statistically uninitiated, that's a very high number.
What has made the Bledsoe story more compelling is his rebirth after losing his job last season to young, sixth-round quarterback Tom Brady at New England and finding people questioning his future.
"I just can't wait to get back on the field," Bledsoe declared after the draft-day trade that cost the Bills a first-round pick in 2003. "That's the only way I've chosen to answer those questions."
At 6 feet 5 and 240 pounds, it always has been easy for him to play the general on the field, and he has never abdicated that stature, except when it was stripped from him.
Never was Bledsoe more prominent than in the 1996 season, when he took the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, where he lost 35-21 to Green Bay. He is, however, coming very close to that same commanding presence this year.
"I've done a lot of good things. I've done a lot of bad things. I've got experience both ways, and I can share that with guys," Bledsoe says. "The most important thing, especially with all the complicated defenses and schemes you face, is that you communicate on every play. Guys look to me for that, and I'm pretty honest. If I don't know the answer, I'll tell them I don't know."
He has had the right answers for almost every pass defense he has faced this year, though he seldom had the right answers for the Dolphins when he played for New England.
In his past six games against Miami, five of them losses, Bledsoe completed only 47.8 percent of his passes. He was sacked 12 times, threw six touchdown passes and was intercepted 12 times.
Of course, the Bills are a new team with better receivers. Still, there is something to be said about the feel the Dolphins' secondary has gotten for Bledsoe's tendencies over the years.
Buffalo offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has fashioned a multi-layered passing game for his new quarterback. While Moulds and Price are the primary targets, there is also second-round rookie Josh Reed from LSU, who has caught 19 passes and has two touchdowns. And tight end Jay Riemersma. And the ubiquitous fullback Larry Centers, who sometimes appears out of nowhere to catch passes.
After 10 seasons, Bledsoe remains the quintessential pocket quarterback who often gets into trouble when he is forced to roll out. Two weeks ago, his on-the-run pass in the fourth quarter went to rookie cornerback Phillip Buchanon, who ran back 81 yards for the touchdown that sealed a 49-31 Oakland win.
Yet even in the toughest moments this year, Bledsoe has appeared to be an indisputably happy man again. Last year was torture, from the moment Jets linebacker Mo Lewis crashed into him on the sideline, causing internal bleeding and costing him his starting job.
Bledsoe played the good soldier, never savaging the Patriots before or after the trade. There was no need for bitterness because he was treated like a hero when he arrived in Buffalo.
He has responded not only with great throwing but with undeniable leadership. Before the regular season began, he solidified his bond with the offense by initiating 7:30 a.m. meetings with his receivers and backs every Thursday and Friday to study film and check last-minute blocking assignments and pass patterns.
Buffalo general manager Tom Donahoe was persistent in making the trade for Bledsoe. But Phil Simms, the former New York Giants quarterback who now does television commentary, was just as high on the deal.
"It was one of minimal risk and huge upscale. Bledsoe has too much raw talent to be bypassed. I remember covering his first game for NBC and Bill Parcells, who was then the Patriots' coach, said Bledsoe could do stuff nobody else could," Simms said.
"I thought he was crazy. Had he never seen Bert Jones or Terry Bradshaw? But Bill was adamant, and that means something."
Sunday, for the first time in two seasons, the Dolphins will get a look at a quarterback they have sacked and picked clean over the years.
The last time Bledsoe played here, the Patriots were beaten 10-3.
No one in his right mind would predict the Dolphins will keep Bledsoe out of the end zone this time.
