Is This Bledsoe's Last Hurrah???

[Slyster]

I am not the kind of person to say " Well he hasnt won as Super Bowl so he must suck " and anyone who thinks like that needs a reality check.

What Drew Bledsoe has done so far in his career is very impressive and it still isnt over.

 

[Justis]

Name a hall-of-fame QB that was dumped as the starter by two different teams prior to his 33rd birthday?

I can understand some arguments, but this one I don't. Bledsoe was dealt for two 1st round draft picks to Buffalo, it's not exactly like he was garbage. And yes he lost his starting job to the best QB in the NFL. His dismissal from buffalo was a bit more of a strike against him, but it's pretty obvious after watching loss-man play that the Bills GM was completly incompetent. As far as I'm concerned this was all blessings for the Cowboys. Not black marks on towards Bledsoe.

 

[Cowchips]

I think if you were a fan of the Broncos, you knew the team always had a chance to pull out a victory with Elway at the helm. Just like fans of the Cowboys back when Staubach wasleading the team. That and you knew the team would not only be in the playoffs, but would have some success in the playoffs. I don't feel that way about Bledsoe and I am not sure the majority of fans feel that way now nor when he was in Buffalo or New England.

I was in Foxboro when Bledsoe had a team around him in 1996-1998. Three playoff years. I remember one game leaving because it was 4th quarter and they were down by 20 points against Minnesota. We got 1/2 way out of the parking lot and turned the radio on. The game was about to be tied. We pulled the car over and ran back in to see the overtime victory.

With Bledsoe and TO, a Dallas fan will never feel like he is out of the game this year. You can bank on that.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

MW, since you are from Olean, NY (small town about hour south of BUFFALO).....I'm just curious, even as a cowboys fan you must be very familar with the Bills and Bledsoe since you live in the area. So you must also be aware that Tom Donahoe destroyed that franchised and set them back years with all of his numerous shoddy dealings and terrible drafting (including the losman fiasco)?

It's a very weak argument saying what hall of fame player was dumped or played for multiple teams......Jerry Rice has been on 4, Warren Moon on 5....it means nothing really.

Drew was traded from the pats for what might be the best to ever play when its all said and done (tom brady) and by the bills because they couldn't afford him and Donahoe needed a scapegoat to buy him one more season (which it did)

B4MVP...

Yes it may be a weak argument.

And you may think the argument against Drew being one of the best ever it just a culmination of "weak arguments"... some of which is probably true.

And I would counter that the arguments you and others put forth about Drew being one of the best ever are also in most instances quite weak.

That's the crux of all this. I think if the guy was one of the top 25 QB's of all time the arguments for him being one of the best ever would be far stronger than what you and others have put forth.

Let me put it another way...

If you and others came here and said, "You know I think Drew Bledsoe is a good quarterback". Not one of the greatest ever but a "on the edge" hall-of-famer I doubt you would get much of an argument from many folks including myself.

BUT when you try to shoe-horn him into one of the best ever--- that's where your cup of coffee runs dry.

Based not upon Drew's whole career, but what I've seen over the last 4 years-- and I've watched virtually every game he's played I can tell you just from comparing him to just OTHER Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks he would rank 5th behind:

Roger
Troy
Dandy Don
Danny White

And I can say that in all truthfulness. Drew over the last 4 years has not played to the same level as any of those four that donned the star.

Does that make Drew a bad QB? Hell no. It just doesn't make him an instant HOFer or an all-time great.

But not everyone can be one of those can they?

Drew has benefited from a long career, playing in an era where the forward pass was preferred by both coaches and the rules-makers and having some decent offensive talent around him.

He's a good QB... nothing more... nothing less.

If you wish to continue with relatively weak arguments against, please commence.

 

[Zaxor]

Highlighting all the "if's" in my post indicates to me you didn't bother to read it or try to understand what I was saying.

Trying reading this line again and it will explain it to you:
His ultimate position among quarterbacks is necessarily based on present speculation because his career isn't over.


As for the Vinny comparison: Vinny played a good number of years longer than Bledsoe, and Bledsoe will pass him this season with ease. If Bledsoe plays as long as Vinny did, he will pass Marino and be #1. They aren't comparable. Vinny was just impressive with his longevity, although he was a good quarterback.

You didn't read my post... now listen...regardless of years..just forget about them... because they do not matter... pass attempts do...

or another example Jackie Slater the offensive tackle was in the NFL for 18 years... so by your logic he should have better passing stats than Bledsoe? of course not...its not years... its passes thrown...Bledsoe has thrown more times than Vinny...

 

[Jarv]

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20050327/SP_004.htm

Sunday, March 27, 2005
Numbers prove Bledsoe most overrated QB ever

Bill Burt
Sports Editor

I was not going to partake in Bledsoe Bashing anymore. He was down, being relegated to backup duty behind an unproven second-year player out of Tulane, and I didn't want to kick him anymore.

He was given a reprieve by his former coach here in New England and now in Dallas -- Bill Parcells -- and has apparently been handed the starting quarterback position for 2005.

I think Parcells is losing not only games (6-10 in 2004), but his mind. Still, it is a nice story if Bledsoe can get them to 10-6 and in the playoff hunt again.

But then Bledsoe said something to an ESPN.com reporter last week that couldn't go unchecked.

"One thing that is kind of frustrating is that I've been in the league 12 years, [I'm] No. 10 all-time in passing yardage. No one other than [Brett] Favre and [Dan] Marino has gotten to 40,000 yards faster than I have, but it's like I'm just another guy."

Let me say that I understand he is frustrated by the fans and local Cowboys media that have lambasted the acquisition, which cost nothing other than a couple of million dollars in bonus money.

But -- you've got to be kidding me! -- is Bledsoe comparing himself to Favre and Marino? Sounds like he is to me.

Not a good idea.

That wasn't all. Bledsoe also implied he ranks among the best when it comes to "making bad decisions." And, the craziest of all things he stated, was that when asked about his lack of mobility and the excessive amount of times he's been sacked, he admitted he is speed-challenged, but he would challenge Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to a 50-yard dash any day of the week.

Bledsoe has lost his mind. Speed isn't the issue. Ability to sense the pocket closing and getting rid of the ball is the issue. Bledsoe gets an F+ in that category.

The facts are that Bledsoe a lot closer to being "just another guy" than he is to Marino or Favre.

How about this for a description of his 12-year career:

Bledsoe is the most overrated quarterback ever.

Yes, ever.

Bledsoe is correct; he is among the fastest quarterbacks in NFL history to reach 40,000 yards (he has 39,808), but that's never been the issue. Transforming those yards into touchdowns and wins is.

In fact, rather than comparing himself to Marino and Favre as a passing sensation, I've got two names that he appears more in line with: Jon Kitna and Trent Dilfer.

That's right. When it comes to converting yards into touchdowns, Bledsoe ranks among the worst of all-time. Yes, all-time!

Despite his gaudy yardage numbers, Bledsoe has struggled mightily throughout his career.

Among quarterbacks that have thrown for 10,000 or more yards (which means they were starters for at least three full seasons), Bledsoe ranks about 120th all-time, behind Jeff George, Trent Dilfer and Jay Schroeder, averaging 180.1 yards per touchdown.

What that stat means is Bledsoe was fabulous from the 20 to the 20. Inside the 20, the red zone, he was even worse than "just another guy."

Despite the incredible yardage numbers, Bledsoe has never thrown for 30 touchdowns in a season. His best, 28 in 1997 and 27 in 1996, were the closest.

In fact, since the 1997 season, which was eight years ago, Bledsoe has averaged only 18.5 TDs per season, which puts him in the bottom third of quarterbacks of that time span.

Now let's look at the most important statistic of all for a quarterback -- victories. Bledsoe is even a bigger loser here.

Bledsoe is 89-88 as a starter, including playoffs.

Breaking down that even further hurts him even more. Over his career, he has played against 39 teams that finished the season at 10-5-1 or better (we call those very good teams, winning twice as much as you lose).

Bledsoe for his career is -- please hide this from the children -- 5-34.

That's right. He has guided his teams to a five wins in 39 games against the cream of the crop.

The problem with what Dallas is getting is that record worsened when Bledsoe went to Buffalo. He was 4-21 as a Patriot against very good teams. He was 1-13 as Bill.

Yikes. That is believed to be the worst winning percentage against very good teams for every quarterback that threw for 20,000 yards or more. WORST EVER.

Mind you, win-loss records against the best usually are not very good. John Elway was 21-27 against those teams. Dan Marino was 27-55.

Guess what Tom Brady's record against those teams has been? Through this recent Super Bowl season, Brady is an amazing 13-6.

Now the key ingredient: Despite Bledsoe's not-so-wonderful career, he was the highest paid player in the history of the NFL. Not until recently did Brett Favre pass him in that category. The only difference is that Favre won a Super Bowl and three MVP awards.

The moral of the story is that Drew Bledsoe at times was good, maybe even very good (1997 and 1998 seasons in particular), but those days have long since passed.

Bledsoe says he's not just another guy. He's right.

He's the most overrated quarterback ever.

Bill Burt is executive sports editor of The Eagle-Tribune. E-mail him at bburt@eagletribune.com.

 

[Zaxor]

I guess all they needed was Tom Brady

you better look at there roster wise guy...cause on that roster you will see

Curtis Martin, Terry Glenn, Ben Coates, Vinitere among others on defense you will see names like Ty Law, Willie McGinest


aw heck here is there roster

Offense (starters)
Wohlabaugh, Dave C
Roberts, William G
Rucci, Todd G
Armstrong, Bruce T
Lane, Max T
Byars, Keith TE
Coates, Ben TE
Glenn, Terry WR
Jefferson, Shawn WR
Martin, Curtis RB
Bledsoe, Drew QB

Defense (starters)
Sagapolutele, Pio DT
Wheeler, Mark DT
Collons, Ferric DE
McGinest, Willie DE
Collins, Todd OLB
Slade, Chris OLB
Johnson, Ted MLB
Law, Ty CB
Smith, Otis CB
Clay, Willie FS
Milloy, Lawyer SS

== Substitutes/special teams ==
Bartrum, Mike
Brisby, Vincent
Brown, Corwin
Bruschi, Tedy
Burke, John
Eaton, Chad
Gisler, Mike
Graham, Hason
Grier, Marrio
Henderson, Jerome
Jones, Mike
Kratch, Bob
Lucas, Ray
McGruder, Mike
Meggett, Dave
Moore, Marty
Ray, Terry
Sabb, Dwayne
Sullivan, Chris
Tupa, Tom
Vinatieri, Adam
Whigham, Larry


so right back at ya

 

[KingTuna]

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20050327/SP_004.htm

Sunday, March 27, 2005
Numbers prove Bledsoe most overrated QB ever

Bill Burt
Sports Editor

I was not going to partake in Bledsoe Bashing anymore. He was down, being relegated to backup duty behind an unproven second-year player out of Tulane, and I didn't want to kick him anymore.

He was given a reprieve by his former coach here in New England and now in Dallas -- Bill Parcells -- and has apparently been handed the starting quarterback position for 2005.

I think Parcells is losing not only games (6-10 in 2004), but his mind. Still, it is a nice story if Bledsoe can get them to 10-6 and in the playoff hunt again.

But then Bledsoe said something to an ESPN.com reporter last week that couldn't go unchecked.

"One thing that is kind of frustrating is that I've been in the league 12 years, [I'm] No. 10 all-time in passing yardage. No one other than [Brett] Favre and [Dan] Marino has gotten to 40,000 yards faster than I have, but it's like I'm just another guy."

Let me say that I understand he is frustrated by the fans and local Cowboys media that have lambasted the acquisition, which cost nothing other than a couple of million dollars in bonus money.

But -- you've got to be kidding me! -- is Bledsoe comparing himself to Favre and Marino? Sounds like he is to me.

Not a good idea.

That wasn't all. Bledsoe also implied he ranks among the best when it comes to "making bad decisions." And, the craziest of all things he stated, was that when asked about his lack of mobility and the excessive amount of times he's been sacked, he admitted he is speed-challenged, but he would challenge Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to a 50-yard dash any day of the week.

Bledsoe has lost his mind. Speed isn't the issue. Ability to sense the pocket closing and getting rid of the ball is the issue. Bledsoe gets an F+ in that category.

The facts are that Bledsoe a lot closer to being "just another guy" than he is to Marino or Favre.

How about this for a description of his 12-year career:

Bledsoe is the most overrated quarterback ever.

Yes, ever.

Bledsoe is correct; he is among the fastest quarterbacks in NFL history to reach 40,000 yards (he has 39,808), but that's never been the issue. Transforming those yards into touchdowns and wins is.

In fact, rather than comparing himself to Marino and Favre as a passing sensation, I've got two names that he appears more in line with: Jon Kitna and Trent Dilfer.

That's right. When it comes to converting yards into touchdowns, Bledsoe ranks among the worst of all-time. Yes, all-time!

Despite his gaudy yardage numbers, Bledsoe has struggled mightily throughout his career.

Among quarterbacks that have thrown for 10,000 or more yards (which means they were starters for at least three full seasons), Bledsoe ranks about 120th all-time, behind Jeff George, Trent Dilfer and Jay Schroeder, averaging 180.1 yards per touchdown.

What that stat means is Bledsoe was fabulous from the 20 to the 20. Inside the 20, the red zone, he was even worse than "just another guy."

Despite the incredible yardage numbers, Bledsoe has never thrown for 30 touchdowns in a season. His best, 28 in 1997 and 27 in 1996, were the closest.

In fact, since the 1997 season, which was eight years ago, Bledsoe has averaged only 18.5 TDs per season, which puts him in the bottom third of quarterbacks of that time span.

Now let's look at the most important statistic of all for a quarterback -- victories. Bledsoe is even a bigger loser here.

Bledsoe is 89-88 as a starter, including playoffs.

Breaking down that even further hurts him even more. Over his career, he has played against 39 teams that finished the season at 10-5-1 or better (we call those very good teams, winning twice as much as you lose).

Bledsoe for his career is -- please hide this from the children -- 5-34.

That's right. He has guided his teams to a five wins in 39 games against the cream of the crop.

The problem with what Dallas is getting is that record worsened when Bledsoe went to Buffalo. He was 4-21 as a Patriot against very good teams. He was 1-13 as Bill.

Yikes. That is believed to be the worst winning percentage against very good teams for every quarterback that threw for 20,000 yards or more. WORST EVER.

Mind you, win-loss records against the best usually are not very good. John Elway was 21-27 against those teams. Dan Marino was 27-55.

Guess what Tom Brady's record against those teams has been? Through this recent Super Bowl season, Brady is an amazing 13-6.

Now the key ingredient: Despite Bledsoe's not-so-wonderful career, he was the highest paid player in the history of the NFL. Not until recently did Brett Favre pass him in that category. The only difference is that Favre won a Super Bowl and three MVP awards.

The moral of the story is that Drew Bledsoe at times was good, maybe even very good (1997 and 1998 seasons in particular), but those days have long since passed.

Bledsoe says he's not just another guy. He's right.

He's the most overrated quarterback ever.

Bill Burt is executive sports editor of The Eagle-Tribune. E-mail him at bburt@eagletribune.com.

Give me a break....That article is over a year old and was written by an EAGLES writer....Next topic!

 

[Zaxor]

How about we don't worry about obscure, pointless statistics and focus on the ones that matter:

* 43447 career passing yards....and counting
* 252 career TD's (includes 8 career rushing TD's)....and counting
* 33 come from behind wins....and counting
* 2 AFC Championship game wins...hopefully some nfc championship wins to come
* 4-3 career playoff record (likely to be 7-3 or 8-3 after the 2006 season depending if dallas gets a bye)
* Holds multiple franchise passing records for 2 different franchises.....i'm sure he will own some dallas ones very soon as well
* Passed for over 3000 yards in 9 of 13 seasons, including 3500+ in 8 seasons, 4000+ in 3 seasons
* Passed for 20+ TD's in 7 of 13 seasons
* 4 pro bowl appearances....and counting (meaningless stat for the most part since it's just a popularity contest anyhow)
* 2 superbowl appearances
* 1 superbowl championship as backup

Hope to see you and all the other bashers in Canton 5 years after the day Drew retires his jersey.

Because the stats I quoted matter more...it is just like the Barry vs. Emmitt arguement...

Barry's stats look good but you can't win with Barry cause to many negative runs...Same with Bledsoe the Stats may look good but the mistakes are too often too critical...

Sorry Man nothing personal against you or Bledsoe...I just don't see the Cowboys ever winning a SB with Bledsoe and if it wouldn't require me rooting against the Cowboys I would put money on it...

Now would I like to be wrong this time...you betcha,, but I believe it really is like grasping at straws...

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Give me a break....That article is over a year old and was written by an EAGLES writer....Next topic!

Nice retort...

Reply to a fact-filled article with a typical KingTuna koolaid induced, "Yeah but my dad can beat-up your dad!"

 

[big dog cowboy]

The moral of the story is that Drew Bledsoe at times was good, maybe even very good (1997 and 1998 seasons in particular), but those days have long since passed.

Bledsoe says he's not just another guy. He's right.

He's the most overrated quarterback ever.

That article really hits home and really settles all arguments regarding Bledsoe.

One poster isn't going to like this very much.

 

[cml750]

Because the stats I quoted matter more...it is just like the Barry vs. Emmitt arguement...

Barry's stats look good but you can't win with Barry cause to many negative runs...Same with Bledsoe the Stats may look good but the mistakes are too often too critical...

Sorry Man nothing personal against you or Bledsoe...I just don't see the Cowboys ever winning a SB with Bledsoe and if it wouldn't require me rooting against the Cowboys I would put money on it...

Now would I like to be wrong this time...you betcha,, but I believe it really is like grasping at straws...

Very well said!!:bravo:

 

[cml750]

Breaking down that even further hurts him even more. Over his career, he has played against 39 teams that finished the season at 10-5-1 or better (we call those very good teams, winning twice as much as you lose).

Bledsoe for his career is -- please hide this from the children -- 5-34.

That's right. He has guided his teams to a five wins in 39 games against the cream of the crop.

Man, Bledsoe is worse than I thought!!

 

[Jarv]

Nice retort...

Reply to a fact-filled article with a typical KingTuna koolaid induced, "Yeah but my dad can beat-up your dad!"

Yeah, he really got me on that one MW...

I think the A-Rod and Bledsoe comparision...Which I think that Juke or Stanley that brought up...Is pretty accurate.

Arod will hit 40 HR's in a season, but how many are game winners in October ?

Who would you like to be at bat in the playoffs with the game on the line, Jeter or Arod ? Even with Arods better stats during the season...

Bledsoe is not a clutch player.

Bledsoe puts up great stats...Better than Troy...But who would you want QB'ing your team during a Superbowl ?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Yeah, he really got me on that one MW...

I think the A-Rod and Bledsoe comparision...Which I think that Juke or Stanley that brought up...Is pretty accurate.

Arod will hit 40 HR's in a season, but how many are game winners in October ?

Who would you like to be at bat in the playoffs with the game on the line, Jeter or Arod ? Even with Arods better stats during the season...

Bledsoe is not a clutch player.

Bledsoe puts up great stats...Better than Troy...But who would you want QB'ing your team during a Superbowl ?

Well said.

That's why I consider Bledsoe to be a good QB but never a great one.

The last two years he's had his teams on the edge of the play-offs. All he had to do was win one game... but no.

In each situation he came up...

"small"

 

[Jarv]

Well said.

That's why I consider Bledsoe to be a good QB but never a great one.

The last two years he's had his teams on the edge of the play-offs. All he had to do was win one game... but no.

In each situation he came up...

"small"

Crickets...

 

[Slyster]

Could someon tell me why that writer used 10-5-1? Easy. It was the only stat to spin to make Bledsoe look bad. Seriously.. How often does a team get a tie anyway? If you are going to base a stat off of 10 wins and 5 losses then you need to use 10-6 and 11-5. Then you will see that the number of games played are vastly different...Not to mention that the writer is probably singing a different tune after Dallas swept the Eagles.

Just a typical Bledsoe hater article.

Edit : The Cowboys went 3 - 4 against teams 10-6 or better with a chokejob done by their kickers in 3 of the losses.

Edit : In 2004 Bledsoe led the Bills to 6 straight must win games. Then they ran into the Steelers in a game where the Bills defense let the team down by getting demolished by 3rd stringers. They allowed a 9 minute drive in the 4th Q. If the blame goes to anyoen for that game then it goes on the defense. They came in thinking it was going to be cake. No different than earlier in the year with them allowing game winning drives as time expired.. Most overrated D of the past few years. They played great in blowouts but you always knew they would allow the other team to march down the field to win when it counted.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Could someon tell me why that writer used 10-5-1? Easy. It was the only stat to spin to make Bledsoe look bad. Seriously.. How often does a team get a tie anyway? If you are going to base a stat off of 10 wins and 5 losses then you need to use 10-6 and 11-5. Then you will see that the number of games played are vastly different...Not to mention that the writer is probably singing a different tune after Dallas swept the Eagles.

Just a typical Bledsoe hater article.

Edit : The Cowboys went 3 - 4 against teams 10-6 or better with a chokejob done by their kickers in 3 of the losses.

Edit : In 2004 Bledsoe led the Bills to 6 straight must win games. Then they ran into the Steelers in a game where the Bills defense let the team down by getting demolished by 3rd stringers. They allowed a 9 minute drive in the 4th Q. If the blame goes to anyoen for that game then it goes on the defense. They came in thinking it was going to be cake. No different than earlier in the year with them allowing game winning drives as time expired.. Most overrated D of the past few years. They played great in blowouts but you always knew they would allow the other team to march down the field to win when it counted.

Yeah, it was all Bledsoe on those 6-straight wins. What some forget is that the Bills' defense and special teams contributed 10 touchdowns and a safety in 2004. Yeah-79 points. You don't think that wasn't instrumental?

In the Pittsburgh game the Steelers were playing backups at virtually all the defensive positions. And still Bledsoe had a poor game. The Bills' brain trust at that point knew Bledsoe wasn't going to lead this team anywhere so they decided to bite bullet and go backwards to go forwards.

 

[Slyster]

Bledsoe had a poor game against the Steelers because the Bills offensive line isnt even 3rd string worthy. The Steelers were getting through the line the same as every other team. Bledsoe couldnt even finish his drop back before someone was hanging off his legs and back.

I never said that Bledsoe was the reason behind those 6 straight wins. All I said was the he lead them to 6 straight wins. That doesnt mean it was all him.

Brady is no longer 13-6.. He is now 16-12 after going 3-6 this past year. You know why? The Pats defense sucked up until the last few weeks ( allow 12 points a game the last 4 weeks I think ).

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Bledsoe had a poor game against the Steelers because the Bills offensive line isnt even 3rd string worthy. The Steelers were getting through the line the same as every other team. Bledsoe couldnt even finish his drop back before someone was hanging off his legs and back.

I never said that Bledsoe was the reason behind those 6 straight wins. All I said was the he lead them to 6 straight wins. That doesnt mean it was all him.

Brady is no longer 13-6.. He is now 16-12 after going 3-6 this past year. You know why? The Pats defense sucked up until the last few weeks ( allow 12 points a game the last 4 weeks I think ).

I'm not saying Bledsoe is the world's worst QB... cos he isn't.

He's decent. Not great but decent.

To make him out to be anything more than decent is just flat-out wrong.