Stop blaming Bledsoe

[Cowboy Bill Watts]

Bledsoe is our QB and all of the 'fans' calling for his benching obvioulsy don't want to have a chance at the playoffs....we need a wartime QB down the strecth and Bledsoe can only get better learning from his mistakes this first month of the season....in the end it's a TEAM effort anyway.

well his aggregate QB rating through 4 games is 64%. i guess he can't get much worse.

problem is that there are lots of guys out there that can put up 64%. romo can do that.

a 64 will not get us to the playoffs.

 

[Bullet22]

I blame Parcells for playing Bledsoe.

 

[Rampage]

Look at the numbers - he hasn't thrown almost as many picks as TD's.

Aikman, on the other hand, has thrown almost as many picks as TD's - what does that tell you?

drew has 249tds and 205 picks. thats pretty close

 

[joseephuss]

drew has 249tds and 205 picks. thats pretty close

Bledsoe in Dallas has contibuted 31 TDs(28 passing, 3 rushing). He has contributed 33 turnovers(24 INTs, 9 lost fumbles out of 20 total fumbles).

 

[Bob Dole]

Bledsoe is our QB and all of the 'fans' calling for his benching obvioulsy don't want to have a chance at the playoffs....we need a wartime QB down the strecth and Bledsoe can only get better learning from his mistakes this first month of the season....in the end it's a TEAM effort anyway.

He hasn't learned from the mistakes he's made in his 14-year NFL career, and you're expecting him to all of the sudden do it in the next two months?

Don't hold your breath waiting on that.

 

[Stautner]

drew has 249tds and 205 picks. thats pretty close

Here are some numbers to ponder:

Troy Aikman: 165 TD's, 141 INT's (1.17 TD/INT ratio)
Johnny Unitas: 290 TD's, 253 INT's (1.15 TD/INT ratio)
Bart Starr: 152 TD's, 138 INT's (1.10 TD/INT ratio)
John Elway : 300 TD's, 226 INT's (1.33 TD/INT ratio)
Jim Kelly: 237 TD's, 175 INT's (1.35 TD/INT ratio)
Warren Moon: 291 TD's, 233 INT's (1.25 TD/INT ratio)
Phil Simms: 199 TD's, 157 INT's (1.27 TD/INT ratio)
Terry Bradshaw: 212 TD's, 210 INT's (1.01 TD/INT ratio)

Bledsoe: 249 TD's, 205 INT's (1.21 TD/INT ratio)

Obviously there are some great QB's that have better ratios, but there are some that are considered all-time greats that have worse.

The point is that Bledsoe's TD/INT ratio isn't as dismal as you make it out to be - seems like some pretty good company from the list I've compiled above.

 

[Ratmatt]

You have some valid points. I love the 3-4. Okay, I just like the way the Chargers/Steelers and Patriots play it.

Zimmer can not learn something in 2 years that others take years to learn.

Zimmer is a 4-3 guy, and he just doesn't have this defense blitzing right. Yesterday, I would've stayed in the nickel the entire game. There would be no

Roy or Watkins covering receivers deep, that is suicide. I only play Madden, and I'm smart enough not to have my Safety matched up on a freaking WR.

Our defense was horrible, and the funny thing is, we fixed the run defense, but we still have problems getting to the QB consistantly, and covering the

deep pass. However, Bledsoe is not taking us anywhere so get used to that.

For all you people who jump down Zimmer's throat for not being aggressive enough,or too passive,or not running the 3-4 the way san diego,pittsburgh,or new england does.I will bet anyone he is running the defense the way he is told to run it.I know Zimmer seems to be everyone's fall guy,there always seems to be a fall guy on Parcells watch when things don't go well,but he is running this defense the way parcells wants it ran.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Bledsoe under pressure yesterday:

1st half:
Grounding
Sack/Fumble
Pick by Dawkins
Shepard dropped a sure pick
Dirt ball
Completion to Glenn
Witten drop
Fumble

Second Half:
1st down run
Sack
Sack
Screen to Barber
Sack
Nearly sacked squeezed a 2yd gain
4 man front - sack
3 man front - sack
Threw ball out of back of endzone

His 2 picks in the fourth quarter were when he wasnt under pressure.

 

[Stautner]

For all you people who jump down Zimmer's throat for not being aggressive enough,or too passive,or not running the 3-4 the way san diego,pittsburgh,or new england does.I will bet anyone he is running the defense the way he is told to run it.I know Zimmer seems to be everyone's fall guy,there always seems to be a fall guy on Parcells watch when things don't go well,but he is running this defense the way parcells wants it ran.

It's amazing how incredibly obvious this is and how incredibly few people seem to realize it.

It's as if people think Parcells has no control - no ability to dictate anything - that his coordinators dominate him and he's too scared to question them.

Does anyone really think Parcells watches from the sidelines and thinks to himself how much better the team would be if only he could be in charge of the defense?

 

[Dale]

Bledsoe under pressure yesterday:

1st half:
Grounding
Sack/Fumble
Pick by Dawkins
Shepard dropped a sure pick
Dirt ball
Completion to Glenn
Witten drop
Fumble

Second Half:
1st down run
Sack
Sack
Screen to Barber
Sack
Nearly sacked squeezed a 2yd gain
4 man front - sack
3 man front - sack
Threw ball out of back of endzone

His 2 picks in the fourth quarter were when he wasnt under pressure.

The problem with Bledsoe, IMO, isn't the sacks. I'll take the sacks if we can make teams later pay for blitzing. The problem, it seems, is that he doesn't recover once he's rattled. This isn't exactly new, as a lot of people like Winicki have pointed this out for a while. But it certainly seems more and more true with each game.

He's tough as nails, but seems to create pressure in his mind even when it's not there after he's hit a few times.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

The problem with Bledsoe, IMO, isn't the sacks. I'll take the sacks if we can make teams later pay for blitzing. The problem, it seems, is that he doesn't recover once he's rattled. This isn't exactly new, as a lot of people like Winicki have pointed this out for a while. But it certainly seems more and more true with each game.

He's tough as nails, but seems to create pressure in his mind even when it's not there after he's hit a few times.

I agree, he starts getting happy feet and instead of looking down field. He is looking over his shoulder, therefore holding the ball long creating more sacks and more opportunities for turnovers

 

[Billy Bullocks]

You can't put the blame soley on Bledsoe. He didn't give up 3 HUGE pass plays.

But he turned it over 4 times. Ill say 2 of them weren't his fault with his arm being hit. But down 31-24, he had hte TD to TO. Underthrown. Then he throws the ball right to Shephard. Almost cost us the game before by taking that sack instead of rolling out and throwing it away.

 

[Ratmatt]

I may be a first time poster, but I have reading this board for quite some time. My account did not let me post for some reason, but I have gotten it fixed and you all will hear more from me

It is easy and en vogue to blame the QB. Every time Drew has a bad game everyone points the finger at him. I am not coming to his defense, because I feel like I know what we got in this guy....especially against good teams. It is times like this where I choose to follow the money trail. The Cowboys head coach is a defensive minded coach. The tone, money, and future of this team has been built around the defense. Any time we allow 31 points we don't deserve to win. Do you realize how many guys on defense got a bigger signing bonus than Drew? Do you realize how many guys on defense have a higer draft pick invested in them besides Drew?

For starters, we did not give up a draft pick for Drew, so EVERYONE on defense besides Henry, Ferguson and Ayodele cost us more from a draft pick perspecrtive. Secondly, Ellis, Roy, Newman, Henry, James, Ferguson, Spears, Ayodele, Ware, ALL of them got bigger signing bonuses than Drew. Anyone else see where this is going. Drew was brought into drive the bus.

This defense was built to be a sack machine! This defense was built to apply consistent pressure on the QB. This defense was built to allow 17 points a game MAX! So I personally couln't care less what happened on offense when we give up 31 points. I couldn't care less when we allow guys who I HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD of catch the ball all day long. And part of it is coaching. Why the heck do we invest in all of these expensive parts and make them play so passive. Why make the CBs keep everything in front of them? Why force a rookie 5th round pick into coverage? Why force a SS into coverage so much. WHERE THE HECK was Roy today. Part of his game is putting a lick on somebody, anybody to shake the entire pysche of the opposition. We constantly backpedal on defense. If we are going to read and react, we might as well have NOT spent top 10 picks and double digit signing bonuses on guys. ANYBODY can freaking do that. Our approach to defense is awful.

Lastly, WE WAITED TO LONG TO ABANDON the 3-4. Heck we should have not even played the 3-4 yesterday as our base defense. I could carry this topic on for hours, but all I know is one team was in the QBs lap all day with the 4-3. One team was able to cover Terry Glenn and Owens and Witten and Jones with a 4-3. The other team could not cover anyone with a 3-4. Guess which team was which yesterday

He may have been brought in to drive the bus,but he isn't doing that.He commits way to many turnovers to be called a bus driver.So if that's what he was brought in for,then bledsoe is failling.If Parcells wanted a veteran,who doesn't turn it over much,and could be a bus driver,he should have gone after brad johnson.

 

[5Stars]

He may have been brought in to drive the bus,but he isn't doing that.He commits way to many turnovers to be called a bus driver.So if that's what he was brought in for,then bledsoe is failling.If Parcells wanted a veteran,who doesn't turn it over much,and could be a bus driver,he should have gone after brad johnson.

Hmmmm, I wonder if Bledsoe stumbled onto QC's stash somewhere in the locker room? That might explain some things about his play when he get rattled...

 

[Stautner]

You can't put the blame soley on Bledsoe. He didn't give up 3 HUGE pass plays.

But he turned it over 4 times. Ill say 2 of them weren't his fault with his arm being hit. But down 31-24, he had hte TD to TO. Underthrown. Then he throws the ball right to Shephard. Almost cost us the game before by taking that sack instead of rolling out and throwing it away.

His arm was hit a few times, but taking a slight step back to avoid the rush or making a quicker decision or being smart enough to realize the pressure wouldn't allow a throw can make a difference - and doing those things is the reason you use a veteran over a youngster. Obviously things just happen sometimes, but if the veteran can't do those things often enough to avoid regualar problems - if the veteran knowledge and experience isn't providing benefits - then it only makes sense to make a change to the younger more athletic more enthusiastic guy.

 

[Polamalus_Angel]

Bottom line, your QB cannot have three fumbles and three intercetions, and you expect to win a game, especially against a division opponent on the road. He needs toplay like the veteran and team leader that he is.

I agree! Too many turnovers will kill you every time.

 

[JMead]

There were alot of things that went wrong in the game. The strangest thing I saw was that Dallas did no run any quick patterns when the Eagles were blitzing... Everything seemed to be a streak or a deep slant / post. You cant expect to have any success against the blitz doing that.

I also didnt expect the defense to give up 31 points either.. Not in a million years. I thought the game was over a 17-14. What was wrong with them? They allowed way to many big plays to no name players. Granted 3 ( not counting the last INT for a TD ) points came from Bledsoe turnovers and 7 points from the McBriar fumble ( which I thought hurt the most of anything else IMO ).

I saw so many things that could have easily burnt the Eagles. All you have to do is run draws , tosses and screens against a team that blitzes that much. If you guys didnt notice each of the Cowboys TDs came when they ran the ball.

Oh.. and where was playaction? I only remember one playaction pass.

To tell you te truth.. I wouldnt be to discouraged on the loss as a whole. While Dallas played like a highschool team on Offense and Defense they were still in the game. A game that looked like the Eagles dominated the entire time.

One last thought. Has anyone looked at the game again? I have been wondering how the heck noone got open on those blitzes. Then again defenders were getting through the line so quick that it wouldnt have mattered anyway.