We're setting this guy straight.

[BlueWave]

Remember the story written by the Eagles writer about Bledsoe being the NFL's most overrated QB ever. I E-mailed him about last weeks drubbing. Here's his response. Feel free to keep them coming, especially you statistic freaks who can rebut anything he is wrong about or purposely not mentioning. Pay attention to the last line about a website.


Mike

Were you referring to Tom Brady? Would you really take Bledsoe over
Brady?
Let's say we'll wait another five or six weeks, like late November and
early December, when it gets cold and the defenses get better.
I don't apologize for anything. The story stands. Bledsoe's record
against
the IRON over his career is the worst ever. Really, it is the worst
ever,
five wins in 39 games against 10-5-1 teams or better?
He looks good right now. I agree. I would by lying if I said I expected
it.
He's got a running game, some good over-the-hill receivers and very
good
defense, and oh yes, a Hall of Fame coach.
If he's as good as you seem to think, anything less than a Super Bowl,
with
that talent around him, would be a disaster.

See you in Detroit, I guess.

Take care.


Bill Burt

PS. Several of your buddies have emailed me at the same time. Is there
a
Web site or message board where I could check out that you guys write
on.Thanks




To:
bburt@eagletribune.com
om> cc:
Subject: Bledsoe, the
most underrated QB of all time.
10/15/05 12:10 PM

 

[Rack]

The cowboys have a running game? We've ran the ball "Solid" in 1, maybe 2, games. Other then that it's been a whole lot of attempts with not many yards.


And it's funny how in his eyes our WRs are so good, yet in others' eyes they're just a couple of "#2s".


Bledsoe has a coach that knows what needs to be done in order for him to be successful. Period.


It's no different then Steve Young going from Tampa to San Fran. They didn't know how to use him in Tampa, but he fit SF's system perfectly.



This "bburt" is a freakin' moron.

 

[BlueWave]

The cowboys have a running game? We've ran the ball "Solid" in 1, maybe 2, games. Other then that it's been a whole lot of attempts with not many yards.


And it's funny how in his eyes our WRs are so good, yet in others' eyes they're just a couple of "#2s".


Bledsoe has a coach that knows what needs to be done in order for him to be successful. Period.


It's no different then Steve Young going from Tampa to San Fran. They didn't know how to use him in Tampa, but he fit SF's system perfectly.



This "bburt" is a freakin' moron.

Let him know.

bburt@eagletribune.com

 

[BlueWave]

By the way, here is his original story written in March of 2005, right after we signed Bledsoe:

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.

 

[JDSmith]

He's not an Eagles writer. He writes for the Eagle Tribune, a New England paper of some sort.

I also don't have a problem with the article, he simply stated some facts about Bledsoe's career up to this point. So far Bledsoe has been great for us, that's good enough for me. But prior to this year I thought of him as just another guy as well. I never felt he was anything special as a QB, and when he was young and hyped he was overrated IMO.

Right now he's playing great, he's making terrific decisions and he's getting rid of the ball quickly. I'm thrilled. But that doesn't change the other 12 years of his career.

 

[followthestar]

i wonder what Bledsoe's stats playing under Parcells are? i wonder what Bledsoe's record is on teams that were good enough to have a winning record? People put too much blame and credit on a QB.
All of this is moot, anyway. if he ends the season with a 100 qB rating and 2-1 TD to INT ratio and a winning record, who am i to complain? Drew Bledsoe has a huge chip on his shoulder, and he's demanding respect, and he's doing what needs to be done to win games and get that respect. at the end of the season, i think everyone will confess Drew Bledsoe is at the least a very very good QB, and bringing him in was the best move Parcells has made since he's been here...

 

[BigDFan5]

Bledsoe's record
against
the IRON over his career is the worst ever. Really, it is the worst
ever,
five wins in 39 games against 10-5-1 teams or better?

I seriously love how he tried and scew the record here Notice he used 10-5-1 instead of 10-6 because if he uses 10-6 Drew has 13 wins and a winning record so he uses some obscure record to inflate what he is saying. This kind of journalism is sad and pathetic

 

[Ken]

I seriously love how he tried and scew the record here Notice he used 10-5-1 instead of 10-6 because if he uses 10-6 Drew has 13 wins and a winning record so he uses some obscure record to inflate what he is saying. This kind of journalism is sad and pathetic

Not to mention he added proabably 2 more this year with wins over San Diego and Philly.