Would you like to see Drew Bledsoe back next year?

[big dog cowboy]

Let me explain something to you. Please take this in the spirit intended.

This isn't the Patriots or the Bills. We have HIGHER standards than even the Patrots. They are way the hell up there. Let me explain why.

This team was born in 1960. Our first superstar QB was a guy named Don Meredith. Meredith was a tough SOB. He also brought a winner's mentality with him. 6 years into the History of this franchise we were 10-3-1 and playing the Packers for the right to be called the best.

When Meredith retired we were blessed to have this raw kid from Navy named Roger Staubach. 5 of the prime years of his life were devoted to the service of this country. 2 years after we got him we won a Super Bowl, SB VI after being the runner up for V.

Players like Meredith and Staubach had us contending for the right to win it all every year for 20 straight seasons. Yeah, that spoiled us. We won 2 SBs under Staubach and played in 2 more.

I'll tell you what you've been told dozens of times but seemingly can't grasp, that era was not an era of passers with big ratings.

You tell me Drew has better ratings I'll tell you "so the hell what." I don't care. QB rating is the dumbest individual stat ever created. It doesn't fairly measure anything. You want to know how we measure Staubach? It's real easy, he won and won and won and won. Every year the Cowboys were in the picture.

You want to downplay that go ahead, but trust me you don't look smart throwing out your little stats and trying it. 4 Super Bowls and 2 wins plus multiple runs at the playoffs and NFC Championships weigh heavier than 9-7 because of a poor o-line. It just does.

Staubach retired and Danny White kept us winning as part of those 20 years. 20 years of winning Neil. Don't sneeze at that. It's a run you'll never see in the NFL ever again. You want a stat that is monumental? There it is. 20 straight winning seasons.

When Troy Aikman came along we had gone from the top of the mountain to the door mat. He took us back to the top of the mountain 3 times in 4 years and contending 2 or 3 years as well.

Around these parts that is respected, revered, and honored.

You see, I care very little about stats. I care very much about impact. Your guy doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as my 2 guys as far as impact on the game. Gaudy career stats be damned. I'll take the 5 Super Bowls those 2 men brought us over him setting passing records every year and no wins.

9-7 Neil. It is what it is. Part of it is on Drew. Not all of it. Not by a damn site. Part of it is his. He did exactly what his detractors said he would. I like Bledsoe, but I will recognize that he fulfilled the predictions. Even if it chaps your hide.

9-7 isn't good enough. It wouldn't be good enough with Staubach or Aikman either. The difference is they have skins on the wall. Drew doesn't.

 

[jterrell]

Just curious, you say you would not have touched any of them at all. I can understand and respect that. Guys like Campbell, Rogers and Losman were all first rounders. However Frye, Schaub, and Simms were all 3rd rounders.

Would you rather have Romo or one of the guys mentioned above. Who do you think is a better project?

Like I said earlier, I am not totally sold on Chris Simms but he is putting up Bledsoe like numbers in only his 3rd year and he has not even played an entire season yet.

I saw Simms play at UT. Nuff said there.

Frye I didn't know. Schaub didn't look to me to be a starting pro prospect.

I am not likely to guess right on many QBs but who is? Right now today I'd change my mind about many of those guys tho back at the time of their drafts.... I really expect to draft 3rd rounders who can start year 1 in this era of the cap.

I like Romo winning big even on a small scale and that he is cheap and somewhat effective when he plays in preseason. Don't know what that translates to later but again he may just be here to push Henson. Its hard to tell with BP. I don't liek that Romo is probably a better golfer than football player anymore than I like all the ex-baseball players at QB. I want a guy who is born to play football and can't do anything else.

 

[big_neil]

9-7 isn't good enough.

Thanks for the history, but please spare us the 7 when you know it would have been 6 if the game meant anything. Just take the advice of your own radio commentators who at the start of the broadcast said "if you're going to judge these players and this team, please base it on the first 15 games". That's what I'm going to do. This team won 60% of the meaningful games it played. In baseball that's a guaranteed playoff spot. In football even 62.5% (10-6) wouldn't have guaranteed it.

 

[BillsFan]

I admit he had a much better year than I thought he would but it doesn't surprise me he didn't take you anywhere close to the Superbowl. He won't either, most of you all know that.

Your line was bad but that's always the excuse for Bledsoe wherever he goes. That Seattle game reminded me so much of when he was with us. I think the last Giants game was also vintage Bledsoe if I remember right. Step up when we need you most ..and he doesn't.

I believe the way to go is find a young guy and hope for the best. This is a quarterback driven league and if you don't have that franchise guy you can rely on, your chances of going far aren't very good. If Dallas had a Manning, Brady, McNabb or even a Hassleback, Rothlisberger, Bulger, Brees this team would be just as good as any of the other top NFC teams right now. Personally if I was Jones I'd hand over the #1 pick to San Diego and hopefully they'd give up Rivers.

I hate our young guy, I really despise the way he carries himself but I'm glad we are at least taking a shot at a young guy and hopefully he develops into something. He's a knucklehead but he does have a strong arm, mobility, and talent. I have my fingers crossed.

 

[Juke99]

Let me explain something to you. Please take this in the spirit intended.

This isn't the Patriots or the Bills. We have HIGHER standards than even the Patrots. They are way the hell up there. Let me explain why.

This team was born in 1960. Our first superstar QB was a guy named Don Meredith. Meredith was a tough SOB. He also brought a winner's mentality with him. 6 years into the History of this franchise we were 10-3-1 and playing the Packers for the right to be called the best.

When Meredith retired we were blessed to have this raw kid from Navy named Roger Staubach. 5 of the prime years of his life were devoted to the service of this country. 2 years after we got him we won a Super Bowl, SB VI after being the runner up for V.

Players like Meredith and Staubach had us contending for the right to win it all every year for 20 straight seasons. Yeah, that spoiled us. We won 2 SBs under Staubach and played in 2 more.

I'll tell you what you've been told dozens of times but seemingly can't grasp, that era was not an era of passers with big ratings.

You tell me Drew has better ratings I'll tell you "so the hell what." I don't care. QB rating is the dumbest individual stat ever created. It doesn't fairly measure anything. You want to know how we measure Staubach? It's real easy, he won and won and won and won. Every year the Cowboys were in the picture.

You want to downplay that go ahead, but trust me you don't look smart throwing out your little stats and trying it. 4 Super Bowls and 2 wins plus multiple runs at the playoffs and NFC Championships weigh heavier than 9-7 because of a poor o-line. It just does.

Staubach retired and Danny White kept us winning as part of those 20 years. 20 years of winning Neil. Don't sneeze at that. It's a run you'll never see in the NFL ever again. You want a stat that is monumental? There it is. 20 straight winning seasons.

When Troy Aikman came along we had gone from the top of the mountain to the door mat. He took us back to the top of the mountain 3 times in 4 years and contending 2 or 3 years as well.

Around these parts that is respected, revered, and honored.

You see, I care very little about stats. I care very much about impact. Your guy doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as my 2 guys as far as impact on the game. Gaudy career stats be damned. I'll take the 5 Super Bowls those 2 men brought us over him setting passing records every year and no wins.

9-7 Neil. It is what it is. Part of it is on Drew. Not all of it. Not by a damn site. Part of it is his. He did exactly what his detractors said he would. I like Bledsoe, but I will recognize that he fulfilled the predictions. Even if it chaps your hide.

9-7 isn't good enough. It wouldn't be good enough with Staubach or Aikman either. The difference is they have skins on the wall. Drew doesn't.

On the nosey.

I have a few DVD's of old games....Cowboys 1970...Jets (I always loved Namath) same time....

EVERY pass is thrown downfield...and when I say "downfield" I'm talkin' 20 yards. Heck, Namath had a TE avg almost 20 per catch. There was no dink and dunk stuff...no outlet passes to the HB...no West Coast stuff...no rules to protect the QB...bump and run was prevalent and the DB's mauled the WR's...O Linemen weren't allowed to grab and hold as they do in pass protection today...and D Linemen were allowed to assault offensive linemen in pass rush situations...

There simply is no way to compare those QB ratings to today.

A more accurate measure would be to simply compare where those QB's ranked compared to others of their era.

 

[jterrell]

Cowboys QBs.
1. Staubach
2. Aikman
3. Meredith
4. Bledsoe
5. White
6. Garrett

QB rating and passing yards have inflated historically because of rules changes.
Staubach was Steve Yuong before Steve Young and would have had an insane rating could his WRs not get touched past 5 yards. What hasn't changes are 4th quarter comebacks and Bledsoe falls shy of only Roger there. He would rate below Aikman because Aikman just didn't make mistakes. When he tossed a pick you knew the Wr ran the wrong route or a ball got tipped. Meredith gets a slight nod because he would bleed every week and still get yards. He helped the team turn from laughingstock to serious competitor.

I could care less who lives up to whose place in history provided we win. I think Bledsoe gives us a good chance to win. We have to block for him and we have to have guys get open but he can throw accurate passes all over the field. That accuracy has been sorely missed since Aikman retired. I havent seen a duck thread at all this year. That in and of itself is enough to bring him back another year.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

I admit he had a much better year than I thought he would but it doesn't surprise me he didn't take you anywhere close to the Superbowl. He won't either, most of you all know that.

Your line was bad but that's always the excuse for Bledsoe wherever he goes. That Seattle game reminded me so much of when he was with us. I think the last Giants game was also vintage Bledsoe if I remember right. Step up when we need you most ..and he doesn't.

I believe the way to go is find a young guy and hope for the best. This is a quarterback driven league and if you don't have that franchise guy you can rely on, your chances of going far aren't very good. If Dallas had a Manning, Brady, McNabb or even a Hassleback, Rothlisberger, Bulger, Brees this team would be just as good as any of the other top NFC teams right now. Personally if I was Jones I'd hand over the #1 pick to San Diego and hopefully they'd give up Rivers.

I hate our young guy, I really despise the way he carries himself but I'm glad we are at least taking a shot at a young guy and hopefully he develops into something. He's a knucklehead but he does have a strong arm, mobility, and talent. I have my fingers crossed.

If Dallas had a Manning, Brady, McNabb or even a Hassleback, Rothlisberger, Bulger, Brees this team would be just as good as any of the other top NFC teams right now

Not behind this line. Manning looked just as bad when SD was all over him. Bledsoe isnt our future but hes the best that was out there, as good as, any way. We screwed our selves with years of hopefulls that no one else wanted.
Now we are paying the price.

 

[Juke99]

I admit he had a much better year than I thought he would but it doesn't surprise me he didn't take you anywhere close to the Superbowl. He won't either, most of you all know that.

Your line was bad but that's always the excuse for Bledsoe wherever he goes. That Seattle game reminded me so much of when he was with us. I think the last Giants game was also vintage Bledsoe if I remember right. Step up when we need you most ..and he doesn't.

I believe the way to go is find a young guy and hope for the best. This is a quarterback driven league and if you don't have that franchise guy you can rely on, your chances of going far aren't very good. If Dallas had a Manning, Brady, McNabb or even a Hassleback, Rothlisberger, Bulger, Brees this team would be just as good as any of the other top NFC teams right now. Personally if I was Jones I'd hand over the #1 pick to San Diego and hopefully they'd give up Rivers.

I hate our young guy, I really despise the way he carries himself but I'm glad we are at least taking a shot at a young guy and hopefully he develops into something. He's a knucklehead but he does have a strong arm, mobility, and talent. I have my fingers crossed.

An amazing coincidence... Bledsoe has had bad offensive lines for years...the Dallas line that many felt would be strong this year, was awful.

One of the reasons why is because it's EASY for a defense to rush a guy who has the mobility of a fence post. They know where he is going to be. That makes things VERY simple.

And he performed better than I thought he would, so I'm not a basher...but he simply isn't going to make any offensive line look good.

 

[Trip]

Cowboys QBs.
1. Staubach
2. Aikman
3. Meredith
4. Bledsoe
5. White
6. Garrett

QB rating and passing yards have inflated historically because of rules changes.
Staubach was Steve Yuong before Steve Young and would have had an insane rating could his WRs not get touched past 5 yards. What hasn't changes are 4th quarter comebacks and Bledsoe falls shy of only Roger there. He would rate below Aikman because Aikman just didn't make mistakes. When he tossed a pick you knew the Wr ran the wrong route or a ball got tipped. Meredith gets a slight nod because he would bleed every week and still get yards. He helped the team turn from laughingstock to serious competitor.

I could care less who lives up to whose place in history provided we win. I think Bledsoe gives us a good chance to win. We have to block for him and we have to have guys get open but he can throw accurate passes all over the field. That accuracy has been sorely missed since Aikman retired. I havent seen a duck thread at all this year. That in and of itself is enough to bring him back another year.

What are you doing with Jason Garrett in there? Relative?

 

[Hostile]

Thanks for the history, but please spare us the 7 when you know it would have been 6 if the game meant anything. Just take the advice of your own radio commentators who at the start of the broadcast said "if you're going to judge these players and this team, please base it on the first 15 games". That's what I'm going to do. This team won 60% of the meaningful games it played. In baseball that's a guaranteed playoff spot. In football even 62.5% (10-6) wouldn't have guaranteed it.

You're making my point for me Neil.

10-6 wouldn't be good enough this year either so 9-7 really isn't. You see, I don't deal in what ifs. They are useless. 9-7 isn't real because the game didn't matter? No, 9-7 really happened. It is what is to steal a phrase from Big Bill.

When it mattered most Staubach and Aikman made it matter. That's impact.

Like I said, we're spoiled and I for one won't apologize for it. I expect to contend for a Super Bowl every year. When we don't I'm not going to sugar coat it and apply a coat of whitewash.

9-7 stinks. 10-6 and missing the playoffs would have too. That's just the bottom line.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

An amazing coincidence... Bledsoe has had bad offensive lines for years...the Dallas line that many felt would be strong this year, was awful.

One of the reasons why is because it's EASY for a defense to rush a guy who has the mobility of a fence post. They know where he is going to be. That makes things VERY simple.

And he performed better than I thought he would, so I'm not a basher...but he simply isn't going to make any offensive line look good.

Why do you have to go insult a fence post?

 

[StanleySpadowski]

If you want to play "statistics" games, imagine that fumbles were "rated" the same as interceptions. Bledsoe's one of the worst starters in the league, add sacks as negative QB passing yards instead of just negative team passing yards (something that's always puzzled me) and Bledsoe might be the lowest rated sixteen game starter.

I'll admit that I'm one of the few here that qualify as an actual Bledsoe "basher", but I can think of 35 other QBs that I would rather have being that my goal is to see Ring 6, not just have something to brag about Monday morning.

 

[ratpower]

the bigger question is if you don't have bledsoe, who do you have instead? Given the current answer, keep Bledsoe, he did well enough...

Now get an O-line so you can pass protect and actually run the ball...(the problem is this was a main problem last year at this time....)

 

[visionary]

I voted "No".

Before the season started I said I would be very happy if Bledsoe was able to maintain an 85 passer rating.

And he did not.

At times he was terrific... other times dreadful. Yeah, the offensive line pass blocking was poor, but his lack of athletic ability made it even worse.

But the reason I don't want to see him back is that he'll be 34 next year... there is no "upside" to Drew-- None.

He is what he is.

He's probably good enough to get us into the playoffs but not much more than that. I don't see us being legit super bowl contenders with him at the helm. He has too many flaws that are easily defensed... even with an improved offensive line.

Drew's second year in Buffalo was far worse than his first. I expect the same here. Defenses know how to play him given this type of offense.

It's time to move on and take a stab at a younger guy with more athletic ability and more upside to his game.

MW I agree 100%. Bledsoe is a good QB but he will make that critical mistake in just enough games over the course of the season to kill the season. teams know that they can get into his head after hitting him a couple of times. while he is a "warrior" and the "most difficult to bring down" but the problem is that in pressure situations he makes mistakes. he will look great at times and that is what makes us doubt ourselves and that is what fools people (including myself this season) into thinking that he will be good enough but we (and BP) tend to forget the cardinal rule of football that BP himself drills into us "you are what you are", in bledsoe's case it means that when you have had a 10+ year career and you have career #s and stats then "you are what you are" a QB that can pass when given a "clean pocket" and plenty of time but cant deal with pressure situations. even though we have rose colored glasses on being cowboy fans, as we watch the playoffs lets watch and we will see teams who will play even more aggressive defense that the regular season. i really dont believe (after our last few games) that our team or QB could handle that. no way any QB in the playoffs will have the kind of time and pocket that DB needs, that is brady has done what he has done. Brady in many ways is the antithesis to DB, a not flashy QB who does not wow you with passing #s but will make the throws when needed and will not make the critical mistake.

the reason i have wanted to believe in DB so desperately is the next question: if not bledsoe then who? and this is where the way BP built this team comes back to haunt us. he built this team to be competitive immediately (because he wanted to win now) so that he took older players on offense (which takes longer to mature) and drafted for defense. it would have been great if it had worked, now that it didnt the obvious and thorny problem is that we have a younger defense that should be ready to go in the next season but if we start over on offense (with a young QB) it will take at least 2-3 seasons to be competitive. I bet that if you ask BP today in hindsight he would have gut campo's team, draft a young QB in his first draft when he was here and let the team mature with the QB so that in his 3rd year now we would be in gthe hunt with something to look forward to.

my guess is that if BP comes back for 1 more year, we will still go with bledsoe and the end result will be the same as this season or at most 1 and out in the playoffs. i dont see us getting to the SB and winning #6 with DB, I just dont.

 

[Zaxor]

MW I agree 100%. Bledsoe is a good QB but he will make that critical mistake in just enough games over the course of the season to kill the season. teams know that they can get into his head after hitting him a couple of times. while he is a "warrior" and the "most difficult to bring down" but the problem is that in pressure situations he makes mistakes. he will look great at times and that is what makes us doubt ourselves and that is what fools people (including myself this season) into thinking that he will be good enough but we (and BP) tend to forget the cardinal rule of football that BP himself drills into us "you are what you are", in bledsoe's case it means that when you have had a 10+ year career and you have career #s and stats then "you are what you are" a QB that can pass when given a "clean pocket" and plenty of time but cant deal with pressure situations. even though we have rose colored glasses on being cowboy fans, as we watch the playoffs lets watch and we will see teams who will play even more aggressive defense that the regular season. i really dont believe (after our last few games) that our team or QB could handle that. no way any QB in the playoffs will have the kind of time and pocket that DB needs, that is brady has done what he has done. Brady in many ways is the antithesis to DB, a not flashy QB who does not wow you with passing #s but will make the throws when needed and will not make the critical mistake.

the reason i have wanted to believe in DB so desperately is the next question: if not bledsoe then who? and this is where the way BP built this team comes back to haunt us. he built this team to be competitive immediately (because he wanted to win now) so that he took older players on offense (which takes longer to mature) and drafted for defense. it would have been great if it had worked, now that it didnt the obvious and thorny problem is that we have a younger defense that should be ready to go in the next season but if we start over on offense (with a young QB) it will take at least 2-3 seasons to be competitive. I bet that if you ask BP today in hindsight he would have gut campo's team, draft a young QB in his first draft when he was here and let the team mature with the QB so that in his 3rd year now we would be in gthe hunt with something to look forward to.

my guess is that if BP comes back for 1 more year, we will still go with bledsoe and the end result will be the same as this season or at most 1 and out in the playoffs. i dont see us getting to the SB and winning #6 with DB, I just dont.

I agree...

 

[Zaxor]

the bigger question is if you don't have bledsoe, who do you have instead? Given the current answer, keep Bledsoe, he did well enough...

Now get an O-line so you can pass protect and actually run the ball...(the problem is this was a main problem last year at this time....)

The O-line will never be good enough...

 

[juice28]

The O-line will never be good enough...

I don't agree. The may never be like the line Aikman had, but I'm not just going to throw my hands up on them potentially getting better.

 

[Zaxor]

If you want to play "statistics" games, imagine that fumbles were "rated" the same as interceptions. Bledsoe's one of the worst starters in the league, add sacks as negative QB passing yards instead of just negative team passing yards (something that's always puzzled me) and Bledsoe might be the lowest rated sixteen game starter.

I'll admit that I'm one of the few here that qualify as an actual Bledsoe "basher", but I can think of 35 other QBs that I would rather have being that my goal is to see Ring 6, not just have something to brag about Monday morning.

I agree

All aspects of a QB should be considered... Bledsoe had 17 fumbles, 17 interceptions and 49 sacks this year in 499 attempts... Vinny T had 8 fumbles, 20 interceptions and 34 sacks last year in 495 attempts think about that for just a moment and not let it just pass in one ear and out the other folks

 

[Zaxor]

I don't agree. The may never be like the line Aikman had, but I'm not just going to throw my hands up on them potentially getting better.

Not with Bledsoe behind center...the guy has been sacked 451 times in his career

 

[juice28]

I agree. This current line and Bledsoe is not a perfect fit. But a few moderations and a very focused off-season, it could work next season. Bledsoe isn't going anywhere. We have to deal with reality.