richNjoisy Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 The Bledsoe discussions are based on two assumptions which - to me - are not "slam dunks" 1.) That Drew would never accept the role as backup 2.) That Donahoe would not pay Drew starter $ as a backup As for #1, at some point Drew will accept that his skills have declined and that their are 32+ QB's out there better than him. There is no guaranteed blueprint for this assessment. It is based on not only the actuall level of a player's current abilities but also the subjective opinion of the player and management(s). That's part of playing the game - how much does a guy have left? Will a change of scenary raise his level of play? etc. What I am saying is that Drew MAY accept going into training camp with the understanding that he will have to WIN the starting job and agree that if he loses he will be a trouper and be ready-to-go but still the clipboard holder. I don't think it is a certainty that Drew will rule this out. He may though (of course). As for #2, the Bills cap situation WITH DREW is not bad (~ +7.5 mil under the cap). Dropping Drew right away puts the Bills in the situation of ASSUMING JP is ready AND necessitates them to pick up a new QB to back up JP. They will have to pay this guy too (duh). Since the Bills only save ~ 2 - 2.5 mil dropping Bledsoe then we are only talking about a small overall savings PLUS we will forced to go down the JP road without being sure he is ready OR able to do so. In addition, the new guy will need to learn a completely new offense. See what I am saying? IF Drew is willing to fight for his job AND be a "good boy" if he loses, then I don't see the release of Drew as the obvious thing to do. My own view of this is that I would LIKE to see JP BEAT Drew and have Drew as the (albiet highly paid!) backup. Three years ago, Brady was the starter for about a buck fifty while Drew held the clipbaord for $6 mill. The result? The Patsies won the Super Bowl and Drew came in at a critical spot to win the AFC Championship game. So it is not unheard of to - for a brief time - have the backup QB making more than the starter (actually , for a time, RJ made more than Dougie while Flutie started). RichNJoisy Central NJ Bills Backers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Chief Navy Pride Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Can't really argue with that point at all. But god I hope JP can getterdone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 drew who ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 If there is an open competition in Camp Bledsoe will win. MM needs to make the leap and just name JP the starter rain or shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 The Bledsoe discussions are based on two assumptions which - to me - are not "slam dunks" 1.) That Drew would never accept the role as backup 2.) That Donahoe would not pay Drew starter $ as a backup As for #1, at some point Drew will accept that his skills have declined and that their are 32+ QB's out there better than him. There is no guaranteed blueprint for this assessment. It is based on not only the actuall level of a player's current abilities but also the subjective opinion of the player and management(s). That's part of playing the game - how much does a guy have left? Will a change of scenary raise his level of play? etc. What I am saying is that Drew MAY accept going into training camp with the understanding that he will have to WIN the starting job and agree that if he loses he will be a trouper and be ready-to-go but still the clipboard holder. I don't think it is a certainty that Drew will rule this out. He may though (of course). As for #2, the Bills cap situation WITH DREW is not bad (~ +7.5 mil under the cap). Dropping Drew right away puts the Bills in the situation of ASSUMING JP is ready AND necessitates them to pick up a new QB to back up JP. They will have to pay this guy too (duh). Since the Bills only save ~ 2 - 2.5 mil dropping Bledsoe then we are only talking about a small overall savings PLUS we will forced to go down the JP road without being sure he is ready OR able to do so. In addition, the new guy will need to learn a completely new offense. See what I am saying? IF Drew is willing to fight for his job AND be a "good boy" if he loses, then I don't see the release of Drew as the obvious thing to do. My own view of this is that I would LIKE to see JP BEAT Drew and have Drew as the (albiet highly paid!) backup. Three years ago, Brady was the starter for about a buck fifty while Drew held the clipbaord for $6 mill. The result? The Patsies won the Super Bowl and Drew came in at a critical spot to win the AFC Championship game. So it is not unheard of to - for a brief time - have the backup QB making more than the starter (actually , for a time, RJ made more than Dougie while Flutie started). RichNJoisy Central NJ Bills Backers 225866[/snapback] Exactly right in my view. The model for the Bills in this regard is the 2001 Pats team where instead of Bledsoe getting pushed aside by Mo Lewis and a collapsed lung he gets pushed aside by superior play and immediate winning prospects by JP. If he is willing to accept this happening voluntarily I think it is great cause one should not count upon the fact that even if JP plays like Brady in 2001 you may well need a vet to help you win a must-win game as Bledsoe did for the Pats in 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richNjoisy Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 How do you know that? JP has seldom worked with the 1st string he has a rocket arm and can move all over the place. In college, he played behind a trerrible o-line and still managed to put up TD's, Yardage, and W's. Although injured, he has had an entire year to learn the playbook. He is not a rookie anymore. Your statement - if it came to pass - would mean that Drew would not get the chance to win the job. Don't you think he would know this has happened if it does (in other words, if he loses the job but not the competition)? This would mean he would be disgruntled and would undoubtedly be a pariah on the team. No. JP has to win the job outright or sit and learn for another year. Like I said, I hope he wins it but WIN it he must. Having the job handed to him guarantees the Bills another year with no playoffs. Some young QB mature quicker than others. let's see if JP is one of them. Mularkey does not come across to me as a "let's just give him the job" type of coach. he believes in giving men the opportunity to prove themselves. To the victor shall go the spoils..... Here's hopin'...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richNjoisy Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 just to clarify - my previous post was in response to" kota" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 JP has to win the job outright or sit and learn for another year. 226127[/snapback] I think this is somewhat the case because I have seen the truth in a statement Marv used to use all the time that if a team has two quarterbacks it has no quarterback. However, I think that in the right situation team's can and do operate with two QBs capable of startting. The big rate limiting factor which tends to make this undoable is the athletes in questions turning into juveniles (see the RJ/Flutie debacle) egged on by a media that loves a fight as tool to sell commercials and fans who root for one player or the other player when they should be rooting for the team. It is possible to have two QB's capable of being named the starter who act like adults and under strong coaching get the job done. The last working example of this was actually Bledsoe and Brady in 2001. The difference between the Bill's situation and their's is that it was for a relatively short period of time and was forced upon them by the injury to Bledsoe. The question for the Bill's which fortunately TD has put squarely to Bledsoe is can he deal with this type of situation if the move is voluntary. I don't know, but we will see how committed Bledsoe is to being a teamer because if he puts himself and his job on the line at a cost of millions to himself, i think he will have shown me that he seems capable of losing the job and being a true teamer and helping JP out. If he can't do this he should go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richNjoisy Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 F-F-S one thing I am pretty sur you are saying but may not be clear to other readers is that you are assuming Drew will both compete AND agree to a salary cut if he fails to win the starting job. (You mentioned him "putting his job on the line at the cost of millions to himself") I am not stating as FACT that Drew would not agreee to this but if that is what the Bills expect of him, I doubt (my opinion!) Drew will go for this. My thread stated that the Bills MIGHT NOT force Drew to modify his contract - even if JP wins the job. This is how you getthe "backup making a helluvalot more money than the starter" scenario. One reason I am looking at this this is way is the fact that Donahoe actually offered Rob Johnson a fairly large salary if he stayed on (it was still a big cut - I know - but , as I recall it, it still amounted to millions. Suffice it to say, I was pleased RJ told TD to stuff it). It is all a matter of looking at the total package - similar to the way TD looked at the draft two years ago: Getting Kelsay and McGahee both was a steal but the Bills did it "backwards" (McGahee 1st and Kelsay 2nd). What does it matter if Kelsay wasn't 1st? We still drafted the same two players (as it turned out, no one thinks McGahee would be there in round 2 anyway so TD played his cards PERFECTLY). In the same token, does it matter if Drew makes more than JP regardless of who starts? Only if one is certain JP is better than Drew in 2005 and there is someone out there to back up JP for less money than Drew is making (this latter scenario is obvious but I am being ridiculously meticulous here). What I am obtusely saying is that Drew #1 + JP #2 costs the same as JP #1 and Drew #2. We all prefer JP wins the job but if he doesn't then that means Drew is better. period. (and oh sh@T!) -RnJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I really hope Drew stays on as a backup. When JP breaks his leg in game 4 we're going to need someone good to step up and carry this team the rest of the way. He's about as good of a backup as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obie_wan Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I really hope Drew stays on as a backup. When JP breaks his leg in game 4 we're going to need someone good to step up and carry this team the rest of the way. He's about as good of a backup as you can get. 226532[/snapback] Drew is physically and mentally unable to play the offense that MM wants to run. It is completely pointless to have a backup QB who can't run the base offense. In 2004, Drew was not allowed to even look more than 10 yards downfield (except on gadget plays) due to the fear of sacks, turnovers and poor decision making. If the Bills commit to JP, then Drew needs to be gone and a vet whose style more closely matches JP's needs to be acquired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 If there is an open competition in Camp Bledsoe will win. MM needs to make the leap and just name JP the starter rain or shine. 226109[/snapback] Kota, That is the second time I have seen you post that. I am just curious.....why do you feel that Drew wins a "open competition" so convincingly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I really hope Drew stays on as a backup. When JP breaks his leg in game 4 we're going to need someone good to step up and carry this team the rest of the way. He's about as good of a backup as you can get. 226532[/snapback] I really hope you were knocking on wood when you posted this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile High Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 If the Bills commit to JP, then Drew needs to be gone and a vet whose style more closely matches JP's needs to be acquired. 226708[/snapback] True and a good point to bring up. I never thought much about this until you mentioned it at all. This basically means the the offense has to be ran one way being that of a sure footed QB who can make quick decisions. Who would that vet be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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