If Bledsoe leads Dallas to the SB..

[ganesh]

He'll be another year older..have worse receivers, and an unproven back in Jones, and a suspect Defense. BUT if he leads this team to even the play-offs, then its gotta be our system that prevented it. He says its a fresh start, but he said the same thing when he signed here. What do you think??

339661[/snapback]

 

May be a fresh start always rejuvenates him to perform in the 1st

half of the season and then being himself....

 

If the Dallas OL is not going to protect DB, then they are in for a long year

no matter what Julius Jones can do.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Over Drew's lengthy career, the only guy who has ever been able to get him to play anywhere near his potential was Parcells when they were in NewEngland together.

I doubt if lightning strikes twice but I'm not putting anything past the Tuna. If he can get good QB play out of Ray Lucas, Quincy Carter and Tom freakin' Tupa, who knows what he can get out of Drew at this point.

If the Cowboys can put a couple NFL corners on the field and play some games with a lead, Parcells might do some damage in the pathetic NFC.

Cya

339766[/snapback]

 

I disagree to the extent that I think Belicheck also demonstrated a great understading of the pluses and minuses of Bledsoe (finalla afterhe got the lucky break of Bledsoe having his lung collapse and the break BB hoped for that the team became a TEAM playing around Beady and he experienced a level of success which allowed BB to go with Brady. However, though the use by BB/Weis of brady was short-lived and he had no choice about it, I do give BB the credit for supporting making the following moves regarding judging Bledsoe and making moves in accordance with his QB potential:

 

1. Though finishing the AFC championship game was a short episode for doing the proper work with Bledsoe it was as close to a must-win situation as you want to get and BB gets and derserves a lot of credit and Weis even more because it was all about the game call for their use of Bledsoe in this game. Kudos to the coaching staff because though the game call did not suit the Bledsoe golden-arm style at all, they stuck with the brady game plan that the offense was built and practiced for by the team all week. Though the results did not suit Bledsoe in terms of the glossy individual stats he may have want, the result got the only effect that mattered in that they won a must win game. Credit does go to Bledsoe's play however, in that he did throw for the winning TD in this must-win game. No one can credibly claim it was pretty but no one can credibly claim it was not effective either and that Bledsoe and the boys won a must-win game that made an SB win possible. Winning the SB is simply flat-out important, significant and simply cannot be ignored. Bledsoe has the ring and deserves it.

 

2. The next move in decision-naking regarding Bledsoe's potential was the difficult no-brainer to pull off in sitting the boy-wonder in the SB. BB was a stalwart in making what turned out to be the right decision for the team in going back to brady the next game. I think this move spoke to Bledsoe's potential as a QB as in his effective but pedestrian performance in the championship game, BB correctly stuck with the no-brainer assessment that Bledsoe was not likely to get the job done if he was brought back in after he was the QB for NE in a must-win game. I think this move had a game effect and was player significant in that Bledsoe did prove to be a teamer in simply accepting this move (though I assume it was hard for him not be the man in the game). In addition, Brady was playing in the biggest game of his career nad dealt with that pressure with the addition of the pressure of having BB pass over Bledsoe and put the game in his hands. I think the best move of the game was BB or whomever had the idea of introducing the Pats as a team rather than focusing on an individual unit and thus the prescence of Brady and the absence of Bledsoe.

 

3. Finally, BB made the right move in dealing with the potenial of Bledsoe as a QB and the potential of Brady by trading Bledsoe and keeping Brady. Though taking his medicine and making this move played a huge role in the demolition of the Pats post-SB season when they failed to even make the playoff absorbing the accelerated Bledsoe cap hit and not being able o replicate the same moves which saw NE pick up 15 or so players after the cap cut in their 1st SB year, the fact they won two in a row after that justified the move.

 

Ironically in terms of the Bills handling of Bledsoe and his potential as a QB it turned out to be the best of time, followed by the worst of times, followed by inadequate times in his three years here:

 

1. 2002- The best of times and a great move by TD and even a pretty good set of moves by Kevin Killdrive on the field- Bledsoe played a key role in a the Bills having a virtual record-setting turnaround from 3-13 to 8-8. In looking at all the things Sheppard did wrong in failing to achieve the year before (and he did wrong as he got canned for it) Kevin Killdrive did lead the way with a game call achieved a turnaround in accumulation of Ws in his first. i wouldn't get all ga-ga over this success because the handwriting was on the all of teams beginning to do better against the Bills O as they accumulated some tape and mapped its tendencies (bad weather helped the Ds and the Bengals being idiots helped Bledsoe) and BB and Crennel provided a roadmap in how to nullify Bledsoe (Bledsoe has demonstrated that he has a golden arm in his play through the years and even demonstrated that he has a brain when he watched Brady operate from the sideline and apparently according to Brady's testimony could assess what was happening and efficiently communicate to Brady things his vet eyes could see and Brady's young brain could no interpret correctly.

 

However, though I think Bledsoe has good arm and also a good brain, his ability to foster a connection between the two under the stress of a game simply is not there. His brain farts in games can be simply painful to watch. BB/Crennel did a great job in having the Pats D delay lining up in a formation until the last possible moment and Bledsoe proved to be incapable of implementing the appropriate play quickly enough and the Pats destroyed the Bills in the games though since the Pats were goofing up overall bad enough that even two wins against a division opponent could not get them to the playoffs.

 

Yet overall, Bledsoe's individual play that year over the whole season was meritorious and the play of a non-loser in terms of team's record and a winner in terms of him meriting his Pro Bowl reserve nod that year (if one disagrees simply say who deserves to be on the Pro Bowl instead of him that year) and being elevated to the level of comeback player of the year consideration.

 

2003- This was clearly the worst of times as Killdrive simply refused to vary tendencies everyone had figured out and Bledsoe made it worse with is predictable audibles and Killdrive's failure to rein him in. The buck does stop with the HC and GW deserves the final blame (and got it when he was canned, Killdrive was canned, Ruel was canned, and Gray was kept and has propered without him). Bledsoe was simply bad, bad, bad as the team went 10 straight quarters during the cruch time of the season without scoring an offensive TD. Yet, one cannot properly assess the blame of Bledsoe for this crunch time failure without giving him appropriate credit for NE having the ultimate crunch time win in the 2001 AFC championship game. Likewise one cannot recognize the credit he deserves for that win without acknowledging his failure in 2003.

 

In the end, i think his play under his contract which demanded a decision due to a bonus at that time was a wash. Very good achievement in 2002 and stinky in 203. I think TD made a mistake by resigning him. I think given the dire straights the 3-13 Bills were in bringing him in to replace RJ was a good move. I tend to value 1st round picks appropriately I think in that sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Since the Bills got a lot for nothing initially (2003 1st rounder would by definition do nothing for the team in 2002 and TD turned this into a reserve Pro Bowler) and TD used the impetus of trading this pick to do some magic on AT and get a 1st rounder back who ultimately became WM, I have no problem with his simply calling the Bledsoe deal a wash and cutting him after the 2003 debacle season. However, i ain't in charge and he didn't.

 

2004- A much better season for Bledsoe but compared to a horrendous 2003 one can be much better but still inadequate at the same time. TD madea bad move in my judgment restructuring Bledsoe (a judgement by me which I think proved to be correct in that they cut him) but I was really impressed with the way TC and MM got play out of Bledsoe last year which I think realized his potential as a QB.

 

The good side is:

 

1. Bledsoe can lead a team and manage a game run by a superior football mind. A key to squeezing wins out of Bledsoe led team was shown by Parcells in his constant harping on Bledsoe in practice to just throw the damn ball when Bledsoe would hang on to it to long and go into his familar pat. MM seems to be more of a tactican than the jovial corrector that Parcells is (he cuts like a knife but apparently is one of the funniest guys in the world while doing it) but MM used his alarm clock set to 4 seconds to harp on Bledsoe to throw the damn ball. Ultimately this improved his game. TC and MM also simplified the game and lowered some of brain farts by limiting Bledsoe's ability to audible. This removed on of Bledsoe's problems of translating thought into action quickly.

 

2. Bledsoe is a 10 year vet and runs a game-fake well. From his constantly running out plays where he handed off providing no tip off that WM was going turn back at the line and pitch the ball to him and he would hit the streaking WR (catching a shotgum like snap from a youngster keeping an eye on the receiver while fielding the ball and turning around and hitting the reciever is no simple task and I have seen QBs blow one of these jobs a number of times). Further his play fake of the QB sneak and then pitch to WM who scampered for a TD was also a thing of beauty. Kudos to him for these plays and TC/MM handled him well and used this potential when it was not in the Killdrive playbook.

 

3. I had bought the line on TSW that Bledsoe is a statue and can never run. Firtunately TC/MM did not and recognized that exactly because no one would ever call Bledsoe fleet-footed this is why he must run. Bkedsoe is no going to score any TDs on the QB draw (though i think he actually did this once on a redzone play so I may be mistaken) but you have to show the threat he will get positive yardage on this play or opposing rushers will simply pin their ears back and commit to the blitz. That 1-second delay is all the Teague needs not to get bowled over while he is focusing on making the line call, getting off the appropriate snap, and meeting the blocker. he would get bowled over due to his difficulty initally in mult-tasking. The fear put into rushers that if they commited upfield that Bledsoe would simply pick the other gap and be past them or WM might go wide the other way really helped the pass game a lot and I think is one of the prime reasons the sack total went down.

 

Still overall, I think it would have been a constant struggle for TC/MM with Bledsoe. they likely could have squeezed adequacy and a reasonable shot at the playoffs out of a Bledsoe led team this year (they almost did last year) but the goal is the SB and that is incredibly unlikely to happen. I think the same is true for Parcells and Dallas. It depends on how it happens, but Bledsoe leading this team to the playoffs and falling flat in the playoff will actually confirm in my mind why you let Bledsoe go.

[The Jokeman]

He'll be another year older..have worse receivers, and an unproven back in Jones, and a suspect Defense. BUT if he leads this team to even the play-offs, then its gotta be our system that prevented it. He says its a fresh start, but he said the same thing when he signed here. What do you think??

339661[/snapback]

Let's look closer. Bledsoe's reunited with a WR he had some pretty good success with earlier in his career (Terry Glenn) and another who averaged 4 yards per game less than Eric Moulds (Keyshawn Johnson). Toss in a TE who lead his team in receiving (Jason Witten). In terms of the "unproven" RB Julius Jones amassed 819 yards in 8 games as a rookie compared to some guy named Henry who the year before Bledsoe's arrival (also as a rookie) gained 729 yards in 13 games. About the only thing I agree with you is the questions on Dallas' defense and Bledsoe's older.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

I disagree to the extent that I think Belicheck also demonstrated a great understading of the pluses and minuses of Bledsoe (finalla afterhe got the lucky break of Bledsoe having his lung collapse and the break BB hoped for that the team became a TEAM playing around Beady and he experienced a level of success which allowed BB to go with Brady. However, though the use by BB/Weis of brady was short-lived and he had no choice about it, I do give BB the credit for supporting making the following moves regarding judging Bledsoe and making moves in accordance with his QB potential:

 

1. Though finishing the AFC championship game was a short episode for doing the proper work with Bledsoe it was as close to a must-win situation as you want to get and BB gets and derserves a lot of credit and Weis even more because it was all about the game call for their use of Bledsoe in this game.  Kudos to the coaching staff because though the game call did not suit the Bledsoe golden-arm style at all, they stuck with the brady game plan that the offense was built and practiced for by the team all week. Though the results did not suit Bledsoe in terms of the glossy individual stats he may have want, the result got the only effect that mattered in that they won a must win game. Credit does go to Bledsoe's play however, in that he did throw for the winning TD in this must-win game.  No one can credibly claim it was pretty but no one can credibly claim it was not effective either and that Bledsoe and the boys won a must-win game that made an SB win possible. Winning the SB is simply flat-out important, significant and simply cannot be ignored. Bledsoe has the ring and deserves it.

 

2. The next move in decision-naking regarding Bledsoe's potential was the difficult no-brainer to pull off in sitting the boy-wonder in the SB. BB was a stalwart in making what turned out to be the right decision for the team in going back to brady the next game. I think this move spoke to Bledsoe's potential as a QB as in his effective but pedestrian performance in the championship game, BB correctly stuck with the no-brainer assessment that Bledsoe was not likely to get the job done if he was brought back in after he was the QB for NE in a must-win game.  I think this move had a game effect and was player significant in that Bledsoe did prove to be a teamer in simply accepting this move (though I assume it was hard for him not be the man in the game). In addition, Brady was playing in the biggest game of his career nad dealt with that pressure with the addition of the pressure of having BB pass over Bledsoe and put the game in his hands. I think the best move of the game was BB or whomever had the idea of introducing the Pats as a team rather than focusing on an individual unit and thus the prescence of Brady and the absence of Bledsoe.

 

3. Finally, BB made the right move in dealing with the potenial of Bledsoe as a QB and the potential of Brady by trading Bledsoe and keeping Brady. Though taking his medicine and making this move played a huge role in the demolition of the Pats post-SB season when they failed to even make the playoff absorbing the accelerated Bledsoe cap hit and not being able o replicate the same moves which saw NE pick up 15 or so players after the cap cut in their 1st SB year, the fact they won two in a row after that justified the move.

 

Ironically in terms of the Bills handling of Bledsoe and his potential as a QB it turned out to be the best of time, followed by the worst of times, followed by inadequate times in his three years here:

 

1. 2002- The best of times and a great move by TD and even a pretty good set of moves by Kevin Killdrive on the field- Bledsoe played a key role in a the Bills having a virtual record-setting turnaround from 3-13 to 8-8.  In looking at all the things Sheppard did wrong in failing to achieve the year before (and he did wrong as he got canned for it) Kevin Killdrive did lead the way with a game call achieved a turnaround in accumulation of Ws in his first. i wouldn't get all ga-ga over this success because the handwriting was on the all of teams beginning to do better against the Bills O as they accumulated some tape and mapped its tendencies (bad weather helped the Ds and the Bengals being idiots helped Bledsoe) and BB and Crennel provided a roadmap in how to nullify Bledsoe (Bledsoe has demonstrated that he has a golden arm in his play through the years and even demonstrated that he has a brain when he watched Brady operate from the sideline and apparently according to Brady's testimony could assess what was happening and efficiently communicate to Brady things his vet eyes could see and Brady's young brain could no interpret correctly. 

 

However, though I think Bledsoe has  good arm and also a good brain, his ability to foster a connection between the two under the stress of a game simply is not there. His brain farts in games can be simply painful to watch. BB/Crennel did a great job in having the Pats D delay lining up in a formation until the last possible moment and Bledsoe proved to be incapable of implementing the appropriate play quickly enough and the Pats destroyed the Bills in the games though since the Pats were goofing up overall bad enough that even two wins against a division opponent could not get them to the playoffs.

 

Yet overall, Bledsoe's individual play that year over the whole season was meritorious and the play of a non-loser in terms of team's record and a winner in terms of him meriting his Pro Bowl reserve nod that year (if one disagrees simply say who deserves to be on the Pro Bowl instead of him that year) and being elevated to the level of comeback player of the year consideration.

 

2003- This was clearly the worst of times as Killdrive simply refused to vary tendencies everyone had figured out and Bledsoe made it worse with is predictable audibles and Killdrive's failure to rein him in. The buck does stop with the HC and GW deserves the final blame (and got it when he was canned, Killdrive was canned, Ruel was canned, and Gray was kept and has propered without him). Bledsoe was simply bad, bad, bad as the team went 10 straight quarters during the cruch time of the season without scoring an offensive TD.  Yet, one cannot properly assess the blame of Bledsoe for this crunch time failure without giving him appropriate credit for NE having the ultimate crunch time win in the 2001 AFC championship game. Likewise one cannot recognize the credit he deserves for that win without acknowledging his failure in 2003.

 

In the end, i think his play under his contract which demanded a decision due to a bonus at that time was a wash. Very good achievement in 2002 and stinky in 203. I think TD made a mistake by resigning him. I think given the dire straights the 3-13 Bills were in bringing him in to replace RJ was a good move. I tend to value 1st round picks appropriately I think in that sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Since the Bills got a lot for nothing initially (2003 1st rounder would by definition do nothing for the team in 2002 and TD turned this into a reserve Pro Bowler) and TD used the impetus of trading this pick to do some magic on AT and get a 1st rounder back who ultimately became WM, I have no problem with his simply calling the Bledsoe deal a wash and cutting him after the 2003 debacle season. However, i ain't in charge and he didn't.

 

2004- A much better season for Bledsoe but compared to a horrendous 2003 one can be much better but still inadequate at the same time. TD madea bad move in my judgment restructuring Bledsoe (a judgement by me which I think proved to be correct in that they cut him) but I was really impressed with the way TC and MM got play out of Bledsoe last year which I think realized his potential as a QB.

 

The good side is:

 

1. Bledsoe can lead a team and manage a game run by a superior football mind. A key to squeezing wins out of Bledsoe led team was shown by Parcells in his constant harping on Bledsoe in practice to just throw the damn ball when Bledsoe would hang on to it to long and go into his familar pat. MM seems to be more of a tactican than the jovial corrector that Parcells is (he cuts like a knife but apparently is one of the funniest guys in the world while doing it) but MM used his alarm clock set to 4 seconds to harp on Bledsoe to throw the damn ball. Ultimately this improved his game.  TC and MM also simplified the game and lowered some of brain farts by limiting Bledsoe's ability to audible. This removed on of Bledsoe's problems of translating thought into action quickly.

 

2. Bledsoe is a 10 year vet and runs a game-fake well. From his constantly running out plays where he handed off providing no tip off that WM was going turn back at the line and pitch the ball to him and he would hit the streaking WR (catching a shotgum like snap from a youngster keeping an eye on the receiver while fielding the ball and turning around and hitting the reciever is no simple task and I have seen QBs blow one of these jobs a number of times). Further his play fake of the QB sneak and then pitch to WM who scampered for a TD was also a thing of beauty. Kudos to him for these plays and TC/MM handled him well and used this potential when it was not in the Killdrive playbook.

 

3. I had bought the line on TSW that Bledsoe is a statue and can never run. Firtunately TC/MM did not and recognized that exactly because no one would ever call Bledsoe fleet-footed this is why he must run.  Bkedsoe is no going to score any TDs on the QB draw (though i think he actually did this once on a redzone play so I may be mistaken) but you have to show the threat he will get positive yardage on this play or opposing rushers will simply pin their ears back and commit to the blitz. That 1-second delay is all the Teague needs not to get bowled over while he is focusing on making the line call, getting off the appropriate snap, and meeting the blocker. he would get bowled over due to his difficulty initally in mult-tasking. The fear put into rushers that if they commited upfield that Bledsoe would simply pick the other gap and be past them or WM might go wide the other way really helped the pass game a lot and I think is one of the prime reasons the sack total went down.

 

Still overall, I think it would have been a constant struggle for TC/MM with Bledsoe.  they likely could have squeezed adequacy and a reasonable shot at the playoffs out of a Bledsoe led team this year (they almost did last year) but the goal is the SB and that is incredibly unlikely to happen. I think the same is true for Parcells and Dallas. It depends on how it happens, but Bledsoe leading this team to the playoffs and falling flat in the playoff will actually confirm in my mind why you let Bledsoe go.

339981[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

signed, Geoffrey Tibbs Fawnsworth Fake Fat Sonny Chowsurr

 

 

[Sisyphean Bills]

What "system" makes a QB move better, think faster, and make better decisions? This hypothetical system sounds amazing. Why doesn't every football team use it?

[plenzmd1]

I think he is in for a lot of pain in week 1 vs the Chargers......nationally televised game by the way.

 

339938[/snapback]

Ahh, but week two is the better game. Skins-Cowboys Monday night i believe.

 

GW vs Drew, seems like a mismatch. How many blitzes think ole Greggy will throw at Drew that day?

[The Jokeman]

What "system" makes a QB move better, think faster, and make better decisions?  This hypothetical system sounds amazing.  Why doesn't every football team use it?

340102[/snapback]

There isn't one but we tried it once when implimented the West Coast offense with RJ. NFL Network had a good segment on Kurt Warner last night. Rich Gannon was talking about Kurt Warner and how he needs to learn to react and throw the ball away once he gets out of the pocket to avoid taking necessary hits and said the only way it will likely happen is with the guys upfront.

[Alaska Darin]

He'll be another year older..have worse receivers, and an unproven back in Jones, and a suspect Defense. BUT if he leads this team to even the play-offs, then its gotta be our system that prevented it. He says its a fresh start, but he said the same thing when he signed here. What do you think??

339661[/snapback]

I think Drew should take a snap or two, maybe even win a game before anyone asks a question about leading his team to the Super Bowl.

 

I hate the post draft/pre-camp offseason.

[obie_wan]

I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas makes the playoffs.  The NFC is a little weaker right now and Dallas has improved some in other areas.  As someone else said Bledsoe is also an improvement over Vinny.  So yes, I think they'll make the playoffs.

 

Now the Superbowl.....

339738[/snapback]

 

 

Drew will crap his pants in the big games on the road, which means even if they squeak into the playoffs, they won't be going very far.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

signed, Geoffrey Tibbs Fawnsworth Fake Fat Sonny Chowsurr

340094[/snapback]

 

i decided to save his shortest post by far in my sig for all posterity.

[BRH]

Really? They finally finish the roof at Texas Stadium? About time.

339773[/snapback]

Yeah, they must have realized God doesn't give a stojan about the Cowboys anymore.

[Like A Mofo]

Who's Drew Bledsoe?

 

Im focused on 2005.

 

If Drew does great in Dallas, good for him.

 

But he was NOT going to do great in Buffalo.

[eball]

I disagree to the extent that I think Belicheck also demonstrated a great understading of the pluses and minuses of Bledsoe (finalla afterhe got the lucky break of Bledsoe having his lung collapse and the break BB hoped for that the team became a TEAM playing around Beady and he experienced a level of success which allowed BB to go with Brady. However, though the use by BB/Weis of brady was short-lived and he had no choice about it, I do give BB the credit for supporting making the following moves regarding judging Bledsoe and making moves in accordance with his QB potential:

 

1. Though finishing the AFC championship game was a short episode for doing the proper work with Bledsoe it was as close to a must-win situation as you want to get and BB gets and derserves a lot of credit and Weis even more because it was all about the game call for their use of Bledsoe in this game.  Kudos to the coaching staff because though the game call did not suit the Bledsoe golden-arm style at all, they stuck with the brady game plan that the offense was built and practiced for by the team all week. Though the results did not suit Bledsoe in terms of the glossy individual stats he may have want, the result got the only effect that mattered in that they won a must win game. Credit does go to Bledsoe's play however, in that he did throw for the winning TD in this must-win game.  No one can credibly claim it was pretty but no one can credibly claim it was not effective either and that Bledsoe and the boys won a must-win game that made an SB win possible. Winning the SB is simply flat-out important, significant and simply cannot be ignored. Bledsoe has the ring and deserves it.

 

2. The next move in decision-naking regarding Bledsoe's potential was the difficult no-brainer to pull off in sitting the boy-wonder in the SB. BB was a stalwart in making what turned out to be the right decision for the team in going back to brady the next game. I think this move spoke to Bledsoe's potential as a QB as in his effective but pedestrian performance in the championship game, BB correctly stuck with the no-brainer assessment that Bledsoe was not likely to get the job done if he was brought back in after he was the QB for NE in a must-win game.  I think this move had a game effect and was player significant in that Bledsoe did prove to be a teamer in simply accepting this move (though I assume it was hard for him not be the man in the game). In addition, Brady was playing in the biggest game of his career nad dealt with that pressure with the addition of the pressure of having BB pass over Bledsoe and put the game in his hands. I think the best move of the game was BB or whomever had the idea of introducing the Pats as a team rather than focusing on an individual unit and thus the prescence of Brady and the absence of Bledsoe.

 

3. Finally, BB made the right move in dealing with the potenial of Bledsoe as a QB and the potential of Brady by trading Bledsoe and keeping Brady. Though taking his medicine and making this move played a huge role in the demolition of the Pats post-SB season when they failed to even make the playoff absorbing the accelerated Bledsoe cap hit and not being able o replicate the same moves which saw NE pick up 15 or so players after the cap cut in their 1st SB year, the fact they won two in a row after that justified the move.

 

Ironically in terms of the Bills handling of Bledsoe and his potential as a QB it turned out to be the best of time, followed by the worst of times, followed by inadequate times in his three years here:

 

1. 2002- The best of times and a great move by TD and even a pretty good set of moves by Kevin Killdrive on the field- Bledsoe played a key role in a the Bills having a virtual record-setting turnaround from 3-13 to 8-8.  In looking at all the things Sheppard did wrong in failing to achieve the year before (and he did wrong as he got canned for it) Kevin Killdrive did lead the way with a game call achieved a turnaround in accumulation of Ws in his first. i wouldn't get all ga-ga over this success because the handwriting was on the all of teams beginning to do better against the Bills O as they accumulated some tape and mapped its tendencies (bad weather helped the Ds and the Bengals being idiots helped Bledsoe) and BB and Crennel provided a roadmap in how to nullify Bledsoe (Bledsoe has demonstrated that he has a golden arm in his play through the years and even demonstrated that he has a brain when he watched Brady operate from the sideline and apparently according to Brady's testimony could assess what was happening and efficiently communicate to Brady things his vet eyes could see and Brady's young brain could no interpret correctly. 

 

However, though I think Bledsoe has  good arm and also a good brain, his ability to foster a connection between the two under the stress of a game simply is not there. His brain farts in games can be simply painful to watch. BB/Crennel did a great job in having the Pats D delay lining up in a formation until the last possible moment and Bledsoe proved to be incapable of implementing the appropriate play quickly enough and the Pats destroyed the Bills in the games though since the Pats were goofing up overall bad enough that even two wins against a division opponent could not get them to the playoffs.

 

Yet overall, Bledsoe's individual play that year over the whole season was meritorious and the play of a non-loser in terms of team's record and a winner in terms of him meriting his Pro Bowl reserve nod that year (if one disagrees simply say who deserves to be on the Pro Bowl instead of him that year) and being elevated to the level of comeback player of the year consideration.

 

2003- This was clearly the worst of times as Killdrive simply refused to vary tendencies everyone had figured out and Bledsoe made it worse with is predictable audibles and Killdrive's failure to rein him in. The buck does stop with the HC and GW deserves the final blame (and got it when he was canned, Killdrive was canned, Ruel was canned, and Gray was kept and has propered without him). Bledsoe was simply bad, bad, bad as the team went 10 straight quarters during the cruch time of the season without scoring an offensive TD.  Yet, one cannot properly assess the blame of Bledsoe for this crunch time failure without giving him appropriate credit for NE having the ultimate crunch time win in the 2001 AFC championship game. Likewise one cannot recognize the credit he deserves for that win without acknowledging his failure in 2003.

 

In the end, i think his play under his contract which demanded a decision due to a bonus at that time was a wash. Very good achievement in 2002 and stinky in 203. I think TD made a mistake by resigning him. I think given the dire straights the 3-13 Bills were in bringing him in to replace RJ was a good move. I tend to value 1st round picks appropriately I think in that sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Since the Bills got a lot for nothing initially (2003 1st rounder would by definition do nothing for the team in 2002 and TD turned this into a reserve Pro Bowler) and TD used the impetus of trading this pick to do some magic on AT and get a 1st rounder back who ultimately became WM, I have no problem with his simply calling the Bledsoe deal a wash and cutting him after the 2003 debacle season. However, i ain't in charge and he didn't.

 

2004- A much better season for Bledsoe but compared to a horrendous 2003 one can be much better but still inadequate at the same time. TD madea bad move in my judgment restructuring Bledsoe (a judgement by me which I think proved to be correct in that they cut him) but I was really impressed with the way TC and MM got play out of Bledsoe last year which I think realized his potential as a QB.

 

The good side is:

 

1. Bledsoe can lead a team and manage a game run by a superior football mind. A key to squeezing wins out of Bledsoe led team was shown by Parcells in his constant harping on Bledsoe in practice to just throw the damn ball when Bledsoe would hang on to it to long and go into his familar pat. MM seems to be more of a tactican than the jovial corrector that Parcells is (he cuts like a knife but apparently is one of the funniest guys in the world while doing it) but MM used his alarm clock set to 4 seconds to harp on Bledsoe to throw the damn ball. Ultimately this improved his game.  TC and MM also simplified the game and lowered some of brain farts by limiting Bledsoe's ability to audible. This removed on of Bledsoe's problems of translating thought into action quickly.

 

2. Bledsoe is a 10 year vet and runs a game-fake well. From his constantly running out plays where he handed off providing no tip off that WM was going turn back at the line and pitch the ball to him and he would hit the streaking WR (catching a shotgum like snap from a youngster keeping an eye on the receiver while fielding the ball and turning around and hitting the reciever is no simple task and I have seen QBs blow one of these jobs a number of times). Further his play fake of the QB sneak and then pitch to WM who scampered for a TD was also a thing of beauty. Kudos to him for these plays and TC/MM handled him well and used this potential when it was not in the Killdrive playbook.

 

3. I had bought the line on TSW that Bledsoe is a statue and can never run. Firtunately TC/MM did not and recognized that exactly because no one would ever call Bledsoe fleet-footed this is why he must run.  Bkedsoe is no going to score any TDs on the QB draw (though i think he actually did this once on a redzone play so I may be mistaken) but you have to show the threat he will get positive yardage on this play or opposing rushers will simply pin their ears back and commit to the blitz. That 1-second delay is all the Teague needs not to get bowled over while he is focusing on making the line call, getting off the appropriate snap, and meeting the blocker. he would get bowled over due to his difficulty initally in mult-tasking. The fear put into rushers that if they commited upfield that Bledsoe would simply pick the other gap and be past them or WM might go wide the other way really helped the pass game a lot and I think is one of the prime reasons the sack total went down.

 

Still overall, I think it would have been a constant struggle for TC/MM with Bledsoe.  they likely could have squeezed adequacy and a reasonable shot at the playoffs out of a Bledsoe led team this year (they almost did last year) but the goal is the SB and that is incredibly unlikely to happen. I think the same is true for Parcells and Dallas. It depends on how it happens, but Bledsoe leading this team to the playoffs and falling flat in the playoff will actually confirm in my mind why you let Bledsoe go.

339981[/snapback]

 

jesus christ, man. i'm at work. can somebody sum this up in less than 100 pages?

 

[plenzmd1]

jesus christ, man.  i'm at work.  can somebody sum this up in less than 100 pages?

 

340289[/snapback]

 

Im only taking a guess, as i too could not devote the time, but my guess is the coclusion is "maybe"

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Im only taking a guess, as i too could not devote the time, but my guess is the  coclusion is "maybe"

340310[/snapback]

That does sum up a conclusion. The too-lengthy details sauys exhaustively why maybe is a far more intelligent answer than :he has never won anywhere" or "Drew is a great guy" which is a summary of many other Bledsoe posts which are essentially fact-free opinions.

[aussiew]

If Bledsoe takes Dallas to a Super Bowl, I will dig up the old "Do you believe in God" thread and modify my comments.

 

I'd have to move out of this fuggin' town. I couldn't stand it.

[Fixxxer]

"His" system collapsed long ago, no worries here.

 

The only system he has working right now is the one that gives interviews in the offseason. That will keep running for years, it's so efficient.