JP Failed 2 Achieve the Bledsoe Standard Lastnight

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Before you panick and say WHAT???? recognize that I don't believe that Bledsoe came anywhere near achieving what I am calling "the Bledsoe Standard" anytime after the NE abused Bledsoe after facing him in 2002.

 

What I mean when I use the phrase the Bledsoe Standard (or the BS QB standard if you want to use shorthand is):

 

1. The QB demonstrates leadership control of the team and good decisonmaking with the leadership.

2. The QB succeeds in distributing the ball amongst the O so multiple players are successful.

3. The QB uses his own skills to help the team win in ways that only he can do.

 

I think by this standard Bledsoe easily achieved this level in 2002.

 

1. He inspired the team (and in fact the region) by making us far more hopeful as soon as he arrived (as demonstrated by turnout to the Welcome Drew shindig at the Ralph where apparently 20K fans showed up and season ticket sales and instant credibility came to the team which had posted a 3-13 record the previous season). This hopefulness turned into belief on the part of Bills fans where even despite him being undressed by NE twice that season we had nea NFL record improvement to 8-8 and Bledsoe deservedly got the nod as a Pro Bowl reserve (if you disagree then simply say who was left off that deserved it more for their play that season.

 

2. Not only did DB get the Pro Bowl nod, but Moulds hit the century mark in receptions and folks bitched when PP did not make the Pro Bowl with 94 catches. TH made the Pro Bowl with 1400+ yards and 40+ catches and even performances by players like Centers and Remeirsma made folks hopful.

 

3. Despite the production outages against NE, folks hoped that by better playcalling would neutralize this weakness as several strong armed performances by Bledsoe throwing through nasty winds were key to victories. There were legit concerns about his age making him less effective in the seond half of the season, but a good Bledsoe performance in the season's final game against CIN pointed to the production drop-off being from BB/Crennel providing a roadmap on how to neutralize him which could be countered by Kevin Killdrive diversifying the scheme rather than Bledsoe simply running out of gas sometime in late Novemeber.

 

However, in 2003 Bledsoe himself came no where near meeting the BS-QB he set in 2002 as the team failed to even score an offensive TD for numberous quarters in a row during a critical period in 2003. 2004 under Mm saw definite improvement eventually under Bledsoe. However, this improvement seemed to lend itself to better playcalling by TC once we got established (he even used Bledsoe effectively as a running threat which cut back the sellout blitzing which destroyed us in 2003) and D/ST play rather than Bkedsie showing any ability o put the team on his shoulders. Bledsoe was unable to meet the BS last year.

 

This definition brings us to the present. Did JP achieve the BS last night?

 

1. Did he show leadership of the team?

 

Yes and no. Yes in that he performed far better than his early gigs last year when he got the needed learning experience of being thrown into the NE game, or when he took a delay of game penalty when he failed to even call the play properly in his next game or took a stupid TO when his job was to run the clock in his next game (well at least he wasn't penalized which was critical since he did move the sticks with a nuce 3rd down run that game).

 

JP completed a number of passes in a row to start the game which was very impressive. However, as the game went on he did seem to get a little excited and lose control and particularly after he threw a horrndous pass into the flat that fortunately was not caught by the defender sitting on his throw who could have easily scored, JP made a number of questionable decisions.

 

He showed the ability to lead that showed improvement over his rookie year but it still unclear whether the quality of decision-making will be good enough to lead us to victory or DOOOMMM.

 

2. I thought he distributed the ball quite well amongst the players. The hand-offs to WM were TC calls but he did this effectively and his play fakes were good. He threw a nice pass to Moulds, it was a welcom site to see him connect successfully with Reed and he is developing a rapport wit Parrish as a target that is great to see. I was quite pleased to see him connect with Campbell a couple of times as he recovers from an ACL injury. He did a nice reverse to Evans to start off the game (called back by penalty unfortunately) and certainly threw to him and I think maybe even completed one to this player whom we hope is linked to him like Montana/Rice or Kelly/Reed as a combo.

 

3. JP was picked as an upgrade over Bledsoe because of his mobility and the creative success he showed running for his life at Tulane. He again showed flsahes of why he was picked in the scrimmage yesterday as he show good pocket awareness and some escapability. However, in addition to some nice accuracy on some plays he also had fits of under and overthrowing which ended him up around 50% completion rate. Perhaps more problematic but no unexpected in a young QB were a few bad judgments such as the near INT in the flat and passing for an INC when he likely could have strolled into the endzone.

 

Was it a good night for JP?

 

Yes.

 

He is a young QB and it is doubtful to me he will be able to carry this team on his back except in occaisional episodes this season. We will get Ws to the extent the team plays well and MM/TC emphasize JP manage the game (which with a firm hand from TC/MM he can do) and not win the game through him playing like Elway this year (this will not happen and he will be lucky to even reproduce the ultimately failed efforts of RoboQB for Pitts last year).

 

Did he even meet the Bledsoe Standard set in 2002?

 

Nope.

 

He is no where near this and probably will not be in 2005.

 

Folks should not panic however, because even with Bledsoe falling well short of the BS last year we almost made the playoffs. JP can develop well this year, still fail to meet the BS and this team can make the playoffs anyway if the D plays as well as last year and avoids the power outage they had against Pitts in the last game AND if the ST also pulls off something like the great job they did last year under April but avoid ST mistakes like Lindell missing a chip shot or Clements laying a PR on the carpet.

 

I don't think JP will meet the Bledsoe Standard in his second year of play, but that will be good enough if the rest of the TEAM does what it did in Games 5-15 last year.

[Brack733]

That certainly is a BS standard.

[Rico]

Before you panick and say WHAT????  recognize that I don't believe that Bledsoe came anywhere near achieving what I am calling "the Bledsoe Standard" anytime after the NE abused Bledsoe after facing him in 2002.

 

What I mean when I use the phrase the Bledsoe Standard (or the BS QB standard if you want to use shorthand is):

 

1. The QB demonstrates leadership control of the team and good decisonmaking with the leadership.

2. The QB succeeds in distributing the ball amongst the O so multiple players are successful.

3. The QB uses his own skills to help the team win in ways that only he can do.

 

I think by this standard Bledsoe easily achieved this level in 2002.

 

1. He inspired the team (and in fact the region) by making us far more hopeful as soon as he arrived  (as demonstrated by turnout to the Welcome Drew shindig at the Ralph where apparently 20K fans showed up and season ticket sales and instant credibility came to the team which had posted a 3-13 record the previous season). This hopefulness turned into belief on the part of Bills fans where even despite him being undressed by NE twice that season we had nea NFL record improvement to 8-8 and Bledsoe deservedly got the nod as a Pro Bowl reserve (if you disagree then simply say who was left off that deserved it more for their play that season.

 

2. Not only did DB get the Pro Bowl nod, but Moulds hit the century mark in receptions and folks bitched when PP did not make the Pro Bowl with 94 catches.  TH made the Pro Bowl with 1400+ yards and 40+ catches and even performances by players like Centers and Remeirsma made folks hopful.

 

3. Despite the production outages against NE, folks hoped that by better playcalling would neutralize this weakness as several strong armed performances by Bledsoe throwing through nasty winds were key to victories. There were legit concerns about his age making him less effective in the seond half of the season, but a good Bledsoe performance in the season's final game  against CIN pointed to the production drop-off being from BB/Crennel providing a roadmap on how to neutralize him which could be countered by Kevin Killdrive diversifying the scheme rather than Bledsoe simply running out of gas sometime in late Novemeber.

 

However, in 2003 Bledsoe himself came no where near meeting the BS-QB he set in 2002 as the team failed to even score an offensive TD for numberous quarters in a row during a critical period in 2003.  2004 under Mm saw definite improvement eventually under Bledsoe. However, this improvement seemed to lend itself to better playcalling by TC once we got established (he even used Bledsoe effectively as a running threat which cut back the sellout blitzing which destroyed us in 2003) and D/ST play rather than Bkedsie showing any ability o put the team on his shoulders.  Bledsoe was unable to meet the BS last year.

 

This definition brings us to the present.  Did JP achieve the BS last night?

 

1. Did he show leadership of the team?

 

Yes and no. Yes in that he performed far better than his early gigs last year when he got the needed learning experience of being thrown into the NE game, or when he took a delay of game penalty when he failed to even call the play properly in his next game or took a stupid TO when his job was to run the clock in his next game (well at least he wasn't penalized which was critical since he did move the sticks with a nuce 3rd down run that game).

 

JP completed a number of passes in a row to start the game which was very impressive. However, as the game went on he did seem to get a little excited and lose control and particularly after he threw a horrndous pass into the flat that fortunately was not caught by the defender sitting on his throw who could have easily scored, JP made a number of questionable decisions.

 

He showed the ability to lead that showed improvement over his rookie year but it still unclear whether the quality of decision-making will be good enough to lead us to victory or DOOOMMM.

 

2. I thought he distributed the ball quite well amongst the players. The hand-offs to WM were TC calls but he did this effectively and his play fakes were good.  He threw a nice pass to Moulds, it was a welcom site to see him connect successfully with Reed and he is developing a rapport wit Parrish as a target that is great to see. I was quite pleased to see him connect with Campbell a couple of times as he recovers from an ACL injury. He did a nice reverse to Evans to start off the game (called back by penalty unfortunately) and certainly threw to him and I think maybe even completed one to this player whom we hope is linked to him like Montana/Rice or Kelly/Reed as a combo.

 

3.  JP was picked as an upgrade over Bledsoe because of his mobility and the creative success he showed running for his life at Tulane. He again showed flsahes of why he was picked in the scrimmage yesterday as he show good pocket awareness and some escapability. However, in addition to some nice accuracy on some plays he also had fits of under and overthrowing which ended him up around 50% completion rate. Perhaps more problematic but no unexpected in a young QB were a few bad judgments such as the near INT in the flat and passing for an INC when he likely could have strolled into the endzone.

 

Was it a good night for JP?

 

Yes.

 

He is a young QB and it is doubtful to me he will be able to carry this team on his back except in occaisional episodes this season. We will get Ws to the extent the team plays well and MM/TC emphasize JP manage the game (which with a firm hand from TC/MM he can do) and not win the game through him playing like Elway this year (this will not happen and he will be lucky to even reproduce the ultimately failed efforts of RoboQB for Pitts last year).

 

Did he even meet the Bledsoe Standard set in 2002?

 

Nope.

 

He is no where near this and probably will not be in 2005.

 

Folks should not panic however, because even with Bledsoe falling well short of the BS last year we almost made the playoffs. JP can develop well this year, still fail to meet the BS and this team can make the playoffs anyway if the D plays as well as last year and avoids the power outage they had against Pitts in the last game AND if the ST also pulls off something like the great job they did last year under April but avoid ST mistakes like Lindell missing a chip shot or Clements laying a PR on the carpet.

 

I don't think JP will meet the Bledsoe Standard in his second year of play, but that will be good enough if the rest of the TEAM does what it did in Games 5-15 last year.

400921[/snapback]

Now that's what I call posting!

[PromoTheRobot]

A Farve standard...a Kelly standard...even a Tom Brady standard...not in a million-frickin' years a BLEDSOE standard. There are only about 110 QB's above drew on the list.

 

PTR

[clayboy54]

While I might consider buying into your criteria for the BS QB Standard in the regular season, I most certainly do not consider it even slightly relevant for the pre-season and honestly, it is roughly equivalent to dog-poop for a training camp scrimage.

 

1. Imagine yourself in your first pro start at Lambeau Field with 66,500 fans. Imagine the pressure brought on by fans like us who expect perfection and little less. Imagine knowing that this meaninless practice game is televised nationally for all the prognosicators to pick apart. RESULT: JP is lucky he didn't poop his pants. Anything beyond is a huge victory.

 

2. This is the first "real" contact drill against players that don't like you. Even with a red shirt on, the speed and the flow of the game is much different from the St John Fisher pace. No matter how much studying JP did since January, this was his first chance to try the 2005 playbook at full throttle. RESULT: Handles the flow and pace of the game conditions extremely well and did not lose control.

 

Now, assuming we can see some improvement from week to week over the next 4 weeks and JP is not injured by foolishly running in a bootleg instead of throwing the ball away, as you pointed out, you have my permission to make a case for your BS QB Standard in week 1 against the Texans. Until then, kindly keep a training camp perspective for a little while. :-)

[TigerJ]

That certainly is a BS standard. 

400927[/snapback]

 

I was thinking similar thoughts.

[BillsFanNC]

How about we wait and see if JP acheives the WINNING standard before we make any comparisons or conclusions?

[nodnarb]

yawn

 

sound and fury (of text), signifying nothing

[Ramius]

I agree completely that this is truly a BS standard...

[Talonz]

yawn

 

sound and fury (of text), signifying nothing

400996[/snapback]

 

 

Agreed...

[eball]

sometimes i gotta wonder what you're thinking when you post stuff like this, FFS. wow. the last thing in the world we need is to try to have losman live up to a standard named after the QB we ran out of town on a rail.

[blzrul]

I thought the Bledsoe standard was getting sacked and concluded, before I read that blather, that it meant that JP escaped unsacked yesterday...

 

Go read the Dallas Cowboys training camp blogs and see what we're missing. Or not.

[JimBob2232]

wow...i fell asleep after the first paragraph.

[Nanker]

Ohhh! The vaunted ghost of Drewey Bledsoemuch he lost his job to Tommy Bradybunch!

 

Pittiriots under DB as a rooky way back in 1993 when some here were in diapers.

 

1993: After compiling only a 9-39 record in their last 3 seasons, the Patriots needed both a fresh start and a savior to deliver them back to respectability, so the reigns of the franchise were handed over to Bill Parcells. His first order of business was to find a franchise player to build around and with first pick in the draft the Patriots selected QB Drew Bledsoe.

 

A new era was set to begin for the Patriots even as rumors of a move to St. Louis were still flying, as the club got a new logo replacing the 30-year old Pat the Patriot image. Drew Bledsoe was given the starting QB job right away and struggled early losing his first 4 games.

 

In Week 5 Bledsoe would suffer a knee injury as backup Scott Secules led the Pats to their first win of the season. Bledsoe would miss 2 weeks as the club began a 7-game losing streak. At 1-11 it looked as if the Past (sic) were in for the NFL's worst record for the 3rd time in 4 years.

 

However Bledsoe began to get comfortable with his NFL surroundings and led the Patriots to a season ending 4-game winning streak, which was capped by a 33-27 overtime, win at Foxboro over the Miami Dolphins which knocked them out of the playoffs.

 

 

 

Some others with which to compare JB to...

 

Here's a look at other QBs and what they did during their rookie seasons:

 

 

* Leaf, 1998: 1,289 yards passing, two TDs, 15 interceptions. The Chargers went 5-11. A nightmarish season on and off the field for Leaf.

 

* Charlie Batch, 1998: 2,178 yards passing, 11 TDs, six interceptions. The Lions finished 5-11. Batch was thrust into the starting role when Bobby Ross benched Scott Mitchell after the first game.

 

* Dan Marino, 1983: 2,210 yards passing, 20 TDs, six interceptions, named Rookie of the Year and was first rookie to start in the Pro Bowl. The Dolphins finished the season 12-4 and lost to Seattle in the playoffs. Marino didn't make his first start until the sixth game of the year, replacing David Woodley.

 

* John Elway, 1983: 1,663 yards passing, seven TDs, 14 interceptions. The Broncos finished 9-7 and lost to Seattle 31-7 in a wild-card game. Elway started the first five games of the season, then Father Time himself - Steve DeBerg - replaced him. Elway finished the season as the starter after DeBerg was injured.

 

* Jake Plummer, 1997: 2,203 yards passing, 15 TDs, 15 interceptions. The Cardinals ended up 7-9. Plummer was inactive for the first six weeks of the season, saw action in the team's seventh game, then started the eighth.

 

* Drew Bledsoe, 1993: 2,494 yards passing, 15 TDs, 15 interceptions. Bledsoe opened the season as the Patriots' starter. New England won five games, lost 11.

 

* Brett Favre, 1991: As a rookie with the Falcons, Favre saw action in just two games and threw just five passes, completing none and tossing two picks. In his first season with the Packers in 1992, Favre threw for 3,227 yards, 18 TDs and 13 interceptions. Green Bay finished 9-7.

 

Frankly, I'd like to compare JP to JP. It's his job to grow into and/or lose. Like it or not. To continually twist and turn an old security blanket while thumb sucking on a I miss Drew mantra are symptoms of an obsessive/compulsive disorder that frankly isn't healthy.

 

I'll be happy to see the season play out and to be surprised by whatever the Bills bring in the way of W/L. I think JP is a much bigger winner than many of the losers that post here on a regular basis.

 

Anyone going to be sorely disappointed if JP doesn't get hurt in week 5 "just like Bledsoe did in his rookie year too!"? Christ. Next we'll be obsessed with whether Holcomb will match up to Scott Secules.

[sweet baboo]

you're comparing the full 2002 season of Bledsoe to JP's scrimmage performance...apples and oranges

if you want a more accurate comparison, go with Bledsoe's first preason with the Bills...they were god awful and I was worried the offense would continue to stink like the did with Rob Johnson...then the season began and Bledsoe lit up the league with an amazing offense (until they played the patriots)

i'll wait until the regular season begins to form a real opinion on JP

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

I thought the Bledsoe Standard was "pat-pat-pat-KERPLUNK!"

 

 

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

While I might consider buying into your criteria for the BS QB Standard in the regular season, I most certainly do not consider it even slightly relevant for the pre-season and honestly, it is roughly equivalent to dog-poop for a training camp scrimage.

 

1.  Imagine yourself in your first pro start at Lambeau Field with 66,500 fans.  Imagine the pressure brought on by fans like us who expect perfection and little less.  Imagine knowing that this meaninless practice game is televised nationally for all the prognosicators to pick apart.  RESULT:  JP is lucky he didn't poop his pants.  Anything beyond is a huge victory.

 

2.  This is the first "real" contact drill against players that don't like you.  Even with a red shirt on, the speed and the flow of the game is much different from the St John Fisher pace.  No matter how much studying JP did since January, this was his first chance to try the 2005 playbook at full throttle.  RESULT:  Handles the flow and pace of the game conditions extremely well and did not lose control.

 

Now, assuming we can see some improvement from week to week over the next 4 weeks and JP is not injured by foolishly running in a bootleg instead of throwing the ball away, as you pointed out, you have my permission to make a case for your BS QB Standard in week 1 against the Texans.  Until then, kindly keep a training camp perspective for a little while.  :-)

400937[/snapback]

 

I agree. Though JP's performance does not meet my BS standard, the BS standard, the Kiper standard, the Clayton standard or that of the TSW poster who expected the second coming of Steve Young are irrelevant when deciding what should be done with Losman or assessing where he is now.

 

I made the point that even Bledsoe in the 2004 season did not meet my BS standard but still the Bills had a 16th game shot at making the playoffs.

 

I doubt that JP is going to prove to be much of a QB in absolute terms this pre-season (though I hope he will) and actually doubt that he will even meet my BS standard in 2005 once he plays in the regular season.

 

However, even though I don't think he is likely to be a good QB when the season begins I think we should start him anyway and we will depend on the D being s gppd, the ST at least coming close to replicating last year;s results and our running game being powerful that I think we can rack up Ws anyway.

 

This is a team that in the last 12 games of last season won 75% of their games playing with a QB who performed inadequately.

 

I think this team can win 10 games and maybe even 11 with JP being little more than adequate and mostly avoiding errors.

 

I agree we should start JP almost come hell or high water all pre-season and probably 3 or 4 games into the season. If he is so bad at that point I would sit him down but I doubt this will happen or be necessary.

 

DHB