As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight...

[BradyManny]

On a evening where Brady takes over as the Patriots career passing yards leader from Bledsoe when he passes for more than 163 yards this evening (29,657 currently held by Drew) , I want to express my utmost respect to Drew who was my favorite sports figure in the late 90s and I am sure it is going to be an honor for Tom to overthrow Drew as Patriots all-time passing leader in yardage this evening....It would take a monstrous defensive effort from the Saints to stop Brady from reaching this milestone that at one time no one ever thought would be surpassed for the forseeable future while it was back a decade ago.

Lets remember what Drew did for this organization from taking us from the laughing stock of the league in 1990 to a Super Bowl appearance just 6 years later.

Great stuff, very well put.

Drew Bledsoe is still in the top 10 most important players/people in the rise of this Patriots organization, IMO. Heck, maybe top half dozen. Not only that, he was a lot of fun to watch & he was a heck of a competitor. I know he occasionally drove people mad with his style of play, but I grew up watching Bledsoe and certainly am a huge fan of his. I'm in that age group that is pretty spoiled in that its been able to see Bledsoe & Brady lead this team - which is something I definitely do not take for granted.

 

[mystrymaster]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Drew was a very good NFL quarterback, who had a big part in that first superbowl win.

Didn't Brady go down for a game in the playoffs?

I think he is one of the most underappreciated NFL players of all time.

 

[eagle eye]

I remember when he was drafted and the expectation that went with it. He got better and better over the first few seasons. I always liked the guy and still do but I just always felt that he was liable to make a huger error at anytime, you just couldn't trust him. He had a couple of great years here but he threw too many interceptions. Thats why I rate him no.3 that I've seen for the Patriots behind the TFB and Steve Grogan.

I have many fond memories though of games that I saw him play.

 

[oldskool138]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Didn't Brady go down for a game in the playoffs?

Not a whole game but he got knocked out for an offensive series. Drew marched the O down field and scored a TD.

It was very cool to see.

 

[Ryan]

Bledsoe is my 2nd favorite player of all time. It's pretty awesome seeing Brady break all of his team records, but I can't help but also feel kind of sad because I look back so fondly on Drew's years here. I became a Patriots fan at the same time Drew became a Patriot.

He had a couple of great years here but he threw too many interceptions. Thats why I rate him no.3 that I've seen for the Patriots behind the TFB and Steve Grogan.

Didn't Grogan throw a lot of interceptions too though?

 

[PatsSox363804]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Not a whole game but he got knocked out for an offensive series. Drew marched the O down field and scored a TD.

It was very cool to see.

Brady was out the rest of the game after that, and taking nothing from Drew but after that TD drive he played pretty shaky and if not for some drops by the Steelers D he would have cost us the game.

 

[TheBeers]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Not a whole game but he got knocked out for an offensive series. Drew marched the O down field and scored a TD.

It was very cool to see.

Brady went out in the first half... about midway in the 2nd quarter i think. Drew played the rest of the game.

 

[oldskool138]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Brady went out in the first half... about midway in the 2nd quarter i think. Drew played the rest of the game.

My bad. My recollection was hazy.

Still the Pats won the game.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Just like Brady who made WRs like Deion Branch and David Givens look like perrenial HOF WRs,little recognition is given to Bledsoe who made a little known TE like Ben Coates into an all-time favorite Patriot and one of the best ever in terms of Pats TEs.

Bledsoe to Coates was simply unstoppable at times comparable to Brady to Brown combo in the early 2000s.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

My bad. My recollection was hazy.

Still the Pats won the game.

There are lots of fans with hazy recollections where Drew is concerned...luckily BB wasn't one of them.

 

[Mack Herron]

My favorite Bledsoe game was the comeback against Minnesota. It was one of those games where one guy takes the team on his shoulders and just goes off the charts.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

My favorite Bledsoe game was the comeback against Minnesota. It was one of those games where one guy takes the team on his shoulders and just goes off the charts.

I agree that game was Drew's finest moment when he passed for a record 72 times in that game,Back then there was no Directv telecast to catch games and I was stuck with Steelers games on TV - I listened to that particular game on the radio and jumped up and down when they won in OT,it was a fantastic game full of ups and downs.

 

[oldskool138]

I used to love when, on those rare occasions Bledsoe did run or scramble in a home game, the Foxboro crowd would yell "Dreeeeewwwwww!"

 

[Ice Cold Bruschi]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Is Drew in the Pats HOF yet?

 

[oldskool138]

Re: As Brady passes Bledsoe in passing yards tonight....

Is Drew in the Pats HOF yet?

No, not yet. He hasn't been retired for long enough.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

1993: Rookie on an awful team, but finished year strong. Played major spoiler in OT win over Miami in finale.

1994: 3-6 to 10-6...fun ride with the first postseason visit in 8yrs. The 7-game winning streak started with that famous Minnesota comeback.

1995: Umm...

1996: First 11-5 finish since 1985 and also first Super Bowl visit since then.

1997: Playoff season, went down fighting in Pittsburgh.

1998: Awesome back-to-back comebacks vs. Miami and Buffalo, then the big win in Pittsburgh before Drew bowed out with a broken finger suffered vs. Miami. Put them in position for Zolak to get them to January.

1999: A tale of 2 seasons: 6-2, then 2-6. A rough finish to the Pete Carroll era.

2000: BB's first year, getting quite a bit out of a thin roster and turning the Pats into the "5-11 team nobody wanted to play". High praise, indeed :-\

4 playoffs in the first 6 seasons, a Super Bowl appearance, 3 playoff wins, lots of excitement...considering where this team was from 1989 - 1992, the Bledsoe Years were without a doubt a turn for the better. Pats fans had no idea what the new millenium would bring, so at the time the Bledsoe Pats were quite successful from a Pats-historic standpoint. I'm very glad to have watched them and Drew played a big part in that.

Regards,
Chris

 

[PatsSox363804]

1993: Rookie on an awful team, but finished year strong. Played major spoiler in OT win over Miami in finale.

1994: 3-6 to 10-6...fun ride with the first postseason visit in 8yrs. The 7-game winning streak started with that famous Minnesota comeback.

1995: Umm...

1996: First 11-5 finish since 1985 and also first Super Bowl visit since then.

1997: Playoff season, went down fighting in Pittsburgh.

1998: Awesome back-to-back comebacks vs. Miami and Buffalo, then the big win in Pittsburgh before Drew bowed out with a broken finger suffered vs. Miami. Put them in position for Zolak to get them to January.

1999: A tale of 2 seasons: 6-2, then 2-6. A rough finish to the Pete Carroll era.

2000: BB's first year, getting quite a bit out of a thin roster and turning the Pats into the "5-11 team nobody wanted to play". High praise, indeed :-\

4 playoffs in the first 6 seasons, a Super Bowl appearance, 3 playoff wins, lots of excitement...considering where this team was from 1989 - 1992, the Bledsoe Years were without a doubt a turn for the better. Pats fans had no idea what the new millenium would bring, so at the time the Bledsoe Pats were quite successful from a Pats-historic standpoint. I'm very glad to have watched them and Drew played a big part in that.

Regards,
Chris

Good stuff. 1997 was the year we lost to Pittsburgh 7-6 in the playoffs right? That game really stung at the time.

 

[BradyManny]

1998: Awesome back-to-back comebacks vs. Miami and Buffalo, then the big win in Pittsburgh before Drew bowed out with a broken finger suffered vs. Miami. Put them in position for Zolak to get them to January.

That's probably one of my - if not the - favorite Drew moments right there.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

One of my favorite Bledsoe tributes....

YouTube - Drew Bledsoe - Measure of a Man

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Good stuff. 1997 was the year we lost to Pittsburgh 7-6 in the playoffs right? That game really stung at the time.

The ending stung because it seemed like such a "Bledsoe thing to do"...get strip-sacked with the game in the balance, but I was *very* proud of the defense that game. They played awesome and had the Pats pulled that game out, the goalline stop on 4th down would be viewed along the lines of Troy Brown's strip of the Chargers DB in 2006, Otis Smith's fumble return for the AFCCG-icing TD in 1996 and other memorable playoff moments that show even in years the team doesn't win the title, we still have fond memories.

Regards,
Chris