Pat's HOF: Drew Bledsoe memories

[brdmaverick]

Hi everyone,

First, my real question is about the Drew Bledsoe Hall of Fame induction ceremony. How does this work? Are tickets distributed for this? If so, where do you get them and for how much?

I figured it would be appropriate to have a thread to reminisce your favorite Drew Bledsoe moments (for the spirit of the thread please refrain from mentioning Mo Lewis' hit as your favorite moment).

Here are my top 5......

1.) Leading the comeback charge from 20-0 down against the Vikings in 93.

2.) Broken finger fourth quarter Monday night comeback against the Dolphins in 98 (or was it 99?). Two fourth down conversions, two long third down conversions, a broken finger in two spots, and who can forget not calling a timeout when Pete Carroll wanted one.

3.) One week after the Monday Night comeback, Bledsoe leads another game winning drive at the end of the fourth quarter against the Bills and Doug Flutie. This was aided by a fourth down completion to Shawn Jefferson that should have been ruled out of bounds. Also a pass interference call on a hail mary set up the game's winning score to Ben Coates with no time (literally no time) left on the clock.

4.) Bledsoe to Patten in the 2001 AFC Championship Game. It was a special moment to see the FRANCHISE player come back off the bench for one last hurrah.

5.) Bledsoe leading the Pats to a 23-22 come from behind victory in 97 at the NY GIants. Pats were trailing 22-0 before beginning the comeback rally.

 

[PushnPencils]

Remember when he would drop back, stand like a statue for 7 seconds, then get sacked? .....jk.

My favorite memory was their opening drive in their SB Year playoff game against the Steelers when he hit Terry Glenn on a long bomb over Rod Woodson.

 

[signbabybrady]

Drew to Ben Coats all day.

My favorite memory would have to be Drew to Patten.

 

[khayos]

In my house, the first half went like this:

"Wake up"
"Drew, wake up!"
"WAAKE UP DREEEEEW!"

 

[NordicVoyager]

One wonders what will be in a thread similar to this one a decade after Tom Brady leaves the Patriots. I still remain amazed that Drew was traded to Buffalo for a first round draft pick. Is that the way Tom too will leave New England?

 

[IcyPatriot]

Remember when we were staging a comeback and he would
rifle a ball right into the arms of the DB who was blanketing our receiver. ... :bricks:

 

[upstater1]

One wonders what will be in a thread similar to this one a decade after Tom Brady leaves the Patriots. I still remain amazed that Drew was traded to Buffalo for a first round draft pick. Is that the way Tom too will leave New England?

Why be amazed at that?

Look at Bledsoe's post-Patriot numbers. They are pretty substantial. Look what Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, and many others were traded for. Joey Galloway for 2 1sts etc.

It wasn't a good trade for the Bills but it certainly wasn't a horrid trade.

 

[FCB02062]

Ahh....Drew....standing in the pocket after his patented seven step drop, locking onto Shawn Jefferson or Terry Glenn 20 yards downfield....patting, patting, patting....sack
Seriously, though, I always thought Bledsoe got the short end of the stick - he was never mentioned in the same breath of his contemporaries - Aikman, Young, Favre, etc., and that always bothered me. But then Brady arrived on the scene and we finally got to witness a real, honest to goodness all-pro quarterback and I realized Bledsoe was more of a mid level guy...
Let's hope Brady gets back to being that guy in the playoffs (a winner, that is)...

 

[nnmnmmnn]

Hi everyone,

First, my real question is about the Drew Bledsoe Hall of Fame induction ceremony. How does this work? Are tickets distributed for this? If so, where do you get them and for how much?

I figured it would be appropriate to have a thread to reminisce your favorite Drew Bledsoe moments (for the spirit of the thread please refrain from mentioning Mo Lewis' hit as your favorite moment).

Here are my top 5......

1.) Leading the comeback charge from 20-0 down against the Vikings in 93.

2.) Broken finger fourth quarter Monday night comeback against the Dolphins in 98 (or was it 99?). Two fourth down conversions, two long third down conversions, a broken finger in two spots, and who can forget not calling a timeout when Pete Carroll wanted one.

3.) One week after the Monday Night comeback, Bledsoe leads another game winning drive at the end of the fourth quarter against the Bills and Doug Flutie. This was aided by a fourth down completion to Shawn Jefferson that should have been ruled out of bounds. Also a pass interference call on a hail mary set up the game's winning score to Ben Coates with no time (literally no time) left on the clock.

4.) Bledsoe to Patten in the 2001 AFC Championship Game. It was a special moment to see the FRANCHISE player come back off the bench for one last hurrah.

5.) Bledsoe leading the Pats to a 23-22 come from behind victory in 97 at the NY GIants. Pats were trailing 22-0 before beginning the comeback rally.

Great list. 2 and 3, the back to back game winning drives as time expired were really what made me a football fan. Before that, i wasn't very interested for whatever reason. I was stuck at home with a broken leg and those were the first two games I really watched closely. And every game since then.

So given that, 4 was great for me to see as well.

Thank you, Drew.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

A great arm, a not-so-great brain. I always felt that he truly would have been
one of the greatest if he had only worked at his profession. A nice guy as well.

 

[RDS11]

A great arm, a not-so-great brain. I always felt that he truly would have been
one of the greatest if he had only worked at his profession. A nice guy as well.

They guy is intelligent...I think he still has one of the highest Wonderlic results for a QB. But I think his internal clock (to get rid of the ball) was off after so many hits.

And I don't blame Drew for all the sacks : during the Parcells years, he wasn't sacked a lot despite throwing more than 600 times most years. I have not looked up, but I think he was sacked less than 30 times in 1994 despite throwing close to 700 times. After Parcells, constant changes at OC and an aging offensive line sure didn't help.

One of my favorite memories is the 1993 season finale against the Dolphins, the bomb to Timpson in OT for the winning TD. After years of watching terrible QBs take their turn behind center, it seemed that finally we were getting a good one.

 

[WinstonSmith]

September 4 1994 at Miami:

I listened to this game on the radio in the Foxboro parking lot before the Stones concert – it was an away game with the Stones in town for 2 days. There’s something about listening to a game on the radio that magnifies the tension. Bledsoe and Marino went back and forth in an epic duel with the good guys coming up just short 39-35.

After the game I was certain that this was the beginning of Bledsoe’s ascension to being one of the all time greats.

 

[signbabybrady]

Hugh Millen > Drew Bledsoe > Tom Brady > ???

If our next QB continues this trend :rocker:

 

[onegameatatime]

That "ascension" to all time great did not work out, but no need to be down on Drew. He was a very good QB who belongs in the Pats HoF, but not in Canton. I'd compare him to a Joe Flacco or a Carson Palmer -- he might make a few pro bowls, and definitely better than average, but not a super elite as Brady has been.

I always thought Pete Carroll got a tough break coming in after the Pats partially lucked in to the SB (Jags beating Denver was huge!) and that Drew dragged him down. But I never saw the need for bad feelings toward Drew.

 

[Rob0729]

My favorite memory is when he accidentally killed the girl near the lake and when the villagers the dead girl they storm the Frankenstein castle with torches and pitchforks.

JK... I was always a fan of Bledsoe. I think all of my favorite moments were already covered.

 

[signbabybrady]

That "ascension" to all time great did not work out, but no need to be down on Drew. He was a very good QB who belongs in the Pats HoF, but not in Canton. I'd compare him to a Joe Flacco or a Carson Palmer -- he might make a few pro bowls, and definitely better than average, but not a super elite as Brady has been.

I always thought Pete Carroll got a tough break coming in after the Pats partially lucked in to the SB (Jags beating Denver was huge!) and that Drew dragged him down. But I never saw the need for bad feelings toward Drew.

I always saw it the other way. That Pete just wasnt the right man to replace Parcells and he sort of brought the whole team down including drew. But what I really think was the tipping point for both was the Oline was past its prime and Drew started feeling pressure and it got to him. He was never the same for us after hundreds of sacks in a 3-4 year span

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I always saw it the other way. That Pete just wasnt the right man to replace Parcells and he sort of brought the whole team down including drew. But what I really think was the tipping point for both was the Oline was past its prime and Drew started feeling pressure and it got to him. He was never the same for us after hundreds of sacks in a 3-4 year span

Bob Kraft has always seen it differently than you do and stated so. He felt Pete was a quality HC who was victimized by the culture here at the time. Drew also to a great extent got what he asked for HC and personnel wise... Until Bill came in and cleaned house.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

The Drew, Parcells, Kraft trio is what made me a football fan. I watched the draft with my grandfather when Drew was picked and decided that day to begin being a Patriots fan.

He is not Brady, no (who is?!), but there is no need to dump on him on this occasion.

FWIW I think what was the beginning of the end for Drew was Martin leaving for the NYJ. That lead to Robert Edwards coming aboard and while he was very good, he was no Curtis Martin. Then, of course, he is lost after one year. Drew felt like he had to carry the team 1999 on and you saw a lot of the statuesque Drew that he was known for.

 

[Synovia]

A great arm, a not-so-great brain. I always felt that he truly would have been
one of the greatest if he had only worked at his profession. A nice guy as well.

Do you have any evidence that he didn't?

 

[Patriot Missile]

The game against Minnesota where he had set the record for attempts and completions. A few of the Miami games come to mind. Coming in and playing the 2nd half of the Pittsburgh game, minus the windmill throw. Bledsoe to Coates was awesome all the time. The Giants game where Troy Brown made one of the best catches ever. Looked like something out of The Matrix if you've seen it.

Bledsoe was awesome to watch and a good guy in the community. Most of the retractors will bring up the picks and boneheaded plays and try to shed discrace on him and that's fine, it's their opinions. To me though, Patriots football was terrible from 88 to 92. That was a long stretch right there for me. He brought excitement to go along with the new coaches and ownership as well as hope. He is a Pats Hall Of Famer in my book.