Drew Bledsoe in Pats locker room

Wtf why are people against this? If he can find a spot thatd be cool. Celtics hire former players all the time.

i think a lot people forget how good he was because of who took his place. theres no comparing him to brady but for most of his career as a patriot he was awesome. he played in and won a lot of big games.

I never said he should be head coach or QB coach, just that it would be fun to see the team find some spot for him on the staff. That's all. Won't happen though.

And I know this will get disagrees but I hope Drew gets to Canton and I think he should be there. It's the Hall of FAME not the Hall of Great Stats. So the reason why he should get in is not just his stats, which still are comparably good among his peers already inducted. The clincher for me is what he has meant to the NFL. It's the fact that you can't tell the honest story of the NFL without the name Drew Bledsoe and the role he played in turning around a laughingstock franchise into a perennial powerhouse today. That is a trait of a Hall of Fame player.

I actually like Bledsoe, but as a player. He played his best when he was told to play a certain way and not to be, for lack of a better word, himself. When he was left to do what he wanted, bad things happened. Bledsoe would rely too heavily on ability and try to thread passes on defenses more than capable of picking him off. He had great talent, but by all appearances was not a student of the game. I would never call him a smart/intuitive player, so I am not sure what he could hand down as a coach.

Planning and preparation are what define good coaches. Guys like Mike Vrabel can transition to coaching because what he may have lacked in pure ability he compensated for in game preparation and knowledge.

Bledsoe was my idol growing up. I started getting into football right when he was drafted (I was 10 years old in 1993). I grew up in Boca Raton, FL but my parents are from Maine, so I was trying to decide if I would be a Patriots or Dolphins fan. The last game of the 1993 season when Bledsoe threw that touchdown to Michael Timpson down the right sideline to beat the Fins in OT was the moment I became a Pats fan for life. Also, who can forget that Monday Night drive with a broken finger vs Miami that ended with a TD to Shawn Jefferson, or that comeback vs. the Giants to win the AFC East in 1996 (with a little help from David Meggett and an amazing catch by Troy Brown on his back on 3rd and 13).

I actually asked for an authentic Drew Bledsoe jersey this Christmas, my wife better get it for me!

i think if bledsoe had entered the league TEN years earlier he might have had a hof career. in the early eighties the defenses were a lot simpler.

captain insano said:

i think a lot people forget how good he was because of who took his place. theres no comparing him to brady but for most of his career as a patriot he was awesome. he played in and won a lot of big games.

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He was great.

He also was fundamentally unsound, did not accept coaching at the NFL level and relied on his great talent.

He's a quiet guy who liked to "lead by example".

Ergo, great guy, great player, not really coaching material.

THAT is the original subject the OP brought up in this thread. I don't think you got that.

captain insano said:

i dont get the negativity towards bledsoe in this thread. they dont get that first superbowl without him in the afc championship game in 01. i seem to remember a nice td pass to david patton in that game.

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I also seem to remember a pass drilled right into a LB's numbers that was thankfully dropped and a cover-your-eyes-awful throw-the-ball-backwards-over-his-head-while-about-to-be-sacked throw.

reflexblue said:

i think if bledsoe had entered the league TEN years earlier he might have had a hof career. in the early eighties the defenses were a lot simpler.

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Totally agree. If he'd been with, say, the Raiders in the 1970s or early 80s when you could load up on OLmen, keep them forever (no cap or meaningful free agency) and get some outside burners, he totally would have been in the HOF.

Bledsoe is a major reason they aren't the St. Louis Patriots, I got nothing but love for the man.

Joker said:

He did throw for tons of yards but when the good teams took away the deep ball he was deader than Daffy Duck in an Elmer Fudd shooting gallery. He never, and I will say it again,he never put any effort into learning touch in the short passing game. He literally could not throw a dump off pass to save his life..

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Say what??????
I watched all of those games too, perhaps you could explain the number of receptions by the RB's and TE's as something other than a short passing game??? Considering he was not as accurate as Brady I really have to call out the idea of no touch in the short passing game. Many of those passes were very short ranged rainbows, darts, etc. based on timing off of play fakes (Weis. edit: Perkins design).
1994, Bedlesoe's 2nd season:
137 receptions by RB's
105 receptions from TE's
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/1994.htm

As I recall it was Brady in his first couple years that had one passing speed (dart) and not much for arc to his short stuff (lots of bouncing it off guys at short range). The huge key difference I saw between Brady and Bledsoe's on field performance was Brady followed the play design and got rid of it or took the sack when things broke down, as opposed to the "franchise" patting the ball until he either forced it or got taken down (thus the Int's and strip sacks). Seems like yesterday...

Ivan said:

Bledsoe is a major reason they aren't the St. Louis Patriots, I got nothing but love for the man.

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Me too.

But do you want him coaching the Patriots?

shmessy said:

Me too.

But do you want him coaching the Patriots?

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Absolutely not, he's not coaching Material imo. Still appreciate him though.

rlcarr said:

I also seem to remember a pass drilled right into a LB's numbers that was thankfully dropped and a cover-your-eyes-awful throw-the-ball-backwards-over-his-head-while-about-to-be-sacked throw.

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Beat me to it. I don't understand how folks can forget those 2 heart stopping moments in that close game where Drew being Drew nearly cost us the game and the trip to the SB.

And on that 1st TD pass, TFB had already brought the team across the 50 into Pitt territory. It was the only TD drive by the offense for the rest of the game.

Back to Bledsoe, I only wish most players had Drew's perspective on life and family and enjoyed such a fulfilling post football career. Best wishes to the Bledsoe clan!

kmac14 said:

Bledsoe brought football excitement back to New England and when Tom went for 17 on 3rd and 11 and took the hit on the sideline it was a flashback and a hold your breathe moment I didn't need!

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That was the exact same thought I had when he got hit. That and the Gronk hit had me worried for a couple of seconds....

Joker said:

He never, and I will say it again,he never put any effort into learning touch in the short passing game. He literally could not throw a dump off pass to save his life.

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I don't think that is accurate. When Drew has had talent to throw to, hes thrown to them plenty.

1993 Kevin Turner and Leonard Russell combined for 65 catches
1994- Leroy Thompson & Turner combined for 117
1995- Megget, Martin and Gash accounted for 108 catches.
1996 & 1997- Martin, Megget, Gash and Byers had 100+
1998-Edwards and Tony Carter....dropoff from previous years.
1999-Lamont Warren, Carter, Allen...< 65 catches total
2000- Faulk, Carter, Pass & Redmond - 84 catches

shmessy said:

He was great.

He also was fundamentally unsound, did not accept coaching at the NFL level and relied on his great talent.

He's a quiet guy who liked to "lead by example".

Ergo, great guy, great player, not really coaching material.

THAT is the original subject the OP brought up in this thread. I don't think you got that.

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i get it just fine. i just dont agree. i think most people are basing there opinion on bledsoe the player judging by the negativity in the thread and thats a mistake. there are coaches in the league with zero nfl playing exp. magic johnson was a great hof player and a awful coach and thats just one example. i think he would be a good coach and worth having around.

rlcarr said:

Totally agree. If he'd been with, say, the Raiders in the 1970s or early 80s when you could load up on OLmen, keep them forever (no cap or meaningful free agency) and get some outside burners, he totally would have been in the HOF.

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what you laid out would have been a perfect-scenario for bledsoe, he could have had a hof career under those circumstances.

Thankfully BB didnt listen to Bledsoe when he lobbied BB to start him over brady in SB 36 because of his experience etc etc.

kmac14 said:

Bledsoe brought football excitement back to New England and when Tom went for 17 on 3rd and 11 and took the hit on the sideline it was a flashback and a hold your breathe moment I didn't need!

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Actually it reminded me more of the Bledsoe run against Pittsburgh and got kind of pumped up.