Bledsoe or Cassel

[Ring 6]

Im not making things up, ive seen on so many different occasions that year Bledsoe during the game with a headset on, or on the sideline with Brady talking to him about a mistake he made or somethings that he could do better after the Pats stalled on a drive.. Bledsoe never went to the media and blew it up like a lot of people would have and it woulda torn the team apart.. sure he went to Kraft to try and get his job back as starter but he never went to the media when he was told no he wasnt gona be the starter and tried to sabotage the team. After Kraft said no thats Belichicks call not mine Bledsoe sucked it up and stayed quiet until the offseason and he helped Brady, maybe not as much as Belichick helped Brady but u gota believe that Bledsoe played some part in Brady being so good.. even if it was the simple fact that Brady sat on the bench and watched him play for a couple years, Bledsoe did help Brady somewhat to be the player he is.

I couldnt disagree more. Everything I have read said Bledsoe was negative, complained and pouted the whole time. I could care less if he went to the media, what difference would that make. But, you seem to forget that the media was reporting that Drew Bledsoe said BB was a liar, and promised him a chance to win back his job. If Bledose didnt complain to media, how did that get printed?

As far as trying to infer that Brady learned from Bledsoe (because you wish it to be true, not because there is evidence) how about the fact that Brady plays as the complete antithesis of Bledsoe?
How can you conclude he learned from Bledsoe if he is the exact opposite of Bledsoe?
Are you saying watching Bledsoe taught him what was bad that he shouldnt do?

 

[Double G]

The fact that he had conversations with the starting QB, and congratulated him when he won the SB doesn't help me understand how he was this 'mentor' you describe him as.
"F-it, just sling it" isn't mentoring.

Please tell me you just worded it that way for effect, but you dont really believe the offense was going to be conservative(John Madden predicted that, and he wasnt one of our coaches), and that changed when Bledose told Brady to 'sling it'.

Check out the 2001 Patriots episode from the superb series from the NFL network that features the winning teams of all the Super Bowls and listen to what Brady said regarding what Bledsoe said to him.

If the first play went nowhere (and it almost did as Brady almost got sacked but dumped the ball off to JR Redmond), Brady was instructed to just let the clock run down and play for overtime.

Drew told him to do otherwise.

One of the greatest moments in the history of this franchise (perhaps THE greatest moment as a matter of fact).....................

No, sorry, I'm not just making stuff up to prove a point.

r

 

[Ring 6]

Let see this year if Cassel can do anything in KC. For now, he has been in the league for 5 years with one good season. Bledsoe might not have been that great with the Pats in 2000-01, but once he got traded to Buffalo the team went from 3-13 to 8-8, threw for 23 TDs, 4300+ yards and went to the Pro Bowl. Never was one of the greatest QB, but each time he took over a team they did better with him than the guy before. Now it's Cassel turn to prove he can be good without an all-star cast.

Cassel's 11-5 record is the worst since 2002, so it's not like this is a great accomplishment. This is also the only QB I can think of who was benched during mop-up duty...

Im just totally lost. What does Bledsoe on the Bills or Cassel on the Chiefs have to do with the question at hand?
The question isnt who had a better career, or who is a better QB even.
It is for the decade of 2000-2009 who is 2nd on the list at QB for the Patriots?

IMO, during that timeframe Bledsoe was god-awful. Whatever you want to say to explain that away, doesnt change it.
Also, IMO, Matt Cassel in that time frame was medicore. Mediocre was far better than what I saw from Bledsoe in the 18 games he QBd the Patriots in that decade. I dont know how anyone who was watching can disagree with that.

 

[Ring 6]

Check out the 2001 Patriots episode from the superb series from the NFL network that features the winning teams of all the Super Bowls and listen to what Brady said regarding what Bledsoe said to him.

If the first play went nowhere (and it almost did as Brady almost got sacked but dumped the ball off to JR Redmond), Brady was instructed to just let the clock run down and play for overtime.

Drew told him to do otherwise.

One of the greatest moments in the history of this franchise (perhaps THE greatest moment as a matter of fact).....................

No, sorry, I'm not just making stuff up to prove a point.

r

Are you really trying to tell me that Belichick and Weis instructed Brady to let the clock run down, and he didn't because Bledsoe gave him encouragement before he went on the field?

We need to have a few weeks of discussion about what playing in the NFL and playing for Bill Belichick is before I'll be able to have you ready to understand how wrong that is if you truly believe it.

 

[Double G]

I dont understand your thinking. You have a higher opinion of Bledsoe than other fans. Why does that mean others HATE him? Why would that mean they wished he did poorly?

Listen, I've been a fan long enough, been to enough games and been around enough fans to know people either love Bledsoe or they hate him.

It's that simple.

A fan who's been around as long as you have knows it too, so don't pretend that you don't.

I have too much respect for you to think otherwise.

 

[Double G]

Listen come down off cloud 9 for a second and read what people are saying. Nobody is spitting vitriol here except you.

I haven't seen anybody trash Drew Bledsoe either. You are coming across as though if people disagree with you that you have to insult and fire bullets.

We all like Drew Bledsoe, but we can differ to how great he was. I put him third all time of Pats QBs that I've seen play. Thats not an insult in any way to him or anybody else, its a huge endorsement of Steve Grogan from me.

Go back and read some of the stuff that's been said around here about Bledsoe, this has been debated in these parts on more than one occassion.

Do your homework first before you make a statement like "We all like Drew Bledsoe", there are quite a few around here who rip the guy every chance they get.

And as an example, in this thread it's been mentioned about the INT he "almost" threw that hit a Stooler linebacker between the numbers and the over the shoulder flip he made (but only one forum member has it right; that was a free play and rather than take a sack, he flipped the ball trying to make something happen knowing full well it was a free play), yet what about that pin point pass he made to Patten in the end zone or the pretty as a picture pass he made to seal the win.

Nope, those go against the Bledsoe bashing grain, so let's just sweep them under the rug.

There are some around here who truly forget what a train wreck this team and franchise was pre Bledsoe.

Just amazing.

 

[RDS11]

He could have gotten a TD. He could have avoided being picked by a 320 lb DL.
At some point if you want to call the guy great, you have to stop accepting excuses for horrible failure. 6 points all day in a playoff game, regardless of who the other 10 players are is awful. If you are a journeyman QB you can blame who was on the field with you, if you are supposed to be a star, you overcome it.
Antowain Smith, Troy Brown, Jermaine Wiggins, David Patten, Marc Edwards, Charles Johnson, Rod Rutldege, JR Redmond were the players that Brady led to a title.

That's right, Bledsoe could have avoided throwing all 206 picks over his career...
You are singling out 2 plays over an entire career and you refuse to put them in context. In the 1997 playoff game, the Pats had 36 yards rushing all day. NO player in NFL history has won by himself. Sure, Drew could have done better, but at some point, having your 3 best weapons out because of injuries won't help.
BTW, under Brady the offense had scored 0 point in the 2001 AFC Championship in the 1st half. Fact is, that cast that you mentioned above produce exactly 29 points in 2 and a half games. That's not a whole lot more than Drew's 6 points against Pitt.
And remember Super Bowl 42 ? 14 points all game...what does it say about Brady ?

 

[farn]

I have nothing against Bledsoe, nor am I enamored with Cassel. Obviously, the pro-Bledsoe and anti-Bledsoe feelings are still quite strong years later.

I don't think that Cassel's performance with the Chiefs is relevant - roll call :

Using this year's talent, who would posters rather have under center ?
*Cassel of 08
*Bledsoe of either 00 or 01

I would much rather have Cassel. Let's go waaaaaaaay back to the original question - who is the backup of the decade ? It HAS to be Cassel.

#1) BB is the coach of the decade - he chose to pick, groom, and play Cassel. Bledsoe was here when he arrived and BB proceeded to move him.

#2) Bledsoe's decision making was horrible at times (referring to 00-01 version). THIS decade, the gunslinger-type is no longer preferred.

#3) The record - regardless of the talent on the team - is convincing. And as someone mentionned earlier, Brady was given the same "talent" Bledsoe had and used it to beat the Rams in the SB.

Feelings aside, I vote for Cassel.

 

[Double G]

Are you really trying to tell me that Belichick and Weis instructed Brady to let the clock run down, and he didn't because Bledsoe gave him encouragement before he went on the field?

We need to have a few weeks of discussion about what playing in the NFL and playing for Bill Belichick is before I'll be able to have you ready to understand how wrong that is if you truly believe it.

Watch the episode.

You've seen it, haven't you?

THE greatest moment in franchise history, so watch the episode and then come and talk to me.

 

[BOSTN BEANER]

I couldnt disagree more. Everything I have read said Bledsoe was negative, complained and pouted the whole time. I could care less if he went to the media, what difference would that make. But, you seem to forget that the media was reporting that Drew Bledsoe said BB was a liar, and promised him a chance to win back his job. If Bledose didnt complain to media, how did that get printed?

As far as trying to infer that Brady learned from Bledsoe (because you wish it to be true, not because there is evidence) how about the fact that Brady plays as the complete antithesis of Bledsoe?
How can you conclude he learned from Bledsoe if he is the exact opposite of Bledsoe?
Are you saying watching Bledsoe taught him what was bad that he shouldnt do?

Part of it yea Brady can learn from watching Bledsoes mistakes.. and during the time Brady was there with Bledsoe, Bledsoe made a lot of bad mistakes... He was the good guy that everyone loved no matter how bad he would play.. 99 and 2000 Bledsoe threw 36 interceptions combined and theres a lot of learning that can come from watching that as a rookie qb.. he could definately learn that in certain spots u need to take the sack instead of costing your team a turnover... Brady has never thrown more then 14 interceptions in a season and its rare to find a qb who can say during his first couple years he didnt throw close to 20.. and what difference it woulda made if he went to the media? well we see it all the time in the NFL people going to the media to complain about their position or contract with a team and it almost always weighs on a team in the long haul of the season.. we may not see it but i do believe when u have someone on a team whinning and crying all the time about PT or contract issues it hurts u when ur trying to win as a team most of the time.. just my opinion on that.. as far as the media saying Bledsoe called BB a liar thats just the media taking his words out of context.. He never said BB is a liar.. he was at a postgame conference and said that he thought when he got hurt BB had implied to him that his job was safe and he thought it would be handed to him.. he said BB promised him a chance to win his starting job back and he did have a chance, he was competing for his job when he came back but Brady played better, practiced better and kept the starting job.. he said BB lead him to believe his job was safe and of cource the media turned that into a quote saying that BB is a liar.. That conference was not called by Bledsoe so he can cry like most stars do, he was simply doing a postgame conference and answered a question where the media twisted it.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I think Weis just told Brady to be careful and not take any chances, not necessarily to run the clock out.

That said, Bledsoe was a class act throughout the 2001 season

 

[RDS11]

I don't think that Cassel's performance with the Chiefs is relevant - roll call :

Sure it is...the question didn't say anything about evaluating only the play of the QB while playing for the Pats !!

Bledsoe performed at a high level with the Bills in 2002. And that was the same player who played in Foxboro in 2000 and 2001. To me, it's pretty clear that with a good cast in 2000 Bledsoe could have done better. Not Super Bowl better, but still...

Now if Cassel ends up being benched in favor of Thigpen in KC, it tells me that he was good in NE only because of the supporting cast. Having Moss to throw to helps a lot...just look at Jeff George and Culpepper stats with and without him.

 

[farn]

Sure it is...the question didn't say anything about evaluating only the play of the QB while playing for the Pats !!

Bledsoe performed at a high level with the Bills in 2002. And that was the same player who played in Foxboro in 2000 and 2001. To me, it's pretty clear that with a good cast in 2000 Bledsoe could have done better. Not Super Bowl better, but still...

Now if Cassel ends up being benched in favor of Thigpen in KC, it tells me that he was good in NE only because of the supporting cast. Having Moss to throw to helps a lot...just look at Jeff George and Culpepper stats with and without him.

BUT WAIT : question was "who is the backup of the decade"... we not here to worry about what happened elsewhere ! If so, we've got to make a "team of the decade" by scanning what every Patriot did in another uniform. Nope. I think most would agree you only look at what they did in NE for this particular question.

Anyone else agree ?

 

[farn]

Who would you pick as your second string QB on the all-decade (00s) team?

HERE was the original question. You think he was referring to EVERY team ?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Listen, I've been a fan long enough, been to enough games and been around enough fans to know people either love Bledsoe or they hate him.

It's that simple.

A fan who's been around as long as you have knows it too, so don't pretend that you don't.

I have too much respect for you to think otherwise.

I don't love or hate Bledsoe, and I've been a fan for quite a while myself. He seems like a nice enough guy, and I like what he did for us in the 90s, and I respect him a lot as a person and a player, but he was also a deeply flawed quarterback who improved our team by getting injured and opening the door for Brady to win us some SBs.

Cassel may not have Bledsoe's arm, but he is more mobile and takes better care of the ball. I'll take Cassel over Bledsoe, in today's NFL, any day of the week. The game has changed a lot since 1996.

 

[Patjew]

Check out the 2001 Patriots episode from the superb series from the NFL network that features the winning teams of all the Super Bowls and listen to what Brady said regarding what Bledsoe said to him.

If the first play went nowhere (and it almost did as Brady almost got sacked but dumped the ball off to JR Redmond), Brady was instructed to just let the clock run down and play for overtime.
Drew told him to do otherwise.

One of the greatest moments in the history of this franchise (perhaps THE greatest moment as a matter of fact).....................

No, sorry, I'm not just making stuff up to prove a point.

r

You just made that all up, that's for sure. First of all, do you really think that Brady was out there following Bledsoe's instructions???

Second, watch it again. Brady says he thinks that if had taken a sack there they would have run out the clock.

There were no instructions given as you described, but even if there were you think that Bledsoe would have overruled BB and Weiss??

 

[Dirk3601215]

please, cassell was mediocre and i hope he falls on his face and ends up selling car insurance in tallahassee.

 

[BradyFTW!]

You just made that all up, that's for sure. First of all, do you really think that Brady was out there following Bledsoe's instructions???

Second, watch it again. Brady says he thinks that if had taken a sack there they would have run out the clock.

There were no instructions given as you described, but even if there were you think that Bledsoe would have overruled BB and Weiss??

Double G can't help it. He just really, really, really wants Bledsoe to be a Miyagi-like figure of mentoring brilliance, and if that's not how it actually was then too bad. He'll just make it all up.

 

[alvinnf]

What's the question, who's a better backup......

 

[BOSTN BEANER]

BUT WAIT : question was "who is the backup of the decade"... we not here to worry about what happened elsewhere ! If so, we've got to make a "team of the decade" by scanning what every Patriot did in another uniform. Nope. I think most would agree you only look at what they did in NE for this particular question.

Anyone else agree ?

I agree i am completely looking at what Bledsoe did and how he acted during the 2001 season.. He didnt complain in the media which woulda been terrible for us if he did and when he got a chance to play he won the AFC Championship game.