Bledsoe or Cassel

[BradyFTW!]

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.

Cassel was Brady's backup for four years, and said so this offseason that he'd have no problem whatsoever being Brady's backup again. IMO he has even better backup credentials than Bledsoe, though I don't think that's really what the OP was asking.

 

[Patjew]

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.

Read Patriot Reign to hear about uncomfortable Drew made things internally that year.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Read Patriot Reign to hear about uncomfortable Drew made things internally that year.

That and Education of a Coach should be required reading for everyone here.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Its Bledsoe by a monster mile

If Bledsoe had Welker and Moss in 2000 I guarantee you that team would NEVER have gone 5-11

Cassel benefitted from blending in well with all of the multitude of talent around him and did his job to garner respect, but Bledsoe had crap as an offensive unit 9 years ago and one year removed from the Carroll disaster and would have definately taken a team like last years into the playoffs.

That's bs of the kind the bledsoe krishnas always spouted. It was never Drew's fault, always some other lacking... Truth is he couldn't run a BB offense because he doesn't fit the profile. He makes too many bad decisions REPEATEDLY. Same thing that cost him his jobs in Buffalo and Dallas. He's a gunslinger at heart, they rely on their arm and not some coaches admonitions...

Cassel had little game experience when he took over here but he got better with every start. As BB said he doesn't make the same mistake over and over, he learns from it and improves. He's coachable, a film rat, he's mobile, he can make all the necessary throws, and he's confident without being egotistical. All things therefore being equal you want that guy backing up Brady on the all decade team.


No, I'll take Cassel any day. He has IT - maybe not to the level of Tom Brady, but few do, but Bledsoe never even understood what IT is...

 

[BOSTN BEANER]

Cassel was Brady's backup for four years, and said so this offseason that he'd have no problem whatsoever being Brady's backup again. IMO he has even better backup credentials than Bledsoe, though I don't think that's really what the OP was asking.

oh im not by any means saying Cassel has been a bad backup or has caused problems for us in the media.. im just stating what Bledsoe did and what he did was help us in a key spot(2001 AFC Championship) get to the Superbowl and we ended up winning because Brady wasnt hurt too bad and was able to play that game..

 

[BOSTN BEANER]

Read Patriot Reign to hear about uncomfortable Drew made things internally that year.

u know what i actually bought that book a long time ago and i just never have had the time to read it cuz im always working and going to school but ill have to look for it and read it.. i completely forgot about it until u brought it up, i know i have it somewhere..

 

[Patjew]

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.

Tom Brady: "I remember almost getting strip sacked on the first play. If I had taken a sack there I'm sure we would have just run the clock out."

That is Brady's opinion. Where are the coaches' instructions that you're referring to.

And how do you surmise that DB saying "**** that, just sling it" overruled anything?

 

[Patjew]

u know what i actually bought that book a long time ago and i just never have had the time to read it cuz im always working and going to school but ill have to look for it and read it.. i completely forgot about it until u brought it up, i know i have it somewhere..

You should give it a read. It's not incredibly well written or anything but it's fun and informative.

Education Of A Coach is incredibly well written.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

People are misrepresenting what happened in NO in 2001. Weiss told Brady we're gonna go for it. Then Bill via Charlie warned him to be careful with the football (in other words no foolish attempt at heroics because OT is better than a pick 6. Drew told Brady just f'in sling it. Which is exactly what Drew would have done and we all know what that outcome would have been...

Bledsoe was not a very good QB in 2000 or 2001. Had he been he'd have gotten his job back. He was briefly good in Buffalo because he was motivated to show BB up. That motivation ebbed as that season wore on. By the following season they were having issues with Drew. At one point they were timing his release with a stop watch to try to light a fire under him to improve his short and intermediate game. By the end in Buffalo he couldn't even follow directions for handling a coin toss. Again in Dallas he was motivated initially to prove himself yet again, but the motivation never lasts a season with Drew. He reverts to form and ignores his coaches and tries to prove it's talent and not coaching that matters. Got him publicly benched in his last ever start on MNF by the genius who drafted him...

Drew never wanted to be a backup or a mentor and at the end of the day he only wanted to play his way. He never worked at his craft nor was he receptive to coaching. He wanted to be treated like a man, a big man actually, and he **** all over the one HC who tried to do that...

Some of you are living in convenient memory land. He wasn't the worst QB to ever wear the uniform nor was he the biggest a-hole to. But he wasn't nearly as wonderful as some of you want to remember him. He was complacent, stubborn, entitled, tall and he had a strong arm... He was ambivalent towards Brady because he honestly could not comprehend him as a threat until it was too late. And down the stretch Brady had a lot more to do with maintaining that relationship on a somewhat functional level than Drew did. Even some of the veterans who were Drew's guys had to tell him to knock off the wounded soul routine before it impacted their cinderella season. While we were led to believe Brady rebounded quickly in the week leading up to that SB, the reality is he got that ankle shot up to the hilt because he and not the guy who thought he played well in Pittsburgh was starting that game if BB had to send young Tommy out there wearing a friggin' prosthetic leg to hand the ball off...

 

[Deus Irae]

Ahhh.... revisionist history about Bledsoe from both sides of the debate begins to derail the thread. Not exactly a shocker.

 

[☼ϚʗäṞ☼]

If I were a pats fan I'd probably choose Drew for the proven history. He was one of my favorite QB's in high school. The later years left something to be desired around TFB's arrival.

But that's just my take on it.

 

[glm]

Oh didn't understand the question.

Cassell.

 

[maverick4]

So you're saying the Bledsoe of 2000 was better than the Cassel of 2008? That's all that's in play right here.

This is tough. Bledsoe wins hands down in terms of looking only at production, pedigree and experience. In terms of arm strength, they might actually be even - Cassel has a cannon, his two brothers are pro MLB players. In terms of vision and not making mistakes, Cassel might be better than 2000 Bledsoe. In terms of mobility, Cassel may be even or even better. Cassel also seems to play more in the system since he came from humble origins and is less likely to do his own thing compared to 2000 Bledsoe.

 

[Double G]

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.

You can stop flapping your gums now, Brady is back this year, so all is well now, ok?

We get it already.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

People are misrepresenting what happened in NO in 2001. Weiss told Brady we're gonna go for it. Then Bill via Charlie warned him to be careful with the football (in other words no foolish attempt at heroics because OT is better than a pick 6. Drew told Brady just f'in sling it. Which is exactly what Drew would have done and we all know what that outcome would have been...

Bledsoe was not a very good QB in 2000 or 2001. Had he been he'd have gotten his job back. He was briefly good in Buffalo because he was motivated to show BB up. That motivation ebbed as that season wore on. By the following season they were having issues with Drew. At one point they were timing his release with a stop watch to try to light a fire under him to improve his short and intermediate game. By the end in Buffalo he couldn't even follow directions for handling a coin toss. Again in Dallas he was motivated initially to prove himself yet again, but the motivation never lasts a season with Drew. He reverts to form and ignores his coaches and tries to prove it's talent and not coaching that matters. Got him publicly benched in his last ever start on MNF by the genius who drafted him...

Drew never wanted to be a backup or a mentor and at the end of the day he only wanted to play his way. He never worked at his craft nor was he receptive to coaching. He wanted to be treated like a man, a big man actually, and he **** all over the one HC who tried to do that...

Some of you are living in convenient memory land. He wasn't the worst QB to ever wear the uniform nor was he the biggest a-hole to. But he wasn't nearly as wonderful as some of you want to remember him. He was complacent, stubborn, entitled, tall and he had a strong arm... He was ambivalent towards Brady because he honestly could not comprehend him as a threat until it was too late. And down the stretch Brady had a lot more to do with maintaining that relationship on a somewhat functional level than Drew did. Even some of the veterans who were Drew's guys had to tell him to knock off the wounded soul routine before it impacted their cinderella season. While we were led to believe Brady rebounded quickly in the week leading up to that SB, the reality is he got that ankle shot up to the hilt because he and not the guy who thought he played well in Pittsburgh was starting that game if BB had to send young Tommy out there wearing a friggin' prosthetic leg to hand the ball off...

Bledsoe is Favre light.

Cassel is Brady light.

 

[☼ϚʗäṞ☼]

This is tough. Bledsoe wins hands down in terms of looking only at production, pedigree and experience. In terms of arm strength, they might actually be even - Cassel has a cannon, his two brothers are pro MLB players. In terms of vision and not making mistakes, Cassel might be better than 2000 Bledsoe. In terms of mobility, Cassel may be even or even better. Cassel also seems to play more in the system since he came from humble origins and is less likely to do his own thing compared to 2000 Bledsoe.

 

[Double G]

People are misrepresenting what happened in NO in 2001. Weiss told Brady we're gonna go for it. Then Bill via Charlie warned him to be careful with the football (in other words no foolish attempt at heroics because OT is better than a pick 6. Drew told Brady just f'in sling it. Which is exactly what Drew would have done and we all know what that outcome would have been...

Bledsoe was not a very good QB in 2000 or 2001. Had he been he'd have gotten his job back. He was briefly good in Buffalo because he was motivated to show BB up. That motivation ebbed as that season wore on. By the following season they were having issues with Drew. At one point they were timing his release with a stop watch to try to light a fire under him to improve his short and intermediate game. By the end in Buffalo he couldn't even follow directions for handling a coin toss. Again in Dallas he was motivated initially to prove himself yet again, but the motivation never lasts a season with Drew. He reverts to form and ignores his coaches and tries to prove it's talent and not coaching that matters. Got him publicly benched in his last ever start on MNF by the genius who drafted him...

Drew never wanted to be a backup or a mentor and at the end of the day he only wanted to play his way. He never worked at his craft nor was he receptive to coaching. He wanted to be treated like a man, a big man actually, and he **** all over the one HC who tried to do that...

Some of you are living in convenient memory land. He wasn't the worst QB to ever wear the uniform nor was he the biggest a-hole to. But he wasn't nearly as wonderful as some of you want to remember him. He was complacent, stubborn, entitled, tall and he had a strong arm... He was ambivalent towards Brady because he honestly could not comprehend him as a threat until it was too late. And down the stretch Brady had a lot more to do with maintaining that relationship on a somewhat functional level than Drew did. Even some of the veterans who were Drew's guys had to tell him to knock off the wounded soul routine before it impacted their cinderella season. While we were led to believe Brady rebounded quickly in the week leading up to that SB, the reality is he got that ankle shot up to the hilt because he and not the guy who thought he played well in Pittsburgh was starting that game if BB had to send young Tommy out there wearing a friggin' prosthetic leg to hand the ball off...

This from a forum member who's screen name is MoLewisrocks, so objectivity when it comes to Bledsoe is not your forte.

So you've got that going for you, which is nice.

 

[Rob0729]

I was a huge fan of Bledsoe's in the 90s and a defender of him on this board, but he was never suited for the Pats' offense under Weis and wouldn't have been suited for the McDaniels' offense either. It was painful to watch him throw bubble screens at Troy Brown's ankles. Bledsoe was never all that adept at reading defenses, quick passes, or the short passing game. That is why he struggled so much in 2000.

If the Pats ran another offense, maybe I would have chosen him over Cassel. But there was just a mismatch between what Belichick wanted to accomplish and Bledsoe's skill set. That is why I think if you are talking the Patriots' All 2000s team, it has to be Cassel. Bledsoe would be second after Brady if you had an all time team and Cassel wouldn't even be third.

 

[BradyFTW!]

This from a forum member who's screen name is MoLewisrocks, so objectivity when it comes to Bledsoe is not your forte.

So you've got that going for you, which is nice.

And how about everyone else that obviously agrees with him? People who, by and large, like Bledsoe...

 

[BradyFTW!]

This is tough. Bledsoe wins hands down in terms of looking only at production, pedigree and experience. In terms of arm strength, they might actually be even - Cassel has a cannon, his two brothers are pro MLB players. In terms of vision and not making mistakes, Cassel might be better than 2000 Bledsoe. In terms of mobility, Cassel may be even or even better. Cassel also seems to play more in the system since he came from humble origins and is less likely to do his own thing compared to 2000 Bledsoe.

Wait a second, Cassel MAY be more mobile than Bledsoe? Bledsoe was notorious for being an absolute statue back there- of course, back then it wasn't as big an issue as it was later in his career, as pocket presence and mobility (even Brady's type of shiftiness) became far more crucial for QBs to have.

I totally agree with the rest of your post, but I almost spit my drink on my keyboard when I read that