Bledsoe seems to be transitioning well to retirement

[Gunnails]

I am curious who Pat fans might feel is the best QB ever to play for the Pats that wasn't named Brady.

Only names I can think of is Bledsoe and Grogan, 2 IMHO very fine QBs.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

As a Brady's Lady from day one, I personally applaud Drew for his lifestyle. Great family man. I wish him the best. What a great profession, NFL football. Retire at 36 with several tens of millions able to do whatever you wish to do. Looks like he's making an interesting life for himself. Playing another couple years for a few million more, risking concussions (The Statue) and spending forever lost in the sands of time years away from his kids? Good choice Drew, hanging it up.

 

[ScottieC]

As much as I'll lose sleep over your silly post.

Obviously you will.

 

[Massjayhawk]

I always enjoy hearing from the anti-Bledsoe contingent. Let’s me know exactly who was a fan before Brady showed up. Some of you all clearly have no idea of just how badly we sucked before Bledsoe and Parcells showed up.

 

[NormZauchin]

I wish him the best...he helped save the franchise in the 90s..in bad times..and was one of the best QBs they have had..so?? Why all the negativity..he came close..at LEAST he was there in the SB...much better than some of the other teams around..

I'm not a Drew Bledsoe hater. I recognize his accomplishments with the Patriots and wish him well in his post-NFL life. That said, two things detract from his status here in New England. First, he seemingly has maintained (although I have no quotes) that the Patriots would have done as well if he were inserted back into the lineup after he recovered from his injury. This failure to recognize Tom Brady's superior QB skills diminishes him in my eyes. The second point is related to the first. He has always maintained that Belichick failed to give him the chance to compete for the QB slot when he recovered from his injury. Everything I have read on the issue says that the Patriots braintrust, Belichick, Weis, etc., thought Brady the better quarterback coming out of the preseason, but they were hamstrung by Bledsoe's newly signed huge contract. You just don't bench a guy whom the owner thinks is worth that much money. With Tom's performance in relief, Belichick was free to go with the QB he thought best. I guess number one draft picks always think that they are number one.

 

[Patjew]

I don't like to say it.... but.... when people on here are really negative to Bledsoe (im talking about the really really extreme haters) it comes off like they are bandwagon fans.

How can you hate the guy?
Did i miss something that he did?

The people that have a pure hatrid for him come off like they were never fans of this team when they sucked and then drafted him #1 and watched him turn the team around.

Just b/c they didn't win a Superbowl with him starting doesn't mean he wasn't a pats qb.

I think it has to do with the fact that Drew didn't reach many people's expectations because he lacked a certain something. Brady, with all of his intangibles, coming in on Drew's heals, kind of illuminated it even more. To alot of people, there's nothing worse than not living up to your potential, and I think that's where alot of the vitriol stems from. I don't hate Drew at all, he seems like a good guy, and I appreciate what he did for the team. But all that being said, I'm still disappointed that he couldn't take the leap to the next level. Anyway, I wish him well and I bet he'll make a better ex-athlete than most of his former colleagues.

 

[BradyToMoss]

Great guy, Drew was the kind of guy you'de probably want your daughter to marry to be quite honest. Came here as a package deal with Bob Kraft & Bill Parcells and literally picked this franchise out of the gutter. He gave us hope and pride, and for that, I as a long time Pats fan am very, very grateful. I'll never forget the 94 season when he and Coates lit this league up, it was fun to watch. Our team didn't move away to St.Louis, it stayed right where it belonged all along in this great sports town. Thank you Drew, you were 1/2 of the tandem that now has people waiting for season's tickets, Tuna being that other half.

Yet something was missing with Drew. "IT" was missing. That clutch play, the avoidance of the big mistake at the most inopportune time. I'll never forget him carrying the ball like a loaf of bread as he was rolling out to the right at Three Rivers Stadium in the playoff game, in the final drive trying to bring the team back and he had the ball stripped by, of all people our one and only Mike Vrabel, game over, Drew like usual had a horrible sense of knowing what was going on around him and only focused down field (Brady he is not). I'll never, ever forget the Jets game and how he actually took a sack on THE last, 4th down play at Foxboro instead of just throwing the football (it was THE LAST PLAY, time expired). Drew had time to unload the ball to the endzone and he actually made a conscious decision to eat the football instead of unloading it (nothing to lose, everything to gain). I couldn't believe my eyes, A Pop Warner player would have gotten rid of that football, eating it does nothing but end the game and it did, Game over (again, Tom Brady, he wasn't). Couldn't utilize the pocket to save himself or his offensive line (ask former Buffalo Bill OLineman what they thought of Drew's lack of awareness in the pocket). This lead to numerous picks and sacks, not to mention some angry offensive lineman, who were made to look bad. (Again, poor pocket-presence, Tom Brady, Drew was not).

The excuses were numerous and so common:

Well if Drew had a better OLine (Actually Drew would make the Raiders line of the 1970's look like a D3 College Oline due to his poor pocket awareness and snail-like mobility in the pocket)
Well if Drew had a legit RB (He had one)
Well if Drew had weapons (He had them, TGlenn, Coates and Curtis Martin I consider to be weapons any QB would love to have)

Tom Brady made prime rib out of ground chuck, year in and year out and therein lies the true difference between the two of them. Tom Brady didn't need greatness around him to succeed, Tom made ground chuck players into great players (Guys who signed fat signing bonuses who had no business doing so .. see David Givens and Little #2 WR Deion Branch), I hope these guys sent Tom some of that money. Yet, Drew, on the other hand actually needed to be surrounded with prime rib for him to succeed.

Yet for all of his inadequacies, he was ours and he was our hope during a time of great need. For that I thank you Drew. I wish you all the best.

 

[g-fresh]

I'm glad Drew is doing well, but I always figured he would as he always struck me a being a good deal more intelligent than your average NFL player. I'll always be a Bledsoe fan as he saved the Pats from being the laughing stock of the NFL when things couldnt get much worse.

 

[paully1]

Great guy, Drew was the kind of guy you'de probably want your daughter to marry to be quite honest. Came here as a package deal with Bob Kraft & Bill Parcells and literally picked this franchise out of the gutter. He gave us hope and pride, and for that, I as a long time Pats fan am very, very grateful. I'll never forget the 94 season when he and Coates lit this league up, it was fun to watch. Our team didn't go to St.Louis, it stayed right where it belonged all along in this great sports town. Thank you Drew, you were 1/2 of the tandem that now has people waiting for season's tickets, Tuna being that other half.

Yet something was missing with Drew. "IT" was missing. That clutch play, the avoidance of the big mistake at the most inopportune time. I'll never forget him carrying the ball like a loaf of bread as he was rolling out to the right at Three Rivers Stadium in the playoff game, in the final drive trying to bring the team back and he had the ball stripped by, of all people our one and only Mike Vrabel, game over, Drew like usual had a horrible sense of knowing what was going on around him and only focused down field (Brady he is not). I'll never, ever forget the Jets game and how he actually took a sack on THE last, 4th down play at Foxboro instead of just throwing the football (it was THE LAST PLAY, time expired). Drew had time to unload the ball to the endzone and he actually made a conscious decision to eat the football instead of unloading it (nothing to lose, everything to gain). Game over (again, Tom Brady, he wasn't). Couldn't utilize the pocket to save himself or his offensive line (ask former Buffalo Bill OLineman what they thought of Drew's lack of awareness in the pocket). This lead to numerous picks and sacks, not to mention some angry offensive lineman, who were made to look bad. (Again, poor pocket-presence, Tom Brady, Drew was not).

The excuses were numerous and so common:

Well if Drew had a better OLine (Actually Drew would make the Raiders line of the 1970's look like a D3 College Oline due to his poor pocket awareness and snail-like mobility in the pocket)
Well if Drew had a legit RB (He had one)
Well if Drew had weapons (He had them, TGlenn, Coates and Curtis Martin I consider to be weapons any QB would love to have)


.

When we had Martin Coats and Glenn, we went to the Superbowl. Too bad the head coach quit on them.

and ask Reggie White how great our o-line was back then.

Buffalo's o-line let Bledsoe's brain get tunned to apple sauce and thats when he started letting them look bad.

I'm not saying Bledsoe was the greatest QB however he was a very very good QB with bad some bad luck in football but great luck in his family life.

I wish him well.

 

[Deus Irae]

Bledsoe didn't "lack" anything; he was a downfield passer at the end of the downfield passing era, and a quarterback who was surrounded by mediocre talent for most of his career. He took his team to a Super Bowl in the 90's, and might have guided his team to victory had his coach and special teams showed up for the game. His numbers as a young quarterback were Marino-like before Parcells' exit started the teams decline. His career wasn't helped by terrible O-lines in Buffalo and Dallas, and he got out when he was still good enough to start for more than half the teams in the league.

He was among the very best of his era and his numbers are certainly worthy of consideration for the Hall Of Fame. Here's where he ranks all-time for some key stats.:

Passes attempted: 5
Passes completed: 5
Passing yards: 7
Passing yards/game: 13
Passing TDs: 13
Passes intercepted: 22
Sacks: 5

I don't know why every Bledsoe thread has to end up with people belittling him, and I don't know why Patriots fans can't be more honest in evaluating him. He was a great, but flawed quarterback who went to the Pro Bowl 4 times (should have been more) and was an All-Pro twice. He's not Tom Brady. He's not even Brett Favre. But he's one of the 2nd/3rd tier (I'd say 3rd tier) of all-time quarterbacks, and would likely have been rated even higher if he'd played in the 80's-90's rather than the 90's-2000's and gotten more years in the 'gunslinging/downfield' times.

 

[BradyToMoss]

When we had Martin Coats and Glenn, we went to the Superbowl. Too bad the head coach quit on them.

And we didn't go to the superbowl, the other years we had them.

and ask Reggie White how great our o-line was back then.

Drew had one of the greatest LT's in Patriot history in Bruce Armstrong, an All Pro Center in Dave Wolabaugh, his line was fine. The RT he had in Max Lane is very comparable to what Brady has always had on the right side.

Buffalo's o-line let Bledsoe's brain get tunned to apple sauce and thats when he started letting them look bad.

Look dude, I love Drew myself, he's been great for this franchise, but I can't sit here and make excuses. His pocket awareness and lack of mobility literally "did-in" that Bills offense so bad that the O-linemen couldn't take it any more because he was making them look bad, they could only hold their blocks for so long. But let's stop with the excuses, that's always been the issues with the Drew people of which I will always be, there was always an excuse instead of recogizing and admitting the hard truth.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I don't like to say it.... but.... when people on here are really negative to Bledsoe (im talking about the really really extreme haters) it comes off like they are bandwagon fans.

How can you hate the guy?
Did i miss something that he did?

The people that have a pure hatrid for him come off like they were never fans of this team when they sucked and then drafted him #1 and watched him turn the team around.

Just b/c they didn't win a Superbowl with him starting doesn't mean he wasn't a pats qb.

Agreed....... The haters surely never watched Hugh Millen under center during those dark days in the early 90's, muttering things like "I'd give my first born for ****ing QB right about now".

No, he never gave us SuperBowl,...... but he gave some of something that at the time, felt almost as good. HOPE.

For that, he has my eternal gratitude....... Go for him to have found peace after footbal.

 

[Deus Irae]

Look dude, I love Drew myself, he's been great for this franchise, but I can't sit here and make excuses. His pocket awareness and lack of mobility literally "did-in" that Bills offense so bad the the Olineman couldn't take it any more because he made them look bad. But let's stop with the excuses, that's always been the issues with the Drew people of which I will always be, there was always an excuse instead of recogizing and admitting the hard truth.

Disagreeing with a lousy point is not making an excuse. Buffalo's offensive line, to point out one area where you're clearly wrong, was pitiful.

Ruben Brown
Jonas Jennings
Mike Williams
Trey Teague
Marques Sullivan

Mike Williams is considered one of the all-time busts, and Marques Sullivan was out of a starter's job in a hurry, and out of the league after getting a few more paychecks after that. He played in only 32 games in his career, and only started 22.

 

[paully1]

When we had Martin Coats and Glenn, we went to the Superbowl. Too bad the head coach quit on them.

And we didn't go to the superbowl, the other years we had them.

and ask Reggie White how great our o-line was back then.

Drew had one of the greatest LT's in Patriot history in Bruce Armstrong, an All Pro Center in Dave Wolabaugh, his line was fine. The RT he had in Max Lane is very comparable to what Brady has always had on the right side.

Buffalo's o-line let Bledsoe's brain get tunned to apple sauce and thats when he started letting them look bad.

Look dude, I love Drew myself, he's been great for this franchise, but I can't sit here and make excuses. His pocket awareness and lack of mobility literally "did-in" that Bills offense so bad that the O-linemen couldn't take it any more because he was making them look bad, they could only hold their blocks for so long. But let's stop with the excuses, that's always been the issues with the Drew people of which I will always be, there was always an excuse instead of recogizing and admitting the hard truth.

If I remember correctly Martin, Coats and Glenn were all injured late in the season. Glenn played about half of the Steelers game while I believe both Coats and Martin were out. (Maybe if there were instant replay, the tuck rule would have been enforced and the Pats could have won that game. Bad timing again)

The following year martin was gone. That was the finger injury year and it was all down hill from there.

Regarding the O-line, Bruce Armstrong was great until he got injured midway through 1999. Dave only played 3 years 96, 97, 98. I'm not saying they were bad but it only takes one hole in the dam to let the water through.

I'm not making excuses however and I'm not even saying he was a great QB. II think there is a little revisionist history regarding Bledsoe. Not too many people complained about his pocket awareness until he started getting the snot knock out of him 1999.

 

[sebman2112]

It's a thread about how Drew is doing after football, not his strengths and flaws as an NFL QB...

Also, Growing up a Patriots fan, I can't understand why someone would say something like "I couldn't care less about Drew".

Now, getting back to the article. I'd like to see the picture the reporter described of Drew just hanging out with a beer, and I hope his business does well.

 

[OhExaulted1]

I couldn't care less about Drew, one way or the other.

If only we had such luminaries as Tommy Hodson, Scott Sissen and Hugh Millen to lead this club. Oh, Scott Zolak, where are you now?

 

[Patjew]

It's a thread about how Drew is doing after football, not his strengths and flaws as an NFL QB...

Doesn't matter. The thread could be "Drew Bledsoe cures cancer" and 2 posts later everyone will be on his strengths and flaws as a QB.

 

[RayClay]

Doesn't matter. The thread could be "Drew Bledsoe cures cancer" and 2 posts later everyone will be on his strengths and flaws as a QB.

If he'd spent more time in the lab instead of making coffee.......

 

[OhExaulted1]

If he'd spent more time in the lab instead of making coffee.......

....or moshing at The Channell.

 

[Fencer]

Bledsoe was an irritation and then a grump, slightly diminishing from the Pats' first magical Super Bowl winning season.

It didn't do any real harm; in the end, he didn't even screw up his trade value (Ty Warren says hello).

And that's the only reason I can think of for people to dislike him, other than the fact that he wasn't yet a better player than he was.