Disagree. I had a front row seat to that competition throughout camp. It's been said many times before on here that I was firmly in the Brady camp and didn't agree with the decision, but the rationale was at least more logical than the draft doubters give it credit for.
It's difficult for those of us who just view this through the eyes of a fan and the lens of the media to debate with someone who has or claims to have inside information. All I have is Belichick's oft-repeated statement that Carr's not picking Brady over Henson made him "wonder." That seems to put BB among the "draft doubters." I think I'll stand by my statement.
Disagree to an extent, because Henson pushed Brady very hard in 1998 and Carr played Brady exclusively because of the seniority issue. By 99, the gap had closed and both QBs were playing at an elite level (we also had Jason Kapsner on the roster, who was a top 5 QB and caught a class in between Tommy and Drew). Coming into 1999, Tommy's accomplishments were somewhat small in context. We lost the first two games he started in 1998 (primarily because the D was grossly underprepared for the ND and Cuse option offenses) and he rallied back to win a BigTen title and a Citrus Bowl victory, but there was a loss to Ohio in there. The 99 team was loaded and Drew's play in camp warranted a shot.
Once again, you're basing your claims on inside information. I have no reason to doubt that this is your perception, but, as someone who's been fortunate to have inside access in some high profile arenas, I also know that there are two views even "inside the bubble." So, I can't refute what you say other than to refer to the perception of Bill Belichick, a reasonably astute observer of football talent.
It wasn't quite as personal as that. Drew wasn't going anywhere, but QB recruiting had tailed off and Coach Carr certainly had to consider that. (Ironically, it bit us when Drew left for the Yankees in 2001 and we had no legit backup plan.)
Once again, all I have to go on is what is stated as a fact by others inside that particular "bubble;" Michigan didn't want Henson to walk and decided to risk Brady's walking, which he clearly was not in as strong a position to do.
[Note: in the grand scheme of things, I disagree with Carr's handling of the QB situation. His pulling Brady in the MSU game cost us a national championship.]
OK, I guess a lot of folks agree with that.
Agreed. But again, based on what I saw day in day out, I'm convinced of that. Certainly it's never a "can't miss" thing, but I felt more comfortable with Drew going to the league as the #1 pick than say a Matt Stafford or Andrew Luck. I would've loved to see that come to fruition.
Since here we are both in the position of having to speculate, there's really nothing to which to respond in that statement; either one of us might be right.
I have a unique perspective here, having been around Drew when he was traded from the Yankees to Cincy, then re-acquired. Thing is, Drew didn't want to be a MLB player over an NFLer, but he wanted to be a Yankee above all. He played in Tampa in the summers our freshman and sophomore year but going into our junior year didn't want to do that again. So they traded him. And he was devastated. He didn't play minor league ball for the Cincy affiliate that year.
That's all very believable, even without inside access. Makes sense humanly.
The following spring, headed into his senior year when he was a Heisman frontrunner and we were projected as a top 5 team, the Yankees re-acquired him. Steinbrenner basically gave him an ultimatum "come now or don't be a Yankee." It could've been posturing, and that's likely (Drew was a top prospect at that point and certainly had some leverage) but he was afraid and bolted. The gobs of cash thrown at him didn't hurt, either.
As we all say too often out here, professional sports is a business. It seems almost quaint today to hear someone say that they didn't want to just play ball, but wanted to be a Yankee; sounds like Jeter (but even Jeter lets it be known through his agent that he'll walk). And, you're right to acknowledge the "gobs of cash," actually $17 million over six years (I don't know how much was guaranteed, etc.). It wasn't like Steinbrenner gave him a choice of flipping burgers at Micky D's (and, again, as a fan, I did not like Steinbrenner...in fact, Steinbrenner even managed to tick me off post mortem with his larger than life statue at Yankee Stadium, dwarfing the memorials to greats like Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, but that's another subject) .
I don't buy the Michigan consipiracy theories of Steinbrenner being a Buckeye and weakening Michigan by luring Henson away--that's silly. And I don't fault Drew for making the toughest decision of his life. But Steinbrenner certainly was the catalyst in that decision. It isn't an excuse for Henson, either. Drew could have thrived at baseball, but he struggled to hit the curve and never panned out. That's on him.
Those conspiracy theories are real inside baseball (or football/baseball in this case). It almost seems again like there's a refreshing simplicity to the story. My dad had an offer to play ball for the Boston Red Sox many years ago (same summer that they brought up the Kid from San Diego) but couldn't take the offer for a complex set of family reasons. His one regret? He said that he never found out if he could have hit a Big League curve ball (but that, too, is another story).
Drew doesn't have any regrets. He's living a great life (neighbors with Jerry Jones, actually) and doing some very good stuff. He played MLB for the New York Yankees and started a Thanksgiving Day game for the Dallas Cowboys. That's pretty impressive.
I'm happy to hear that, as that's not the way he comes across in that piece. He comes across as a very classy guy, but as...searching for the right word here...wistful or remorseful or, not quite sad, but almost.
And yes, he got to stride across the big stage in two arenas, even if Parcells pulled him after a half on Thanksgiving. I can relate to that as well because my time in Massachusetts gave me the privilege of knowing two of its three citizens who have run and lost for President in the last 25 years; I have no time for criticism of either of them...like Drew, they accomplished something to which many aspire and which few achieve.
