What would Drew Bledsoe's legacy have been like IF...

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

The Pats had won Super Bowl XXXI? Really-the Pats had the Packers D worn out in the 2nd half(Reggie White and other Packers DL had to take himself out b/c they were huffing and puffing)...until Desmond Howard had that return that all but sealed the Pack's win.

Anyhow-what IF Howard didn't make that return? At that time, the Packers O was out of sync as well. And then ultimately, the Pats would have likely won.

Just curious-Brett Favre wouldn't exactly have gotten this "legendary" status in GB to this day. But OTOH-how would Bledsoe's legacy be to this day? Would he be getting a free pass from the NE media and fans for his knacks like holding onto the ball too long and being unmobile?

Reason why I ask is b/c it's obvious why Favre has this legendary status, despite having a knack for making rookie mistakes his entire career.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Jesus H Ch....

I cant remember 12 years ago and recall how tired any players were much less the GB ones.

I'll just say this, Bledsoe would have become Bledsoe. he still would have taken forever to make plays. he still would have just thrown it up there about 10 times a game. Then randomly he would just make Bledsoe like plays and screw up.

His career panned out the way it panned out. A tall, non mobile, gunslinger that will rack up more fantasy points than actual points.

 

[pheenix11]

The Pats had won Super Bowl XXXI? Really-the Pats had the Packers D worn out in the 2nd half(Reggie White and other Packers DL had to take himself out b/c they were huffing and puffing)...until Desmond Howard had that return that all but sealed the Pack's win.

Anyhow-what IF Howard didn't make that return? At that time, the Packers O was out of sync as well. And then ultimately, the Pats would have likely won.

Just curious-Brett Favre wouldn't exactly have gotten this "legendary" status in GB to this day. But OTOH-how would Bledsoe's legacy be to this day? Would he be getting a free pass from the NE media and fans for his knacks like holding onto the ball too long and being unmobile?

Reason why I ask is b/c it's obvious why Favre has this legendary status, despite having a knack for making rookie mistakes his entire career.

I just brought up this point in another thread.

If Parcells didn't have his head up the Jets ass then Brett Favre would be another Dan Marino. Actually not even that good.

As for Bledsoe, he'd have 2 rings and maybe a little more respect.

 

[PittPatriot]

I just brought up this point in another thread.

If Parcells didn't have his head up the Jets ass then Brett Favre would be another Dan Marino. Actually not even that good.

As for Bledsoe, he'd have 2 rings and maybe a little more respect.

I think Drew Bledsoe would have gone on to become the character currently known as Favre.
Drew would be a gunslinging, roll the dice Cowboy that plays with the joy of a child. The only thing that separates Favre from Drew is the benefit of a better team around him, an earned SB ring, and a consistent team/coaching unit.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Oh crap. another Bledsoe thread. I really wish people would just leave him off of this board. Everytime someone mentions his name, the Bledsoe bashers come out of the woodwork, and p*ss me off with their b.s. Oh well, let the bashing begin

 

[pheenix11]

I think Drew Bledsoe would have gone on to become the character currently known as Favre.
Drew would be a gunslinging, roll the dice Cowboy that plays with the joy of a child. The only thing that separates Favre from Drew is the benefit of a better team around him, an earned SB ring, and a consistent team/coaching unit.

Good point, Favre constantly just chucks the ball up for grabs which is what everyone bashed Bledsoe for doing.

Favre is also known for being lazy in his mental prep. I've never heard anything about Bledsoe in this regard. I know he seemed to go off the reservation on occasion but as far as watching film etc, how was Bledsoe?

Bledsoe at least had the brains to stay retired.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Good point, Favre constantly just chucks the ball up for grabs which is what everyone bashed Bledsoe for doing.

Favre is also known for being lazy in his mental prep. I've never heard anything about Bledsoe in this regard. I know he seemed to go off the reservation on occasion but as far as watching film etc, how was Bledsoe?

Bledsoe at least had the brains to stay retired.

I know I'll be opening myself up for attacks, but. The bashers will tell you that Bledsoe never put in any effort when it came to improving himself. Watching film, improving mechanics, etc.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Lots of Bledsoe love latley, well even though Parcells was too busy worry about being the next hc of the nyj, Drew threw some passes in that game that he might want back.

 

[MassPats38]

I know I'll be opening myself up for attacks, but. The bashers will tell you that Bledsoe never put in any effort when it came to improving himself. Watching film, improving mechanics, etc.

I will second that. He also had less of an arm than Favre had, and no mobility. Favre has the "aw, shucks" personality of Mickey Mantle in a small football city that happened to be the home of a storied football franchise that had fallen into disrepair and become the NFC equivalent of the Patriots at the time (actually a bigger joke as the Pats had gone to the championship game one time and had a few playoff appearances post-Lombardi).

When Favre was winning NFL MVP awards, he had a mid to high 90 QB rating. His unorthodox style and scrambling got things done. Bledsoe was at his best with tyrannical coaches who gave him little leeway to improvise as that was always a recipe for disaster. With Favre's theatrics and last few lousy seasons in Green Bay with virtually no team around him, people tend to forget he was the Brady of the NFL in the mid-90s (the guy still has an arm, but his football age now is like 156). Even with his bad years (including a worst year statistically in which he threw 29 interceptions), he still holds an 85 QB rating, which implies more successes than failures (Bledsoe is a mid-70s, which smacks of mediocrity over his career and never had a season with 90).

Even if Howard did not run the kick back and Bledsoe marched back down field, 5 years of his performance would have been plenty to show him the door. I still think highly of Bledsoe and what he did for the Patriots while here, but he has never been and never would be Favre or Brady. The height of Favre's career was the mid-90s, so new fans may not remember his gambles paid off for a long time and he was extremely hard to stop. He started at about the same time as Bledsoe and has played about 2 more years but has 17000 more yards, way more TDs, and given his style 52 more picks.

Bledsoe, even if he won the Pats' first championship, would not be Brady. Post-SB, the team steadily declined and Bledsoe did play a part in that. If he was captain of that sinking ship, had 2 losses in 2001 and Brady came in and showed he could perform, Brady still would have the starting job under Belichick. Bledsoe still would not want a backup role and Belichick, who seemed to scheme defenses capable of picking Bledsoe 4 times a game wherever he coached, would still have shown him the door when he found a suitable replacement.

 

[Patriot_dynasty]

Bledsoe was at his best with tyrannical coaches who gave him little leeway to improvise as that was always a recipe for disaster

Bingo! When Parcells left, so did Bledsoe's game. Bledsoe was anything but a self-starter, and that sideline fan Pete Carroll made it even worse. Bledsoe had a few good years, but as Pats fans we tend to give Bledsoe more credit than he deserves. The comparrison is lame, Bledsoe wasn't even in the same ball park as Favre.

 

[Richter]

There's still a part of me that believes Parcells threw that game because of his rift with Kraft. Kicking to Desmond Howard there was inexcusable. I remember being on the phone with my dad right before the kick, and we were talking about how the Patriots were going to win the Superbowl, and then we saw Vinatieri kicking deep, and we were both just stunned, and just shouting about how Parcells could be so stupid to kick it deep, and then the return started, and Howard hit the wedge and was gone, and Vinatieri dived for his feet in a futile effort, and we both knew that was it. To this day I still can't explain why Parcells kicked deep, when Howard had been gashing the team on returns all day. The Packers were reeling, they couldn't seem to believe they were being played so tough by the Patriots. Favre's legacy would have been greatly diminished and Bledsoe's greatly enhanced if the outcome had been reversed, but to what extent is hard to know.