Who did you want when Brady vs. Bledsoe happened?

[Ryan]

I honestly don't remember having a strong opinion one way or the other. Obviously I enjoyed the success we were having with Brady, but if Bledsoe has been put back in I wouldn't have been against it. Looking back, I'm glad Bill made the decision he did. It was the right one.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

There seems to be a pathological need to start a a Bledsoe thread once every week or two on this board. Whatever.

I'm sure the OP had good intentions, but any thread with Drew, and Toms name in the title, is destined to turn into a b*tch session.

Sorry, I'll ask you guys for permission henceforth.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

My wife soured on Bledsoe as a tease by the late 90s but I reluctantly held on. At summer camp in Smithfield RI, I saw 2nd year Tom Brady clearly and unequivocally outplay Bledsoe and Huard day after day. There were brief references to that in some of the Boston papers but we all forgot about it as the season started. Drew had just gotten that big contract from Kraft.

Pats started the season with a loss to a bad Bengals team. Pissed me off bigtime. Hiatus for 9/11 then game 2 was the Jets. I was at that Mo Lewis game. Got seriously pissed again as with a chance to win the close low scoring game against our most hated rival, Pats were coming in to score and suddenly Bledsoe throws a pick to Jets LB Vilma who had NO Patriots around him. WTF? I was SO done with Bledsoe. A couple series later and he's clobbered. Turned to my seat buddy and said "Season's over." Prophetic. NOT.

Then I got excited before game 3, the Colts, because by then DUH! I'd remembered Brady's excellent showing at summer camp. Brady never let me down. From that game on I was a complete Brady's Lady as the Bledsoe Krishnas called us. Never wanted to see Bledsoe take another snap as a Patriot. I completely soured on the Boston sports writers and 'expert pundits' who were all Bledsoe rump swabs.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Sorry, I'll ask you guys for permission henceforth.

Ummm, you don't my permission, smartazz. However, if you've posted here long enough, you should know these threads never end well.

 

[condon84]

Re: Who did you want when Brady vs Bledsoe happened?

I was a huge Bledsoe fan but to me, Brady was the right guy for this team and what our coaches wanted to do.

Bledsoe made critical mistakes and we were a team that at the time, couldn't overcome big mistakes because we didn't have the offense to put up a lot of points. Brady was a better game manager, which was what we needed at the time.

 

[DarrylS]

Do not remember how I felt, but do remember that shortly thereafter there was a Denver game which my bro in law went to out west, I asked what he thought of Brady.. he told me he was the real deal...

So whatever opinion I had before, I became part of the Brady supporters quickly.

 

[oldskool138]

My wife soured on Bledsoe as a tease by the late 90s but I reluctantly held on.

From that game on I was a complete Brady's Lady as the Bledsoe Krishnas called us.

Hmm....

 

[efeene]

As a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan I was all about Brady. That is really all it came down to haha. I loved Bledsoe but the more Michigan players on the field for the Pats the better. Well... in those days anyway.. now it would just mean we were shooting for a 5-11 record.. ugh damn Rich Rod... Tom Brady all the way.

 

[Patjew]

Honestly, I was very happy Bledsoe was out of there. It was clear by then that he'd never make "the leap" and if anything he was regressing.

 

[oldskool138]

Honestly, I was very happy Bledsoe was out of there. It was clear by then that he'd never make "the leap" and if anything he was regressing.

The only leap Bledsoe made was off of a stage an seriously injuring a woman.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

First of all, I want to thank those who have been honest enough to admit they favored Drew. Reminds me of a story I like to tell about Carl Yastrzemski's 3,000th hit. I was lucky enough to be sitting in the Bleachers at Fenway when Yaz got that hit against the Yankees in September, 1979. I've often joked I kept the ticket stub because eventually there would be 100,000 fans who claimed they were at the game. In other words, it's human nature to want to say you were with a winner.

I've defended Bledsoe out here a lot against those who dis his amazing statistics. If they were so trivial to amass, how come only seven QB's in the long, long history of the NFL passed for more than his 44,611 career yards, with all but one of them (Testaverde) in Canton (Elway, Marino, Moon & Tarkenton) or on their way there (Favre & P. Manning)? That said, I don't think Bledsoe belongs in Canton, but I hope he's honored by a serious discussion of his qualifications when his time comes.

But I never took to Bledsoe. I can't explain it. Even after his surreal sophomore year when he put up 4,500 yards and then when he put up 4,000 again and nearly a third time with the Pats, I always felt he wasn't going to take them all the way, despite leading them almost to the mountain top once. I thought he was a phenomenal player, but that he lacked whatever that "something" is that distinguishes the truly great from the near great in team sports.

So, I favored Brady but not without a lot of respect for Drew.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Who did you want when Brady vs Bledsoe happened?

I wanted Brady. I was always troubled by Bledsoe's lack of mobility, though I loved the arm

I picked Tommy too, but no one ever accused him of being mobile.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Loved Drew but around the end of the 1999 season, I had enough of him and his inconsistient, carelessness in the red zone. I fully supported the Brady move.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

I was a big Bledsoe hater. I never really liked him, so Brady was my savior.

 

[Rob0729]

At the time I thought Bledsoe was the better QB, but I thought Brady fit the Pats' system far better. It was clear that Bledsoe was ill-equipped to run an offense designed with a lot of screens, quick outs, and quick slants. That was the offense the Pats want to run.

I also figured Bledsoe would have gotten more in a trade at the time.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

Re: Who did you want when Brady vs Bledsoe happened?

I picked Tommy too, but no one ever accused him of being mobile.

Tell that to Brian Urlacher.

 

[363839]

I was not a Bledsoe hater but I had seen enough of his disastrous decision making at critical points in critical games. I think it was 99 that I started feeling like this.
In fact, I can remember when BB was first hired, I was happy because I thought for sure BB would be the kind of coach to bench him if he didn't perform. I was disappointed at first but BB did in fact, come to make the right decision as I hoped he would.

 

[Sivy]

Bizzaro world time


What do you guys think our record would be if we didnt trade Brady to KC? I mean here we are at 3-11 while KC is leading their div with a 9-5 record, a big jump up from last year. I just dont think the 2nd round pick for brady was enough. I mean, we all thought we had something special in Cassel, with that Trade brady debate thread and what not..but man, what a let down. BB should be fired, dont you think?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I was not a Bledsoe hater but I had seen enough of his disastrous decision making at critical points in critical games. I think it was 99 that I started feeling like this.
In fact, I can remember when BB was first hired, I was happy because I thought for sure BB would be the kind of coach to bench him if he didn't perform. I was disappointed at first but BB did in fact, come to make the right decision as I hoped he would.

That's about the way it was for me. Although I gave up on Drew after Carroll's first season here. Before that I had almost convinced myself that Tuna was stifeling the young QB's development and he would blossom out from under that thumb. I think Drew sold that rationale to some extent in the aftermath of Tuna. Which is why to me it was almost comical when they attempted to reunite in their "maturity".

Remember Eddie Andelman and the endless what IT is that Drew doesn't have discussions...I was crushed when they extended him in 2000 because I knew whatever IT was he not only didn't have it he never would. Although in hindsight it was clear Bill would have benched him at some point in 2001, that likely would have been too late to salvage what turned out to be the Cinderella season that launched a dynasty...so who knows how much worse the impact would have been. Bill was edging towards thin ice already and a second sub .500 season might well have cemented his fate here in another direction.

As for Brady my first exposure to him was via radio in that JETS game. All I knew was he wasn't Bledsoe and had a shot at proving my theory that QB play was the biggest single impediment to this team succeeding. So from that moment on I rooted for Brady and this offense as I never had before (previously the defense were my boys and the only reason I continued to care on some level). That offense never disappointed me, even in defeat, and gave me back a whole team to root for again. Put an end to my Sunday roadtrips too as I was no longer willing to miss games. While it was still difficult to define exactly what IT was, it was clear the kid had whatever that encompassed in spades and he was infusing an entire team with it by osmosis.

Had they somehow decided to flip the kid and give the franchise back to Drew I would have been done with the franchise and probably the sport altogether! I knew then as we know now that Drew wasn't going to take anyone to the promised land because he is as inherently as flawed as talented. Drew had an ingrained ego that would never allow him to be anything more a tall QB with a big arm and no capacity to master the game in a scheme driven coaches league.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I remember thinking that I didn't really know what was best for the Patriots.

If you've read some of my posts, you can probably tell that's still the case.