Would We Have Beaten The Rams With Bledsoe?

[RobertWeathers]

Now I know I am going back in history here, but it is the only place I can have the conversation as the English/Welsh border is not full of Patriots!

Back in the day, I was always in the Bledsoe camp. I was gutted when he got injured, furious when he didn't get his job back, happy he played against Pittsburgh, and furious again when Brady got his the nod for the Superbowl. I saw this as just a case of trying to get Bledsoe off the salary cap, and no matter how average Brady was, the plan was to get better players around him. Still, I felt Bledsoe should have started.

Now it has been proven I was on the wrong side of history. Brady turned out to be the GOAT, and that is why Bill runs the team and not me. But I do sometimes wonder whether if Bledsoe had started, we would have won.

Could Drew have done the job, or would we have had a couple of turnovers that you couldn't get away with against the Greatest Show on Turf?

First things first.

They dont make the the playoffs in 01 with Drew as QB.

 

[InRodWeRust]

"Could Drew have done the job, or would we have had a couple of turnovers that you couldn't get away with against the Greatest Show on Turf?"

Could he have done the job? Yes it's possible since it was such a close game but the Pats needed to play flawless football in order to pull it off and I think putting Drew in there the odds of him making no mistakes would be lower than Brady. Had Drew had Coats and Glenn on the team then it would allow him to play more into his gunslinger style but with the offense they had to be a lot more conservative and precise which played into Brady's strengths more.

 

[Froob]

Another candidate for post of the year..

Can we maybe just get a facepalm emoticon in addition to what we already have to rate posts ?

It was a joke lol. I can see how it may be hard to tell these days.

 

[luuked]

It was a joke lol. I can see how it may be hard to tell these days.

Sorry you got me with that one this time.. I guess I read too many stupid takes on BB in the past months..

 

[Froob]

Sorry you got me with that one this time.. I guess I read too many stupid takes on BB in the past months..

All good Heh, I'm waiting to see someone in the media try to make that argument. Maybe Mazz will do it. I'm tempted to call in and try to bait him into it.

 

[Bill Lee]

Personally I think to beat the Rams you needed TB's quick decision making and quick release and great pocket awareness. Drew had the big arm but was a lot slower in making decisions and getting rid of the ball.

 

[Dagg]

I think we would have won with Bledsoe. As long as he took the check downs to Jr Redmond instead of forcing it down field,

 

[Bill Lee]

Pats may be in the midst of a historic run and the threads today involve a beaten horse hypothetical from 15 years ago and a breaking story that Brandon Browner (a former NFL player) is still a free agent.

Feel free to crack open the "We're On To The Jets" thread and have a ball!

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Not a chance. Would never have gotten there in the first place.

He started going off the rails in 99, going 2-6 the second half of the season, throwing only 6 TDs to 17 INTs. In 2000, they were 5-11 and his play was pretty dreadful. 2001 started off the same. He was a below average QB by the time he was replaced, and his play was dragging down the team.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Bledsoe was the starting QB of a SUper Bowl team. Bledsoe was very good up until 1997 season. He did become a sack machine, but he was better than everyone gave him creadit for. No matter how revisionist history there is around here, Belichick did start him as #1 in 2001 with Brady as #2. And no one on earth knew at that time Brady was going to be who he became.

He got to the super bowl almost entirely because of the defense. His play during the playoffs was not good.

I agree he took a turn for the worse after 97 but think he was was given plenty of credit to the point of being overrated. Brady outplayed Bledsoe in the 2001 preseason, and almost won the job outright, almost certainly would have if not for Drew's new contract

 

[GaryfromTO]

would the Bills have beaten the Titans in the Music City Miracle game if Flutie had started over Rob Johnson?

 

[patriot1136]

No to Bledsoe. Yes to Branch. Branch was in his prime then and would have been a big boost to that offense.

 

[oldrover]

He got to the super bowl almost entirely because of the defense. His play during the playoffs was not good.

You are being kind.

Record in playoffs as a Patriot: 3-3 (including the Pitt win, where he would have thrown a pick 6 if it wasn't dropped)

Att/Comp: 129-252 Pct. 51.2 Yards 1335 TD 6 INT 12 Passer rating: 54.9

<shudder>




"Wake me when it's over!"

 

[oldrover]

Better question, does Bledsoe beat the Giants? BB's arrogance and quest to be the smartest guy in the room costs us two Super Bowls.

"Hey, Bill, can you believe that some people actually thought Froob was serious here?"

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Not a chance. Would never have gotten there in the first place.

He started going off the rails in 99, going 2-6 the second half of the season, throwing only 6 TDs to 17 INTs. In 2000, they were 5-11 and his play was pretty dreadful. 2001 started off the same. He was a below average QB by the time he was replaced, and his play was dragging down the team.

In all fairness to Drew, he had to adjust to multiple Offensive Coordinators who came and quickly left....

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I don't think Drew Bledsoe was meant for the big stage.

 

[70Dart]

In all fairness to Drew, he had to adjust to multiple Offensive Coordinators who came and quickly left....

I have to agree. I loved Drew and what he did for this team.

 

[oldrover]

I don't think Drew Bledsoe was meant for the big stage.

Agreed. Also remember the joke told for years by Patriots, Browns and Bucs fans:

Q: How do you say Drew Bledsoe in Italian?

A: Vinnie Testaverde.

 

[70Dart]

Now I know I am going back in history here, but it is the only place I can have the conversation as the English/Welsh border is not full of Patriots!

Back in the day, I was always in the Bledsoe camp. I was gutted when he got injured, furious when he didn't get his job back, happy he played against Pittsburgh, and furious again when Brady got his the nod for the Superbowl. I saw this as just a case of trying to get Bledsoe off the salary cap, and no matter how average Brady was, the plan was to get better players around him. Still, I felt Bledsoe should have started.

Now it has been proven I was on the wrong side of history. Brady turned out to be the GOAT, and that is why Bill runs the team and not me. But I do sometimes wonder whether if Bledsoe had started, we would have won.

Could Drew have done the job, or would we have had a couple of turnovers that you couldn't get away with against the Greatest Show on Turf?

It's really hard to say, I mean we held the greatest show on turf to 17 points. Our defense beat the bag out of them that entire game. My biggest issue with Drew after a while was that he became a wooden indian in the pocket. He was very statuesque, and as another fan posted, he did go through a lot of offensive coordinators. But Drews biggest issue after a while was him forcing passes where they shouldn't go. Would our defense be enough to help beat the Shams? I would like to think it would be, we had some great players on both sides of the ball that were clutch for us.

My heart says yes, but my mind definitely says no now that I am thinking about it more. Even in 2001 if I were a betting man, I would have put my money on the Rams to beat us, however, the Homer in me wouldn't have minded losing that money at the end result...lol Even then, my heart said the Pats would win, but my mind told me the Pats would lose.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

You are being kind.

Record in playoffs as a Patriot: 3-3 (including the Pitt win, where he would have thrown a pick 6 if it wasn't dropped)

Att/Comp: 129-252 Pct. 51.2 Yards 1335 TD 6 INT 12 Passer rating: 54.9

<shudder>




"Wake me when it's over!"

I agree, originally wrote it was awful but changed it.