With Bledsoe, Patriots Need to Pay Him, Not Trade Him
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Posted Under: 2000 Patriots Season
HOME > Patriots Blog > 2000 Patriots Season
If I’m Drew Bledsoe I’m pondering my future in New England.
I’m wondering why I took the beating that I have over the past two seasons, or why I bothered playing on when I broke my index finger. Those pins which were actually placed through the bones to hold the break in place came loose and poked through the skin, leaving a permanent lump on that knuckle, and a slight crook to the tip of his finger.
And for what?
Fans now turn up their nose in disgust when they hear about the kind of money it will take to get a long-term deal done with Bledsoe, but before they prepare to run him out of town they should think before they bite the hand of the man who turned their team into the respectable franchise it has been since he arrived.
Before fans start screaming about a former coach that deserves the credit, part of that is true, but don’t kid yourselves.
Having Parcells around helped in building the rest of the team, but if anyone thinks that Parcells could have done it with just any quarterback they need to remember the success he had with guys like Glenn Foley and Rick Myer during his tenure as Jets head coach. Foley had a short run as did another quarterback named Ray Lucas, but had Parcells not brought in Vinny Testaverde who took almost his entire career to finally flourish, the Jets wouldn’t have played in the AFC Championship game in Denver a couple of years ago.
But forgetting all that, if anyone remembers how empty Foxboro Stadium was for all those years before Bledsoe arrived, they should also understand the major downturn they’ll face once he’s gone. It’s been quite a task finding a runningback to replace Curtis Martin since he departed to the Jets a few years ago. The Pats have failed to find a replacement, and if everyone thinks it’s been tough finding a runningback just imagine how tough it would be to find both. It’s not as easy as just drafting a quarterback and runningback.
Take Mike Holmgren for example. Does anyone think he would have won a Superbowl without Brett Favre? If they do they should be wondering why Holmgren may be interested in bringing Bledsoe to the Seahawks. He doesn’t have a quarterback to run his offense and has failed with the likes of Glenn Foley as well as pulling his hair out over John Kitna. Want to see the Seahawks win a Championship? Send Bledsoe out to a team that wants to put talent around him and see what happens.
With a runningback, solid offensive line, and good receivers, Bledsoe is one of the best quarterbacks in the game. It’s a proven fact, period. With all that New England went to a Superbowl, and had the Packers not gotten the kickoff return for a touchdown from Desmond Howard it may have been a different game. Fans seem to forget that the following season the Patriots were without Curtis Martin and Terry Glenn when they missed another AFC Championship appearance by falling 7-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Had Bledsoe had both those players, New England may have gotten a chance at a rematch with the Packers that season.
The loss of Curtis Martin to the Jets despite Robert Edwards’ effort, and the injury to Bledsoe’s finger did away with the 1998 season. The 8-8 finish in ’99 came at the hands of losing Edwards and a coaching staff that never adjusted their game plan after Bill Belichick figured out how to stop Ernie Zampese’s terrible offensive system. Let’s not forget to mention the fact that the offensive line allowed 56 sacks.
They then went on to let receiver Shawn Jefferson depart for Atlanta during the offseason and released Ben Coates without adequately replacing them, leaving Bledsoe with even less weapons in an offense that already had so little. Complain all you want about his cap number heading into the season handcuffing the team, but it was obviously the team’s choice not to restructure to make salary cap room.
Fans now talk about trading him for draft choices and using his cap money to go out and sign free agents. First of all draft picks are not an absolute certainty, and for anyone who fails to realize this I can name you 26 who don’t start on this team after 27 of them had been selected. And don’t think for a second that Kraft would trade away Bledsoe and then spend ridiculous money on the free agent market. Talk about defeating the purpose.
Don’t tell me that teams don’t need a good quarterback to win a championship. Take a look at the list of names of the players who lined up behind the center who won a ring in the 90’s. You’ll notice that a lot of those unexpected teams who made the playoffs and didn’t win failed to appear again the following season. Teams simply can’t depend on a system where the quarterback throws short every play hoping that he doesn’t make a mistake. Those teams win a lot of games but falter in the playoffs. The only exception to that may be the Baltimore Ravens, but they can’t expect to score touchdowns on defense every game.
The Patriots have their starting quarterback, but now it’s again time to pay him the money he would get somewhere else anyway. There are certainly plenty of teams out there that would make the commitment to putting the necessary talent around him, and it’s time that New England gets back to building what used to be one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses.
There has certainly been plenty of money given to players on the defensive side of the ball, including the likes of Chris Slade, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson and Ty Law, all of whom landed fairly rich deals. The most recent player to be rewarded was Lawyer Milloy, and of all the names mentioned so far he appears to be the only one interested in earning his money. The type of money spent on those players should have been spent on hard-working guys who are committed to winning and are willing to do what it takes to do just that.
The fact is the $20-million dollar signing bonus that Bledsoe would receive wouldn’t be the reason why they would be in trouble with the salary cap. The problem is that the money that has New England in their current debacle was spent on the wrong players. Had the money been spent more wisely in the past, giving Bledsoe a new contract wouldn’t even be a concern for them. Instead they can’t cut the guys they need to in order to allow them to spend it elsewhere.
Those are the facts, period.
So before you continue with the idea of the blockbuster trades and all the “great players” we could get without having to pay him, stop and realize that an extension along with restructuring when necessary will give the team the necessary cap relief for at least five years just as it has up to this point. Bledsoe originally signed his $42-million contract back in 1995 and up until this season it was never his contract that was the problem. The same will be true after the Patriots brass and Bledsoe’s agent come up with another deal that can be spread out in another cap-friendly way.
Bledsoe isn’t nor has he ever been what’s wrong with this team. The sooner fans begin to realize that the better. It would be a shame to watch him win a championship with another team.
Speaking of which, people call him a quarterback who requires the right system to be successful. If having a runningback, receivers to throw to, and offensive line to protect him causes him to fit that definition, then I guess they’re right.
By the way that’s not a system, it’s a team. Something everyone needs to put around a quarterback for him to be successful. Bledsoe has made the commitment to this organization and to the fans to try and win each season. Now it’s time they do the same for him.
Otherwise someone else will.
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