Bledsoe Retires

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:43 am

QB Drew Bledsoe retires after 14 seasons

(April 11, 2007) -- Drew Bledsoe retired, ending a 14-year career in which he made two Super Bowls.

The top overall pick by New England in the 1993 draft out of Washington State, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback played for the Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. He was a starter for all three teams, but ended up as a backup with the Cowboys.

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Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:56 am

I wonder if Bledsoe really feels like he won the big one.

I know that he has a ring, after sitting on the sidelines through the playoffs, and I'm sure that he feels like he could have led his team to a SB victory that year . . . but still, it has to be far less satisfying than being the actual quarterback playing in the game.

Fios · Post by **Fios** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:01 am

I imagine (whether they would admit it or not) that for players, but especially for QBs, there is a significant difference between winning one as a player and winning one as a starter.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:07 am

For some reason I thought that Bledsoe had played most of the year, but I just looked up the stats and see that Brady played for all but 2 games.

Bledsoe played the first 2 games before being injured -- 2 losses -- and Brady took over, leading the Patriots to a 14 - 3 record after that, with two clutch post-season wins, for the trophy. I forgot how hard it must have been for him to watch that season. There's no way that Bledsoe can be fully satisfied with that ring.

Fios · Post by **Fios** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:12 am

WOW ... I didn't realize Brady went 16-1 ... that's impressive. As I remember it, the expectations at first were that as soon as Bledsoe healed up, he'd be named the starter.

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:32 am

Come on now...

Brady got hurt in the AFC Championship game and Bledsoe actually won the game for the Pats with a TD pass late in the game. (against the Steelers wasn't it?)

He wasn't strictly a clipboard holder in it all.

gibbs4president · Post by **gibbs4president** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:36 am

BossHog wrote:Come on now...

Brady got hurt in the AFC Championship game and Bledsoe actually won the game for the Pats with a TD pass late in the game. (against the Steelers wasn't it?)

He wasn't strictly a clipboard holder in it all.

That's a good point, and that may have been one of his better moments, by far, as a QB. If they didn't win that game, things may have been a little different for Brady too.

Fios · Post by **Fios** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:58 am

BossHog wrote:Come on now...

Brady got hurt in the AFC Championship game and Bledsoe actually won the game for the Pats with a TD pass late in the game. (against the Steelers wasn't it?)

He wasn't strictly a clipboard holder in it all.

I'd forgotten that

TincoSkin · Post by **TincoSkin** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:10 am

ok, i say this a lot, but

being in New England, ive seen a lot of bledsoe. he is a pick machine. he forces balls and over all is nothing if not an average professional qb. hes like the greg norman of football. he chokes, cant move in the pocket and couldnt win a ring with out brady.

its not like hes dan marino and broke all sorts of records with out a ring. hes bledsoe! ok stats, mad INTs, no pocket presence, and a ring because of the second coming in tom brady.

bledoe did nothing if not hold the pats to a decade of mediocrity.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:29 am

TincoSkin wrote:ok, i say this a lot, but

being in New England, ive seen a lot of bledsoe. he is a pick machine. he forces balls and over all is nothing if not an average professional qb. hes like the greg norman of football. he chokes, cant move in the pocket and couldnt win a ring with out brady.

its not like hes dan marino and broke all sorts of records with out a ring. hes bledsoe! ok stats, mad INTs, no pocket presence, and a ring because of the second coming in tom brady.

bledoe did nothing if not hold the pats to a decade of mediocrity.

Sounds like Patrick Ramsey. :lol:

Yeah, I went there.

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:01 am

TincoSkin wrote:ok, i say this a lot, but

being in New England, ive seen a lot of bledsoe. he is a pick machine. he forces balls and over all is nothing if not an average professional qb. hes like the greg norman of football. he chokes, cant move in the pocket and couldnt win a ring with out brady.

its not like hes dan marino and broke all sorts of records with out a ring. hes bledsoe! ok stats, mad INTs, no pocket presence, and a ring because of the second coming in tom brady.

bledoe did nothing if not hold the pats to a decade of mediocrity.

Nobody said that he was the second coming of Christ... just that he did indeed play a role in the Pats super bowl victory.

You said. 'ok stats...' and then provided none. Here are some for you:

Bledsoe finished his career with almost 4000 completions and almost 45,000 yards... those numbers are good enough for 7th and 5th ALL TIME.

He threw 251 td passes... only good enough for 13th all-time, but better than great QB's like Steve Young, Jjim Kelly and George Blanda.

If those numbers are 'average' then apparently less than 2 dozen guys have ever played QB in the NFL.

Marino had 252 INT's in 242 games. That's 1.04 per game.

Bledsoe had 206 INTs in 194 games... that's 1.06 per game.

They might as well be exactly the same.

Bledsoe holds NFL records for:
Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League in Passing Atetempts
Most Passes Attempted, Season
Most Passes Attempted, Game
Most Passes Completed, Season (actually 3rd behind Moon and Gannon)
Most Passes Completed, Game
Most Games, 400 or More Yards Passing, Career (3rd behind Montana, Moon and Marino)
Most Consecutive Games, 300 or More Yards Passing (3rd)
Most Attempts, No Interceptions, Game

Like I said, he may not have been the be-all-and-end-all, but IMO, his career was certainly above average.

My 2 cents

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:19 pm

BossHog wrote:Come on now...

Brady got hurt in the AFC Championship game and Bledsoe actually won the game for the Pats with a TD pass late in the game. (against the Steelers wasn't it?)

He wasn't strictly a clipboard holder in it all.

I forgot about that, too. Okay, I officially retract everything that I said, and I will wait until I know what I'm talking about before giving my opinion on this subject again. (It might be a while. . .) :oops:

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:03 pm

I'll bet his career started to tank after he swore off "Flutie Flakes" for breakfast.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:13 pm

A timely and dignified retirement. Others should learn from it before they embarrass themselves.

LOSTHOG · Post by **LOSTHOG** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:46 am

I wonder now if he will make it to the HOF. His stats are marginal for the hall, but i doubt seriously if there is a quarterback in the hall that has lost his starting job to three diff qb's. Brady turns out was and is legit, but JP Losman and Romo???? I doubt if you add both of their stats together they will not add up to Bledsoe's numbers. Does anyone know if that will change anything w/ the Pukes cap since they had already cut him?

TincoSkin · Post by **TincoSkin** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:15 pm

BH...

in response i only bring the stats you ask for.

bledsoe threw 251 TDs but he also threw 206 INTs

in 7 of his 14 seasons bledsoe threw as many or more INTs than TDs

his passer rating all time is 76.7 good for 58th all time

9 of his 14 seasons his passer rating was below 80

his average completion % was 57.2

he may hold NFL records for passes attempted and completed but thats only because he played 194 games 18th most by a NFL qb. thats a lot of time to throw a lot of passes.

he played a long time more than most qbs. a lot of the guys who played more games than he were born in like 1927 and played in a different NFL one where the ball never left the ground. his stats only show an average qb who played too long for a team that only won a superbowl when he was benched.

bledsoe was pretty good but id never want him as my qb.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:07 pm

TincoSkin wrote:bledsoe threw 251 TDs but he also threw 206 INTs

You realize that's an argument in favor of Bledsoe, right? Again, not an amazing statistic, but one that argues that Bledsoe was an above-average player at the least. (Do some TD/INT comparisons with other great and mediocre quarterbacks. You'll find Bledsoe in company with the former).

in 7 of his 14 seasons bledsoe threw as many or more INTs than TDs

Compare Warren Moon, Boomer Esiason, Sammy Baugh, Brett Favre, or Steve Young. Keep in mind that Bledsoe inherited a terrible NE team that relied on his arm almost exclusively, and that he was a journeyman in the latter half of his career. (Compare his stats to other journey-man quarterbacks).

his passer rating all time is 76.7 good for 58th all time

Fair enough.

9 of his 14 seasons his passer rating was below 80

Again, fair enough. But it should be noted that Bledsoe played for a long time on several not-so-great teams. Also, BH was trying to point out that Bledsoe was better-than-average to good; this helps your case but can't be the stat that you rely on to counter him.

his average completion % was 57.2

Compare this stat to John Elway, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Phil Simms, Sonny Jurgensen, etc. Was this supposed to be a criticism?