Anyone who watched the Cowboys game on Monday realized that two people effectively passed away. Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe. It looks pretty clear with the mess in Dallas that neither will be back next season. As a NE fan both have a place in my heart (even though Parcells sold out in SB 26 and defected to the Jets).
Bledsoe, Parcells and Kraft formed the trilogy that is the reason why we still have the New England Patriots, and not the Saint Louis Patriots. Watching Bledsoe stumble around and make horrible decisions, it is easy to forget how much hype this guy had when he entered the league. Lets take a quick stroll down memory lane, when times were simpler, and everyone was much better off....
As a 22 year old in 1994 he threw for over 4500 yards (including the record setting 45 of 70 day). He must have had great receivers right? He had one, Ben Coates. His other starting wideouts were households names Vincent Brisby and Michael Timpson. Surely there was a great running back that opened things up right? Nope - the team averaged 3.0 yards per carry rushing and was lead by a VERY washed up Marion Butts. Butts (and his 2.9 ypc average) was so bad that in the playoff game (I'm sure Eric remembers this well) Parcells started a guy who had ZERO carries in the NFL (Corey Croom). This from a coach who loves veterans, and detests rookie mistakes, so think about that for a second.
That season NE won 7 in a row to end the season basically passing every single down. I think they averaged over 40 attempts a game that year. You felt like you were watching something special. The feeling was that if Bledsoe could cut back on some of the negative plays (common for a young QB), and with more experience he could be great. Well, it never really happened. He was solid, posting very good seasons in 96 and 97, but he never could escape the jaw-dropping WTF-was-that mistake. What is amazing is the lack of feel, the lack of football instincts he displays. This is from the son of a football coach. Strange.
Towards the end in Foxboro, it was reported that he became the true "9 to 5" guy. Doing exactly the minimum required, but not putting in extra time. Its hard to figure out if that is just NE media negativity or truth. He doesn't get nearly enough credit for what he did accomplish, even if it fell short of what people were hoping. Case in point, without him in 2001 the Pats never win the SB. After Brady got hurt in that AFC Championship game (at Pitt), Bledsoe delivered the only offensive touchdown of the game for the Pats.
Here is to Bledsoe and Parcells seemingly riding of into the sunset together. Yet another reminder of how we are all getting old!
2 comments:
I ate 7 fully loaded Chipoltle tacos last night and I still feel better than after watching the Cowboys play the other. Next time I want to wager on the Boys, please come over and kick me in the nuts. ugh.
And two things about Bledsoe:
1. When he wears that visor, it looks like he doesn't give a shit. Not too sure if it is him or if it is the visor, but for someone how just got benched for Romo, please don't wear the visor if you want to be taken seriously. Jesus.
2. I still feel bad when he gets sacked. He still has the slowest fall to the ground after getting hit that makes him look like 102 years old. He needs to retire.
First off, I think when Bledsoe wears that visor, he loks like he is 24 years old.
I remember that playoff game vividly - January 1, 1995, the only NFL playoff game I have attended. Temperature was about 20 degrees with a 20 mph wind. I had no idea that Croom started the game. It's amazing how little information you have when you actually at the game. You are pretty much blacked out of any information at around 11 am - no radio when walking in, and you have no idea of lineup changes or injury reports when you are at the game.
I recall Browns fans being somewhat confident (since we had the better record), but a little wary since we were going up against Parcells. It was pure joy when we won - the whole stadium erupted in chants of "We Want Pittsburgh!".
Well, one week later and a score of 29-9, that chant seemed stupid.
However, my first real impression of Bledsoe came earlier that year. I was at a game in Cleveland (it seemed that even though I lived in Dayton that year, I went to about 6 Browns games) in November. They were showing scores and stats from other games - one of them was NE vs Minnesota, I believe. The Pats made an amazing comeback, went to OT, but lost (I think). The line on Bledsoe that flashed in the stadium was:
Bledsoe 45-70, 475 yards, 3 TDs
I mean, what the hell is that? For the month?
Wow. I believe that still is a record for the most pass attempts in a game.
That's the first time I really stood up and took notice of him. And, apparently, that was his high water mark.
Post a Comment